As most of us know, the duration of a PhD is long. It might take a good 4-6 years on an average to get a degree. Some might think, this is a frustratingly long time. Some others might think, well this is a long time, I have enough time to relax. Both these views can be damaging for a PhD graduate.
If you get demotivated by the sheer length of PhD, you might lose interest or zeal to try new things. You might think, why don’t I stick to traditional methods and get my job done faster.
I don’t have time to try or learn new techniques. Innovation is lost if you think in this manner.
Conversely, if you are of the opinion that 5 years is a lot of time, let me take it easy, you might lose track of time. Trust me, no time is enough for finishing a PhD, because there is just so much to do. You definitely do not have to work 24×7, but you do need to stay focused.
You need to realize that last-minute hurriedness cannot fetch you a PhD. It is not an exam where you can stay up all night, prepare and sit for it the next day. In PhD, you need to accumulate data over a period.
Experiments cannot be done overnight. It is true that you have lots of liberty during PhD. You no longer have exams or assignments; you do not have somebody asking you to submit your homework.
Apart from reporting to your supervisor on a regular basis, you are pretty much on your own, you have the freedom to plan your day as you like. But freedom if misused can cost dearly.
So, a critical requirement to avoid a nightmarish PhD is to prioritize. It is essential to have the bigger picture in mind:
Where are you headed with your project?
What are you short-term and long-term goals / experiments?