Surviving your Dissertation
April 29th, 2010Surviving your Dissertation
Critical Points to help you Survive your Dissertation
As with any form of intense study or research, Surviving your Dissertation remains a huge challenge to many students. It is critical that you consider all relevant aspects of your family, work and social life before embarking on your dissertation. In order to Survive your Dissertation with your physical and emotional health intact, you need to make some major adjustments in your normal routine. You need to carefully consider every aspect of your routine and daily life which will be affected by the time and energy which you need to invest in your dissertation.
Below are some critical points which will assist you in Surviving your Dissertation without adversely affecting your relationships and your health:
Allocate Responsibilities: There are many tasks and responsibilities which previously rested on your shoulders that can be successfully allocated to others to ensure that you free up some of your time. Sharing your dissertation project plan with your family, friends and colleagues will ensure that they are aware of what your deadlines are and also what your dissertation will entail in terms of time. You will find that normal, daily tasks which take up a chunk of your time can be easily re-allocated if those around you understand what pressure and intense focus will be required on your part. As long as you select people who are reliable and trustworthy, you will have the peace of mind required to focus on Surviving your Dissertation.
Eliminate Distractions: It is common amongst students who face the seemingly mammoth task of embarking on a dissertation to succumb to the proverbial procrastination temptation. The time spent on reading emails which do not require your attention and also the time spent on social networking sites is highly underestimated. Many inboxes are inundated with spam, jokes and chain letters which attract our attention but could very easily be ignored or deleted. Making sure that you bar these types of emails and shut down your social networking sites for the duration of your dissertation is crucial if you are to Survive your Dissertation. Your friends will understand as you would already have shared your time pressures with them.
Look after your Health: This is not the time to be surviving on less than 6 hours sleep per night or to be binging on fast food. You cannot afford to be ill during this time as it could have devastatingly negative effects on your time allocation, deadlines and the overall goalposts which you have set for yourself. Surviving your Dissertation also means that you need to emerge from this project without having sacrificed your health. Focus on eating healthily and allocating some time for exercise and perhaps some meditation. The time taken for these activities will be well worth the investment from a health and subsequent productivity perspective. By breaking down your dissertation into mini-objectives, the task at hand seems less formidable and you will be able to reward yourself for every milestone you achieve during this journey. You do not just barely want to Survive your Dissertation, you want to be able to celebrate the success of your achievements as well!
