Write your dissertation and still have a life

Writing a dissertation is a monumental project. It’s not unusual for Ph.D. students to stop before they finish their paper with a not so professional label of A.B.D. (All But Dissertation). While this non-degree status may be acceptable in some job markets, not finishing a doctoral thesis can be professional suicide in other fields- making one over qualified for the ‘back up’ jobs and under qualified for the desirable jobs.

A dissertation should be taken seriously as a project worth all your effort and attention. However, it is not more important than your family, your sanity, or your life. One mistake many students make is to regard their doctoral dissertation as the be all end all accomplishment of their professional career. It’s not. A dissertation is a research paper, nothing more, nothing less. For some professionals this one accomplishment will shape the tone of their research for years to come. For others it will have simply been a learning process showing them the way in which they may pursue other interests. The most important aspect of the dissertation is the learning process; there are many things to be learned here.

Research

Whether you are studying engineering or social justice, your research has to be methodical, accurate, and complete. Keep a ‘to do’ list for every day of the week. Make sure it is a realistic list that can be accomplished within a few hours. Every time you find a paper that you believe relates well to your topic, check the references carefully and put the most significant ones on your list to find the next day. Don’t sit in the library endlessly chasing your tail. Stick to your list and make a list for the next day when you come across something interesting. You should keep notes of your library searches and begin to outline your literature review focusing on the papers that relate most closely to your research question.

When gathering your data (whether it be a survey or experimental) check in with your advisor on regular basis. Make sure everyone is on the same page before investing time and money into data collection. Put together a realistic schedule and stick to it. Keep careful notes.

Writing

This is where many students and professionals fall short. They sit in front of the computer or at the kitchen table with a notebook and draw a blank. So they surf the Internet or raid the fridge waiting for inspiration to hit them. This is not a good use of time. Pick your best time of day to do your writing and give your self a goal to accomplish during that time. It could be that you make sure you sit down to write one hour every day and put at least 500 words down on paper. They don’t have to be good words. But they do have to relate to your project. This is the only way to insure that you don’t spend hours staring at a wall. Once the goal has been reached (and not before) you can get up and go do something else. This is a discipline issue and any writer will tell you the folly of waiting for inspiration to come to you. You have to go find it by looking. And you can ‘look’ by putting words on paper.

Professional Survival

Dissertations have committees and committees have people. These are people that have to get along with each other. If you put together a committee with conflicting personalities, you may be in graduate school for years more than you need to be. Consult your advisor on how the committee should be brought together and who should be included. Even if you choose very carefully, there may be some friction. Do your best to be accommodating without compromising the quality of your research. Keep an eye on the forest and not the trees.

Writing a dissertation is a great accomplishment and one to be proud of. But keep in mind that many of life’s great accomplishments are not related to academia or work. Life is about relationships with people and family. You can write a dissertation without giving up your life.