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Contributions from the 2020-2021 NSE PHinisheD cohort, coordinated by Marina Dang.
Thumbnail image adapted from a “bulb” icon by Manasa from the Noun Project.

“Just write, sleep, write, sleep, etc.” Such is the life of one thesis writer hoping to defend soon. He is also one of the dozen members of NSE PHinisheD, a community of graduate students who are months away from receiving their doctoral degrees. Together and under my lead, they’ve discussed deadlines, examples of thesis outlines, and ideas on how to balance writing and doing experiments. To help other writers in the department, I recently asked this cohort to share some of their go-to writing strategies, and here is their advice.

Don’t write chronologically

“Think about the order in which you write. You don’t have to start at the intro and end with the conclusion. It is often easier to write results sections first and have everything build out from there.”

Document as you go

“Try to keep thorough track of your experiments and simulations throughout the process. It gets much harder when you go to compile everything at the end if you don’t have an organized record. A good way is to have a rough document where you just write everything up as you go.”

Write in sprints and take breaks

“I set my timer for 20 minutes. The first few minutes can be a real pain but once I go past that, I’ve found it’s much easier to keep going. Depending on the day or what I’m writing about, the last few minutes before the alarm goes off can also be torture, but then I know I get to watch something on Netflix for 10 min. That’s both my break and my reward. Then I just repeat that process. If I’m feeling okay when my 20 minutes are up, then I’ll keep writing. But it’s the first few minutes that are the most uncomfortable (and what makes writing stressful) so just focus working past that discomfort.”

Let your mind wander

“I could try and spend all my energy on getting words on paper but for me, I’ve found it helpful to just let my mind wander sometimes. I get to think more clearly about how the ideas connect and once things make more sense in my head, then the words just come pouring out.”

Break it up into manageable chunks

“If you have a lot of anxiety about writing like I do, and it often results in some major procrastination, I find that outlining and breaking things down into smaller and smaller sections helps a lot, sometimes even to the paragraph level. I think about it more as if I were talking someone through my work: which talking points do I need to hit to bring them to the same conclusion that I came to? It also helps when you’re writing up something (results, or summarizing the prior literature), to take notes beforehand so that you have in front of you exactly what you know and what you don’t know, and you can easily transfer that information into your writing.”

NSE PHinisheD also offered numerous tips and tools that they use to stay organized:

Physical tools
 Digital tools
  • To do lists (weekly, and then daily)
  • To Day lists instead of To Do lists (which are more like Can Do lists)
  • Drawing a curtain closed in my work space (means I have a meeting or am working hard!)
  • Sitting at the table rather than on the sofa
  • Changing working venue (depends on task)
  • Lots of sketches/diagrams/lists in my notebook (I don’t always go back to them)
  • Starting with a ritual like clearing my desk (i.e. put everything on the floor behind me!), getting coffee, lighting my favorite scented candle, and leaving my phone facing down.
  • OneNote (scheduler/to do list)
  • EndNote
  • Focus Keeper (Pomodoro Technique – Timer)
  • Pomodor timer: http://www.tomatotimers.com/
  • Calendar (events and reminders)
  • Epic music e.g. Pirates of the Caribbean theme tune
  • Quitting out of the Apple Mail app so I don’t see the little red notifications!
  • A Gantt chart, though it can turn into a time sink so you have to be careful about that
  • Greyscale your phone
  • Deep concentration music like this.

There are lots of strategies that may or may not work for you depending on your style and circumstances, but the most important thing is don’t let yourself stay stuck for too long. Check in with your PI, a committee member, someone in your group, a friend, Heather Barry (hbarry@mit.edu), Brandy Baker (brandyb@mit.edu), or me (dangm@mit.edu). It shouldn’t have to be a Big Deal for you to reach out. Something as simple as, “This is taking much longer than I expected; is there another way?” can help you get unstuck.

Finally, writing is a solo activity but it shouldn’t be isolating. With that in mind, I’ll end with this last bit of advice from one of our outgoing students:

Find a community

“You don’t have to write alone! Use other people to help you through the writing process, especially at the very beginning (brainstorming/outlining) and the end (reviewing/feedback). The Comm Lab is a great place to turn to for these outside opinions.”

Best of luck with your writing, and many thanks to the students of NSE PHinisheD for sharing their tips with us. They will be missed once they’re finished.

Published April 21, 2021

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