Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Today we’re thinking about the relationships we have with our supervisors/advisors. These are one of the most complex and important elements of your PhD experience yet we rarely consider the nature of the relationships. In this episode, we think about how power is distributed in these relationships and how this affects how we each behave. This episode is relevant for PhD students AND supervisors, even if you think you have a great relatio...
Jul 07, 2025•28 min•Season 3Ep. 44
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Today I’m answering listener questions! We hear from people who are feeling pulled in different directions for a variety of reasons, a student who feels she lacks academic role models, and another feeling pressured by a publish or perish culture. I give some words of advice and thoughts to consider to help navigate these challenges. Remember – if you have questions you want answered, join my newsletter and send them over and I’ll answer t...
Jun 30, 2025•31 min•Season 3Ep. 43
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Today you get to hear a real coaching session with a listener, Ruth, who is considering not finishing her PhD. We talk through the reasons and I take her through a process to help her make a decision that works for her. This is a great episode for you if you ever doubt your own abilities to finish your PhD or if you have any big decisions to make. **** I'm Dr Vikki Wright, ex-Professor and certified life coach and I help everyone from PhD...
Jun 23, 2025•47 min•Season 3Ep. 42
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! In this episode, I’m joined by Jess Dineen, who is both a PhD student and a neurodivergent consultant, speaker, coach, and founder of NeuroNatives. We discuss the strengths and challenges of being in academia with autism, how autistic people can support and advocate for themselves, and how individuals and universities can better support neurodivergent people. Whether you are autistic yourself, or you want to be more inclusive and supporti...
Jun 16, 2025•52 min•Season 3Ep. 41
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! One of the most common comments I hear from PhD students is that reading always takes longer than they expect. In this episode, I share four elements that you need to take into account when deciding how much time you are going to give an article, book or other piece of writing. By being more intentional in considering these elements, you can be much more accurate in how long each piece will take to read and often read it in less time. Thi...
Jun 09, 2025•40 min•Season 3Ep. 40
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! In this episode, best selling author Sophie Hannah shares her “Book Ahead” method for managing multiple projects when you already feel behind. Born in the midst of a particularly busy year of writing, the first iteration of the Book Ahead method not only got the job done, it also changed how Sophie felt about herself, her other projects, and one of her long-standing “bad habits”. If you feel like you’ll be behind forever and want a techni...
Jun 02, 2025•40 min•Season 3Ep. 39
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Most PhD students and academics spend a lot of time telling themselves they’re not doing enough, they’re behind or they’re not good enough. Even if you truly believe that’s true, constantly having those comments in your head makes everything feel more difficult. When I talk with clients about intentionally choosing other thoughts, they often struggle to come up with thoughts that might help more AND that still feel true. In this episode, ...
May 26, 2025•33 min•Season 3Ep. 38
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! In this episode, I welcome Dr Ilana Horwitz, author of the new book, The Entrepreneurial Scholar. Being entrepreneurial isn’t just about starting a business — it’s about thinking creatively, seizing opportunities, and applying academic skills in innovative ways. We explore how PhD students and academics can develop an entrepreneurial mindset and connect with people outside their field to unlock new possibilities. Plus, we talk about how a...
May 19, 2025•52 min•Season 3Ep. 37
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! If you are bored of being told “just do your best” and not knowing what that means, then this is the episode for you. We are gonna talk today about why you shouldn't be trying to do your best all the time, what the problems are if you do try and do your best all the time, and most importantly, what you should do instead. Links: Why perfect plans fail Client Q&A – getting it done when you don’t feel like it **** I'm Dr Vikki Wright, ex...
May 12, 2025•22 min•Season 3Ep. 36
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Struggling to figure out your career path after your PhD? In this episode, David Mendes—host of the Beyond the Thesis podcast—shares expert tips on using networking to map out your job market early. Learn how to have strategic career conversations, explore industry roles, and avoid last-minute decision panic. This conversation offers practical steps PhD students can take to better understand their options and plan with confidence. Links: ...
May 05, 2025•46 min•Season 3Ep. 35
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! We don’t usually think of a PhD as a decision making process but it really is. We decide what research we do, how we do it, how we report it, and we make hundreds of decisions a day about what order we will do work in, what opportunities we will take up and refuse, and who we should ask for support. In this episode, I share the problems that happen we only vaguely, half-heartedly make decisions – and as usual, let you know what we need to...
Apr 28, 2025•18 min•Season 3Ep. 34
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! If you start your weeks strong but usually end disappointed, then this episode is for you! I’m going to be sharing how everything improved for me when I separated “boss me” from “implementer me” and used that idea to understand why I felt so frustrated at the end of the week. I’ll identify the most common issues so you can see which resonate most with you and give you some specific ideas to try out this week! Sign up for the webinar on 23...
Apr 21, 2025•26 min•Season 3Ep. 33
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Pretty much every PhD student struggles with procrastination yet the advice is often very generic. In this episode, I talk about a theoretical framework that helps us better understand why each of us, as individuals, procrastinate so that we can make more tailored plans to support ourselves. I also explain why it’s totally understandable that you procrastinate and why we know it’s a modifiable behaviour – i.e. you can change! You can find...
Apr 14, 2025•33 min•Season 3Ep. 32
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! This week I’m joined by Dr Marissa Edwards, one of the editors of the Research Handbook of Academic Mental Health. We chat about why higher education can be a uniquely stressful environment, why some researchers may have particular challenges, and how we can look after ourselves while we navigate our academic careers. Links: You can find out more about Dr Marissa Edwards here and connect with her on LinkedIn Her book is the Research Handb...
Apr 07, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 3Ep. 31
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! In this episode, we welcome Krystina François, a third year PhD student and current member of The PhD Life Coach membership. Krystina shares her experiences of doing a PhD with chronic illness, coming to terms with being disabled, and how she balances the needs of her PhD with looking after her health. We have a mini coaching session about her writing schedule, which is relevant for all PhD students, as well as hearing her recommendations...
Mar 31, 2025•57 min•Season 3Ep. 30
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! In this episode of The PhD Life Coach podcast, Dr Vikki Wright explains why chasing ‘perfect efficiency’ is actually making your PhD harder. Many students think that taking flawless notes or writing excellent first drafts will save time — but this mindset often leads to procrastination and stress. Instead, Vikki reveals why starting imperfectly is the key to progress. She explains that writing is part of the thinking process, reading evol...
Mar 24, 2025•16 min•Season 3Ep. 29
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! If you dread presentations, or would just like to be a bit more confident when speaking, then this episode is for you! Linda Ugelow, author of Delight in the Limelight, is talking about why so many of us struggle with public speaking and what we can all do to improve. If you listen carefully, you’ll also find out what happened when I was live on stage in a wetsuit too 😊 You can find out all about Linda here or follow her on TikTok , Face...
Mar 17, 2025•38 min•Season 3Ep. 28
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! In this episode I answer three questions from listeners on different topics, but that are all loosely connected to the idea that we want to be able to “do it all”. I give Julia some tips on writing up a PhD with small children, I advise Susan on how prepare for her comprehensive exams, and I give Sajini some ideas about managing overwhelm when balancing writing up with working as an international student. Interestingly, these are all topi...
Mar 10, 2025•27 min•Season 3Ep. 27
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! All research can be stressful but if your topic is inherently distressing, it becomes even more important to look after your own wellbeing. In today’s episode, I welcome Dr Tina Skinner and Sarah Warbis who are experts in researcher wellbeing. They talk about how researchers can support themselves and, even more importantly, what support institutions should be putting in place to ensure that those conducting research in distressing topics...
Mar 03, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 26
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! One of the most frustrating moments in a PhD or academic career is reading through your first draft—only to realise it’s a mess. It doesn’t flow, the arguments feel clunky, and now you’re stuck figuring out how to fix it. In today’s episode, I’m sharing practical techniques to help you transform that rough first draft into a polished manuscript—without the overwhelm and self-criticism. Whether you’re writing a thesis chapter, journal arti...
Feb 24, 2025•33 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Want more people to read your research? This week, I’m joined by Tony Stubblebine, CEO of Medium, to explore the benefits of writing for a general audience. We’ll discuss how sharing your ideas beyond academia can boost your visibility, strengthen your writing skills, and position you as an expert. If you’ve ever wondered whether anyone will actually read what you write—or how to reach more people—this episode is for you! Find out more ab...
Feb 17, 2025•44 min•Season 3Ep. 24
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Do you ever wonder why you’re even doing this? Whether your research actually matters and whether the world actually cares? In this episode I’m telling you exactly why I believe your work matters, no matter what you’re researching. I’ll also tell you what bits (that we often worry about) don’t matter! This episode is designed to listen to whenever you need it, so make sure you save it somewhere for those days when you’re struggling! Links...
Feb 10, 2025•8 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Do you ever feel like you’re only succeeding because you’re working more than is healthy? That you are subsidizing your work at the expense of your wellbeing? Then today’s episode is a must listen! I welcome Andy Brown, author of The Emotional Overdraft and we chat about what we mean by an Emotional Overdraft, how to know if you have one, and what to do about it. Links I refer to in this episode You can find out more about Andy Brown and ...
Feb 03, 2025•53 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Doing a PhD and even working in academia can be a lonely business. Sometimes we just don't feel like we've got the support we need around us. In this episode, I am going to identify six different types of social support that I think all academics need and give you some ideas to start assessing where you think you are at the moment. From there we’ll identify some steps forward that you can take, so that you can get the social support that ...
Jan 27, 2025•36 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Do you find yourself putting stuff off because it’s not due yet or never reaching some goals because they don’t have a specific deadline at all? Is the only thing that actually gets you moving that slight panic associated with a looming deadline? If so, this is totally normal but it can mean that work feels very pressured and that we don’t always do the things that we want to be doing in the long term. In this episode, I will talk about h...
Jan 20, 2025•29 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! In this episode, I chat with Dr Gertrude Nonterah, founder of The Bold PhD. She shares her own experience of transitioning from an academic career to an industry position and starting her own business that supports people with PhDs to build their personal brand and find jobs outside academia. She also shares some of the hints and tips that she has gathered through speaking with hundreds of academics, that she wishes all PhD students knew!...
Jan 13, 2025•39 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Changing plans can feel daunting, especially when you’re committed to a specific path and you’re not sure what is the “right” decision. In this episode, we dive into why it’s so hard to shift gears, why adaptability is essential for success, and how to navigate change without losing momentum. You'll also hear about a major update I’m making to my membership programme—offering insights that could inspire your own big decisions. Whether you...
Jan 06, 2025•36 min•Season 3Ep. 18
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! In this episode, I coach Swagata, a PhD student navigating the intense overwhelm and exhaustion of her final months of writing up. If you’ve ever felt the pressure of looming deadlines, struggled to balance rest with productivity, or found yourself trapped in guilt for taking a break, this episode is for you. What’s inside this episode? ✨ The challenges of finishing a PhD – Swagata shares her honest experience of overwork, guilt around re...
Dec 30, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! In this episode, I make a feisty case for why we should ban highlighters! I’ll give you four reasons they’re not helping you and tell you what you should be doing instead. Forward this to all your favourite stationery-obsessed friends! **** I'm Dr Vikki Wright, ex-Professor and certified life coach and I help everyone from PhD students to full Professors to get a bit less overwhelmed and thrive in academia. Please make sure you subscribe,...
Dec 23, 2024•13 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Andrew Dewar from Oxygen Conservation to explore how we can build more positive, motivational environments in academia using insights from sports psychology. We dive into strategies for fostering recovery, supporting each other, and creating climates that inspire students and supervisors alike. Learn how to: Create a supervisory relationship that cares for both the people involved AND academic performance...
Dec 16, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 15
