Giada Lalli, PhD
@giadalalli.bsky.social
Pinned
How to Survive a PhD — Before you drown #1
A map of the territory before the water rises
open.substack.com
A PhD is not confusing because research is hard.
It is confusing because expectations are implicit, authority is ambiguous, and projects are designed without edges.
Treating that confusion as a personal failure is convenient — and wrong.
open.substack.com/pub/docglall...
It is confusing because expectations are implicit, authority is ambiguous, and projects are designed without edges.
Treating that confusion as a personal failure is convenient — and wrong.
open.substack.com/pub/docglall...
this morning discomfort level after hearing the news of the shooting and killing from ICE in Minneapolis: I checked the distance from Minneapolis to Boston and Washington to understand how far (and then how safe) my friends living in US actually are.
January 8, 2026 at 9:47 AM
this morning discomfort level after hearing the news of the shooting and killing from ICE in Minneapolis: I checked the distance from Minneapolis to Boston and Washington to understand how far (and then how safe) my friends living in US actually are.
Many PhD students spend years trying to “improve their time management” without ever being told what counts as
enough work,
progress,
or completion.
That is not a skills gap.
It’s a design choice.
open.substack.com/pub/docglall...
enough work,
progress,
or completion.
That is not a skills gap.
It’s a design choice.
open.substack.com/pub/docglall...
How to Survive a PhD — Before you drown #1
A map of the territory before the water rises
open.substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:05 AM
Many PhD students spend years trying to “improve their time management” without ever being told what counts as
enough work,
progress,
or completion.
That is not a skills gap.
It’s a design choice.
open.substack.com/pub/docglall...
enough work,
progress,
or completion.
That is not a skills gap.
It’s a design choice.
open.substack.com/pub/docglall...
Most people enter a PhD in good faith.
They expect difficulty — and are told that difficulty is the point.
They expect difficulty — and are told that difficulty is the point.
January 5, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Most people enter a PhD in good faith.
They expect difficulty — and are told that difficulty is the point.
They expect difficulty — and are told that difficulty is the point.
A PhD is not confusing because research is hard.
It is confusing because expectations are implicit, authority is ambiguous, and projects are designed without edges.
Treating that confusion as a personal failure is convenient — and wrong.
open.substack.com/pub/docglall...
It is confusing because expectations are implicit, authority is ambiguous, and projects are designed without edges.
Treating that confusion as a personal failure is convenient — and wrong.
open.substack.com/pub/docglall...
How to Survive a PhD — Before you drown #1
A map of the territory before the water rises
open.substack.com
January 3, 2026 at 9:33 PM
A PhD is not confusing because research is hard.
It is confusing because expectations are implicit, authority is ambiguous, and projects are designed without edges.
Treating that confusion as a personal failure is convenient — and wrong.
open.substack.com/pub/docglall...
It is confusing because expectations are implicit, authority is ambiguous, and projects are designed without edges.
Treating that confusion as a personal failure is convenient — and wrong.
open.substack.com/pub/docglall...