Confirmation

So, at 28 weeks pregnant, I had my PhD Confirmation seminar. A milestone to be celebrated, from the sounds of things. (I’m celebrating the successful completion of all the form-filling, report-writing and general bureaucratic paperwork). The weeks leading up to confirmation were frantic, with a major re-write of my 10,000 word report required. My draft report came back with thousands of tiny multi-coloured comments from my three supervisors. It took a day to read the comments alone, and removing them also removed 5000 words from my report! Somehow, with daily use of the good old Pomodoro technique (usually early in the morning) I got it done. The seminar went smoothly, the panel meeting less intimidating than I expected, and paperwork was eventually all signed off. I am now a confirmed PhD candidate, and off “probation”. It was a fantastic way to start maternity leave.