look at me, working on my dissertation

So, this blog might be hijacked by my dissertation a bit. But don't worry, I'll still procrastinate with baby photos and exciting posts about paint colors.


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Yesterday, I officially started writing my dissertation.

What that really means: I cleaned off my desk, got the giant pile of books out of the closet where they had been collecting dust for a year, organized the books, organized my notes, and then fell asleep.

Not exactly the robust, thoughtful start I had envisioned.

This summer, I will be working in the mornings and writing in the afternoons. I just finished a book with this cheeseball title: How to Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day. While most of it was things I already knew and just need to put into practice, there were a couple of important ideas I came away with:

1. Write every day. The whole 15 minutes a day thing is just to get into the practice of sitting down every day with it. I know I need to treat the writing like a job: I have a limited amount of time that I can stretch out this whole working part-time thing, so I need to get a lot done this summer. Part of the reason I took on too much work this spring was so that I could afford a couple of months to write. So I need to actually use that time writing (and not doing other things, like taking impromptu trips to IKEA or making cute little videos of Lea for my blog. But don't worry, I have one of those coming soon).

2. After I get into a rhythm of writing, I need to set a daily page goal. I'm thinking it is going to be 4 or 5 pages a day. I think that's reasonable, given my writing style and habits. It doesn't have to be good writing at this point - just content.

So, these next two weeks, I am going to do 15 minutes a day, on top of the reading and note-taking and remembering what it is I actually am supposed to be writing about. I think that's the scariest part right now: I haven't thought about it in so long that I am having trouble articulating my central argument, or even thinking through my topic. It's way too big and amorphous at this point. So, I'm going to start with what I know and the things I feel comfortable with.