Don't let your dissertation drag you down. Stop
your procrastination. Why do we
procrastinate? Research suggests that students often procrastinate when they
perceive the dissertation as an overwhelming task. Big surprise, huh? Motivation
is the biggest problem that grad students face in writing the dissertation.
A Lonely Time
The dissertation is a time consuming and lonely
process that usually takes about two years (an often longer). The dissertation
often is a major blow to a graduate student's self esteem. It is not uncommon to
feel as if it's an insurmountable task that will never be completed.
Organization and Time Management are Key
The keys to completing the dissertation promptly are organization and time
management. The lack of structure is the difficult part of the dissertation
because the student's role is to plan, carry out, and write up a research
project (sometimes several). Structure must be applied in order to complete this
task.
One way of providing structure is to view the dissertation as a series of steps,
rather than as one mammoth task. Motivation may be maintained and even enhanced
as each small step is completed. Organization provides a sense of control, holds procrastination at
minimal levels, and is key to completing the dissertation. How do you get
organized?
Outline the small steps needed to complete
this large project.
All too often, students may feel that their only goal is to finish the thesis. A
goal this large may feel indomitable; break it down into the component tasks.
For example, at the proposal stage, the tasks may be organized as follows:
thesis statement, literature review, method, plan for analyses.
Each of these tasks entails many smaller tasks. The list for the literature review may consist of an outline of the topics you wish to discuss, with each outlined as detailed as possible. You may even wish to list relevant articles in the appropriate places within the outline. The method will consist of the participants, including items on locating them, rewards, drafting informed consent forms, locating measures, describing psychometric properties of the measures, piloting measures, drafting the procedure, etc.
