Paros Symposium

Anyone planning to write a dissertation will know they are in for a long and bumpy journey. It'll absorb a great deal of your time and energy. You won't complete the task in a weekend. So it will certainly help if you can learn about some useful techniques for the writing of your dissertation. My advice is that you test each of these techniques to see if they work for you. If they do work for you, seize them and use them -- put them into practice. Here are the details of these useful techniques

• Procrastination is the thief of time.
• A tidy desk is a winner's desk.
• You've got to have a plan.
• Do you know how to meditate?
• Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Now the fact is you have agreed to write a dissertation and been given permission to do so. You can't start soon enough. That doesn't mean that you rush in without thinking and immediately start writing. But it does mean that you don't waste time. You start thinking about your dissertation as soon as possible. You find the ideal supervisor for the writing of your dissertation as soon as possible and start discussing the project with them as soon as possible. You start planning as soon as possible. If you decide that you will think about it next week and look for a supervisor the week after and so on, pretty quickly you'll find your academic year is drawing to a close and your progress is limited. Stop wasting time.

You will be doing an enormous amount of research and note taking during the writing of your dissertation. You need to be an organized person. If you are already fine but if not, change your lifestyle. This means that you need to have a system of recording your notes. You need to back up your notes. You need to be able to find any part of your notes very easily and quickly. Don't have a desk which is full of clutter in a room which is messy and difficult to work in. Get your act together.

Without a plan, you are sunk. You will take far too much time to complete the task without a proper and detailed plan. In fact my advice is that you would not even think about starting to write your dissertation until you have gone over and over the creation of your plan. This is something that you must have right as far as the structure is concerned and certainly right as far as content is concerned. Show it to your supervisor. Do they approve and if not, why not?

Writing a dissertation is a major undertaking. If your mental or physical health is poor you're putting yourself under the cosh. Look after yourself and make sure that your working environment is healthy. Remove any distractions and select lighting and furniture which is ergonomically correct. It might even pay to learn how to meditate.

It's vitally important that you remember that you are not alone. The whole purpose of having a supervisor is to use them as a sounding board. Don't lock yourself away.

Don't be afraid to ask people for advice. This applies particularly to people who have written a dissertation beforehand and who know the ups and downs of the process. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

The above techniques or tips are practical. They are easy to understand. They work. You ignore them at your peril. At least give them a try and see them through.