Blog

Three Cute metaphors for getting your thesis written

This is the first in a series of 3 posts: cute, quick metaphors (from the Greek, to carry across one kind of meaning into another realm, to make a connection), that might give you an ‘ahah!’ moment. 

Mr Will-Do-for-Dinner, not Mr Right.

Lots of doctoral candidates I see worry about making proposals and plans, or committing, early, to a line or argument or theory.  They worry because it won’t be complete, it won’t be True, or Right, or forever.

However, this stuff is like dating.

There are two kinds of awful date.  The first kind is never actually at the table with you.  They are always checking their phone,  even Facebook flirting with other people while they wait for you to come back from the bathroom. “For goodness sake,” you think, “I’m just asking for you to have dinner with me for 2 hours”.

The second kind is just as bad, but in the other direction.  They want to know your views about wedding presents, dividing the housework, what your retirement scheme is, what kinds of schools you want to send your children too.  “Okay,” you think, ‘this is a bit intense.  Can we get to know each other first?”

It’s the same with your thesis.  Your Confirmation document, your Research Proposal, your Chapter plan is a plan, not a contract.  But you are demonstrating that you know how to make a plan. Demonstrating you know how to make a good argument for now, a good plan for now, means I’m more likely to invite you back for another date (or at least a second year of the PhD).

In your introduction, you need to settle on one argument, a definite argument; even if it’s not definitive, even if it’s only an argument for now.

You aren’t a total idea whore, flitting around unable to commit to anything for a moment in case something better comes along.  But if the love of your life turns up next week, the plan will understand if it get’s dumped (just don’t do it by text).

Man holding flower with woman in park
By Laurasaurus Rex
SHARE

Succeeding in a Research Higher Degree

Doing a Research Higher Degree (like a PhD) is hard, but lots of people have succeeded and you can too. It’s easier if you understand how it works, this blog gives you the insider view.

Contact

Related Posts

The blog is back

Not only is Writing Well and Being Well for your PhD and Beyond now in to my publishers, but we have a publication date and a preorder link.

Read More

The story of my thesis

If you have ever been to one of my workshops in the last decade, you will probably have done this warm up. In fact, if you came to a multi-day writing retreat I ran, you would have done this at the beginning of each day. It is the most powerful, most flexible, simplest tool in my writing tool box.

Read More

How to unstick your reading list

As I was getting to the end of the recent book, I was buying books at my usual pace but not reading them (as that brainspace was completely taken up with reading my own draft or references for the draft).

Now the book is in and the summer has started, I felt excited to dive into all these books but I also felt stuck. I couldn’t get into gear, let alone find my groove.

So I rummaged around in my toolbox, and came up with this list of techniques. None of them are perfect, but little by little we are turning the dial back to reading.

Read More

Get the latest blog posts