Thriving

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PhDs Who Excel in Thriving:

Evaluate Their Wellbeing

You have the knowledge and skills to evaluate your wellbeing. 

Cultivate Their Wellbeing

You customize strategies to manage stress, overcome procrastination, challenge imposter syndrome, and ask for help when needed. 

Create Healthy Workplaces

You recognize the impact that wellbeing has on performance at work and contribute to healthy workplace cultures.

Organize Tasks and Manage Time

You evaluate your personal and professional responsibilities, commitments, and opportunities and prioritize your time and attention to achieve desired outcomes.

Assess Your Thriving Skills  

2024-2025 Schedule 

Cultivating Wellbeing in Workplaces and Communities

Self-Paced Online Module 

This 3-module online course promotes lasting success by delivering practical, concrete strategies you can use to build a strong foundation of wellness. Assess your skills and knowledge in cultivating mental health at a personal and professional level. Customize strategies to manage stress, overcome procrastination, challenge imposter syndrome, and ask for help at work. Practice answering interview questions about your role in cultivating well-being at work.

Time Management for Doctoral Studnets

November 21, 2024, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET

Good time management skills are crucial to success as a doctoral student. This workshop offers planning and organizational strategies and explores ways to increase productivity and develop a sustainable routine for success. You will review and apply relevant time management processes within an academic context as well as successful productivity with applications well beyond academia.

Sustaining Motivation in Graduate School

January 17, 2025, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET 

Staying motivated through a dissertation can be challenging, particularly when it is difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. In this presentation, we will discuss factors that influence motivation, challenges to staying motivated, and motivational strategies that will help sustain work output and achieve desired goals for a successful dissertation.

Participants in this workshop will develop knowledge and skills to effectively organize tasks and manage time, create healthy work habits, and cultivate wellbeing.

Making the Most of Your Time in Grad School

January 27, 2025, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET *Online*

In this interactive workshop, you will delve into practical strategies for maximizing your time and impact during grad school. Topics covered include: navigating campus resources; opportunities to connect with others in the community; how to get involved beyond the classroom; and finding balance between work and life. Join us for this workshop to equip yourself with the tools and knowledge needed to thrive throughout your graduate studies. Whether you're just starting out or well into your program, this workshop will provide valuable guidance to help you make the most of every moment.

Participants in this workshop will develop knowledge and skills to effectively organize tasks and manage time, create healthy work habits, and cultivate wellbeing.

Reflecting on the End of Your Degree

February 4, 2025, 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET

The landscape of options for students coming to the end of their Doctoral degrees is ever-changing. Taking time to reflect on your own experiences, hopes, and concerns can be a helpful way to prepare for whatever next step you take. This workshop is designed to provide information and reflection tools that may assist you as you come to the end of your PhD.

Participants in this workshop will:

- Discuss aspects of change that can be expected in this transition
- Describe some common factors experienced by people ending their degrees
- Reflect on their own skills, experiences, and hopes
- Reflect on next steps to take to balance personal goals with personal wellness

Mindfulness for Graduate Students 

February 11, 2025, 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET

Join Professor Thomas Telfer of the Faculty of Law for an introduction to mindfulness, the positive benefits of being mindful and why mindfulness is relevant for graduate students. This session will focus on mindfulness practices and strategies and will include two mindfulness exercises. The seminar will also include a discussion of focus, concentration, distraction and your cell phone!

Mindful Preparation for Comprehensives and Evaluations

March 20, 2025, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET *Online*

Comprehensive exams are a fundamental element in doctoral education. This session will focus on how to systematically and purposefully prepare for comprehensive exams, while providing information on strategies that help build expertise and confidence. This session will provide strategies for accurately understanding specific comprehensive exam demands, how to build a study plan, monitor progress, and establish learning practices to enhance performance.

Participants in this workshop will develop knowledge and skills to effectively organize tasks and manage time, create healthy work habits, and cultivate wellbeing.

More Thriving Resources for PhDs

PhD Planning Group

Weekly meeting facilitated by Graduate Learning Specialist to discuss and reflect on PhD project progress and share next steps.   

Wellness &Wellbeing

Wellness resources available to the Western community