Getting writing done

Yesterday, I wrote about how I heard a dissertation coach (DC) boil all our procrastination problems down to imposter syndrome. Today I want to share her advice for actually getting writing done.

One of DC’s big points was, don’t write like your committee is in the room. People get paralyzed by thinking that the first draft should be perfect. You can’t have a second draft until you have a first draft, so just get your thoughts down to start with. You can always edit later. In fact, she suggested defining crappy first drafts as such so you can give yourself the freedom to write. She said that people who claim to work best with a deadline really just need a way to lose the inhibitions of feeling like their writing has to be perfect. Nobody really works best under pressure, it’s just that we finally actually let ourselves work at all at that point.

Her other big message was break it down, down, down. Big tasks are impossible to penetrate. There’s no entry point into something like “write introduction” or “work on methods”. Create a timeline with milestones set for specific dates. Then break the work necessary to reach those milestones into weekly goals. Then break the weekly goals into tasks for each day you plan to work. Good daily goals are things like, “read and take notes on papers A, B, and C”. Or, “write a shitty draft of section two of discussion.” “Revise section four of introduction.” The timeline is a guide that shouldn’t be rigid -- it should be updated frequently as you progress. DC also suggested scheduling time for things like exercise and hanging out with friends. She reminded us that we are living our lives now and we need to make time for all the things we want to do. We shouldn’t put off our living for after grad school.

DC offers life and dissertation coaching. She didn’t give us the hard sell during her seminar, but she did allude to her services. Apparently, the main thing she does is help clients create a timeline and then meet with them once a week (in person or on the phone) to discuss progress and provide accountability. Not a bad idea.