If you are reading this article, you’re probably about contributing to the body of knowledge in your field. In other words, you are writing a dissertation.

We can further assume that since you are about to write a dissertation, you are no longer a novice to the fundamentals of academic writing. It’s safe to say you already know how to take notes, search, find information in the library, exhaust indexes, and master the art of Google searching.

Therefore, this article will not be about the basics of well-meaning advice such as; keep it simple, work hard, sleep well, find a groove, eat well, etc. Instead, we will focus on the mindset that makes for an intelligent, breath-taking dissertation of remarkable brilliance. What are these mental mindsets?

Continue reading to find them and get an in-depth understanding of how they work.

Think of your dissertation as a marathon

Writing an academic paper involves three important things; first is the understanding of what works best for you, second is your mental and physical health, while the third is familiarity with the terrain.

Understanding what works for you means knowing what writing tools or software is best for you. The time for writing your dissertation is not the time to try out new tools. If MS Word is the tool you’ve always used, then stick to it and complete your dissertation with it. No intelligent marathon runner tries out a new shoe on race day.

Secondly, pay attention to your physical and mental health. Writing an original academic paper begin with a simple exercise like walking, body stretch, etc

Thirdly, the challenge with writing a dissertation, most times, is having only a vague understanding of how the whole work fits together. It can be a disaster to think you know how to write the dissertation but later find out you don’t know. Therefore, an intensive reading exercise is needed before you begin writing.

Think and take your dissertation as work

Writing a dissertation is work, and you should be ready to treat it like that. How do you treat it as work?

• Be prepared to put in 6 to 8 hours every day
• Plan to work every day
• Make up for inevitable time loss
• Have a special place to work

Some people won’t like what you’re doing, and they might resent you for it. There will also be people who think you’re wasting your time. Pay no attention to them; continue working.

Think of your dissertation as a game

In a game, there are winners, and there are losers. Of course, we all want to win; however, circumstances sometimes push us to throw in the towel.

We’ve seen unfortunate cases where people lose their supervisor during dissertation writing, and no one is ready to take up the supervision. We’ve also seen instances where people fall sick as they work on their dissertations. They had no choice but to let go. These are legitimate reasons.

Yes, with not completing a dissertation comes stigma. But then, it’s only a game.

If you have come this far with reading, then you are willing to complete your dissertation. Put in the needed work, like a marathon runner, and you will have all that’s required, chapters of intelligent writings, pages of information filled, enough to eventually say finished.