How to not write your thesis/dissertation
Hello readers,
If you know me well or have read my last post, you must have recognized me as a masters student. Well, in a bit more detail, I am currently writing my masters thesis and to be honest, it has turned into one of my worst nightmares. Unlike other bloggers who have achieved it all with their amazing skills, best time management capabilities and many other positive aspects, I am one of those struggling to write a single page everyday.
I like to solve my problems on my own and to solve this writer’s block, I scowled the internet and tried every possible google search — how to finish thesis, habits of a successful writer, best ways to do thesis and what not. I realized that more than knowing how to make your thesis successful, it is important to know how to not make it a failure. This is a topic which very few bloggers touched upon.
So here I am, telling you what not to do if you want to finish your thesis. And, trust me, I am an expert in this area because I have done all the things and realized, oh, this is not what I should have done. So here is another listicle but very different altogether:
NOT SETTING A PRESENTATION DATE
The foremost mistake I did was to not book my presentation date with my examiner and supervisor. This gave me an opportunity to procrastinate much more and wait unit “perfection” is achieved.
WAITING FOR MOTIVATION
Second important thing is, and this might be the most important one — STOP WAITING FOR MOTIVATION AND POSITIVITY. Trust me, it won’t come until the last deadline and then you have tremendous pressure on your head to finish. Please, Please do not wait to get motivated and do not feel that one day you’ll write an amazing thesis in one night. Because that will not happen. You have to just start and you’ll feel motivated after continuous effort of at least a day or two. And then, you are always motivated to write. So, stop waiting and start writing.
NOT WRITING EVERYDAY
Another thing is to just write. I remember, in one of my meetings with my thesis supervisor, I asked him that how I should plan to complete. He said, just write, write and write. And, boy was he right *pun intended*. And the worst thing you can do is taking a break, by break I mean not writing for days and suddenly writing one day and then halting. The best way to finish your thesis is just start writing the report when you start the thesis. Write anything but just write and make sure you do it everyday.
RE-PLANNING
This is something which I did unconsciously when I was not able to finish. I always went towards re-planning my content and just rearranging chapters and deadlines. I realized that it just made my problems worse. Instead of re-planning, I should’ve stuck to the original plan and just try to finish even if I am behind deadline especially when I already have finished the actual work and I only had to turn in my report. So, my advice would be just plan once, and then try to follow it with minor changes such as if you’re not able to finish on the set date, put in more hours and try to finish the next day.
NOT BELIEVING IN OWN SELF
Let me tell you, that I used to be a good writer and good means finishing writing stuff. When I started my thesis, I thought — Well, I like to write. This should be easy. But it wasn’t. Why? Because, I stopped believing this. I started reading different theses, and started second-guessing my own skill and thought, I will never be able to write so well. And then it started — constants elf-doubt, asking my supervisor to tell me how to write, asking friends to share their thesis work and see if i am better or worse. And this is NOT GOOD at all. Because, it might lead you to enormous lack of self-confidence, negativity and many other mental issues which you never had. And, I have had my share of struggles and hardships which now when I look back, realize that the starting point was my thesis writing process. So, I know for a fact that if you’re reading this and feel that this is something you can relate to, YOU ARE A REALLY GOOD WRITER. JUST BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND START WRITING.
Well, I hope that you found some inspiration to finish your thesis writing and also some useful tips and experiences from mine. I wish you all the best for your thesis and general writing process. If you have same issues or if you feel that you want to share your stories, feel free to post in comment here
HAPPY WRITING :)
