A day in the life of a PhD Scholar

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Hi, I am Sharlin. It’s been one year since I joined the PhD program at the Department of Social Work, University of Delhi. And this is a typical Tuesday in my life.

6.30 am: Wake up

Spotify is linked to my alarm so I wake up to a random song I have in my favorites’ playlist, an almost perfect start to the day. Brushing and bathing later, I drink a glass of warm water first thing in the morning. Six months ago, I came across a book called the Artist’s Way by Julie Cameron. It calls for two regular practices to keep the artist in you alive. 1. Write a page of absolutely whatever comes to your mind (It takes me about half an hour to get through this) 2. Take yourself out on an ‘artist date’ once a week, doing things you like for fun and to reconnect with yourself. (Still struggling to be regular with this, but when I do, it’s the best time)

7.45 am: Get ready

Getting dressed doesn’t take much time because I usually end up deciding what to wear the previous day (an absolute game-changer). My husband and I spend some time in morning worship and finish our breakfast (nuts, seeds, another glass of water, a banana, maybe an egg and whatever is made special by mum that morning).

8.45 am: On our way

Libin and I walk to the metro station, say our goodbyes and head our respective ways. It takes me close to an hour and twenty minutes overall to get to my destination. I spend this time replying to WhatsApp messages, catching up on the reels my best friend and sister may have sent the previous night and depending on my mood, I am either watching a series, reading a book on my Kindle or listening to some podcast. I walk over to the Department from the station; this is when I usually end up calling my mom, catching up with her.

10.10 am: Reach Department

First twenty minutes are spent in replying to emails and setting the flow for the day. If I have Masters Students’ classes to take, then that is the first order of business. Once done, I get on with my tasks for the day. It usually starts with writing, since I am at my most productive in the morning. I set-up blocks of ten minutes to write at a stretch, break for two and continue this system till it is time for my first coffee break.

12.00 pm: Coffee break

With the fruit of the day in my hand, I march down to the canteen, grab a cup of coffee and spend quality time chatting with my fellow PhD Scholars. This time stretches as per convenience. Over time I have realized that maintaining a sense of community is really crucial to keep sanity alive in this incredibly lonely academic journey.

1.00 pm: Individual Conference

Presently I have six fieldwork students placed with me. Till lunch break at 2.30 pm, they have time to sit and chat with me and finish their fieldwork requirements. In case of their unavailability I usually end up checking their fieldwork files and setting up the schedule for the upcoming weeks.

2.30 pm: Lunch

Lunch time is fairly quick. Half an hour and I am back to business.

3.00 pm: Meeting with guide

This is probably my favourite part of the day. I catch up with my guide with updates from my end and tasks from his end. We set our priorities, fix deadlines and carry on with the rest of our day.

3.30 pm: Reading time

I am fairly tired by the time, so I do what I do best – read! Catch up on papers I need to review, find random books in the library to skim through, find articles online and save it to my reference manager. This is also the time I spend scrolling on LinkedIn and other websites to find conferences and courses I could join in. I occasionally send cold emails to potential collaborators, just for the sake of it. Ps. it has worked out more than a few times.

4:30 pm: Wrap up

The last half an hour at the university is spent tying up loose ends, finishing up on any paperwork that needs submission and getting one last cup of coffee before heading back home.

5.00 pm: Travel Back

This leg of the day is hectic; office return-time renders intense crowds in the metro. My only goal is to get home in one piece, and this I do listening to and exploring music from across the world, only to add them to my Spotify alarm playlist for the coming days.

6.15 pm: Get home

Dad comes to pick me up at the metro station (look at the privilege!). We get home, spend some time chatting. I go up to my room, get some rest, maybe take a nap. Video call my maiden home, we catch up for about half an hour, less if one of us is busy. I take a nice long bath, playing music on my speakers! (almost my most favourite part of the day).

8 pm: Family prayer and dinner

All the family is now gathered, we spend time in family prayer, get dinner preparations to a finish. Spend time catching up on the day, eating food and cleaning up. I am typically responsible for washing up for the night (unless mum is really keen on getting things off my plate).

9.45 pm: Wrapping up

Libin and I go walk a few rounds around the park. Catch up on our day, talk about our schedule ahead, and plan our dates. After about half an hour of strolling, we get home, get to our rooms, make some green tea, finish our bible reading and journaling (we have this one-question-a-day journal that we love). These days we are catching up on ‘This is Us’ together. One or two episodes later, we pray and are off to sleep.

Happy, rested and feeling our best :)

Disclaimers

Not all days look like this. Some days I am too lazy to get up early and end up late to college. Some days I am rushing at 7 am to reach in time to take the morning class at 9.30. Some days are boggled by other commitments at church and in my personal life. And some days, I just want to rot in bed and watch Christmas movies (Hello December!)

I am privileged to be living in a family where there are people to take care of the never-ending household chores which gives me the immense privilege to focus on being a student even at twenty five years of age. When will this journey end! I don’t know yet. Ps. it is not fashionable or glamourous as my writing skills may portray it to be. Call it wishful thinking for the most part. While this is my reality, it is far from being a fantasy. It would be a dream to do it all in a day, but even if I get two things done out of a list of fifteen, I call myself lucky.

So if you have made it this far, please pray for me! And if you are planning to get on this journey, know that the fun lies in taking one step at a time, patting yourself on the back for everything you manage to accomplish.

It is 11.43 am, Tuesday the 10th of December today. I managed to wake up, get ready, get my breakfast, get to the university on time, but now I am heading back. Having spent half an hour writing this blog, this is all I can do today! And now I will head back home, catch on the K Drama I started watching a week back. Get home, get lunch with my in-laws (a rarity on typical work days), take a big fat nap, wash my hair, watch a Christmas movie, help with household chores, get coffee and snacks, wait for my husband, do dinner and the night-time routine, maybe manage to go for that walk and still, call today a big fat success.

Cause this is life, and every moment counts!

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