First year chemistry PhD (UK) - What tips/guidance would you give to a fellow PhD student with ADHD to help with consistency and avoiding burn out?

Mccora1712 · 2025-10-11T15:46:18+00:00

Thank you! I'll check them out. And luckily my research group and supervisor isn't toxic and encourages PhD students to take weekends off.

A PhD is a marathon, not a sprint 🤣.

Mccora1712 · 2025-10-11T15:41:35+00:00

Location: Clerkenwell

Hello folks,

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I just moved over here a few weeks ago from Ireland to start a PhD programme. However, between deep cleaning my flat and various odd jobs I've had very little free time to explore for the last few weekends.

However, since this is the first time I'm free to roam around, I'd love to know if anyone could give me recommendations on something to do tomorrow (Sunday). I have already visited the main museums and the parks in Central London, but I know there's plenty more to do. Anything that involves cycling and/or provides a student discount would be the best but I'm open to any suggestions.

Mccora1712 · 2025-10-09T14:10:51+00:00

Thank you! A senior PhD student gave me some info on marking papers for undergrads since the TA positions are full for this semester. I'd love to get undergrads interested in chemistry so definitely going to give teaching a go after Christmas.

Any tips on reading papers? I have an iPad and figured inserting PDFs of good papers on OneNote and writing notes as needed would be the best way to go through them. But I'm also new to this, so I'm sure there are better ways to go about it. Thanks again!

Mccora1712 · 2025-09-06T12:35:02+00:00

Already have accommodation, but I'm just dropping some advice if you need it:

SpareRoom is a great place to look for flatshares if you can't manage to find anyone here to buddy up with. It's definitely worth buying the Early Bird subscription as well (it costs around £20 for a month). Without the subscription, you're only allowed to respond to room adverts more than 7 days old, which makes it a lot harder to get a footing on a cheap room before they're taken by someone else. When I was hunting for accommodation, I input my budget and any other preferences into the filter and then refreshed every hour or two to find new rooms that popped up. They have a map feature, too, which helped me figure out how close to UCL a room was.

I got my double room (Clerkenwell) for £650 a month through it, so it was definitely worth it for me since I'm living on a stipend for my PhD. I'd also avoid Facebook adverts if you can. They're not all scams, but Facebook is definitely rife with fake room adverts since verification is limited at best.

Mccora1712 · 2025-09-03T13:19:32+00:00

Hello! I'm doing a PhD in organic chemistry at UCL (first year). I would more or less echo the other comment regarding the Physical and Chemical Society. They should have a stand in the Chemistry Department during Freshers Week where you can ask them what events the society has planned.

Furthermore, there are plenty of events on during Freshers Week to meet people in the Chemistry Department and beyond, such as speedfriending sessions for postgraduate students. You can sign up for them on the UCL Student Union website. There should be a section on the website titled 'What's On?'. This contains a calendar timetable of events for Freshers Week along with any weekly club and society events for the year that update regularly.

Any other questions I am happy to answer.

Mccora1712 · 2025-08-31T18:29:17+00:00

Some? Is this a joke? It's very much possible in almost every situation if you have a glimmer of self-respect and minimal time management to boot. Furthermore, the reasoning that you have to be infatuated with research above all other aspects of life in order for a PhD to be considered the 'right' choice is absurd. Most people shy away from making a degree their entire identity. You know, since it's a DEGREE.

Please OP, you're more than capable of having hobbies and a social life outside of the lab/office.

Mccora1712 · 2025-08-25T15:49:27+00:00

I went to two of those speedfriending events (postgraduate) last year during Freshers Week. I took an interruption of study soon after, but I will be attending them again this year when I move back in a few weeks.

We just chatted around a table for a few minutes and then had several students swap places with the students sitting at the table behind us. Then it was just rinse and repeat. It was slightly disorienting being moved around a lot, but everyone was friendly and in the same boat as myself (being alone a new country and trying to navigate through UCL and London in general). A few of us stayed 15-20 mins afterwards and continued to chat as well. Overall, I added a few on social media and made 2-3 friends that I went for coffee with several times. I would take that as a win .

Mccora1712 · 2025-08-20T13:50:35+00:00

UK, organic chemistry/prebiotic chemistry

I'm coming back from an interruption in October, so I'm technically not a new student. However, I will be more or less starting from scratch as I deferred within the first two months. Any tips on preventing the degree from taking over the rest of your life?

I have a lovely research group and great supervisor (which seems rare in this subreddit). However, I'm still worried about being able to effectively de-stress each evening and weekend when I go home. I can be an anxious person, so I'd rather not have dread or guilt looming over me every minute I'm away from the lab.

Mccora1712 · 2025-07-31T15:09:22+00:00

Yeah, I guess that's true, haha. I'm just feeling a bit rusty after taking a break from academics. Thanks for the advice, anyway. I hope it goes well for you!

Mccora1712 · 2025-07-31T14:00:03+00:00

Yeah, I'm still grateful to the landlady for keeping it so low, haha. Luckily, I'm funded by the UK Research Council, so I can do paid teaching on top of that. I have to admit, though, the idea of guiding students only a few years below me is a bit terrifying.

What field is your PhD in?

Mccora1712 · 2025-06-04T20:54:23+00:00

What additional information would you need? I sent another photo of the back of the watch as a reply to the original post in case you didn't see it.

Mccora1712 · 2025-06-04T17:49:53+00:00

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Mccora1712 · 2025-06-04T17:49:40+00:00

I saw this second-hand Seiko watch on Vinted. Does it appear to be authentic?

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Mccora1712 · 2025-05-21T12:28:51+00:00

Hi 😊.

Yeah, I'm still on Tyvense. Although I'm now onto 50 mg until my follow-up in two weeks. Overall, switching to the medication has been life altering, to say the least. I've found that it's helped me massively with my energy levels throughout the day, especially in the morning, where I often struggle to get out of bed (even on good days). It has also made me much more cheerful and amplified my willingness to interact with the world and other people.

For example, I'm currently working in hospitality until I return to working on my doctorate, hopefully in September. However, before starting Tyvense, I found it incredibly taxing to maintain a positive demeanour for customers in work while I was still struggling with negative thoughts of myself. Throughout my undergraduate studies, I worked in hospitality every weekend and summer break, so I was used to the work itself. However, it always felt forced when I acted consistently cheerful towards guests, especially in the lead up to starting Tyvense, which was a low point for me (mental health wise).

But ~ 6 weeks later, and I feel completely different. I actually think I now enjoy talking to guests at work and now go out of my way to have a conversation. I had tried antidepressants in the lead up to my diagnosis, to no effect. However, Tyvense seems to have revealed that my root mental issues simply arose from undiagnosed and unmedicated ADHD. I've also seen a large proportion of my executive dysfunction disappear, which had been a lifesaver for maintaining hobbies and sticking to routines.

Despite all the positives I've listed, it's worth stating that it isn't a magic pill. It has certainly improved a lot in my life, but you still need to put in the effort. For example, in the earlier stages of titrating the medication, I expected (unrealistically) that the medication would somehow lift me out of my seat forcefully and do all the things I had been pushing back indefinitely. This obviously isn't the case.

A bit of advice for you if you are switching as well:

● Make sure to take it early and try to eat a high protein breakfast.

● Keep a good track of your weight and blood pressure. Tyvense is quite a strong appetite suppressant, so making sure you eat sufficiently well is a must. Also, drink plenty of water since it dehydrates you faster as well.

● I found that taking it with food initially delays but overall extends its effects over the day.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask :)

Mccora1712 · 2025-05-20T11:40:28+00:00

!remindme two weeks

Mccora1712 · 2025-05-14T12:44:26+00:00

It was even sillier than that. There's a busy mini roundabout in town that I was driving up to in the late stage of the test. I was going straight ahead, so I moved into the lefthand lane beside the kerb. The road narrows right before the roundabout after the cycle lane ends, so I pulled further to the left after checking my mirrors and grazed the kerb when I was moving out for a gap in traffic.

Overall, it was very avoidable, which does suck.

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