What is PhD With Me?

Working on a PhD can be incredibly rewarding, but it can also be a lonely and sometimes overwhelming experience. The volume of work, the need to stay self-motivated over sustained periods of time, and the self-discipline involved in creating your own working pattern and routine can make it a challenging experience.

That's where PhD With Me comes in – an online coworking community exclusively for PhD students, where you can work alongside others who are in the same boat.

Join us when you're making great progress, struggling to begin, or anywhere in between. Whether you are just starting your day or have stayed up late to meet a deadline, you will always be met without judgement. We'll just be glad that you have joined us.

Who is it for?

Whether you are at the outset of your PhD or writing your final thesis chapter, you are welcome to join. PhD With Me is open to any current PhD student registered at a recognised university.

Sessions are scheduled according to the UK time zone, but you are welcome to join us from anywhere in the world if the session times work for you.

Everyone is welcome, and PhD With Me may be particularly helpful for students who:

• Work remotely or spend long periods working independently.
• Would benefit from more structure and accountability in their working day.
• Find body doubling to be a helpful way of working; this is often the case for neurodivergent students.

How does it work?

PhD With Me is based on the principle of body doubling. Body doubling simply means working in the presence of one or more other people to increase focus, motivation and the likelihood of completing the task you are trying to do.

During PhD With Me sessions, members work independently on their own PhD tasks while connected on a live Google Meet call.

Cameras are encouraged because many people find that they enhance the body-doubling effect. However, we understand that there are many reasons why members may prefer to have their camera off on a particular day or for part of a session.

What happens during a session?

We begin with a brief check-in where everyone is invited to share what they plan to work on during the session, either verbally or in the chat.

We then spend around 40 minutes working quietly alongside each other, on mute, on the video call.

There is then an optional 5-minute break to stretch your legs, drink some water or grab a snack, followed by our second working block of 35 minutes.

A timer is displayed on screen so everyone can keep track of how much time remains in each working block.

At the end, there is a 5-minute check-out where everyone is invited to share how their session went and what they achieved.

Check-ins and check-outs are optional. If you would prefer to simply join the call and work quietly alongside everyone else, without speaking or sharing, you are welcome to do so.

When are the sessions?

We currently run sessions on three afternoons each week: Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

There are two 90-minute sessions each afternoon:

• 13:00–14:30
• 14:45–16:15

You are welcome to attend whichever sessions suit you. We'd encourage you to arrive at the start of the session to get the most out of it, but you can show up at any time.

What does it cost?

Who runs the sessions?

Sessions are currently hosted by Katie, a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh.

Katie has extensive experience using online body-doubling platforms to support her day-to-day life and understands the challenges of completing a PhD. She aims to create a welcoming and supportive environment where you can make meaningful progress on your PhD.