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Top 10 tips for fast thesis writing

the three month thesis

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Top 10 tips for fast thesis writing

December 20, 2010 By James Hayton 22 Comments

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1- Decide when to start

You have to decide when you are going to write. The first thing to do is to set a date when you will stop doing research and start writing in earnest, leave yourself at least 3 months to finish off any last things you need to do. This deadline has to be absolute. Anything not done by then, doesnt get done. You will never complete everything on your to-do list, but this is liberating if you accept it as true. Setting a finish date for your research will help you focus on the few tasks which add the most value to your thesis.

2- Decide when to stop

Set your own thesis completion deadline (ideally three months after your start date). Imagine every month you add to the time as costing you $5000 (since you lose income and free time). If you dont think its possible to write a thesis in that time, write down every reason why not, and ask yourself if its impossible, or just difficult.
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3- Set mini-deadlines for each chapter

You should already have a rough idea of what your content will be (in terms of chapter titles and so on, so set a deadline for completion of each chapter. These deadlines have to be tight (say 2 weeks per chapter), otherwise youll always be able to start tomorrow. These dates have to be agreed well in advance with your supervisor, so they know when to expect each chapter for review (this is the only way to expect fast feedback from a busy academic). Also set dates for meetings to review each chapter, so for example if you hand them a chapter on a Friday, schedule a meeting for the following Wednesday.

4- Set easy targets for each day

Aim to do 500 words every day. It might not seem like much, but it means that you can achieve and beat your target every single day. It soon adds up, and if 500 words is your minimum, the average will actually be higher. Aiming for 1000, 2000 words or more, youll miss your target as often as you make it, which is terrible for morale. It takes the pressure off, and gives you time to write the right 500 words, saving a huge amount of time in the long run. Print out or make your own word grid and place it on the wall above your desk, fill it in as your word-count grows, so you have a visual record of your progress and productivity. It feels good to see it grow! 500 word per day grid
500 word per day grid.pdf 30.4 KiB 4321 Downloads Details...

5- Create a comfortable, distraction free environment

If you have a choice, work from home. There will be fewer distractions than in the office. Ideally, work at a computer with no internet connection, but if this isnt possible, switch off all automatic email notifications and chat programs. That green dot next to your name is an invitation to friends to come and distract you. Put your monitor at eye level, otherwise youll suffer back and neck pain. If you use a laptop, buy a second-hand monitor and external keyboard. Its not worth physical pain.

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6- Only turn on the computer when you know exactly what youre going to work on
Discovering this changed my life. It also helps to

7- Check email only after youve done at least 2 hours work

Even then, its usually not necessary. Email is a non-urgent form of communication and the biggest source of distraction in the modern working world. Its also the first step into a procrastination loop, because it feels justifiable to check email when you get distracted.

8- Work for 25 minutes at a time

Use a timer, work intensively for 25 minutes on one thing, then take a 5 minute break. During those five minutes, get away from the computer, make a cup of tea, stretch your legs, whatever you want to do, but dont check the internet. After four 25-minute bursts, take a longer break. When your brain tries to distract you, you just have to make it through to the end of the 25 minutes, rather than aiming to spend all day concentrating. Take advantage of your brains natural attention span. If you think of something else you need to do, write it down, then carry on with what you were doing.

9- Get away from the computer when you arent working

Most people find this a challenge, but try to create a binary state. You are either working, or not. Being in some sort of half-way in between state is no use to anyone. If you can do this, youll end up spending less time at the computer, but getting far more done.

10- Look after yourself

Be nice to yourself; eat well, sleep well, and socialise. This is far easier if you follow the tips above, because youll have the time to spare for things you actually enjoy doing. 11- Get the Three Month Thesis Video Tutorials!
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The painless PhD (video course)

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500 word per day grid

500 word per day grid.pdf

30.4 KiB 4321 Downloads Details...

Filed Under: Blog, Thesis Procrastination Tagged With: 10 tips, Doctorate, PhD, productivity, Thesis, Thesis writing, writing

Comments

tatiana vastilovia says September 2, 2013 at 9:04 pm

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thanks a ton jamesthis is indeed helpful *sigh* i got a thesis which i gt to submit in 4 mnths n havent strt it yet :/ really tensed..i hate d criteria of our unianyway keeping this on mindyes it shall work Reply thanks again

Sarisha says August 18, 2013 at 5:31 pm Ive been working on my MSc thesis since 2010, I was supposed to be done by last year but due my brilliant procrastination and disorganization skills Im still writing it and now working full time. All the data has been collected and *almost* processed, I just need to finish the analysis and write it all up. Its on my mind constantly and I feel like failure because I havent finished and Ive received so much support from my thesis adviserhow do I get unstuck? Reply

Angkeara says August 15, 2013 at 10:58 am Many thanks James for all the convincing articles in your blog. Much appreciated. Reply

Jo says July 23, 2013 at 6:40 pm Thanks for putting this up here. Its good to know Im not alone! Im currently writing my MSc, and had to ditch the research Id done from Sept-May as a panel of supervisors decided it was too ambitious. Ive had to basically start from scratch, and I aim for 500 words a day as a minimum also. I get really panicky some days, and I work afternoons so I dont have the luxury of time. Ive got 15000 words to write by the end of September. Not impossible, but still a fair whack not to mention
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editing the full 30000 words by then too. Good luck to anyone else in the same situation! Reply

Julie says November 22, 2012 at 6:10 pm Thank you for great tips James. I was wondering if these 3 months cover just the writing phase or the research itself as well. Do you think if you have a good planning of what to do and know all the steps for your research, can a PhD thesis be done in a year with published papers. Yes, I am stuck!:( Need help Reply

jameshayton says November 26, 2012 at 11:00 am 3 months to write, having finished research. 1 year might be physically possible, but would be extremely rare 2 years is definitely possible but exceptional. Reply

Zaiha says October 9, 2012 at 5:32 pm Im doing my thesis right now and I also have tree months. Chrome Nanny has helped me a lot. So you can block websites that are distracting you like Facebook. And use internet only for writing purposes Reply

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jameshayton says October 10, 2012 at 9:46 am or use Freedom to block the web entirely. Its not free (ironically), but very useful Reply

Andy says September 16, 2012 at 2:59 am You probably want to cite http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/ for #8, right? Reply

jameshayton says September 17, 2012 at 11:38 am yes! Reply

shila says July 10, 2012 at 7:20 am hi James, very good tips. James, I have only four months and 15 days to finish up everything. My problems are, I suffer chronic multilevel slipdisc (I have to rest many times, I am experiencing pain during sitting when studying. and another one I am not masters yet in statistics. My thesis is quantitative.
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What are your advice. Thanks very much. syila Reply

tulis says January 16, 2012 at 4:33 am I think im in those procrastination kind of student .I have every single bad attitudes that u mentioned in your videos and I need to submit my phd thesis july 2012. This 3 monththesis tips really help me. Thanks James. Reply

Matt Clendennen says November 5, 2011 at 5:57 pm Have you guys tried writingscore.com? Im curious if theyre any good? Reply

jameshayton says November 8, 2011 at 11:45 am Ive never tried it writing services might get you through undergraduate reports, but for a PhD or masters degree where you have to defend your writing it doesnt seem like a good idea. Reply

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Anonymous says May 30, 2011 at 7:58 pm What is this bullshit? I need to write thesis in 3 days not in 3 months. And you actually believe what you have written here? Wow. Reply

jameshayton says May 31, 2011 at 9:42 am maybe you should have started three months ago Reply

anniek says October 11, 2011 at 1:31 am haha! where is the like button on your website? Reply

jameshayton says October 11, 2011 at 11:07 am I took it down because it was slowing down the site, but there is a facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/3monththesis Reply

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Ale says June 9, 2012 at 10:58 am Hahaha! Some people are UNREAL! What a joke Reply

Ping says August 29, 2012 at 1:04 pm What are you doing on this site, exactly? Reply

Subbu says November 26, 2012 at 10:07 pm lol.Same here. I have to submit the final draft tomorrow and im looking at this now. Reply

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