Insights, Reflections & Academic Wisdom

Sometimes, a business is created because someone sees a gap in the market. The Pracademic Mentor was created because I experienced the gap personally.

I know what it feels like to sit with a research document and wonder, "Where do I even begin?" I know what it feels like to receive supervisor feedback and not know how to interpret it. I know the frustration of reading article after article and still not being sure how to connect the theory to your own argument.

I have been there. And that is exactly why The Pracademic Mentor exists.

Where It All Began

My journey began in 2022, after I submitted my Master's dissertation in December 2021. Completing my Master's degree was a significant achievement, but it also opened my eyes to something important: the research journey is rarely straightforward.

I realised that postgraduate research was not simply about intelligence. It was about knowing how to navigate the journey. It was about finding strategies that work for you. It was about having someone who understands that sometimes, all you need is to hear: "Okay. Let's take this one step at a time."

So, I started small. Very small.

I created The Pracademic Mentor on Instagram, with the simple intention of assisting postgraduate students in understanding the research process — not from a place of authority — but from a place of lived experience.

I didn't want to create another academic platform that simply told students what they should be doing. I wanted to show them how they could actually do it.

Research Doesn't Come With an Instruction Manual

One of the biggest things I discovered during my own academic journey was that there are so many small, practical things that make a significant difference — yet no one ever really talks about them.

These are the things I wanted to share. Things such as:

Because sometimes, the smallest change in your approach can make the biggest difference.

Then Life Happened

And then my own life became much more complicated. I experienced divorce. My work contract came to an end. I experienced trauma, uncertainty, emotional exhaustion and moments where I had to question what came next.

There were moments when I was not simply trying to build a business or complete academic work. I was trying to rebuild myself.

That period changed the way I viewed postgraduate students. It made me realise even more deeply that behind every dissertation, thesis, proposal and journal article is a person. A person with responsibilities. A person with relationships. A person with family challenges. A person who may be grieving. A person who may be working full-time. A person who may be struggling financially. A person who may be dealing with anxiety, exhaustion, self-doubt or simply a lack of motivation. And yet, they are expected to produce high-quality academic work.

That changed everything for me.

I Decided to Up the Game

I could have allowed those experiences to stop me. Instead, I decided to grow. I asked myself: What can I do to become better than I was yesterday? And that question became part of the philosophy behind The Pracademic Mentor.

I decided that if I was going to build this venture, I wanted to build it properly. I began expanding my knowledge, skills and qualifications in areas that would allow me to provide more meaningful, impactful support. This included developing expertise in:

I Don't Want to Replace Your Supervisor

One thing I believe strongly in is that The Pracademic Mentor does not replace your university supervisor. Your supervisor has an important academic and institutional role. But your supervisor cannot always be available. They have other students, teaching responsibilities, meetings, research and institutional commitments.

And sometimes you need someone to help you work through something before your next supervision meeting. That is where I want to come in.

• Someone who can help you unpack feedback
• Someone who can help you organise your thoughts
• Someone who can help you identify where you are stuck
• Someone who can help you develop strategies
• Someone who can say: "Let's look at this together."

From a Small Instagram Page to a Bigger Vision

What started as a small Instagram initiative has developed into something much bigger. Today, I am passionate about building The Pracademic Mentor into a platform that brings together:

Academic excellence should not mean sacrificing yourself in the process. Research should not consume your entire identity. And being ambitious does not mean you cannot rest.

My Academic Journey Matters Too

I am not simply building The Pracademic Mentor because I enjoy academia. I genuinely love research. I have attended national and international conferences, contributed to academic publications, and continued my own academic development. I have two publications, and I am a Golden Key member, an achievement I received in recognition associated with academic excellence.

I am continuing to grow academically while building a professional venture around something I genuinely believe in. And perhaps that is what makes The Pracademic Mentor different. I am still on the journey too. I am not standing at the finish line telling you how to run the race. I am walking the road with you.

Why "Pracademic"?

The word pracademic represents something that is incredibly important to me: the connection between practice and academia. I believe academic knowledge should not simply remain inside a thesis, journal article or conference paper. It should influence practice. And practice should influence the questions we ask in academia. That is the space I want The Pracademic Mentor to occupy — the space between knowledge and application.

I Created This for the Researcher Who Needs Someone in Their Corner

• If you are a Master's student who feels overwhelmed…
• If you are a PhD student who has lost your motivation…
• If you are staring at 30 journal articles and don't know how to make sense of them…
• If your supervisor's feedback has left you thinking, "Where do I even start?"
• If you are working full-time while studying…
• If you are trying to balance research, family, relationships and life…
• If you have ever questioned whether you are good enough…

I created The Pracademic Mentor with you in mind.

My Journey Is Still Unfolding

The Pracademic Mentor is not the story of someone who had everything figured out. It is the story of someone who experienced challenges, kept learning, kept growing and decided to turn those experiences into something purposeful.

Every qualification I pursue, every conference I attend, every publication I contribute to, every student I support — each of these is part of the same commitment: to become better than I was yesterday — and to help you become a better version of yourself too.

My Promise to You

I cannot promise that your research journey will always be easy. I cannot promise that you will never experience writer's block. I cannot promise that supervisor feedback will suddenly become less intimidating. And I certainly cannot promise that life will stop happening while you study.

But I can encourage you to approach the journey differently:

Because your degree is important. But so are you.

Welcome to The Pracademic Mentor. Where practice meets academia. Where researchers are empowered. Where academic excellence is nurtured.

Research is not only about completing a thesis. It is about navigating the journey with intention, resilience and purpose.

There is something I have come to understand as I enter my fourth year of doctoral research: research is not always a straight path.

Sometimes you make progress. Sometimes you take three steps backwards. Sometimes life happens in ways you never anticipated.

For me, the journey towards completing my PhD has been deeply personal. Alongside the demands of research, academic writing and doctoral study, I have experienced profound personal loss — the loss of my father, the end of my marriage and two miscarriages. These experiences changed me. They changed how I understood time, productivity, grief, resilience and, perhaps most importantly, myself.

There were moments when research felt impossible. There were periods when opening my laptop was difficult because life overwhelmed everything else.

And this is one of the reasons I believe so strongly in the importance of keeping a research journal.

What Is a Research Journal?

A research journal is more than a notebook filled with academic notes. It is your research companion. It provides a dedicated space where you can document your research journey — from your initial research idea through literature review, data collection, writing and revision, all the way to final submission.

Research can quickly become overwhelming because there are so many moving parts. Without a system, it is incredibly easy to lose track. A research journal gives those thoughts and responsibilities somewhere to live.

Why Should You Invest in a Research Journal?

1. It Helps You Turn Your Research Into a Plan
One of the biggest challenges postgraduate researchers face is knowing what needs to happen next. You may know that you need to "work on your dissertation", but that is not a sufficiently specific goal.

Instead, your journal can help you break that enormous task into manageable actions:

Suddenly, the dissertation becomes less intimidating. You are no longer trying to finish the PhD. You are simply trying to complete today's task.

2. It Keeps You From Falling Behind
Research has a way of making you feel productive without necessarily moving you forward. You can spend hours reading, organise folders, highlight articles and attend webinars — and yet your actual research may not have progressed.

A research journal allows you to ask: What did I actually accomplish today? That question is powerful.

You can track:

And when you look back, you can see evidence that you are actually moving forward.

3. It Helps You Record Your Milestones
Postgraduate research can feel like an endless process. You submit a chapter — and immediately there is another chapter. You receive feedback — and there is more feedback. This can make you forget how much you have actually achieved.

These moments deserve to be celebrated. Do not wait until graduation to acknowledge your progress.

4. It Gives You Somewhere to Record the Challenges
Research is not only about achievements. There will be difficult days, rejected ideas, critical supervisor feedback and moments when you question whether you are capable of completing the degree. Write those moments down — not because you want to dwell on them, but because they can become part of your research story.

5. It Creates Space for Reflection
Reflection is an important part of the research journey. Your journal gives you an opportunity to step away from the constant pressure to produce and instead ask yourself: How am I actually doing?

Research can consume your identity if you allow it to. You are a person before you are a researcher. You have relationships, family, responsibilities, emotions, dreams and a life outside your thesis. Your research journal should therefore include space for reflection — not just productivity.

Work-Life Balance Is Not a Luxury

This is something I have had to learn personally. There is a dangerous narrative in academia that suggests working harder always means making greater progress. It doesn't. Sometimes working harder simply means becoming exhausted faster.

During my doctoral journey, I have experienced seasons of profound personal loss and change — marital trauma and divorce, the loss of my father, two miscarriages. These are not footnotes in my life. They were experiences that affected me emotionally, mentally and personally — and inevitably, they affected my academic journey too.

There were moments when I had to put research aside. And I have learned that putting research aside temporarily is not the same as giving up. Sometimes you need to rest. Sometimes you need to grieve. Sometimes you simply need to permit yourself to be human.

Your Research Journey Needs Boundaries

A research journal can help you establish those boundaries. Instead of allowing research to occupy every waking moment, create intentional spaces for it.

Track Your Goals — But Also Track Your Well-Being

One of the features I believe is essential in a research journal is the ability to track more than academic productivity. Ask yourself:

This creates a more holistic approach to postgraduate research. Because the person completing the research matters just as much as the research itself.

Your Research Journal Should Tell Your Story

Imagine reaching the end of your Master's or PhD. Imagine opening your research journal and seeing the journey documented — the first research idea, the uncertainty, the hundreds of articles, the rejected ideas, the rewritten chapters, the feedback, the breakthroughs, the tears, the celebrations, the milestones, the days you wanted to quit, and the days you kept going.

Four Years In, I Am Still Here

As I enter my fourth year of doctoral research, I don't pretend that the journey has been easy. But if there is one thing my journey has taught me, it is this:

Starting again after grief. Starting again after disappointment. Starting again after a difficult meeting. Starting again when you thought you had lost your momentum.

And that is why I created The Pracademic Mentor Research Journal.

What Should You Record in Your Research Journal?

Your journal should become your research command centre. You should be able to record:

Don't Just Complete Your Research. Document It.

Your degree is not only the final dissertation. It is everything that happens between the idea and the submission. So document it. Track it. Reflect on it. Celebrate it. And when life gets difficult — as it inevitably will — use your journal to help you find your way back.

The Pracademic Mentor Research Journal

For the researcher who wants to do more than complete a degree — for the researcher who wants to understand, document and own the journey.

There was a time when I thought I simply needed to "push through." Push through the deadlines. Push through the research. Push through the sleepless nights. Push through the emotional exhaustion. Push through.

But sometimes, pushing through is not the same as being okay.

As I enter the fourth year of my own academic journey, I have had to navigate experiences that I never imagined would be part of my story. And somewhere along the way, I realised something important:

When Brain Fog Becomes Your Reality

For me, brain fog was real. There were days when concentrating felt almost impossible. My motivation disappeared. My enthusiasm disappeared. Even the things I usually loved about research — the reading, the writing, the thinking — felt heavy and unreachable.

I remember experiencing moments where my body felt paralysed by exhaustion — not necessarily because I had no responsibilities, but because the weight of everything I was carrying had become too much.

Research requires so much from you. You need to read. You need to write. You need to think critically. You need to analyse. You need to remember. You need to be present. And somehow, you are also expected to live your life while doing it.

That is where I began to understand the importance of creating moments of calm.

Sometimes Self-Care Starts With Something Small

I have always loved candles. I bought Yankee Candles because I enjoyed the atmosphere they created. Lighting a candle became one of those small rituals that helped me feel grounded when everything else felt chaotic.

But they can be expensive, and in today's economy, repeatedly purchasing premium candles isn't necessarily practical for most people.

So I asked myself: What if I created something beautiful, affordable and intentional? Something that researchers, students, professionals and everyday people could incorporate into their own self-care routines?

And that is how The Pracademic Mentor Therapeutic Candles began.

More Than a Candle

I don't see these candles as simply something that smells nice. For me, they represent a pause. A moment to step away from the screen. A moment to breathe. A moment to close the laptop. A moment to sit quietly. A moment to say:

Whether you are working on a dissertation, preparing an assignment, marking papers, attending meetings, running a business or simply navigating a difficult personal season — you deserve moments that belong to you.

Light the candle. Put the phone down. Breathe. Reset.

Why I Believe Researchers Need Moments Like This

Research can become all-consuming. You start with: "I'm just going to read one article." Three hours later, you're surrounded by PDFs, highlighted sentences, journal articles, references and half-written paragraphs. And suddenly it's midnight.

The danger is that we begin measuring productivity by how much we accomplish while forgetting to ask: How am I doing?

A research journey isn't only intellectual. It is emotional. There will be rejection. There will be supervisor feedback. There will be chapters that refuse to come together. There will be self-doubt. There will be life.

I know this because I have lived it.

The Importance of Sleep, Focus and Emotional Well-Being

I'm not a psychologist, and I don't claim that a candle can treat mental-health conditions, anxiety, depression, trauma or any other clinical concern. But I do believe in creating environments that support our wellbeing.

• A calming scent can become part of a bedtime routine
• A fresh scent can help create a focused study environment
• A familiar fragrance can become associated with your journaling or reflection time
• And lighting a candle can simply remind you: Pause. Breathe. Be present.

That small ritual can be meaningful. For me, it became surprisingly powerful. I cannot describe my experience as anything other than transformative. At a time when I felt like I was functioning on empty, creating something beautiful gave me a sense of purpose, creativity and calm.

It felt like a miracle to me. Not because the candle magically fixed my problems — but because it helped me create space to face them.

From My Journey to Yours

That is why I wanted to create a range of scents. Because we don't all need the same thing every day. Some days you might need calm. Some days you need focus. Some days you need comfort. Some days you simply want your home to smell beautiful.

Relax. Focus. Heal. Grow.

These four words have become particularly meaningful to me. They are not just a tagline. They represent the intention behind every candle I create.

Self-Care Isn't Selfish

As researchers, we often celebrate the deadline. The submitted proposal. The completed chapter. The accepted article. The conference presentation. The qualification. But what happens to the person behind the achievement? That person needs care too.

You cannot continuously pour from an empty cup. And I have learned that lesson personally. Going through divorce, losing my father and experiencing two miscarriages while continuing my academic journey changed my understanding of resilience entirely.

I used to think resilience meant being strong enough to keep going. Now I think resilience can also mean knowing when to stop. Knowing when to rest. Knowing when to ask for help. Knowing when to breathe. And knowing that rest is not failure.

We Are In This Together

The Pracademic Mentor has never been just about academic writing. It is about the person behind the research. The researcher who is trying to finish a dissertation. The postgraduate student who is questioning whether they are good enough. The lecturer who is exhausted. The teacher who is balancing work and further study.

I am on that journey too. I am not standing outside the struggle telling you how to navigate it. I am navigating my own journey alongside you. Still learning. Still growing. Still rebuilding. Still researching. Still becoming.

A Candle. A Pause. A Ritual.

Maybe your ritual will be:

It doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes the smallest rituals become the ones we rely on most.

And perhaps that is what I needed during the hardest chapters of my own life: not another demand, not another deadline, not another reason to feel guilty. Just a small reminder that I am a person before I am a researcher.

Why Should You Invest in a Pracademic Mentor Therapeutic Candle?

From Surviving to Creating

I started this journey because I was trying to find my way through my own difficult season. Now I am turning that experience into something I hope can benefit others. The candles are part of that journey. The research journals are part of that journey. The mentoring is part of that journey. And my own growth is part of that journey.

I am working towards becoming a life coach, continuing my academic journey and growing The Pracademic Mentor into a comprehensive platform for researchers, students, professionals and fellow human beings.

I don't have all the answers. But I know what it feels like to struggle. I know what it feels like to lose motivation. I know what it feels like to experience brain fog. And I know what it feels like to slowly find your way back.

So, to every researcher, student, professional and fellow human being navigating their own difficult season: