I'm a PhD student (in Cultural Studies, practice-based), currently self-funded, but about to be partially funded from October (yay!). I've been working full-time since last October because I ran out of money - this meant I had to take a break in studies But I'm back studying again now, working part-time - I have time to read and think again, it's amazing. But it's not as easy as that. The pace of reading and researching is very different to doing my job, where I've been manically trying to show how deserving I was of a permanent part-time position, demonstrating efficiency, speed etc. But now I need to go slowly, read things carefully, flit around between things as I make the connections, go back to read up on certain theorists and then return to the text that mentioned them. I'm trying to set up some systems and a regular weekly routine. Is anyone else trying to get a routine like this set in place, especially around jobs etc? I could really do with some cheering on and being in touch with others in the same position. This PhD business can be quite isolating!