In 2006, part way through the 3rd year of my PhD, I was ready to quit. I was exhausted, depressed, and so tired of working and working without seeming to get anywhere.
Most people told me that this was normal, that everybody goes through this, and that I just had to keep going and it would be OK. This was meant to be encouraging, but I knew that something needed to change...
Just over a year later, I'd managed to get enough data for a few publications, write my PhD thesis in just three months and pass my defence with no corrections. And perhaps most importantly, I started to enjoy the work.
Since 2010, I’ve helped countless PhD students from a vast range of academic disciplines to:
I offer two basic types of coaching; academic writing coaching & general PhD guidance. The type and intensity of coaching will depend on what stage you're at in your PhD journey
As a general rule, the earlier you seek help, the less help you'll need. Like an oil tanker crossing the ocean, small adjustments early can add up to a huge difference over time. If you're at an early stage of your PhD, coaching tends to be less intensive, often involving just a few sessions to help clarify what you need to prioritise and how to approach the work to become the best researcher you can be.
Coaching tends to be more intensive towards the end, typically involving frequent sessions with rapid feedback on your work to help you finish chapters to the highest possible standard within the time available.
If you're starting to get overwhelmed your PhD and everything you still have to do, I can help you regain focus and confidence and manage your time and priorities. Coaching may also involve writing feedback if you have a deadline approaching. Again, the earlier you seek help, the easier it will be.
Many PhD supervisors will only give feedback on complete drafts, often in the form of written comments on your document.
I always prefer to give feedback on works in progress (rather than completed drafts) and work with a much shorter and faster feedback cycle. This means you don’t have to wait months to get feedback and it means we can spot potential issues early when they’re much easier to fix.
The feedback I give is part of a collaborative, two-way process. I don't just read your work and tell you what to do; I'll read your work and ask you questions to help clarify what you want to communicate before giving advice.
Another aspect of my approach is that I always start with the introduction and try to get sections into a submittable state before moving on. While this goes against most of the common writing advice you’ll hear, it gets you out of the cycle of endless drafts by committing to what you want to say and actually finishing sections instead of leaving all the difficult choices for later. This can be scary, but I’ll be there to help.
I don’t offer proofreading services nor English language tuition.
I also never write text on students’ behalf.
Since 2010, I've coached several hundred PhD students from a vast range of academic disciplines, from architecture to zoology and everything in between. While there are different requirements in different countries and different fields, I can adapt my approach according to your needs.
In this initial session, we discuss your situation and needs in order to design your bespoke coaching package and action plan. The prices below serve as examples.
This may divided into 1 hour or half hour sessions. Sessions must be used within 12 months of purchase.
Also check out out membership program for just £60 per month
If you’re interested in coaching, please fill in the form including as much detail as you can about your situation and the kind of help you need, as well as any questions you have about PhD coaching.
Submitting an enquiry doesn’t commit you to anything and all messages are treated as strictly confidential.
Please only use this form for coaching enquiries. For all other messages please use the contact page.
All the text on this site (and every word of every video script) is written by me, personally, because I enjoy writing. I enjoy the challenges of thinking deeply and finding the right words to express my ideas. I do not advocate for the use of AI in academic research and writing, except for very limited use cases.
See also: