Source: Complete Your Dissertation
by
If you're stuck at any point in the dissertation process, borrow my phrase: "focus on efficiency, not perfection." What this means is that you find the fastest way to get out of the quagmire and moving ahead on the path. This will mean different things to different people, but the focus needs to be on finding an efficient and effective way to move ahead, even when it's not perfect.
For example: let's say that you've been working on a particular chapter, writing it, rewriting it, re-rewriting it. You are using a lot of energy and making a lot of effort, but, somehow, it's just not quite right (yet.) So you have to ask yourself, do I need to be efficient? or do I need to be perfect? (Answer: you need to be efficient.) This means, you then ask yourself: how can I wrap this up as quickly and painlessly as possible? What is the most efficient method to get through this material and on to something else?
Just the act of asking yourself this question may free you up enough to finish whatever you've been working on. But, even if it doesn't, just complete what you can, and then do the next thing and so on. The dissertation writing is sometimes an iterative process, where you write some, then write on something else, then come back to the first concept and write some more. Allow yourself to have that iteration time, by focusing on being efficient, first, and drafting as much as you can- and then polishing/refining your writing later.
If you're feeling frustrated or stuck, it's time to go for efficient completion of this stage, and forget about getting it perfect.
No comments:
Post a Comment