 If you're doing a PhD, you're in for the long run, we should know because we've been there. During our own PhD studies, we've worked out some good ways to take the course. I'm Akshika, second year PhD student at the Department of Computing and Communication. And I am Angelo, I just completed my PhD at the Knowledge Media Institute. A PhD takes three to four years full time, eight years per time. At times, it may get tough, but you can get through it. In this video, we are going to tell you the tips we wish we had heard before we started our PhDs. We advise you to keep healthy, both physically and mentally. Find a routine that works for you, sometime of every week. For example, take one day off from your week to have fun, be doing a sport or going out with your friends for drinks. Make sure you have these kind of activities to take your mind off from the hard research work that you do during the work days. Spend time with your family and make sure they're socialized. Yeah, go to the gym or enroll to a new club such as the tennis club or the squash club. And remember to socialize with other colleagues, for example going to the cellar bar or the pavilion depending on the season. And there are also other new clubs that you can enroll such as the film club and the photography. The Open University Student Association provides so many services. Make sure to check out their website. Communicating your research can really help your career. You can do this either verbally or writing. Publishing research papers helps you develop writing skills and receive feedback. Think of journal articles as a footprint of your research. Do take the chance to disseminate your research by either attending conferences or giving a seminar to your research lab. And this is important because it allows you to improve your presentation skills and also it's a good way to network. Networking is a great opportunity. It gives you the community that you need for your research and for your PhD. And it will give you moral support and reality checks for your ideas. So that's great. Yeah, you can even get fundings to attend conferences. Just check out with your school or faculty how they can better support you for this. In general, supervisors are really busy. They might be supervising more than one PhD student at a time. They're also engaged in many other academic activities such as their own research, conferences, teaching, writing bids and so on. In a way, you have to manage them and if they don't answer to your email, you feel free to send another one depending on urgent is the matter from one day or to one week. It could be the fact that your email just got buried in their huge pile of emails. One of the things that supervisors like about PhD students is their enthusiasm. So be keen, do good some work and be prepared to attend supervision meetings and then lead the dialogue. During your studies, you're bound to face some challenges. Do yourself a favor, never struggle on your own. You will be surrounded by other PhD students, supervisors, your third party monitor, colleagues and tutors. The OUSA website provides you with resources that can help you through difficult times. Nightline, big white fall, it's only a matter of asking. Look for the person who can help you and please speak up. There is no shame asking for help. You are not alone. It's important that you schedule your work and use the time that you do wisely. During my first year, I used techniques like deep work and time blocking and they made a huge difference in the outcome of my work. There were times where I was not making progress, so I took some time off and assess all my work to prioritize my tasks and then I blocked out times to finish the most important task. Yes, it is important that you learn to manage your project and even if you believe that there are still some years to go, you need to make sure that everything is planned in advance that can support you towards your submission. A PhD at the Open University comes with its own set of rules and regulations. During your PhD journey, you will have to complete many different forms. These forms are there to protect you by providing a clear record of your studies and of any challenges or obstacles. Forms may seem a bit boring, but they are friends. Make sure you fill them in properly. You can find links to all forms on the Graduate School Network website. Technology is there to help. Take advantage of the many tools out there to make the journey easier. Here are a few. Zotero and Mendeley for Literature Management. To-Do List Software help manage your tasks. Grammarly is a great plugin to check writing. In-Space and PowerPoint for graphics and posters. Pomodoro can be handy for time management. Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft One Drive can help you to back up your work. Overleaf and Sherlock can help to prepare documents. There's also Trail-Off for Project Management. There are new tools coming out all the time. Ask around your colleagues about the tools they have used to optimize their work. Don't feel you have to master everything. Some tools might not work for you. Find out which tools suit you best. As a PhD, you will need a specific set of skills which you may or may not have when you start. It is important to be aware of what's required and assess your competency in each type of skill. You can use the Research Development Framework provided by Witte, which also allows you to keep track of your progress. This will be a good practice for your academic career. These skills extend beyond your PhD journey into a portfolio that will help in job interviews. If you're an international or TL4 student, you will have to complete the monthly report and send it to your supervisor. Before you travel outside the UK, you have to inform the research degree's office. You have to show your passport to the office after you return. The library is packed with valuable resources. You can borrow books, browse e-books, even request publications which are not available in the library at the moment. You can get online help from the library website or talk to a librarian anywhere in the world. The library offers lots of workshops and seminars to improve the skills of students, so do check these out. On the U-Internet, there is an online notice board where the U-Community posts notices. You can find out about community gatherings, items for sale and wanted. Perhaps you will find that piece of furniture you need or a car. You can access the OU network from your private laptop or from home using the OU VPN. This can be really handy when it comes to printing documents or accessing specific services via the OU network. If you are someone who likes to teach, you will receive emails about tutoring roles through your university mailing list and you will find out about other teaching opportunities through initiatives like the Brilliant Club. As a postgraduate student, you are still entitled for student benefits. That means you can get an NUS extra card. That leads to you having a lot of promotions, a lot of discounts in cinemas and supermarkets and many other places. You are also entitled to a national railcard which gives you 33% off on train tickets and London Tube and you can also get a label on your OU card that gives you 10% off at the U-Cantine. We hope this insight can make your PhD a joyful journey. Stay connected with people and it can be even fun. Good luck with your studies. Bye for now!