To complete a PhD dissertation one should abandon aspirations of greatness, decide to finish the damn thing, and simply write. Easier said than done, especially if the ABD harbors perfectionist tendencies that can trigger crippling bouts of writer's block. Brian Bialkowski suggests repeating the following mantra in order to stay focused on what matters most: words on paper, words on paper, words on paper, words on paper....
And don't forget to remind yourself that "nobody is really going to care about what you write." Is that last reminder a blessing or a curse? Being told that what you're working on doesn't matter, to anybody, sort of takes the motivation away. Unless the ambition is simply to get the degree.
Three other 'secrets' that Bilakowski provides for the ABDs of the world out there.
1. The first great secret about finishing is that there is no great secret.
2.Stop telling yourself that the dissertation has to be great, that it has to redefine your field, that it has to be such a wonderful piece of scholarship that you will be able to trigger a bidding war between publishers the day after your defense
3. Repeat “words on paper” to reign in your wandering thoughts and commit to writing
Note to self: Get back to your research and writing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment