{"id":260,"date":"2021-12-13T16:38:25","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T16:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/postgradproofreader.co.uk\/blog\/?p=260"},"modified":"2022-03-28T09:23:11","modified_gmt":"2022-03-28T09:23:11","slug":"how-to-write-every-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/postgradproofreader.co.uk\/blog\/2021\/12\/13\/how-to-write-every-day\/","title":{"rendered":"How to write every day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re working on the final stages of your thesis, there\u2019s probably a lot of writing going on in your world right now. It\u2019s also likely that you\u2019re juggling that with a job, cooking dinners, spending time with your family and trying to get out of the house once a day for fresh air. Therefore, despite your best intentions, writing might not be happening as often as you\u2019d like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are\nsome tips for carving out some time every day to get those brilliant findings\nand interpretations committed to the page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Plan\nahead <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As much as possible, try to plan your weeks so that writing time is scheduled. Of course, life is unpredictable and sometimes we can\u2019t stick to our plans, but if you at least know what you\u2019re aiming for, you\u2019re more likely to get there. If your schedule looks jam-packed, try to think creatively. Can you get up earlier a couple of days a week? Work in the evening while everyone else is watching TV? Get the kids to make the dinner one night so you can spend that time working? (Age of child dependent, of course!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Having a plan in place helps you in the long run!

Photo by Marten Bjork<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Tell\nyour housemates\/partner\/family that you have to shut the door <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a housemate, a mother, a father or a spouse, you might feel that you need to drop everything the moment you\u2019re needed by the people you love. Genuine emergencies aside, this is not the case. Can you set a time for working when you tell everyone that you\u2019re not to be disturbed? Even if it\u2019s only for half an hour a day, those half-hours will start stacking up, and so will your word count. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Setting clear boundaries with your loved ones is essential when working on a big project!

Photo by Tim Mossholder<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Turn off\nsocial media<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no\npoint telling your family that the door is shut if you\u2019re going to spend all your\ntime behind that closed door frantically checking Twitter and replying to your\nfavourite WhatsApp group chats. Put your phone on silent, don\u2019t open your\nemails and try to resist the urge to start Googling things as you write \u2013 it\u2019s\nall too easy to fall into an internet rabbit hole that way. You can always look\nup how to spell phenomenological later; for now, just fudge it and get those\nwords down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Recognise and reward the wins<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Writing a thesis is really hard, even when there isn\u2019t a global pandemic. You are doing an amazing job and you deserve to be rewarded. Sadly, most of the time, everyone else is too wrapped up in their own challenges to recognise how awesome you multi-tasking postgrad students are, which means you might need to reward yourself. And that\u2019s just dandy, cos no one knows what you like better than you do! If you pass a milestone, no matter how small, book yourself a day off, buy your favourite cake, settle down with a novel and convince your other half to rub your feet. You\u2019ve earned it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Celebrating those wins along the way will help you eventually cross the finish line!

Photo by Spencer Bergen<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. Don\u2019t\nexpect the impossible  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It can be\nreally tempting to start setting yourself huge targets: I\u2019m going to write\n2,000 words every single day without breaking a sweat. Sound familiar? The\nproblem with these unrealistic targets is that if you can\u2019t stick to them, you\nmight start feeling discouraged, which makes it harder to come to your desk\nfeeling positive and energised the next day. Plus, if you know you don\u2019t have\ntime for your 2,000 words that day, you might think well, there\u2019s no point\nstarting \u2013 I\u2019ll begin tomorrow instead. You can see how this thinking can\nquickly lead to a week with no words written at all. Some of you might find it\neasier to set a time limit for each day instead or to think in terms of\nsections per week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any tips for writing every day? Do let us know if so. And of course, once you\u2019ve finished writing, you can always book us to proof-read your work so that you can be confident it\u2019s as polished as it can be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’d like to book PGPR to help you with your writing, just get in touch via the form below. <\/p>\n\n\n

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