Shortly after finishing my dissertation (the subject of the next post), I was asked on Facebook to share my thoughts on productive writing. Actually, I think I pursued this goal with anything but productivity, but perhaps lessons might be learned alike from what I would rather have not done as what I found to be helpful. After all, the clarity of hindsight doesn't come from how well we worked before its benefit, right? Now seemed like a good time to reflect on the experience and attempt to glean some tips, if only to keep them in mind for my own self-improvement. Hopefully, others might also find them useful.
Heads-Up: 10 Total, and the first 3 apply to the proposal stage.
- Always see term papers as opportunities to write potential chapters. This advice comes second hand from a dear friend in my program, and it served me quite well. Notice, I said "potential". If you're in a doctoral program, and you don't yet know your topic and/or thesis, that's okay! Before that time, one way you can do this is to just treat your term papers more seriously. I don't mean be more rigorous - though that couldn't hurt - I mean choose topics that really interest you, rather than just taking the quickest route to "found something that will work" to "I think this will get me the A or B I want." You might just get practice, but maybe you'll end the paper wanting to research the topic further.
This does get easier once you pick a topic, as - proposed or not - you can start working on your dissertation. Say you only have one section you can import into your dissertation, that still means at least one chapter will not be the ominous "blank page" that I often saw as a foreboding mental mountain. Even if it needs a ton of polishing, it anchors your thought, and launches you. I had a rough version of what would become my first chapter, and a few pieces before I would say I began researching, but by the time I formally proposed, I had rough material useful for 60-75% of 2 chapters, and 25-35% of 2 more. Previous work combined with a term paper in a seminar that same semester to give me 40-50% of the rough innards of one more, so only one chapter would ominously stare back at me. - Don't let administrative challenges inhibit your writing. Above, note the emphasis on formal proposal. I've learned from other programs that some require you to organize your committee considerably earlier, as they have to approve what amounts to a ~3-7 page prospectus before a proposal. Even if this isn't a requirement, as you recruit professors, you will need to get ready. I hit a snag - I found professors willing to be members quickly, but took a while to find a chair. I was also hesitant to outright ask people. Though I continued to take useful courses for some time, I had most if not all of the courses I had to have done over a year before I proposed. That may sound good, but it's not, because of what felt like a "Catch 22": I had to defend my proposal to enroll in dissertation hours, and I couldn't propose without a committee to hear it. I got to do some independent study when I was close enough I could craft the proposal, but those hours are capped. Also, I was far less productive without that organization in place, especially since I didn't want to "get too far down a rabbit hole" without an agreed framework.
Do: Try to find the chair first (probably a full professor, or a sister-program even restricts who can serve as a chair so there may be a subset), who can advise on other members, and don't let delay impede your progress until you've at least finished a proposal. - Know the framework your proposal provides you, and use it. A member recommended a book for me before I proposed called How to Complete and Survive a Doctoral Dissertation by David Sternberg (1981, NY: St. Martin's Griffin). It's 226 pages, and the first 107 pages take you up to the proposal point, so you get a half-way stop to help advise you better than I can for efficiently pursuing the proposal. Here, I just want to say there are two main approaches to a proposal: a "mini-dissertation" that is larger, and a smaller, basic pitch of the thesis and research design.
Both have advantages (i.e., get more direction up front versus ability to move to research sooner) and disadvantages, but both are a framework for the product. I would say mine was closer to the mini-diss approach, and I liked having a little more batter in the muffin slots before I cooked what I proposed. Sternberg may overplay the extent to which it is a contract, but it is so in two important points: it's a way for them to assess the baked product - did you do what you said you would, regardless of the results - and it lays out a roadmap to guide completion. If you haven't proposed, give these alternatives a google and think about which would work best for you. - Don't underestimate diplomacy and collaboration. Partly, I owe completing my task to a patient chair who didn't throw up his hands from working with me. Perhaps this view is discipline- or topic-dependent, obviously it doesn't hold for ethnographers, but I suspect most graduate students have a view of the dissertation as a very independent endeavor. Indeed, the need to make an original contribution and (usual) lack of a coauthor on what for many of us is our largest writing to date means it definitely demands independence.
Still, in many ways you must collaborate, for such important tasks as attaining data, issuing surveys or conducting experiments with space requirements, etc. Even if, like me, you don't conduct surveys or experiments (my theorizing was supplemented by existing data and simulation), you will still need to get feedback on drafts and bounce ideas / problems with others. When you're organizing your writing tasks, allow more time than you think this will take, and don't interpret silence as "everything is fine".
This isn't my forté - woe unto you if it's not - so I'll refer you to the book that I suggested in the last tip: Sternberg (1981). If it's not your strong suit, at least be aware of that, and compensate. Also, don't be too proud to ask your chair for a hand in that area. Maybe s/he will assist (i.e. facilitate a meeting), or maybe s/he'll advise you on scheduling them or addressing concerns, but either way, you don't want to remain stalled in neutral.
Do: Know that there will be pitfalls arise that - though better treated as challenges - you will experience as problems! Plan ahead. If you need feedback on a chapter, unless it's your last one, structure your tasks so you can move on to other chapters, even if it's just editing, while you wait. - Outline, then outline some more! It really helped me jumpstart. If I wasn't ready to write further in a chapter - and sometimes you can't force it - I could at least work on the outline ahead. It's helpful so you can start thinking and hit fewer intellectual cattle guards in the future. (That metaphor works better for fellow Texans.) Plus, it may feel like "skipping" to another part of the work, but getting a firmer grasp on what's ahead will help you write. Speaking of, ...
- Don't get inhibited by organizational challenges! Here, I mean the writing structure and interconnections, not organizing the research (i.e., time management, committee). Maybe this doesn't hinder the motivation of others, but personally, if I couldn't figure out how to structure something - what point to make first so I could build on it efficiently - I'd meander, dwelling to much on outlining. (I said it was useful, but not without end.) Your organization will change! Most of my proposal was Chapter 1, but a section got large, and a mitosis produced Chapter 2. Something I proposed would be tackled in the summary moved one chapter back. Even after my defense, minor revisions necessitated a small organizational change.
Do: Look for linkages, but without thinking you need to get it right the first time. - Know what energizes you outside of the dissertation, so you can "refuel". There will be times when someone thinks a part of your dissertation sucks - sometimes you - or when you're just stuck. This is doubly an energy sap because those not in GradWorld, Inc. will not get this reality, and may just think the demotivation or mental impasse is slacking off. Admittedly, sometimes I did waste time, but there's more to the story than a need of "Red Foreman" getting you to "buckle down". (Although, turning off That 70's Show re-runs might have helped.) The next 3 tips are ones that worked for me, but if they're not your cup of tea, find motivators.
- Change up your environment - rough draft a portion elsewhere. It doesn't even have to be a section, though it could be. After I'd done the reading for a section in my fifth chapter, the first pass-through was mostly outputted at Starbucks. I run on caffeine more than one should, but I wanted a change of venue, and the "carrot" of a double chocolate brownie to get me to write. Sternberg (1981) advises you to have a writing space that is first and foremost for dissertation writing. I think that's great advice, and near proposal time I reduced my desk to just dissertation files. (Yeah, guess how long that lasted :-P ) After awhile, though, I think writing there felt like a chore. I associated "my office" - the converted dining space - with what will at times be drudgery.
Because my portable option was a scaled down Android Office substitute, I'd write the portion separately, and edit it as I connected it with the larger work. This tack was driven by the tech, but I think having it separated out was very invigorating. Looking at a new blank page - no longer "the" blank page - was refreshing, and with no true pagination, I might expect just to write a couple paragraphs and wind up with 4 pages! Plus, I prefer to do my rougher, new material in single-space. I wish I had done this ecological pick-me-up sooner. - Know what helps you generate thought - go on other reading and writing quests. I know I'm not alone in feeling that, really, if I have time to read or write anything bigger than a Newspaper column (in online format, of course!), then I should return to "the Big D." Don't lasso yourself in guilt. Developing a thesis requires some structure and linearity, but just as you didn't arrive it at by tunnel vision, neither will such over-focus deliver you from it. I'm going to pass on the constipation analogy, but if you're an X-Files fan, you know the dangers of just bearing through it.
Does revving the engine after you've gone off the road sound determined and focused? (...and we're back to That 70's Show - use the kitty litter.) You may be weary of letting yourself go off on tangents after too many bouts of procrastination, but guess what? Just as you need tools to get unstuck from the road ("...Jedi Dumbass"), you need to vary your mental diet so chewing on other nuggets will restart your noggin. Let the dissertation run on a different core in your processor, and read and write on other matters. "Thinking outside the box" can't just be a euphemism - it means giving yourself the freedom to literally get outside your own categories!
Side Research Projects are Great! Logically, we would think additional projects are distractions, but that's not always the case. I got the opportunity to co-author a separate manuscript with a professor last summer. This helped for the thought-diversity rationale, but also because, in line with Tip #7, it gave me a win more quickly attainable. Two people can get a version of one article done far more quickly than one person can complete multiple chapters. Additionally, Sternberg (1981, last chapter) admonishes the dissertation survivalist to not vacay too long, lest "burnout" develop, so I think continuing to help with the redraft will be a good way for me to get back to riding the bike before I let the wheels get squeaky. We'll see. - Also, maybe take a few extra seminars, even when you can just take dissertation hours. I would have liked to enroll in dissertation hours sooner, but if I could have done it years sooner, I would still take the occasional seminar, because I find the give-and-take on topics that may not be directly related, but are at least pertinent to my field, helps me refresh, learn of new research grounds I can drill (non-Texans get dry well problems, right?), and generate ideas. If nothing else, you don't want your whole world to be working on your dissertation. When that was the case, I felt quite small on dry well days.
Balance the load: I agree with Sternberg [1981] when he reminds you to consider how any work will effect not only your time, but your energy for dissertation work. My part-time internship in 2012 was only a few months before proposing, and paired well. On the other hand, if you're in an emotionally or physically draining job, and there's any fiscal way you can lighten the load, it's probably worth it.)
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