Overcoming Fear when Writing: How to Make Writing a Habit
Maybe I should have titled this post: overcoming fear when not writing. Because that’s the reality of it. We don’t start, because of resistance (fear); we don’t focus or concentrate fully, because it’s difficult and it feels like we’re failing (fear), and we don’t stop after a good couple of hours work, because we fear we have not yet done enough (fear!). So yes, FEAR. It’s a nuisance. And it’s the kind of nuisance that tries to hide it’s there behind distractions and diversions. It’s also the kind of nuisance that will make you feel completely incompetent. When fear and resistance and [...]
How to write a PhD speedily & (almost) painlessly. Strategy 4: Balance work and recovery.
I am writing a series of blog posts condensing the PhD-writing strategies that helped me finish my PhD. I went from being a not-always-effective researcher to finishing my PhD in a couple of hours a day. Read my story here. Strategy 4: Balance Work and Recovery Writing a PhD can mess with your head. Let’s restate that: writing a PhD will mess with your head. It’s a head-messing thing, PhD-writing. Not to worry too much – head-messing can be handled, and it will occur far less frequently if you have strategies to balance work and recovery. What tends to happen instead, [...]
How to write a PhD speedily & (almost) painlessly. Strategy 3: Work in intervals
I am writing a series of blog posts condensing the PhD-writing strategies that helped me finish my PhD. I went from being a not-always-effective researcher to finishing my PhD in a couple of hours a day. Read my story here. Strategy 3: Work in Intervals Q 1: How many hours have you been sat staring at your computer screen today? Q 2: How many of those hours have you spent not doing the work you ‘should’ be doing? If the ratio of A1: A2 becomes too high it produces guilt. And possibly feelings of self-loathing. That, and your productivity drops, in [...]
How to write a PhD speedily & (almost) painlessly. Strategy 2: Stop doubting yourself
I am writing a series of blog posts condensing the PhD-writing strategies that helped me finish my PhD. I went from being a not-always-effective researcher to finishing my PhD in a couple of hours a day. Read my story here. Strategy 2. Stop Doubting Yourself Self-doubt. It’s the devil. It comes creeping in, seducing you into thinking your work is lousy, you are not moving ahead fast enough, and you will never get anything worth reading written. It comes at times expected (after having your work criticised by a supervisor, after that presentation that left you deflated, or in the run-up [...]
How to write a PhD speedily & (almost) painlessly. Strategy 1: Prioritise
I am writing a series of blog posts condensing the PhD-writing strategies that helped me finish my PhD. I went from being a not-always-effective researcher to finishing my PhD in a couple of hours a day. Read my story here. Strategy 1: Prioritise Time is tricky. That is true, in general, but it’s especially true when you’re writing a PhD. Unless you’re in a highly structured PhD programme you likely have a lot of unstructured time to do your research. Which may mean reading, thinking, and writing, gathering data, running your analyses, or staring out of the window waiting for [...]
Make Being Criticised Your Hobby
From Daisy Goodwin’s ‘Poems to last a lifetime’ […]
LIBRARY
Free Resources Library
I have compiled some free resources for you to download. An e-book, a short course with encouraging emails to nudge your writing productivity alive, and a worksheet with a mini-course to create an effective and very zen work routine.
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