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I've procrastinated working on my thesis for more than a year

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Re: I've procrastinated working on my thesis for more than a year

#131

Post by alex_suzuki »

KVFinn wrote: post #2

If you're not just making slow progress but literally unable to make a single bit of progress, my goto strategy is similar to what writers call a vomit draft. For writing it conventionally means means writing words without stopping to plan or edit, no corrections allowed, the rule is you just have to keep typing, no matter what. It's about something being better than nothing, creating momentum, and also avoids being…

It works for other things as well. I needed to create a „customer portal“ web application for a product I’m working on, and kept postponing it, because I don’t enjoy working on it. The pressure to have it functional became so great that I literally committed a generic dashboard template with just a couple text changes, truly ugly, vomit-style stuff. But it helped me overcome my blockade and start working on it in earnest (and actually enjoying it!).

Re: I've procrastinated working on my thesis for more than a year

#134

Post by afr0ck »

croisillon wrote: post #53
shikshake wrote: post #27

Hey, I'm the author of this blog post. I didn't think anyone would even read it, let alone post it on HN. To be honest it's a little scary how many people are seeing this post since it's basically my 2am anxiety-fueled cry for help. But it's also motivating reading all these comments from people who've had similar experiences and are offering encouragement. I'm reading every one of your replies and they're giving me…

My GF started working on her Master Thesis in 2011. A few things happened like moving to another city and some short jobs here and there. She was really dreading even thinking about it, constantly waiting for next year's updated statistics. Me trying to help also upset her, we were in a bad place in that respect. In 2015 she started going to a university help group but it still didn't really help. In 2016 I convinced…

Mind boggling. I wrote my Masters thesis in one week. Mind you, it's computer science (I did some work on distributed systems and contributed to the Kubernetes container orchestrator), the professors don't stress that much on the writing as long as you did a valuable work. However, I also saw that as a waste of time, so I was just trying to get rid of it asap and write whatever. It's shocking when I hear people procrastinating for years for such a useless thing.

Re: I've procrastinated working on my thesis for more than a year

#135

Post by wafriedemann »

KVFinn wrote: post #2

If you're not just making slow progress but literally unable to make a single bit of progress, my goto strategy is similar to what writers call a vomit draft. For writing it conventionally means means writing words without stopping to plan or edit, no corrections allowed, the rule is you just have to keep typing, no matter what. It's about something being better than nothing, creating momentum, and also avoids being…

That’s basically evolution vs design. Design allows you to be stuck in planning mode forever. It’s noble even, because you want to do it right.

Re: I've procrastinated working on my thesis for more than a year

#136

Post by cracrecry »

I recommend you three books, because as academic I expect you to like thinking:

  1. The now habit. Understand what anxiety and procrastination is. Where does your anxiety comes from? You probably are comparing yourself with what you should be doing, or with what you should have done in the perfect world. There is no perfect world.

  You were the "planner", the strategist, but someone else did the dirty job, the boring stuff. A good planner will usually become a terrible action man, because it requires a completely different mindset.

  Action or execution requires totally different strategies from managing-planning. First, it requires no planning, no time spent planning and deciding because it has already been decided.

  People that are good strategists usually are people that love to think all the time, hence it becomes natural to them. Now, if they need to execute something that has been decided(even by themselves!!) they continue expending time and effort looking for a better solution, for a better plan and the law of diminishing returns kicks in. As planners they could spend 100% on it, be specialists, but now it is a terrible strategy.
You need to be able to be two personas in one. From a person that only cares about planning and making decisions to someone who only cares about what is in front of his or her until the work is done.

  2. Atomic Habits. Use proven strategies that work. Do not care about results, only care about good habits, because they produce results automatically.


  3. The book of no. If you have problems, you state them clearly. We don't need another PhD, we don't care. Do you care about what you are doing?  Nobody forces do to do it, you do it because you want it or else you just don't do that.

Re: I've procrastinated working on my thesis for more than a year

#137

Post by cracrecry »

shikshake wrote: post #27

Hey, I'm the author of this blog post. I didn't think anyone would even read it, let alone post it on HN. To be honest it's a little scary how many people are seeing this post since it's basically my 2am anxiety-fueled cry for help. But it's also motivating reading all these comments from people who've had similar experiences and are offering encouragement. I'm reading every one of your replies and they're giving me…

Procrastination is routine in PhDs. It is the norm, you are not alone. Millions have been there before you, millions will be there after you.

First is a 100% anti natural work to do, only using your mind.

Lots of people forget the basics like eating well, resting well, or doing exercise.

For me for example, having a routine of exercise was essential, because your job does not require exercise, like most jobs did 100 years ago.

Re: I've procrastinated working on my thesis for more than a year

#138

Post by holyra »

Be careful, mental health is really precious...

I didn't have the courage to quit my PhD while I was alone (my supervisors were not involved in my work from the beginning; I had almost no comments on my writings, including my thesis...). It took me 5.5 years (instead of the average 3.5 years in my university) to graduate. I extended my 3-year contract with 2 years of teaching and the remaining 6 months I was without a contract.

I finished my thesis. However, It completely destroyed me: 2 years later I am still severely depressed with severe generalised anxiety disorders.

Re: I've procrastinated working on my thesis for more than a year

#139

Post by TeMPOraL »

MaxPengwing wrote: post #104
ackbar03 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, that's the alternative to doing a PhD??

The most common academic titles are: Bachelors - Masters - Licentiat - Doctor A Lic. is not use din the US, but very common in Europe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licentiate_(degree) And is basically what you can take out after half a Ph.D. program. In many technical schools in Sweden you are expected to do Lic. on the way to Ph.D. or if you burn out you at least have a Lic.

I think GP is asking about the M&B, not the MA.

Re: I've procrastinated working on my thesis for more than a year

#140

Post by whatyesaid »

bluenose69 wrote: post #122

I am a bit confused about the problem. Most of the comments are about getting past a writing block, but my (possibly incorrect) interpretation was that the sticking point is in doing the research work that would be reported on in the thesis. I infer this partly because of the discussion of bringing undergraduate students and other graduate students into the research team. Obviously, such a team has nothing to do with…

Agreed that it sounds like a research block than a writer's block. I would also infer if students were struggling at some point but were doing fine before, they all reached the same set of blockades.
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