Panic. I feel panic when I think of my dissertation. It is still winter, and the dissertation is only due next summer. However, panic creeps up my back and keeps me from thinking clearly and working effectively.
No, not the panic monster type of panic. Not the one that usually would come along if you procrastinated for a while and suddenly realised the deadline was around the corner. Not the one that lets you achieve 80 per cent of the work in 20 per cent of the time without making you feel satisfied with your work.
Maybe a similar type of panic. A time pressure type of panic. Which surprises me, because this is precisely what I intended to avoid from the beginning.
Three measures I already had taken to avoid (perceived) time pressure
Waking up early to get things done in solitude before the day starts for everybody else around me.
Using calendars and timers to keep track of the time going by.
- I even put timers on the bottom of this blog to be constantly reminded of how much time is left until:
- the semester ends (by that day I will be able to focus on just my dissertation),
- the first draft of my dissertation should be finished, and
- the final version of the dissertation must be submitted.
- It really scared me when the timer for the first draft deadline switched from 3 months to go to 85 days to go. DAYS!
Keeping a dissertation diary to keep track of my work progress. The diary also helps me to detect possible impediments to my research work. I observe that something is wrong whenever I end up writing very long entries in the dissertation diary. This indicates that I spent too much time thinking about work than I actually spent working.
Three reasons why these measures did not work for me right now
My wake-up-early routine got lost during the last week. And I will not be able to establish it again until the week after next week. This is due to other work commitments.
I got pulled off my work during the last two weeks by other duties. I could not work on my dissertation at all. This gap gives me stomachache. Will I fail because of such non-dissertation-work times? Probably not. Because we all have different roles in our lives and we all have one thing in common: we only have 24 hours available per day. Nobody can spend all of their time on just one topic.
I started realising that I was thinking too big when I chose my dissertation topic. Somehow, I pictured myself to be an expert on my subject after having written the dissertation. I should say goodbye to that expectation and be more down-to-earth: I will be well informed after having done the research, but the journey has to go on. I will still have a lot to learn, and—as things in this research field evolve rapidly—that might never change.
Four measures to handle (perceived) time pressure
To my mind, the next steps in such a panic situation should be the following:
Whatever the circumstances: To calm down your brain about THAT deadline, just get back to your routine and do your work. How? Start with little tasks—but start.
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Set priorities and stick to them. That means saying no to others (if necessary) and being able to bear their disappointment. Do not feel responsible for every little thing somebody brings to your attention. For me, this means: for as long as the timers run on this blog, my primary responsibility is to finish my MA programme as good as I can, that is, to learn as much as I can.
Accept that you will never be “done”. You will continue to grow over time (if you want to). Recognise that this does not hinder you from delivering excellent work even now. That is, you do not need to be “finished” before you can contribute to a field or a project. For me, this means: I might not be an evangelist for my topic right after the dissertation, but I will be able to make better decisions and deliver high-quality documents.
Accept that there are no quick solutions to big problems (for me: the dissertation). Big projects require work, which takes its time. You will always wish for more time. This might not necessarily indicate that you really needed more time. I would suggest that wishing for more time could also mean that you are just interested in the topic. And isn’t this a good thing?
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