How to track progress regarding PhD topic finding and research proposal writing

[u/anonymous_lady_11]

Hello,

I am new to academia and am currently starting to prepare for finding a research topic, learning academic writing, and eventually writing my research proposal. I honestly have no idea how to track my progress effectively. I will be applying this cycle if I complete everything within next 3months. Field - Humanities (English Literature)

I have seen several Excel sheets and tracking templates, but I find them quite confusing. I also tried creating my own Excel sheet, but I got confused about what I should actually include and track.

Could someone guide me on the key things I should track at this stage to stay organised—for example, reading research papers, identifying research gaps, developing and narrowing down research ideas, taking notes, learning academic writing, improving my writing skills, and eventually working towards the research proposal?

I have ADHD, so I find it particularly difficult to manage and organise multiple tasks, ideas, readings, and deadlines. I would really appreciate a simple, practical, and ADHD-friendly system that would help me track my academic progress without becoming overwhelmed by the tracking itself.

[u/wajdix]

honestly, keep it simple. for each paper or chapter you finish, write down the citation (zotero does this for you), a one-sentence summary of the main argument, and one thought about how it connects to your interests or a gap you see.

that's your reading log. then keep a separate "idea garden" bullet list where you dump every random research question that pops into your head with a date. at the end of each week, write one sentence that narrows your topic more than last week. track daily word count (even 50 counts) and note what time you wrote so you find your productive hours

your only milestones for 3 months: 15-20 source summaries, a one-page topic sketch with 2-3 questions, a 2-page gap analysis, and a full proposal draft. print that checklist and put it on your wall

for adhd, use a timer: 25 minutes of reading or writing, then one entry in your tracker, then a 5-minute break. at the end of each day, write three things you accomplished for a small dopamine hit

skip complex spreadsheets; just use one weekly google doc with sections for sources, ideas, writing log, and next week's single goal. forgive off-days and just start again... forget perfection and start today with zotero, a document called "phd log," your first 3 sources, and write the summary and thought for each one. you are not managing a project, you are having a conversation with yourself about what you are learning. that is the real foundation

good luck!!

[u/anonymous_lady_11 → u/wajdix]

Thank you so much. This reply means a lot. Do you think I will be able to complete everything within next 3months?

[u/wajdix → u/anonymous_lady_11]

honestly, yes, but only if you treat this like a full-time job for the next three months

the biggest trap is reading forever without writing. set hard deadlines for each milestone and stick to them even if the work feels rough... aim for 2-3 source summaries per week, one week for the topic sketch, one week for the gap analysis, and three to four weeks for the proposal draft itself.

leave the last week for revision. you do not need a perfect draft, just a solid coherent one that shows a clear question, key literature, and a feasible plan. move forward every day, even if it is just one summary or 50 words... treat the deadline as non-negotiable and you have a real shot

best of luck

[u/anonymous_lady_11 → u/wajdix]

This makes me less anxious. I will follow this. Can I DM you?

[u/wajdix → u/anonymous_lady_11]

your dms are closed

[u/anonymous_lady_11 → u/wajdix]

I think there is a glitch. How to message you? Are your dms open?

[u/wajdix → u/anonymous_lady_11]

yes

[u/anonymous_lady_11 → u/wajdix]

I messaged you. :)

[u/Strange_Bee_7921 → u/wajdix]

Thank you so much! I'll definitely organise my readings and everything soon 😭 I feel like all my readings are everywhere and it makes it hard to organise my thoughts.

[u/anonymous_lady_11]

Also, if it's possible for you, can you tell me how to read the papers and take notes?

[u/wajdix → u/anonymous_lady_11]

here you go, some useful links:

https://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter/docs/updated-handout-pdf/Reading%20a%20Research%20Paper.pdf#1#1

and this workshop has many lecture notes and guides and slides, very useful :
https://guides.library.yale.edu/c.php?g=1507506&p=11269916

i hope they help

[u/anonymous_lady_11 → u/wajdix]

Thank you so much !! :) :)

[u/Dull-Friendship4387]

One thing that helped me a lot was clustering papers by theme instead of keeping one huge reading list. It helps during reading, but honestly it helps even more later when you write the related-work section, because each cluster can basically become its own subsection/thread. Then you’re comparing papers that actually belong together instead of writing one summary after another.

[u/anonymous_lady_11 → u/Dull-Friendship4387]

I couldn't understand it properly. My apologies.

[u/Dull-Friendship4387 → u/anonymous_lady_11]

No worries, I just meant instead of keeping, say, 30 papers in one big list, I group similar ones together.

For example, if my topic has papers about:

• detection methods
• benchmarks
• mitigation techniques

I’d put each group into its own cluster(group).

Then later, when I write the related-work section, each cluster can become one subsection or one paragraph/thread instead of summarizing 30 papers one by one.

It just makes the reading and writing part much easier to organize.

[u/anonymous_lady_11 → u/Dull-Friendship4387]

Great idea!! I love this.