How do you survive a PhD?

Non-Negotiables

Keep a structure, i.e. aim to work 10–5 every day if you can
Don’t take work home with you, unless you love working from home, but still keep it separate
Use your holidays/leave. Take time off routinely and use it up

Stick to a consistent system for managing your work. I use Obsidian, for example
Use a reference manager like Zotero or EndNote
Keep your samples, files and notes well-organised. For example, start files with the date so you can sort them easily. There is nothing worse than needing one specific thing and not being able to find it anywhere
Make detailed and clear notes. Future you will thank you
Make regular backups of your data. You don’t want to lose stuff because of an errant water bottle or computer crash/ It’s important to use university cloud servers i.e. OneDrive due to data protection.

Avoid scope creep. Your project will be able to go in so many directions, so it’s important to pick one and focus in
Write consistently in small amounts, especially methods etc. It will help you a lot later
Be considerate of your colleagues. Aim to make their lives easier, not harder
Stay on top of your reading in your field. LinkedIn and Bluesky can help, as can following relevant journals. PubCrawler is another good tool to help keep on top of papers.
If you want to do something, do it well. There is no point in doing an experiment and cutting corners if that means you’ll have to repeat it later

Be curious about the science around you, even if it’s not directly relevant to your work
Attend your department seminars and talks. They’re super helpful for broadening your knowledge and for networking
Think about opportunity cost and how much adding something to your plate will cost elsewhere. This goes for attending conferences, taking on extra work etc.
Giving talks at smaller things is great if you are offered it, especially things like lab meetings or department events. It can really help your confidence to do it at something small first
Don’t be afraid to say hello to people, even if they’re a super-famous big scientist. They were once in your shoes, after all

Have hobbies outside of the lab, something to live for beyond your work 🙂
Use your holiday. I will say it again: don’t burn out. Science will be there when you get back. You are more important. The same goes for taking sick days
Build and nurture a community. Find people around you both in and outside of work. Birmingham has a PhD society, for example, where you can meet other students from across the university
Don’t take science personally. Stuff fails all the time. If you tie it to your self-worth, you will crumble
Don’t lose who you are as a person. You’re more than your PhD

Delphi.Tools- Open-source tools, super good for random things you might need to use
Zotero- Open-source reference/paper manager, has good integrations with Word or LaTeX, browser connectors etc.
Connected Papers- Visualises papers similar to ones you’ve given it, good for finding gaps or new papers/
Obsidian- Open-source notes software, can be synced to phone, very customisable (and used by many PhD students)
Canva- Great for making diagrams/posters (UoB has free student pro membership)
BioArt- 2,000+ free science and medical art visuals
Affinity- Another great graphic design software (also owned by Canva and free)
Benchling- SnapGene alternative, primer design/DNA and protein sequence stuff

Remember, your PhD is a marathon, not a sprint. You wouldn’t be here if people didn’t think you could succeed.