Surviving Being Becalmed in Doctoral Studies

​Back in the days of great sailing vessels crossing oceans, being becalmed at sea could have been a restful time between swells and storms and a chance to rebuild what had been damaged in war or simply worn out due to wear and tear.
 
Yet being becalmed for too long could be deadly, for the clock was ticking on food and especially water. Being becalmed was dangerous.
 
And being becalmed in doctoral studies can also be a good thing due to the trials and travails of doctoral programs, but at the same time it can be a threat to one’s successful completion of their program.

Of course, some breaks from studies are critical for mental and physical health – after all, what is the point of it all if you lose family, friends, faith, and health? In other words, students should take holidays and holy days as they were meant to be taken.
 
Scheduled program breaks are not necessarily bad for they are a part of the rhythm of studies – my concern is that they do not become something that hinders success. The most common periods where students can be becalmed are the summer months, between courses and comprehensive exams, between comprehensive exams and dissertation writing, and between submission of chapters. Proper usage of these periods of calmness is vital for success, but the danger is that months (years?) are lost and, in a worst-case scenario, being timed out of the degree. 
 
That being the case, here are a few brief thoughts on avoiding the dangers of being becalmed. What follows assumes a typical North American PhD (the kind that I went through and now supervise), but could in many ways be relevant to other doctorates like the DPT.
 

• Be aware when a period of calmness is looming and plan accordingly. Do not go into such periods unprepared.
• Watch out for post-success gaps, for months can slip by as you bask in the glow of success.
• Shift gears and research and write for a spin off paper for a conference.
• Complete other aspects of your degree (colloquies, training, language, meetings, etc.). 
• Carry out archival (or other) research that you do not usually have time for when in the grind of program structures.
• Attend conferences to keep you in the loop and motivated.
• Set hard dates for goals and be accountable to someone for them.
• Stay connected with and accountable to your doctoral cohort (this is just one of many reasons why you make sure you make friends during your course work).
• Use the time to network with people you have being putting off meeting.
• Watch some videos and read some books on time management.
• Check out job postings to see how you compare with what schools are looking for, and adjust your goals accordingly
• On a related note, review your cv and see what it lacks and make plans to improve it. One way to do that is to find people you respect in your field and try to mirror your cv to theirs.
• Do a spiritual inventory – how are you doing on that front? Not everything is about grades and publications. Fail on this front and you fail on all the rest. Perhaps a trip to a monastery to be becalmed at a spiritual retreat is in order.