Writing advice for PhD students. Part 4

This is the final part of a mini series on writing advice for PhD students. The tips here aren’t all directly related but mostly, they are about timing.

In part 1 I shared some random tips and book recommendations. In part 2, I explained the different stages of academic writing (that you should know about!) and in part 3, I recommended you find out which writing tasks your biorhythm favorss to do when.

Structure your week around your writing

To conclude on a note that would probably resonate with Cathy Mazak: you need to structure your week around your writing, not the other way around. If you do everything else first and then hope to find time for writing, it likely won’t happen. You have to schedule it, show up, and prioritize your best times for writing in your calendar. It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming number of hours; even shorter periods can be productive. Ignore the hustle culture rhetoric, but remember, showing up is essential, as Paul Sylvia also emphasizes. Choose times you can defend somehow but that also work for your biorhytm.

Waiting for the perfect moment to write can lead you down the path to the writing myths outlined by Joli Jensen like the clear desk fantasy or waiting for a large block of uninterrupted time. Stop waiting for ideal conditions.

Accept that maybe it just takes years to learn how a writing habit can work for you

Honestly during my PhD phase, I just didn’t understand enough about the craft of writing and how to write best, even though I had been reading books about it. Maybe it’s something that just needs time and it just took me longer to get it.

But I’ve also felt like since last year I’ve been working more actively on my writing, I learned so much. I now realize that you can actively work on it. Academic writing is a craft. You can learn this skill. You don’t need creative genius (genius is a patriarchal myth anyway), you just need to understand how it works and then practice improving it. You need to write a lot. That’s also where, for instance, Stephen Covey and the Q2 come in (that I owe you a blog post about since forever). You just need to make time for writing. I’m not saying it’s easy, it’s hard for everybody. Maybe this knowledge helps. I haven’t figured it out either. I’m wondering if anybody ever does. Maybe they do.

I never actually grasped the concept of the pre-draft phase until a few months ago, despite having completed my PhD thesis a few years ago. Nobody explained the importance of distinguishing between different types of writing tasks like reading, researching, copy editing, and outlining. Understanding that each has its optimal time has made my writing more effective.

Don’t force it, make it work in a way you enjoy (as much as possible)

In the past, I have tried the well-known “eat the frog” strategy of tackling the most critical task, i.e. first thing in the morning. So I tried to force myself to write in the early mornings during my PhD phase but I now find this time was better suited for outlining and reading. Actual writing doesn’t happen first thing in the morning for me; it typically starts between eight and eleven and sometimes resumes in the afternoon. Early morning is better for immersing myself back into the topic through reading, proofreading or some lighter data work.

I read in so many places that you need to start the most important work as soon as possible after you wake up because apparently that’s your most valuable time but really, that never worked for me. I hated writing there and I simply wasn’t ready. Actually, I have recently realized I enjoy a calm morning routine for the first 1.5 hours. Before that, I’m simply not properly awake and if I am, I’m not very good at focusing on the target. So even when I get on the computer first thing, I don’t really do anything useful. What works for me is to have a morning routine I enjoy for 1.5h and then to start work slowly, by doing data work or reading for 1.5h. Then, I can do some writing. But really, as I’ve said earlier, I haven’t fully figured out that part yet either and I find that I can write best when “it clicks”. I can’t reliably make that happen but that moment tends to come at one point during the research process when I have read enough, collected enough excerpt material and come up with an outline.

Cathy Mazak warns against relying on willpower for writing, as forcing yourself to write during a bad time can lead to negative experiences and ultimately train you to fear writing. You need to make it an enjoyable experience.

Don’t wait for the perfect moment either

You don’t need to wait for the perfect biorhythm moment to start writing. While you should avoid times that are consistently unproductive, don’t hold out for the “perfect moment.” Early in my PhD, I was too focused on finding the ideal time as prescribed by conventional advice in self-help literature, which probably blinded me to what truly worked best for me. It’s important to listen to yourself and honor your instincts. They often guide you to your best writing times if you only listen.

So listen to yourself and don’t let external voices overwrite what you know is best for yourself, because often you do have a gut feeling (which is ultimately about your personal truth) and you need to honor that.

This is it for the series. Let us know in the comments if you have any questions or want to share your own experiences and insights!

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