writing...successfully

Getting into writing mode can be a challenge. Especially for your thesis or dissertation. We're not talking about a little report here, we're talking about your life's work up until this point. We're talking about putting into words the research you've been working on for years. We're talking about the document that is the difference between you being Ms. or Mr. for the rest of your life and instead being Dr. How could someone not be intimidated by that?

Then add in my biggest mental hurdle. Plagiarism. It might sound silly, but here it was, one of my hangups. What if I accidentally plagiarize? After reading and reviewing so many articles for my literature review (which I'm still not finished with by the way), I was caught up in the land of not being able to have an original thought. If I thought something about something else, likely it wasn't something I thought of myself, but the thought had been planted there by something I read that was written by another researcher. I was feeling like I had to cite my thoughts in my head. So you can see how paralyzing that can be once I had to put thoughts on paper. "Obviously you're being irrational..." I can already see some of you thinking. Each of us will have a hurdle or block of some kind that's easy for someone to dismiss if they're not in your head, but when they're happening, they're very real.

What got me out of the funk, and back into reality was reading parts of "Writing your Dissertation in 15 Minutes A Day." I didn't really need the beginning, and the premise of the book is that everyone has something that works for them, she just outlines a few methods to try. I am an outliner. I like to outline my thoughts, see a direction, a plan of action, and fill in the blanks. This, for whatever reason, was not working for me. My outline felt too circular...more like a web(?). Logic was failing me, and I'm an engineer!

One of the recommended methods involves sitting down and writing something every day. It doesn't have to be about your dissertation at first. Just write. Whatever comes to your mind. What you have to do that day. How you are feeling? Are you nervous? What have your hurdles been? What's been frustrating? What came out for me was my plagiarism quick sand. And a long list of things to do. 

But sitting down and writing something every day is not as easy as it sounds when you have a family. Significant other, pets, kids all offer a bunch of things (rather demanding things) for your to do list that often, when in your face, will jump above your writing. So the second part of this - just one line in the book - was what made this work for me. In talking about a mentor who was helping other students write, her method was to get up, make coffee, and lock herself in her room to write for two hours before doing anything else. It was a "eureka" moment for me. If I get up before everyone else, make my coffee, lock myself in my office and write, it's when I'm at my best (shockingly not after a long day at work), and before any of my other distractions are awake and in need of my time. 

Match this with keeping all of my research documents out in my office spread out so they're right where I need them, and it actually works! Even better, I'm doing much better with my Graduate Student Guilt. (I hear that this is similar to Catholic Guilt if you were raised Catholic...but I was not.) Graduate student guilt would manifest itself when I was mentally flogging myself throughout the day...you need to review at least three articles today...you should write at least four more pages...you still have ## papers to grade...what about your lesson plan for tomorrow?...you should do that analysis today...didn't your advisor ask for an update?...and on, and on. Now, I get work done in the morning, and go on with my day. I have something, something significant, accomplished before my day even starts. It's a wonderful feeling. And if I want to catch up on a Downton Abbey episode that afternoon, I do it with much less guilt. I've earned it!

And how did I address my plagiarism paralysis? It will seem pretty obvious to you as an outsider, but I just wrote. No one needs to see my hand written documents before I have a chance to include my references. If I'm writing from memory, I'm less likely to accidentally quote someone, I am more likely to better paraphrase and idea, and my document will be more organic...less pasted together. Less choppy. For me it was a win-win-win, hopefully resulting in win-win-graduate!

Everyone goes through it, you just need to find your magic (or not-so-magic) formula for getting it done.

Feel free to share. Have you found something that works for you? Email me about it...

-- Dawn