The Art of War is a book written by Sun Tzu more than 2500 years ago. He was a Chinese general, military man, and philosopher who wrote this treatise on strategy, tactics, and military leadership. Its principles transcended warfare and can function perfectly as a powerful guide for doctoral students. What will enable them to act wisely and without suffering?
You, who already have a professional trajectory, with family commitments and a desire to transcend with an intellectual legacy, do not need a fight or combat to wear you down; you need a strategy and that is what this article is about: guiding you how to advance along the path of the doctorate with anticipation, elegance and tactics, without fatigue and without danger of abandonment.
Instead of fighting, it is better to plan
Sun Tzu said, “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
Taking this as an example, in academia, your professors, your peers, your knowledge, and time are not your enemies. The enemy to avoid is improvisation, discouragement, and disorder.
To pursue a doctorate, you must have a method and a clear vision of the field of combat. You must evaluate well what the subject is that most appeals to you, in which area your skills are best developed, what resources are available to you, and how you can advance step by step. Having clarity in these statements in advance will reduce mental blocks and program abandonment by 60%, as indicated by the Latin American Journal of Educational Research (2022).
Study the terrain
Sun Tzu, gave as a warning that no military should start a combat without studying the terrain. Similarly, it is with the doctoral program, before enrolling, you are advised to: Make an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses you have at the moment, and then see what skills you have and what weaknesses you need to strengthen. Also, have clear objectives, such as what you are going to achieve with this doctorate.
You should also make a selection of the program that is aligned with your way of life, such as online modality, flexibility, and accompaniment. Identifying a good support network composed of colleagues, famil,y and mentors. Doing this analysis before starting the program will allow you to make the ideal and correct decisions to avoid wasting time and energy on projects that will not be successful, and you may end up dropping out.
Strategy #1: The thesis should not be improvised; it should be designed.
The most common mistake among doctoral students is to start with a lot of enthusiasm and later lose their way. Sun Tzu said, “Tactics without strategy are noise before defeat.”
The translation to this strategy is that if in the PhD there are a lot of months of reading without focus, a lot of disorganized files and fragmented progress without a structure, it will not work. For this problem, the strategic advice is: before you start writing your dissertation, it is important to spend time designing its core structure.
Another tactic is to ask yourself these questions:
What problem do you want to solve?
What hypothesis are you going to test?
What methodology suits you according to the scope to be covered?
What impact do you want to achieve?
Strategy #2: Carefully select which battle to start first
In the PhD, you will have several routes available to you, such as authors, theories, approaches, and models. If you seek to cover everything, you will end up exhausted. As Sun Tzu mentioned, “He who pretends to defend everything, defends nothing.”
For all those who study at a distance and have many responsibilities. Instead of being overwhelmed, learn to: choose the fundamental sources, go deep into the main, not the secondary, and delegate tasks such as proofreading or layout. A Ph.D. is achieved by clarity of thought, not volume of work.
Strategy #3: Take advantage of technology as your ally.
A spectacular teaching of the Art of War is to use available resources to your advantage. Today, your battlefield is digital. So your strategy must have several tools to help you move forward efficiently.
Some key tools that can help you on this path are:
Managers need to use bibliographies such as Zotero or Mendeley.
Platforms that allow you to organize better and more structured, such as Trello or Notion.
Artificial intelligence applications, ideal for preliminary analysis or source of inspiration.
According to a study conducted in 2023 by Educause Review, a leader in education and technology, doctoral students who combine these technologies from the beginning of their academic process finish their thesis in 30% less time on average. This analysis reinforces that technology is not part of an add-on, but a vital tool for enhancing the structure of your thesis and decreasing stress along the way.
While studying inner leadership and self-discipline.
Sun Tzu said, “Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay the price.”
When it comes to the doctoral path, consistency is the price to pay, because it is not about studying with suffering, but with a good focus on what you should, at least 1 to 2 hours a day, but without interruptions.
It is also important to have internal leadership to establish routines, not allowing digital distractions, knowing how to prioritize your physical and mental well-being, and always celebrating progress, no matter how small it may seem.
Keep in mind: the internal war that fights against self-sabotage is extremely complicated, but the most essential to win.
After graduation: legacy, influence, and expansion
When you earn your “Ph.D.” degree, it is the beginning of a new stage of tactical or strategic authority, so it is not the end of the battle. You will have academic authority, an intellectual network, and you will be able to lead others.
Then you ask yourself, "What's next? You can mentor new generations, write books or scientific articles, be a specialized consultant, and join international organizations or academic committees.
The Study of Postdoctoral Trends, CLACSO, 2023, indicates that more than 65% of online doctoral graduates over the age of 40 confirm that their professional opportunities multiplied in the two years after obtaining their degree.
Achieve victory by working strategically!
Now that you have reached the end of this article, reflect on what is most important. Live your PhD with focus, elegance, and intelligence. You don't need to go into a war, you don't need to suffer or wear yourself out, just work on knowledge while maintaining a good plan and a clear purpose.
Likewise, remember it's not just about a title, it's about writing who you are, building a path that can make a real impact on what you want to achieve. So take the time to assess the terrain, design, and lay out the best strategy.
And keep in mind, “The true general wins first in the mind, then on the battlefield.” Sun Tzu. You, too, can win; your time to make a significant footprint has come!