growth mindset
Whilst we are working on the second draft, I want to deal with the emotional domain of writing and some of the common issues that arise when we are engaged in a big, difficult writing project like the PhD.
The first thing to say is that scheduling, and sticking to the schedule, combats many of the emotional barriers we erect to being happier writers. It combats feelings of guilt and failure, because we are constantly engaged in our project. We don’t need to dread or fear our PhD.
So, it is time to review the schedule and how it’s working. Remember we have started off at 20 hours per week as our target. This is roughly half your working week spent on writing as the other half should be spent on researching or other duties. As you move through the PhD, research will decline, and writing time must increase. At the beginning of you PhD, you might be doing less than 20 hours a week writing. Nonetheless, it is time to see where you have been able to maintain this commitment, where there is scope for increase, and where you have to re-adjust according to your real life. Make sure these are real, not specious barriers to writing, and adjust. Only you know the truth of that, but in live webinars we will unpick some of these writing stories. Use the journal for reflection.
We are not going to ever say we are doing 8 hours a day research and writing. No one sits down and writes for 8 hours straight - this is physically not healthy or mentally possible. The aim is to spread the load over each day, doing a little at a time. Regular, repeated exposure to writing. Not something to build up to (dread) and then get over with. Not something that induces guilt that we carry around with us. Not something which creates emotional drama.
When you get to 4 hours a day (20 whole hours a week) you may need to spread that time over several sessions in a day, using the pomodoro method. You will find your natural limit of concentration using the pomodoro. Mine is around 50 minutes per session in the morning and 40 minutes per session in the afternoon (I know this from myhours.com data) on a shitty first draft until I need a short break of 5-10 minutes to move around. Weirdly, when editing, I can last for much longer in a single session, but I still use the pomodoro to force me to move around.
So 4 hours of writing or research takes longer than 4 hours of your day - remember that and account for it in your schedule.
Over the course you need to work out what the maximum amount of writing time you can fit into the working week and map backwards to that. This will depend on your other obligations but even if you have taken on teaching, you should still be committing 20 hours a week minimum to your PhD. Within that time, you will be writing and researching, but you will also be arranging and attending classes, workshops, conference papers, and other PhD related stuff. This all has to fit into your 35/40 hour week. You must not work beyond this. Long hours, weekends and holiday working create burnout and ultimately damage your mental and physical well-being. You want to finish this PhD. You do that by working at an even pace that can be maintained.
If you are part-time, you will need to adjust these calculations accordingly.
If you feel like you have failed, because you have not kept up with your schedule, think again. There is no failure. There is only readjusting our timetable and recommitting until we get it right. Scheduling will get your through your PhD. On this course, we have a growth mindset. Failing is just another opportunity to learn and improve.
TODAY I WILL…
Map out the next 5 weeks of my schedule, slowing increasing the amount of time I spend per day on writing so that I hit my maximum in 5 weeks time (week 10 of the course);
Schedule at least one slot this week away from my favoured writing spot.