Thread by @verymessyjamie

How I planned for + wrote 6 #thesis chapters in my last year while keeping all my mornings, evenings + weekends free.

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First, a note: I fucked about a LOT the first 2-3 yrs of the PhD. Then, had 2 bereavements + 6 straight months of health issues which put me out of action. So I ended up writing most of the thesis only in my last writing up year.

I cut it close but I got it done.

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1. I looked at everything I had to do + planned backwards: How many chapters over how many months. I broke the writing plan down into months, and then into weeks.

I had an idea of how I work and how much I'm able to do within a week, so I kept it realistic.

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Also worked in a lot of buffer space. E.g. if I thought I could do a section in 4 weeks, I'd actually allocate 6-7 weeks for it.

I also tacked on a whole extra month at the end of all chapters to give myself enough wiggle room.

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2. I planned my rest/personal time off FIRST.

I'm not a morning person so I knew I deliberately kept my mornings free of work.

I wanted evenings off to cook a proper meal.

I wanted to spend full weekends with my partner+friends.

Those were non-negotiatable work-free zones

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3. I knew my best work groove was something btwn 11am - 6pm. So I worked within those hours, sometimes more but mostly less.

4. I made sure to work in manageable blocks of time (90 mins max) + factored in LOADS of breaks. I used a timer to stick to those timeblocks+breaks

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5. I made it a point to pay attention to when my concentration / energy levels were depleted + done for the day.

If it just wasn't happening anymore/i was slowing down/the words werent coming, I stopped worked and went home.

I never forced myself to keep going/do more.

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6. I had an accountability buddy. I'd email her every Monday with a list of what I intended to do that week. Then the week after, I'd "report" back on what I managed to accomplish + reflect on why I couldn't get some things done. Then plan ahead for the next week.

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An average day:

8-10am wake up, breakfast, stare at the TV to 'wake up'
10-11am walk to office, make tea, chat w friends
11am - 1pm write
1-2pm lunch
2-6pm write, read, have many breaks + make many rounds of tea

Time spent actually writing = 4 hours max a day

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6pm onwards: My evenings were kept completely free, cook a proper meal, watch Gilmore Girls, knit, chill.
11pm sleep

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Obvs we all work at different paces & have different optimal work times. Not saying you have to follow this exact schedule but this is about:

1. Planning ahead
2. Scheduling rest first
3. Finding your best work groove, honoring your own flow/what works best for you

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Also, keeping things really small + really manageable is key. Don't make huge goals to write 2000+ words a day.

Writing 200 words consistently every day will yield more in the long term than forcing yourself to write 2000, burning out + stalling.

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I'll say it again, doing focused, intentional work every (week)day for in shorter blocks of time with LOTS of breaks/rest

ALWAYS BEATS

overworking, forcing yourself to work neverending hours, denying yourself rest.

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There's no one way to write a PhD. This is just my way + it's more important you find your own than to try to follow mine or anyone else's.

But I do want to assure you that a lot can be achieved in a short time. Don't underestimate yourself. Just have a sorta plan

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Also, the plan can be as rough/messy or as detailed/structured as will work for you. Don't let the plan be another thing to obsessed about.

That's all folks.
Hope that might help a bit 🤓❤️

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