Learn how to navigate the grueling task of writing a dissertation, as well as methods to stop procrastinating and sustain a good writing habit. In this workshop presented by Dr. Meredith Boulden, you will learn how to identify your strengths and seize opportunities for growth as scholars and writers, while reinforcing self-efficacy, or the belief in your own skills and knowledge to complete a task. You will be asked to reflect on your motivations for writing a dissertation and completing your degree and to identify your individual writing process. Using these various insights, you will learn how to prepare yourself for writing and plan out the course of your dissertation reading, writing, and research.
This session of the Dissertation Writers Retreat presented by Dr. Kenneth Haggerty is designed to empower you with the tools and knowledge to effectively share your research with the academic community and beyond. Learn about the latest platforms, best practices, and strategies for publishing, open access, and maximizing the impact of your work. Key highlights will be creating and managing your Google Scholar profile, setting up and optimizing your ORCID, and navigating and utilizing ResearchGate to connect with peers and showcase your work. Join us and take a significant step towards promoting your research!
These two eBooks were recommended by Stephen Turner at the Winter 2021 DWR:
Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century by 
Destination Dissertation by Sometimes it can be helpful to keep track of how much time or how many days in a row you have consistently worked on your dissertation. For some folks, having that visual is both a reward for the progress they've made and a motivator to maintain that steady pace. The video below explains how to make best use of habit trackers.
Another tool you may find useful is habit stacking. Habit stacking is a modified version of setting an intention for the day; it is also the concept of building positive habits into the rhythms of your daily life.
For example: You might already drink two cups of coffee every morning to kickstart your day. If you use the idea of habit stacking, you might stack on the habit of starting a writing session with your second cup of coffee.
The video below explains how you might brainstorm new ideas for stacking your habits to create new routines that will help you finish your dissertation.
Virginia Woolf certainly knew a thing or two when, in 1929, she wrote that a "woman must have money and a room of her own to write." Woolf's proclamation could be readily applied to any writer, however, and it is advantageous for dissertation writers to have a dedicated space set aside in which to study, research, brainstorm, outline, and compose their dissertations.
Dr. Ijeoma Kola, a graduate of Colombia University's Mailman School of Public Health, shares some of her personal tips for maintaining a work/life balance, particularly as a doctoral student. From keeping integrity with yourself by sticking to a self-imposed schedule to actively incorporating self-care into your weekly schedule, Dr. Kola's ideas for holding onto your sanity, your personal life, and your family time during your Ph.D. come from a voice of experience.
Dr. Kola also writes ongoing blogs about maintaining one's work/life balance as a doctoral student and a professional academic. See the link below for one of her articles about balancing family life with the Ph.D.
You're a graduate student. That means you're balancing a number of priorities, among them coursework, professional development, conference presentations, journal abstracts, not to mention the pressing needs of your family or any attempt to have a social life.
While the University of Memphis does not endorse the use of either of these applications, we have found that they may be of use as you wrestle your many responsibilities into a manageable schedule. Both the Forest and Flora phone apps can help you stay focused by setting a timer on your phone for a set amount of study time. If you complete your study session without picking up your phone, the app will "grow" a plant for you. You can also track how many hours a week, month, or year you have studied!
Both are available in the Apple App Store and Google Play.
