The dissertation is the final milestone of your university studies. It proves your capabilities as an independent researcher, lets you explore your area of interest, and allows you to develop the ability to handle a long-term complex project. Yet, because of its significance and complexity, students tend to procrastinate on this task, only remembering about it when the deadline is just around the corner.
In reality, it’s possible to eliminate the stress and frustration out of dissertation writing if you manage your time smart. In today’s article, we are going to suggest a few tips that will be of service for keeping on track with your writing and completing it on time while maintaining a balanced lifestyle.
6 Tips For Managing Your Time When Writing A Dissertation Paper
Learn To Prioritize Activities
Prioritization means completing the highly important and urgent activities in the first place. It also assumes your ability to postpone the non-urgent academic papers or delegate the task if someone else can perform it more efficiently. For example, many students now entrust dissertation editing to a professional college online essay editor. Using the services of an editor company to edit their dissertation, students kill two birds with one stone. They take off the burden of editing which is a quite complex process and get their paper improved by a professional which helps them get a better grade.
Create A Timeline Far In Advance
To keep on track with all dissertation writing and defense milestones, plan your activities months ahead. Reach out to your department to find out the deadlines for sending the dissertation to the committee, defense date, and more. Then, break the dissertation writing into smaller tasks and develop a roadmap, with each milestone having its own deadline. For example, you can set deadlines for literature review, writing each chapter, and editing the entire dissertation assignment. Some college students use mind maps or timelines to visualize the process and to keep their focus on it.
Schedule Regular Writing Sessions
Once you’ve defined the important deadlines and strategic goals, it’s time to execute your plans. Schedule a few hours’ writing sessions in your diary. Contrarily to the common misconception, you don’t have to write every day – in this case, you’re most likely to burn out. 2-3 writing sessions a week will suffice, provided that you spend this time productively (we’ll talk about that below). Treat these writing sessions as a job and define goals for each session, for example, to write two pages. Taking baby steps will help you do quality research and complete chapter by chapter without fuss.
Have Regular Meetings With Your Advisor
Develop positive relations with your dissertation supervisor. As a rule, they are interested in the success of your dissertation and thus willing to help if any issues arise. So, agree all important milestones with your advisor and then keep in touch to inform them about the progress. Regular one-on-ones, Zoom meetings or phone calls not only will help you address any issues, but also will stimulate you to keep working as you’ll feel the responsibility. Also, make sure to reach out to the defense committee to share your plan and agree on the defense date.
Do Your Research Smart
Before you go to the library or use Google Scholar, ask your advisor for suggestions on what books to use. Chances are, they’ll give you some excellent options or share helpful online resources. As you read the books and articles, record page numbers, chapter titles, and more. Some students also find it helpful to write an annotated bibliography, i.e. give your personal commentary on each source. As you’ll go back to these sources to refresh the information, cite and reference them, these notes will save you a lot of time.
Organize The Writing Process
To make dissertation writing sessions productive, eliminate all distractions to fully concentrate on the subject. (By the way, this rule applies to essay writing and other projects). Schedule work during hours when you’re most productive, be it early morning or late in the evening. Choose a convenient working space that will help you stay focused. It can be a dorm room, a library, a coffee shop or even a bench in the park, whatever works for you. Use time management or project planning apps – they will motivate you to stay concentrated.
Ask For Help
Although the dissertation is an individual task, the help and encouragement of others can give your motivation a boost. Find a writing buddy in your class to stay accountable and discuss your challenges, as well as share advice. Contact your university advisor if you’re struggling with the particular point of the research or analyzing the outcomes. Finally, reach out to an online expert in academic writing or tuition services. As a rule, they staff native English professionals who can help write or edit not only essays but also parts of your dissertation text. And if you have a written dissertation, their editors can edit paper cheap or do the proofreading, perfecting the document and preparing it for submission.
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