By definition, writing is a task
done alone, with minimal distractions. Such an environment can be difficult to
find in a busy household particularly with small children. You will need to
find a way to deal with these needs. Some suggestions from other students: find
a space that allows you to close the door- even a large closet will work.
Recruit or hire a babysitter for a couple of hours to allow you some writing
time. Work early in the morning or late at night. Write during your lunch hour.
Do you have other ideas? We would love to hear them.
One way to
structure your time, is to set goals for yourself for each week of the quarter,
leading to a final goal for the term. Hold yourself to these goals. You can
even break it down further and set a goal for each day. Consider, if you wrote
just one page per day, in a quarter you would have written 90 pages! Some
people set an alarm; they must sit and work on the paper for an hour, until the
alarm goes off. The important thing is to develop some writing habits, making
your dissertation a priority. Otherwise, it is just too easy to let the rest of
your life take precedence. Your paper is not going to shout at you to write it.
Your chair will probably not nag you. You have to make the decision that
receiving your degree is important enough to set time aside every day to write.
It is a great idea
to form a dissertation support group; members could be other students at
Walden, students in your dissertation class, or others you know who are in the
dissertation process. Commit to supporting each other regularly, sharing your
frustrations, and your joys. People who have not gone through the process,
however well meaning, do not really understand the stress involved. Get some
support!
Next time, I will
discuss the pain of writing. Do you have an issue or a question that you would
like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas.
leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu
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