A day in a computer science PhD can include reading papers, analysing data, writing, teaching and discussing research. The balance depends on the project and stage of the doctorate. Working remotely changes where those tasks happen, but it does not remove the need for supervision, suitable equipment and access to your research community.
About this diary: Arianna wrote the first-person account below during the COVID pandemic. References to restrictions, that term’s teaching and late working nights describe that period. They are preserved as her experience, not presented as current university arrangements or a recommended workload.
Remote research is not the same as an online PhD programme
This is a diary of doing research from home, not a review of an accredited online degree. If you are considering a programme, confirm its attendance, residency, funding and supervision requirements directly with the university. A project involving secure data, specialist equipment or in-person participants may have limits on remote work.
Ask where you may work, which systems you may access remotely and how teaching or lab commitments affect the arrangement. Computer science covers very different kinds of research, so one student’s routine cannot establish what another programme permits.
What Arianna’s routine included
| Part of the day | Activities in the original diary |
|---|---|
| Morning | Reading, writing, analysis, preparation and some supervision or teaching |
| Afternoon | Research, lectures, reading-group meetings and presentations |
| Evening | Meals and time with others, with additional work during a demanding period |
The diary includes evenings that ran very late. That is a description of a busy period, not a benchmark for commitment. If long hours become routine, discuss workload, milestones and support rather than assuming a doctorate must consume every evening.
Arianna’s original pandemic-era diary
So What Does a Day as a PhD Candidate Doing a PhD In Computer Science Look Like?
As with all days in the life that you’ll read online, every day is different. Some days I work super long hours, some days I only do a few hours of work. Some days I have a lot of meetings, some days I just focus on my own work.
Waking Up
First of all, when do I wake up every day? This varies quite a bit and depends how late I worked the night before! Usually, I try to wake up around 8:30, but, some weeks if my partner or I are super busy, we wake up around 7:30. Other weeks, if I’m working super late, I’ll sleep in, until as late as 9:30 or so.
However, if you’re not working in a lab, depending on your supervisors or any TA-ing commitments or lectures, you can really wake up whenever you want. My flatmate pretty often sleeps until 11 or 12 so, if you’re a night owl, rejoice!
I generally find that keeping regular-ish hours helps me get more done, though and I work best in the morning. For more info on how I manage my time, check out the time-management guide.
Once I wake up, check my emails, news, social media, etc., I get ready for the day. These days, that only takes me about 15 minutes. I grab a cup of STRONG coffee and I’m ready to get down to work.
Mornings
Every other Tuesday morning I have a half hour catch-up with my supervisors. The rest of the time, I get right to work. I usually spend my mornings doing the tasks that take the most brainpower like reading, data analysis, and writing. I save things like lectures for the afternoons (though some days I spend all day watching lectures depending on how many modules I’m auditing).
At the moment, I spend my mornings working on the following kinds of projects:
- Reading, writing, and data collection for a side paper I’m writing with my supervisor and one of the directors of my programme;
- Reading and writing to expand my full PhD literature review;
- Reading and planning for an upcoming study;
- Making and practicing for a presentation. I tend to do at least one of these a month either to my research group, policymakers, companies, or in a university lecture series. This might be on my actual research project or an informational talk about the general subject area I’m working in.
This term, I’m TA-ing for the first time (about 7-8 hours per week) so I’ll probably do my prep work in the mornings. I also have to lead tutorials 1-2 mornings per week.
Lunch
I eat lunch pretty early, around 11:30 or 12. If I’m not too busy, my partner and I usually take a break together and watch an episode of something and spend a little time together before getting back to work. If your concentration regularly drops later in the day, these practical ways to handle a WFH energy dip may help.
Afternoons
In the afternoons, I continue with similar projects as in the morning. I also might spend a few hours watching lectures and taking notes for the week (though I definitely got behind in those recently and have only just caught up over my ‘break’).
Every other week, I have a meeting with my research group. For this, I need to read a paper that we discuss and sometimes present a paper or my current research. These meetings last two hours. I also attend a weekly lecture series on Thursday afternoons.
Later in the afternoon, I might start doing some work for this blog if I have time as well. On slow weeks, I might take a break in the afternoon to spend some time with my partner too (though it’s been a while since we’ve had time to do that!). Also, if it’s not too busy, I’ll take Friday afternoon off to work on blog things. After work, my partner and I do a quick workout in the living room.
Dinner
We eat dinner pretty soon after that. My partner and I cook together and then eat together and watch something.
Evenings
The past several weeks, we’ve had to work after dinner too. Sometimes it hasn’t been too late (until 8 or 9), but other days we’ve had to work until about 1 am or later. Things tend to be super busy towards the end of term and we’ve both had a lot of deadlines.
I usually save blog work for the evenings as well. Once we finish working, my partner and I spend time together or with our flatmates since we’re not allowed out much at the moment. When life returns to a more ‘normal’ state, we’ll go do social things in the evenings, but that’s been out of the question recently (and for the foreseeable future!).
So, that’s it for what I do all day as a PhD in computer science studying remotely! Are you a PhD candidate or in grad school? What’s your daily routine like? Let me know in the comments below!
How to build a remote PhD routine of your own
- Identify the research task that most needs concentration, then place it in a realistic part of the day.
- Prepare questions and decisions for supervision instead of relying on a vague progress update.
- Keep a record of papers, methods and open questions so reading connects to writing.
- Plan teaching preparation and meetings as work, including the time they take around the scheduled slot.
- Agree a stopping point and review recurring late work with the people who can help change the workload.
Use the PhD supervisor meeting agenda for a focused discussion and the literature review matrix to organise evidence across papers. If you are just beginning, the starting-a-PhD guide covers wider expectations.
Can you do a computer science PhD entirely from home?
That depends on the specific programme, project and approved arrangements. Do not infer permission from a remote diary or from the fact that the work uses a computer. Confirm university requirements and any funding, immigration, security or equipment restrictions before making plans.
Does a PhD have a fixed daily timetable?
Some commitments are fixed, such as teaching, meetings and access to equipment. Other research work may be more flexible. Agree expectations with your supervisors and build a routine around the actual work, your responsibilities and your capacity.