Diksha Bhati

PhD Bootstrap Plan

4 min read

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🧱 PHASE 1: BOOTSTRAPPING & REBUILD (DAY 1–14)

🎯 Core Goals:

  • Lock in deep work habit (8–10 hrs/day split into focused blocks)

  • Define your research question clearly

  • Build thesis structure skeleton (Ch 1–5)

  • Gather and organize core literature

  • Create writing momentum (no matter how rough)

🗓️ WEEK 1: SYSTEM RESET & CLARITY BUILDING

✅ DAILY ROUTINE TEMPLATE (Mon–Sat)

TimeFocus
8:00–9:00amWake up, light breakfast, review plan
9:00–11:00amDeep Work Block 1 – main task
11:00–11:30Break (movement, snack, no phone)
11:30–1:30pmDeep Work Block 2 – writing/reading
1:30–2:30pmLunch + walk (no phone scrolling)
2:30–4:30pmDeep Work Block 3 – note-making/lit
4:30–6:00pmLight admin, backup files, review
6:00 onwardRest, decompress, share daily progress with BF

📅 DAY-BY-DAY

🔹 DAY 1: Full System Reset

  • Clear your workspace. Make it minimal and dedicated to PhD.

Create folder structure on laptop/cloud:
/PhD/

  /Ch1_Introduction/

  /Ch2_Literature/

  /Ch3_Methodology/

  /Ch4_Analysis/

  /Ch5_Discussion/

  /Papers/

  /Notes/

  /Planning/

  • Download and set up Zotero or Mendeley.

🔁 Reflect: What are you most afraid of with this PhD? Write 5 bullet points. Let it out.

🔹 DAY 2: Research Reconnect

  • Re-read any previous proposal or application you submitted.

  • Extract:

  • Central topic

  • Research question(s)

  • Intended contribution

  • Summarize your research idea in 1 paragraph.

  • Save as PhD_Research_Focus.docx in Planning folder.

🔹 DAY 3: Define Scope & Boundaries

  • Ask: “What will I not include?” Make this explicit.

  • Write a 1-page doc:

  • Topic

  • Objectives

  • Boundaries

  • Type of data (secondary) you will use

  • Save as PhD_Scope_and_Limits.docx

🔹 DAY 4: Literature Sprint – Hunt Mode

  • Search top 20 papers (Google Scholar, Scopus, JSTOR):

  • 10 theoretical/conceptual

  • 10 empirical (with data/analysis)

  • Create a spreadsheet:
    | Title | Year | Method | Data | Summary | Relevance |

  • Save all PDFs into /Papers/ and tag them in Zotero.

🔹 DAY 5: Thematic Grouping

  • From your papers, start grouping recurring themes.

  • What 3–5 core concepts keep showing up?

  • Start labeling papers into those themes (Zotero folders/tags)

  • Write 1-pager: “Preliminary Lit Review Themes”

🔹 DAY 6: Chapter 1 Structure

  • Outline Chapter 1 (Introduction)

  • Background

  • Problem Statement

  • Research Objectives

  • Questions

  • Scope

  • Structure of the Thesis

  • Start writing rough paragraphs under each sub-heading (aim for 500–800 words today)

🔹 DAY 7: Recovery + Reset

  • Take a half-day break. Walk, rest, watch something calming.

  • Light task: summarize the 5 most useful papers into 3 bullet points each.

  • Write short journal entry:

  • What’s working?

  • Where are you stuck?

  • What will change next week?

🗓️ WEEK 2: BUILDING STRUCTURE & WRITING FLOW

🔹 DAY 8: Full Thesis Skeleton

  • Write a one-pager outline for each chapter:

  • Chapter 1: Intro

  • Chapter 2: Lit Review

  • Chapter 3: Methodology

  • Chapter 4: Analysis

  • Chapter 5: Discussion & Conclusion

  • Include: purpose, subheadings, what data goes where

  • Save as: Thesis_Chapter_Structure.docx

🔹 DAY 9: Methodology Sketch

  • Clarify:

  • What secondary data you will use

  • Why it fits your topic

  • How you’ll analyze it (theoretical framework, or quantitative approach)

  • Write a 1–2 page memo: Methodology_Overview.docx

🔹 DAY 10: Literature Review Skeleton

  • Create subheadings based on your earlier themes.

  • Under each subheading:

  • List 2–3 papers to discuss

  • Write 2 lines summarizing the point you’ll make

🔹 DAY 11: Paragraph Writing Sprint

  • Pick 3 subheadings from literature review.

  • For each:

  • Write 1 messy paragraph

  • Don’t aim for perfection—just get thoughts out

🔹 DAY 12: Chapter 1 Mini Draft

  • Return to Chapter 1

  • Expand to 1000–1500 words

  • Use your proposal wording if needed

  • Even if messy, aim to “complete” the structure

🔹 DAY 13: Literature Review Expansion

  • Write 2 more paragraphs under Lit Review themes

  • Total goal: 5 complete paragraphs by now

🔹 DAY 14: Review + Lock In

  • Review what you’ve produced:

  • Folder structure

  • Chapter 1 mini-draft

  • Lit review paragraphs

  • 1-pager methodology

  • Literature spreadsheet

  • Share a 5-line summary with your BF:

  • What you wrote

  • What you learned

  • What you’re proud of

  • What’s still messy

  • What you’ll tackle next

💡 Bonus Tips:

  • Create a whiteboard or sticky wall showing:
    Day X of 185 – build pressure

  • Use a “Done” list, not just “To Do”

  • You’re not behind. You’re building your second brain

Want me to turn this into a printable PDF plan + tracker with checkboxes for each day?
Say the word. We’ll lock this in like a war map.

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