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The PhD Life Coach

Vikki Wright
The PhD Life Coach
Latest episode

190 episodes

  • The PhD Life Coach

    4.52 GREATEST HITS - How to be your own best supervisor

    03/08/2026 | 26 mins.
    Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show!
    There is no voice you hear more often than the voice inside your head, yet we often spend very little time thinking about HOW we speak to ourselves and the effect it has. When did you last call yourself useless? Lazy? Stupid? In this episode we think about how we can notice our negative self-talk and start to be our own best supervisor. 

    If you liked this episode, you might also like this episode on how do I stop beating myself up in hindsight?
    ****
    I'm Dr Vikki Wright, ex-Professor and certified life coach and I help everyone from PhD students to full Professors to get a bit less overwhelmed and thrive in academia. Please make sure you subscribe, and I would love it if you could find time to rate, review and tell your friends! You can send them this universal link that will work whatever the podcast app they use. http://pod.link/1650551306?i=1000695434464
    I also host a free online community for academics at every level. You can sign up on my website, The PhD Life Coach. com - you'll receive regular emails with helpful tips and access to free online group coaching every single month! Come join and get the support you need.
  • The PhD Life Coach

    4.51 GREATEST HITS - How to prepare for a difficult meeting

    29/07/2026 | 32 mins.
    Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show!
    If you put off having difficult conversations or get frazzled just thinking about it, then you need to bookmark this episode! I am going to give you my three step process for preparing for a difficult meeting. You’ll learn how to manage your own worries, strategize for success, and leave feeling proud of yourself.  
    If you liked this episode, you might also like this episode on what to do if you fail an annual review or milestone. 
    ****
    I'm Dr Vikki Wright, ex-Professor and certified life coach and I help everyone from PhD students to full Professors to get a bit less overwhelmed and thrive in academia. Please make sure you subscribe, and I would love it if you could find time to rate, review and tell your friends! You can send them this universal link that will work whatever the podcast app they use. http://pod.link/1650551306?i=1000695434464
    I also host a free online community for academics at every level. You can sign up on my website, The PhD Life Coach. com - you'll receive regular emails with helpful tips and access to free online group coaching every single month! Come join and get the support you need.
  • The PhD Life Coach

    4.50 GREATEST HITS - How to have a great relationship with your supervisor

    27/07/2026 | 26 mins.
    Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show!
    In this episode I discuss five ways that you can improve your relationship with your PhD supervisor. This relationship is one of the most important aspects of your research experience yet we so often leave it to chance. The good news is that you can improve things so much without expecting them to change at all - find out how in this episode! 
    ***NOTE - this is NOT talking about abusive, problematic and/or unacceptable supervision. I talk about this more in episode 19 of season 1 - What to do (and think) if you have a toxic relationship with your supervisor. The strategies in this episode are mainly focused on enhancing supervisory relationships that just don't feel as good as they could right now.  
    If you liked this episode, you might also like this episode on How to manage your supervisor or boss.

    ****
    I'm Dr Vikki Wright, ex-Professor and certified life coach and I help everyone from PhD students to full Professors to get a bit less overwhelmed and thrive in academia. Please make sure you subscribe, and I would love it if you could find time to rate, review and tell your friends! You can send them this universal link that will work whatever the podcast app they use. http://pod.link/1650551306?i=1000695434464
    I also host a free online community for academics at every level. You can sign up on my website, The PhD Life Coach. com - you'll receive regular emails with helpful tips and access to free online group coaching every single month! Come join and get the support you need.
  • The PhD Life Coach

    4.49 GREATEST HITS - What to do if you’re lonely in academia

    22/07/2026 | 29 mins.
    Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show!
    This is the second episode this week focused on community and relationships. Loneliness in academia is so common yet so rarely talked about. In this episode I’m going to get honest about some of my experiences of loneliness, share why I think academia can be a particularly lonely place, and give some tangible tips that you can use to make it all feel a bit better. 

    If you liked this episode, you might also like this episode on seven things I’ve learned this year that might help you too (one of the things is about community!)
    ****
    I'm Dr Vikki Wright, ex-Professor and certified life coach and I help everyone from PhD students to full Professors to get a bit less overwhelmed and thrive in academia. Please make sure you subscribe, and I would love it if you could find time to rate, review and tell your friends! You can send them this universal link that will work whatever the podcast app they use. http://pod.link/1650551306?i=1000695434464
    I also host a free online community for academics at every level. You can sign up on my website, The PhD Life Coach. com - you'll receive regular emails with helpful tips and access to free online group coaching every single month! Come join and get the support you need.
  • The PhD Life Coach

    4.48 GREATEST HITS - How to build your own academic community

    20/07/2026 | 36 mins.
    Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show!
    This week we’re thinking about community and relationships! So many people feel isolated in academic and like they "should" have more of a community than they do. In this episode, I talk about the benefits of having a community inside and outside of academia and the barriers there might be to building a community. I then go through some really simple tips to help you build an academic community, step by step. 
    If you liked this episode, you might also like this episode on Ten lessons I learned about doing PhDs by playing Stardew Valley (no particular connection but I love this episode!
    ****
    I'm Dr Vikki Wright, ex-Professor and certified life coach and I help everyone from PhD students to full Professors to get a bit less overwhelmed and thrive in academia. Please make sure you subscribe, and I would love it if you could find time to rate, review and tell your friends! You can send them this universal link that will work whatever the podcast app they use. http://pod.link/1650551306?i=1000695434464
    I also host a free online community for academics at every level. You can sign up on my website, The PhD Life Coach. com - you'll receive regular emails with helpful tips and access to free online group coaching every single month! Come join and get the support you need.
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About The PhD Life Coach
Whether you're a PhD student or an experienced academic, life in a university can be tough. If you're feeling overwhelmed, undervalued, or out of your depth, the PhD Life Coach can help. We talk about issues that affect all academics and how we can feel better now, without having to be perfect productivity machines. We usually do this career because we love it, so let's remember what that feels like! I'm your host, Dr Vikki Wright. Join my newsletter at www.thephdlifecoach.com.
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