Write Smarter: Feel Better combines productivity and wellbeing, aimed for the unique challenges that graduate researchers face. Delivered either through our app for individuals, or our in-person program for groups, Write Smarter: Feel Better provides graduate researchers with strong peer networks, clear information about how to identify wellbeing problems they may be experiencing, steps they can take themselves, and tailored guidance about the supports they can access at their own university.
Write Smarter: Feel Better uses evidence-based methods that have been proven to work including productivity techniques and cognitive behavioural therapy approaches. The program adapts these to address the most common problems faced by graduate researchers including procrastination, dealing with career uncertainty, work-life balance and more. The in-person model also reduces isolation by connecting peers, while the app provides ‘a friend in your pocket’ for support away from campus.
The evidence shows us that PhD students are twice as likely as other highly educated groups to develop mental health difficulties, with 1 in 2 reporting experiencing symptoms of psychological distress during their candidature. Many graduate researchers report also feeling isolated or having limited opportunities to connect with peers. While most universities provide counselling or support services for students, data suggests that many graduate researchers do not engage with these resources or delay in seeking help from them.