Recent content by Clarisse

Jack, I'm on the other side now (finished PhD). Here's what I learned. My committee didn't want me to write what they thought. They wanted me to write something they could learn from. When I stopped trying to please them and started trying to interest them, everything changed. Interest is better...

Wait… your advisor actually told you to finish? Mine told me to "reevaluate my priorities" when I mentioned leaving. You've got a good one. Also – the first doctor in your family? That's huge. My grandma would frame that diploma and put it next to the tv. Do it for her. Do it for future you...

I'm a postdoc. I struggled with this too. Here's the test: read your conclusion. Does it answer the research question you posed in the introduction? If yes, you're done. If no, you need to write more. But here's the thing — you probably answered the question 50 pages ago. The rest was just...

Helena (sorry, Melissa — your mom called you Helena so now I'm attached), that "one sentence" trick is the real secret. I do something similar. I write my thesis statement on a sticky note and put it on my monitor. Every paragraph I write, I look at the sticky note. If the paragraph doesn't...

The movement piece is so real. I started doing 15 minutes of yoga before writing sessions. Not because I'm spiritual. Because it forces me to breathe and be in my body instead of in my anxious head. I write faster after yoga. Not slower. The time "lost" to exercise comes back in productivity...

The "lost perspective" thing is real and terrifying. I couldn't tell if my conclusion even matched my introduction anymore. Here's a weird trick: read your dissertation out of order. Start with chapter four. Then chapter one. Then chapter three. Your brain will see the disconnects immediately...

I defended last month. I'm Dr. Helena now. Still getting used to that. Still feels like a prank. 🎓 I promised myself that if I ever finished, I'd write down everything I learned. Here it is. On structure: Your dissertation is not a book. Don't try to write a book. Write five related papers...

Chapter three nearly broke me. I wrote it four times. Four complete drafts. Each time, I deleted everything and started over. 💀 The first draft was too theoretical. No evidence. Just me thinking on the page. The second draft was too evidence-heavy. Quotes everywhere. No interpretation. The...

I'm in year five. I hate my dissertation. I think it's boring. I think my research question is stupid. I think my committee is just being nice when they say it's fine. 😞 I haven't written anything in six weeks. I open my laptop. I stare at the cursor. I close my laptop. My therapist says...

I sent my dissertation chapter to my committee. Two members loved it. One hated it. The one who hated it wants major revisions — like, rewrite the whole chapter revisions. The other two think it's fine as is. 😵 Who do I listen to? My advisor (one of the ones who liked it) said: "You can't...