THESIS COMPLETION IN THREE MONTHS: Conditions for Optimal Writing Output

It is just days before the deadline for your proposal submission, and you are hurrying to complete your first draft. Or you are still compiling data to extract narrative reports a few weeks before the due date. With each effort to secure the correct information, the prospect of completion is increasingly dimmer. Most of us have been, or will be, in the unenvious position of maximizing writing output in a limited time horizon. Whether as school assignments, activity reports, or longer-term tasks like dissertations, we confront the challenge of overcoming anxiety and stress to produce text that is as legible as it is intelligible. More qualified professionals have published granular pieces with tools for consistent writing over time, including how to complete a dissertation by devoting at least fifteen minutes each day. This post targets those whose circumstances do not permit such approaches. If, like me, you need to multitask extensively in a new setting and must conduct so much research that writing feels like the final piece of the puzzle, then this post might be useful. I had to complete my thesis while teaching classes of 70-80 students, navigating a foreign culture, and keeping up with immigration requirements. Through my experience of thesis completion in three months, I identified the factors enabling maximum writing output as sufficient motivation, sustained momentum, and a positive mood.

Motivation is the drive to achieve an objective. It is the difference between needing to complete a task and actually wanting to, which can spur us to sacrifice leisure time for professional goals. Our ability to bridge this gap depends on our comfort with the project's timelines. According to Parkinson's law, work expands naturally to fill the available time. For this reason, tasks with shorter timelines increase our sense of urgency and concordant motivation. Conversely, longer-term projects like graduate theses suffer from the illusion of excess available time. Potential solutions include joining writing groups, creating accountability partners, and mapping multiple personal deadlines that incorporate non-academic/non-professional engagements to force us out of our comfort zones. In some instances, you may be so lucky as to have an extrinsic source of motivation, such as a job offer contingent on your project's completion. Others, like me, will have to rely on a hard deadline and the dread of failure for total devotion to the goal of project completion. Whichever the source, a sufficient drive brings priorities into sharp focus. It allows us to streamline the entire project and restrains our intellectual curiosity, enabling the subject-matter discipline to stop going down rabbit holes for newer ideas and perspectives.

If motivation is the mental aspect, then momentum is the physical component. It relates to energy, without which motivation is hopelessly insufficient. Less demanding projects can be completed in our regular daily routines. High-intensity writing is slightly different. I found it incredibly helpful to find sources of nutrition that power up the body without sacrificing strength levels from the digestive process. Finding what works for you is very personal, as is figuring out whether one works better on a starchy, vegan, or, in my case, protein-heavy diet. I failed to get into the coffee culture but made headway with energy drinks. The other important factor is constant, seemingly superfluous hydration. Thirst and hunger both register through bodily exhaustion, and it took me a while to figure out which the body needed to power back up.

The third leg of this tripod is mood, which is your emotional state. One might be in top physical and mental shape but fail to work because of devastating news. Sometimes, we also have people in our circles adept at bringing us down. A negative mood limits productivity as we waste valuable momentum on stress management and anxiety control. Mood regulation helps to ensure we efficiently deploy available energy. This requires us to distinguish between supportive people with a positive outlook and those whose negativity demands strategic avoidance. The ones who care about you will shine in these moments, as will those with similar experiences who are willing to empathize. Some will be less accommodating about the demands of this routine. Other necessary auxiliaries to sustaining positivity include mood-boosting music, sports iconography, or some other form of artwork.

Getting enough rest is essential for both your mood and momentum. The temptation to continue pushing and get more writing done can lead to diminishing returns if one wakes up feeling groggy due to insufficient rest. Knowing whether one is a morning person or an evening owl also helps to maximize output in the most productive period. An awareness of the distinction between mental and physical exhaustion is also vital to avoiding long periods of restlessness when one hopes to finally fall asleep. Physical activity can complement the sedentary life required by intensive writing to improve the quality of sleep. I also found utility in sleep supplements such as melatonin.

Ultimately, it can and has been done, even if it feels almost impossible. You are not alone in these endeavours. It only requires discipline and dedication to a rigorous regime. There will be drawbacks during and after this period. To paraphrase Logan Roy, "You make your own reality. And once you've done it, apparently, everyone's of the opinion it was all so (expletive) obvious." Expect the bittersweet feeling of completion without an immediate improvement of your circumstances. Look forward to the deluge of congratulatory messages even though it feels, at best, complicated. Hopefully, you do not suffer burnout or a mini-life crisis. If you do, remember that is also part of the process, and that the time which was finite for project completion is boundless for your recovery. You withdrew from a world in which expectations from you have significantly heightened and will re-adjust with a robust new skillset you can effectively deploy in your professional pursuits.