With the Michaelmas Term behind you, it’s a good time to reflect upon your experience as an LSE student over the first term of the academic year. Whether you’re a first-time student at LSE or a returning student, the ecosystem here will always have something new to teach you and these are the top three things I learnt from my first term as a PhD student at LSE.

Self-discipline

Prior to enrolling into my PhD programme, I was working with a corporate firm for a couple of years. The demands placed on you as PhD student are quite different from what the corporate life expects of you. That said, although the skills are very transferable across both these spaces, the dynamic as a PhD student can be surprisingly different, more so if your work was in a different country. That was true in my case. For starters, pursuing a PhD is a highly self-driven endeavour that allows you tremendous autonomy which proves to be intellectually stimulating. And yet, it can also be quite overwhelming at the same time.

Getting accustomed to PhD life was challenging for me in the initial weeks, however, that transformed quickly into an energising experience as I started to develop a sense of self-discipline that was tailored to match the demands of my PhD life. What worked for me was not only drawing up work plans and scheduling tasks for the entire term but also ensuring that I was able to get things done according to the plans. Holding yourself accountable for your progress pays off as a PhD student and the key to be able to do that is to focus on building the kind of self-discipline that works best for you.

Time Management

Managing your time is a super useful skill no matter what you’re trying to accomplish. However, it is also true that time passes really quickly when you’re an LSE student and even more so for those working on a PhD. Part of the reason for this is because of the several exciting opportunities that are available for you to indulge in as an LSE student living in London. So, accomplishing your tasks as part of the PhD while also attending the weekly seminars and classes while also making it to guest lectures and public events while also catching up with friends at socials feels like you’re always juggling one too many things at once.

Learning to find your rhythm is the best way to ensure that you make the most of your time at LSE as a PhD student. After all, this is a life-transforming experience. Prioritising tasks to be accomplished, events to attend and working efficiently around deadlines not only improves productivity levels but also helps to maintain a good work-life balance. On that note, it becomes essential to know when to stop working and take a well-deserved break. Working excessively does more harm than good and this is a lesson I’m still learning myself.

Be open to experience

Learning happens best when you’re open to new ideas, receptive to change and more importantly, are also willing to unlearn things from your past experience. The PhD experience teaches you to be original and creative with the way you perceive and interpret things in your environment and it helps you develop a new perspective for understanding and solving problems. However, for this to happen being open to learning, open to being intellectually challenged, and open to experiencing things in ways you’ve not done before becomes critically important.

In a community as diverse as LSE, learning happens everywhere from packed classrooms to deep conversations over coffee. So, just letting myself absorb and assimilate from the everyday experience has been immensely illuminating for me and has been reshaping the way I think and operate not just as a PhD student but also as a person.