What to do when you have nothing to do

I had been told that the first six months of candidature were 'pretty cruisy'. Apparently, you get to sit, drink a lot of coffee and think. If you buy into pop-psychology you might describe me as a Type A personality. Sitting around doing nothing doesn't work for me. I wanted to start Day 1 with an actionable plan. Accordingly, I had set up a meeting with my supervisor for first thing Monday morning so that I could get started.

My Ph.D. project is part of a larger, ongoing project related to food service in residential aged care. At some point throughout this meeting, I was hoping to receive the mountains of previous research and data and acclimatize myself to the project. Instead, I received orientation and was welcomed into the family. My project planning meeting was promptly scheduled for the following week.

Wait. What? I had nothing to do! 

They say that every Ph.D. journey is unique, but in case you find yourself on Day 1 with nothing to do, here's what I did.

Conduct a needs assessment

All postgraduates at my university are required to complete a needs assessment at the beginning of their candidature and then yearly at their milestones. We have to prove that we are aware of areas that require further professional development and that we have the initiative to seek out and engage in continual learning. The needs assessment includes the four domains that are deemed to be important for success not just throughout your candidature but once you have your post nominals. These are:

• Knowledge and intellectual abilities: do you have the academic skills to do what needs to be done?
• Personal effectiveness: do you have the personal skills to get you through?
• Research governance and organisation: do you know the rules, regulation, and conduct of research?
• Engagement, influence, and impact: can you disseminate your information effectively?

After filling out this needs assessment and identifying where my areas for growth were, these are the steps I took.

Make Friends

I commenced my Ph.D. immediately after completing my undergrad degree (with Honours). For the past four years I had studied in a relatively solitary environment, now I was staring at a desk in a shared office and being told to make myself at home. I spent a great deal of my first day building relationships with the other people in the department. Many of the faculty had been my lecturers and tutors during the past four years, as such I was beginning the transition from student to colleague. I did this by engaging in more personal and less formal conversations than I had as a student. Before long, I knew which television shows were staff favourites and, whilst you might think this type of thing isn't important, I assure you... it is. 

Sign up for stuff

I discovered that postgraduates have access to staff only professional development courses, many of which teach essential skills for completing a thesis. I signed up for every statistical analysis and SPSS workshop I could. I am also enrolled in classes to enhance communication between myself and my supervisor (she doesn't need it, but I do!), how to use Nvivo to do a literature review and how to manage your personal brand. These were all areas I identified as needing improvement in my skills assessment.

Volunteer for stuff

In amongst the many emails that post-grads get I discovered a call for volunteers for the Quality in Postgraduate Research (QPR) Conference. This is the world’s biggest and longest-standing conference on doctoral education and by volunteering to assist for one day I was granted free access for the remaining days. Brilliant! Once again, ticking plenty of boxes for my needs assessment.

Claim your space

If you are fortunate enough to have a dedicated desk and you have the freedom to personalise it, do so. I have a cubicle and was allowed to remove an unnecessary bookcase and rearrange the remaining furniture so that it was a comfortable working environment. I brought in some little items from home to add a bit of cheer. I have a comfy floor cushion that I can sit on when I want to take a break from my desk and read. I have my favourite coffee mug. For days when the office is lively and vibrant I have noise cancelling headphones. Find a way to claim your space, it's going to be your home away from home for the next three years. If you hate sitting in your space you are going to hate the whole experience.