As a PhD student with high ambitions and an equally high mortgage payment, I have tendency to say ‘yes’ to most things and up until now it has served me well. By saying ‘yes’ and having the to confidence to say ‘I can do that’, I have learnt so many new things and met some wonderful new people. I’ve travelled the country (next stop, the world!) and stood up to many fears. Because of this I am making connections – people know who I am and what I can do. I am building my network and my skill set, the foundation of a successful career, right?

But what good is a network if I don’t have the time or energy to nurture it? What if people know what I can do, but I can’t actually do it because I am doing too many other things? My drive to be a PhD superhero was becoming counterintuitive […]