How to Keep Writing When You Want to Give Up Your Dissertation

Have you ever suffered writer’s block? Have you fought excessive boredom and disinterest to write a paper although you are aware that you are capable of writing? Do you have conflicting interests that side-line each effort you master to write your dissertation?

If your answer was ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, you are reading the right article. Here, we will highlight some steps to cure writer’s block and gain the motivation for writing your dissertation.

What causes writer’s block?

Many people often misunderstand writer’s block for laziness. As victims of the conditions, however, we understand that at times, all your good intentions may be futile in overcoming this condition.

The key to overcoming writer’s block is to understand the causes of the condition. Some of the reasons why you may experience writer’s block are:

• The lack of adequate writing ideas to structure your dissertation.
• Fear of the sheer task ahead of you.
• The availability of too many ideas on which you could base your dissertation causes indecision
• Frustration with a challenging portion of your dissertation
• Multiple distractions make it hard to focus on writing your dissertation
• Disinterest in your dissertation.

Although the reason might not seem clear at first glance, you must examine yourself and establish the reason behind your disinterest. This will allow you to resolve your issue objectively and alleviate the impact of this condition.

How to get motivated to write

What can you do when you are about to give up on your dissertation? Here we will highlight some of the ways you may evoke dissertation motivation and sustain consistent productivity throughout your writing process.

1. Employ a reward system

The end goal of completing your paper is barely enough motivation to propel you through writing your entire dissertation. If possible, employ incremental rewards after the achievement of each writing milestone. 

Rewards associate your efforts with positive stimuli, yielding intrinsic motivation to handle various tasks. Ideally, settle for incremental rewards to break the monotony of one stimulus and thus manage your entire paper according to your schedule.

2. Outline your process

The conflict of ideas is a key trigger for writer’s block. It is thus best that you outline the content for each chapter during your research. This helps keep you on track with your paper, maximizing your productivity in each writing session. 

3. The 10-minute approach

If you are fighting the urge to avoid writing your paper, we recommend the 10-minute writing approach. When looking to write for ten minutes, you will face little resistance compared to the plan to write an entire chapter. 

This short duration of activity allows you to kickstart your day, giving you the momentum to go an extra ten minutes. If you still feel disinterested in the dissertation after your ten-minute stint, consider switching to an engaging activity before returning your focus to the paper at hand. 

4. Delegate challenging tasks

Running into a stumbling block that consumes many writing hours without any progress may drain your writing spirits. When this has happened, there is no need to push yourself further as this may inspire frustration and promote procrastination.

It is best to consult an expert writer on the solutions for your challenge. This will allow you to retain your motivation and keep at par with your writing schedule. 

5. Maintain a progress chart

Visualizing your progress is also an effective way to ensure progress in your dissertation. After visualizing the amount of work you have covered, you can gain motivation to handle a smaller portion and stay at par with your goals. 

The progress chart should outline each stage of your dissertation writing and set goals that define the successful attainment of each writing milestone. 

6. Set a conducive writing environment

A great tip on how to make yourself write is to set a conducive environment free of various distractions. A distraction-free study environment allows you to master maximum concentration thus allowing you to ensure maximum productivity in each session. 

7. Chunk your work into sections

We would all feel anxious when tasked with the concept of writing a mammoth paper. However, handling a small portion of a chapter is easy to handle without much worry. As such, we recommend that you chunk your work into portions that can be comfortably handled in your study session.

Final take

We hope that these tips on how to keep writing have helped you overcome writer’s block. If you are fighting tight deadlines and are confused about what to write about, feel free to consult our expert team for guidance on writing your dissertation.