Reasons to Blog as a PhD Student

I’ve been a Real Life PhD Student blogger for a few months now.  For those of you wondering whether you should take up blogging too – YES, you should!  Here are just some of the reasons to blog as a PhD student:

Increased Mindfulness

Writing a blog makes you more mindful.  Because you have to share what you have done or been through, you see and appreciate things you may otherwise have taken for granted.  You also actively seek out more experiences about which to blog.

Better Time Management

Poor time management is an often-cited problem for doctoral researchers.  Blogging, however, cultivates discipline.  The need to produce a regular output means that you get into the habit of scheduling a task and getting it done without making excuses.

Regular Writing

Writing, as we all know, is a key skill for anyone completing a PhD.  Blogging keeps you writing regularly which develops fluency.  It also alters the mindset that you need long writing sessions to write.

Improved Confidence

Many PhD students suffer from low confidence.  Writing a blog can really help to overcome this issue.  Because you have to voice your opinions, you become more comfortable about doing so.  This means that presenting your ideas at conferences or in scholarly publications – an important part of doing a PhD – no longer seems quite so daunting.

Hopefully, this will encourage some of you to take up blogging during your PhD.  I really can’t recommend it highly enough!