I wrote 10,000 words of my dissertation in 5 days

I love #writing and I love reading about writing. Here are a few tips and tricks I've picked up over the years to write more faster and have fun while doing it. This video is especially directed at fellow #phd students, but other students and non-fiction writers will get something out of it, too!

✨WRITING BOOKS MENTIONED✨
"On Writing" by Stephen King
"Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott
"Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day" by Joan Bolker
"How to Take Smart Notes" by Sonke Ahrens
"What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami
"Stylish Academic Writing" by Helen Sword
"The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White
"MLA Handbook"

✨OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED✨
"The Stage Life of Props" by Andrew Sofer
"Social Works" by Shannon Jackson
"So You've Been Publicly Shamed" by Jon Ronson
"Amoralman" by Derek Delgaudio + his show "In and Of Itself"!!!

✨YOUTUBERS MENTIONED✨

✨TIMESTAMPS✨
0:00 - the best writing advice
0:48 - intro
1:09 - 1. rewards
1:57 - day 1
2:49 - 2. use point form
3:32 - 3. write
4:05 - 4. question barriers
5:10 - 5. start somewhere
5:30 - 6. start small
6:12 - 7. write the journey
7:15 - day 2
8:34 - 8. finish strong
8:56 - 9. re-read
9:24 - 10. 0 draft
10:48 - 11. submit ASAP
11:29 - day 3
12:11 - 12. write ASAP
13:05 - 13. make a habit
13:54 - 14. prep work
15:48 - 15. be honest
16:55 - 16. read
17:24 - 17. imitate
18:03 - 18. body double
19:36 - day 4
20:09 - 19. why?
21:04 - 20. use past writing
21:39 - 21. read other disses
22:17 - 22. plotting
23:21 - 23. get excited
24:43 - day 5
26:17 - 24. write when able
28:27 - 25. have hobbies
29:47 - 26. professional development
31:00 - Shortform

📷IMAGES/OTHER MEDIA📷

🎵MUSIC🎵
"Murder Mystery" by Sir Cubworth from YouTube Audio Library.
"Beach Walk" by Unicorns Heads from YouTube Audio Library.
"Modern Situations" by Unicorn Heads from YouTube Audio Library.
"Nine Lives" by Unicorn Heads from YouTube Audio Library.
"Stellar Wind" by Unicorn Heads from YouTube Audio Library.
"Six Seasons" by Unicorn Heads from YouTube Audio Library.

[evernightt]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:43 📝 *The writing technique of giving oneself prizes for reaching word goals, such as buying a skull shaver or barefoot running shoes, can be surprisingly effective in staying motivated during dissertation writing.*
01:28 📚 *The goal is to write 10, 000 words in a week, requiring around 2, 000 words per day. However, potential challenges include interruptions for additional research as ideas develop during the writing process.*
03:15 🖊️ *Writing in Obsidian, the speaker uses placeholders like "refer to x book" with a hashtag pencil emoji to remind themselves to revisit and expand on certain ideas during future writing sessions.*
04:10 🚫 *Overcoming barriers to writing includes dispelling the myths that one must know the entire dissertation topic beforehand, start writing from the beginning, or have read every relevant book before writing.*
06:12 🎤 *To facilitate writing, the speaker uses techniques like selecting a quote as a starting point, employing one-inch picture frames to narrow focus, and adopting a writing style that doesn't presume complete knowledge.*
08:46 📝 *Writing advice includes finishing writing when still in a flow to ease resumption, reading the previous day's work before starting, and creating a "zero draft" or raw version of the document before refining it.*
09:41 🗂️ *The concept of a "zero draft" involves getting all relevant thoughts, links, and potential sources onto the paper in any form, facilitating the subsequent creation of a polished first draft.*
11:33 🕒 *Starting writing early in the day is advised to leverage morning productivity. Establishing a writing habit, pairing it with another daily activity, and preparing materials in advance are additional recommendations to maintain consistency.*
15:57 📖 *Key advice includes writing truthfully and authentically, not succumbing to external pressures or voices, and continuing to read widely to enhance writing skills and find one's unique writerly voice.*
18:03 👥 *Utilizing the concept of "body doubling, " working in the same space as someone else doing similar work, can enhance productivity and make the writing process more enjoyable.*
18:57 📚 *When facing challenges in writing, some find it helpful to study or work alongside productivity-focused YouTube channels, like "merv, " for motivation and focus.*
20:09 🤔 *To overcome writing blocks, remember your "why" – the personal motivation behind your work, like wanting to buy minimalist running shoes or create a compelling YouTube video title.*
21:21 📝 *When struggling, consider reusing paragraphs from previous essays on similar topics, as a form of self-plagiarism can be acceptable when building on your own work.*
21:47 📖 *Look into other people's dissertations for inspiration on structure, formatting, and phrasing, especially when feeling stuck in the drafting phase.*
22:28 🖊️ *Take a break from digital writing and use pen and paper to jot down ideas, inspired by fiction writers who employ physical tools like sticky notes and colored pens for plotting.*
23:35 🌟 *Write about topics that genuinely excite you each day, as it helps maintain enthusiasm and may lead to more fluid and enjoyable writing.*
26:37 📅 *Plan PhD writing around other life commitments, as some individuals have found success by organizing their work around specific moments, such as when a baby is asleep.*
28:43 🌈 *Maintain other hobbies to balance PhD writing, preventing constant guilt and pressure, with physical activities like running recommended for keeping both body and mind active.*
30:06 📚 *Enhance writing skills by reading writing guides and advice books, such as Stephen King's "On Writing" or Joan Bolker's "Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day, " for professional development in the field.*

Made with HARPA AI

[annettedavis]

I think we share a brain LOL! I have so much fear around writing that it's paralysing. I don't know where it comes from - probably fear of failure. I'm such a perfectionist too. I also have the fear that I don't know enough about what I'm writing. It's so frustrating. I just want to bang my head on a wall continuously.

[NtandoMbele]

I have 2 months to write 50 pages, less than 15000words. I was considering deregistering... you just left me super motivated. I can do this!

[pamw]

I'm delighted to discover your channel! So many negative PhD channels. Yours is positive and helpful.

[HollyJaneYT]

I just submitted my year 2 report of my four-year phd programme. It was a massive learning curve, 20k words, and everything in this vlog resonates SO DANG MUCH. Super insightful, relatable, and entertaining.

[therunningflaneur]

Thanks! I'm in a PhD program, struggling with perfectionism, fear of failure, etc., etc. It helps to see how other people cope with it and the solutions they come up with to overcome it. Love and appreciate the channel!

[muhammadtalhamuftee]

Your Obsidian note taking process has been super helpful for me and I realized that I was not taking notes efficiently. I would like to see a similar workflow of how you go from self-contained notes in Obsidian to academic writing. What kind of tools or tricks you use to structure your knowledge into a readable form.

[SunnyOnTheInside]

This made me feel better. It's my first time writing anything over 4500 words and it is an unwieldy beast trying to pull everything together cohesively

[elisabetta]

Amazing advice, left me super motivated! I can do this!

[guanyuyang]

Thank you so much for this engaging and informative video about PhD dissertation writing! I am about to reach my write-up stage of my PhD thesis and your tips are definitely helpful for me to get mentally prepared!

[moose]

I find Sönke Ahrens' writing goal advice to be very encouraging. Instead of word count, he (or someone he quoted) suggested to have a goal of 3 permanent notes per day. This way the focus is on quality not quantity. But obviously you are in the next phase where you are using your existing notes.

[Laura-sfeh]

I think I've never found a more helpful video on dissertation writing than this one. Thank you SO MUCH! I will try out the tips you gave myself as I'm struggling with getting words down on the page so often.

[psawnevarajnor]

thank you so much!!!! I am currently writing my masters thesis and your tips helped me a lot

[jimmythepagina]

so yesterday i watched this video after procrastinating and feeling overwhelmed just by STARTING to write my thesis: in my mind I had to have read every book, article, case study, pretty much everything lol

that "just write" hit super hard lol but after many days in which i felt stuck i managed to pull off some solid work. i came back here to say thanks. I've been following you for a while (i discovered obsidian thanks to you) and yesterday this video and your work was super helpful. hopefully today will be productive as well. really, thanks for everything, and btw i gotta say you were rockin that buzzcut!!! ✊

[michaelshaughnessy]

I just wanted to say I love your channel! It has a lot of genuinely helpful information on it, and it doesn't have the whole "toxic productivity" mindset I encounter in so many of these kinds of videos. I've started using Obsidian because of your video on that and I'm really loving it. Your vlogs are a lot of fun too. Thanks!

[DinizMaris]

Youtube recomended me you channel and it was just what i needed to finish my final grad project, hopefully ill handle it better now since my schedules got messed up <33 thank you for sharing your experiences

[quantumfineartsandfossils]

I love how your 10, 000 dissertation is apparently multi-platform as well ;) excellent work, thank you for posting this for us (though I am post-dissertations & a sci-fi novelist & museum painter). My life is just one big Anne Frank series of notes just call me professor notes.

[cozyhobbies_]

Just found your channel and loove it !!!

[jamesstramer]

Bonus tip: Invest in a mechanical keyboard.

Have never turned in an assignment late since I started using them. They make typing so addictive.

[chasestewart]

So, I'm not a PhD student (at least, not yet. I am a undergraduate student) and I have no dissertation to write, but I am a huge nerd and I have my own academic blog. Of course not many people read what I write, its more of a self-fulfilling hobby, where I can craft my own research and delve into topics that interest me. It is also a source of accountability for me, I pay about 200$ a year for it.

Despite that, your videos have still been so helpful for me. Your video on obsidian helped me understand the zettelkasten method better, when I first read Sonke the Zettelkasten method seemed bad to me. Now its my only method of note taking, and its so efficient! This video on writing a dissertation faster, has given me so many idea for writing blogs faster and better. I am so glad you exist, there is no other youtuber like you!