Writing a thesis is an actual academic challenge. A thesis is usually long in length (over 10,000 words) and can be written over a longer time period than state an article or a dissertation. A thesis can take a year to research and compose, but generally, if it's forming artwork of a PhD study program, it will take between 2 and 5 years to finalize. That's a very long time to dedicate yourself to responding to a single research question or to researching a tiny element of a specific subject matter.
So how can you keep yourself sufficiently motivated to continue with your research and writing over such a long time period? And how can you keep yourself so motivated that you continue to enjoy the subject that you are investigating and that this enthusiasm you've got for your subject comes through in the final thesis that you produce? It can all be very tricky, regardless of how much excitement and enthusiasm you've got for your topic matter down.
There are a few things which you can do however to help keep your motivation levels high; nicely as large as is feasible given the task in hand! Listed below are some ideas to help you keep your spirits up as you embark on one of the very draining academic jobs that there likely is:
- Develop a research and thesis writing timetable. Yes you may have two years to finish your thesis, and initially this will look like a life, however in fact that the time will pass very quickly and using a thesis, then you really don't need to find yourself with two months left until the deadline, and 30,000 words left to write and edit. That would all be far too gloomy. Creating a study and writing timetable can help you avoid this disaster occurring. But greater than this, it can help you keep focused and so are motivated. By setting internal goals and deadlines for completing smaller tasks as you progress through your thesis, you might discover that you gain a sense of advancement and achievement along the way.
Self motivation is very tough to sustain. It is easier to feel motivated when you have others around you who are working towards precisely the exact same goal as you can, and who you are able to feed off of for both motivation and guidance. By creating or joining a study group you might discover that you can lean on others when the going gets rough, and in the same time you yourself can become a incentive for the fellow peers.
- Take a break. Frequently the very best thesis writing is made when an author has the opportunity to step back out of his or her work and provide themselves and their brain a break from total absorption in the topic matter they're researching or writing about. Ironically, you need to step away from the thesis at regular intervals to ensure it is composed at its best.
- Reward yourself. This is where the study and writing timetable is useful! As you fulfilled an inner target, as you finish each part of your thesis, then give yourself a little reward. It does not need to be something big, but the introduction of rewards throughout the completion of your thesis is going to keep you motivated in the long run.