Dissertation Suite: Planning and Time Management for Longer Projects

Join the University of Chester's Academic Skills Team for The Skills Pod. In the first episode of our Dissertation Suite, Academic Skills Advisers, Emma, Lisa, and Nicola, discuss Planning and Time Management for a Longer Project. They chat about the importance of setting mini-deadlines, factoring wiggle room into your overall schedule, understanding what’s expected of you, and taking time away from your project. 

You might also find it useful to listen to our episode on Powering Through Procrastination. 

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Transcript

Speaker 1: Hi, everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Skills Pod. I'm Emma, and I am one of the academic skills advisors at the University of Chester. And today, I'm joined by my colleagues.

Speaker 2: Nicola, an academic skills advisor on the literacy team. I genuinely had to think who I was then, and that's quite concerning, but not to worry.

Speaker 1: You delivered it with quite dramatic delivery as well, Nicola.

Speaker 3: And I'm Lisa. I'm also one of the academic skills advisors on the literacy side of the team. And today, as part of our dissertation suite, we are going to talk about planning and time management for a longer project.

Speaker 1: I guess the kind of key... at the end, I think, is to know your deadline.

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Speaker 1: Nice.

Speaker 2: Yeah, know your deadline and work backwards from that point.

Speaker 3: I always, when I speak to students about their dissertations, no matter what point it's at—and I'd like to think quite a lot of students come to us early on—but it will take longer than you think. Even if you're really clear on what you want to do and you've even got a clear idea of how you're going to do it, it will take longer than you think. So, it probably sounds a stupid thing to say, but plan for it taking longer than you think. Whatever you thought—"Oh, my lit review chapter might take two weeks"—it probably won't; it will probably take longer than that.

Speaker 1: I think that ties in with making sure that you're, you know, if you've got, well, in an ideal world, you would create some sort of schedule to plan your time, to kind of give you some direction throughout the process, because it is quite a long process. And with what Lisa was saying, it's important to factor in that wiggle room, as I call it. So, time for life to happen or things to take longer than they should. If you've got a week or two of wiggle room within that schedule, then you've got that flexibility for it not to have a huge impact on your overall project schedule.

Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm sorry, Nick, go on.

Speaker 3: I was just going to say, I always like to plan when I think about deadlines. I kind of have like the set-in-stone, "This is the submission," this is the absolute last time I'm going to be able to submit. But then I like to set my own, my own little deadlines. "This is the submission date, but this is when I would like to submit," or "This is when, ideally, I'll have my lit review completed, but this is when I think I will want to be at that stage," which kind of helps give you that flexibility. If, like Emma said, life does happen, you might want to go on a holiday or you might just think, "This week, I don't want to look at my dissertation or my project." So, having a bit of room where you can do that is going to keep you sane throughout the process, hopefully.

Speaker 1: I think also in that... We're just too eager to talk about it. I know, we've got so many ideas about planning and time management. I think the other thing within that is obviously the wiggle room, but as Nick just said there, if you don't want to look at your project for a week, I think it's important to make sure that throughout your schedule or your timetable or whatever, you factor in breaks, because there will be times when you just do not have the capacity to think about it. Because you think with a dissertation, it's a big project. And it can, if you're going through the same topic again and again, it can get kind of boring to you, or you can get frustrated with it. Even if you love the topic, you do want to take some time away from it. So, factor in what sounds like mini breaks, like lots of little holidays, but factor in some time away from it.

Speaker 3: It is. It's taking a holiday from it. And I think one of my things is that when students are coming to the end of drafting, as long as they are ahead of their final submission deadline, it's time to take a step away. Because actually, you've been so involved in it, it means so much to you, you've put so much into it that you're almost blinded by it. So, you can't be objective about it. You kind of lose perspective on, "Does that make sense? Does that even sound right? Have I actually answered what I set out to answer?" So, once you've got a full draft, you need to plan in that holiday from your dissertation so that you can then come back and say, "Oh, yeah, now I can go through and be really... I can be more objective about it." You can never be truly objective because of all the reasons I just sort of reeled off. But at least then you can think, "Oh, that doesn't make sense. It made sense at 3 a.m. after I'd read it 3 million times and rewritten it, but now I've come back to it, that needs to be rephrased," or "I've somehow changed the wording of a research question halfway through." Not that it fundamentally changes the research, but you've just used a different word in a couple of places, and that affects the overall coherency of it. And it's really hard to spot those if you're still in the writing process. And it's kind of remembering that even though this is a big project, the writing process is still that creative, messy process. The editing part of it is the tidying up, the refining, and that they require different skills. And I think you almost need to take your writing hat off and put your editing hat on.

Speaker 1: I like that. I did the action just in case.

Speaker 3: Take hat off, put hat on, very square hats as well, like I'm doing a big fish, little fish cardboard box. So plan that in. I always try and encourage students to take at least a couple of weeks off from it.

Speaker 1: Yeah. But that obviously relies on you starting in time to do that. And that's what we started this with, which is, "Start at the end and work back." Say, "If that's my final submission date, I actually want to hand it in at least two days before then just to account for any potential technical issues or whatever." So, actually my final proofreading needs to be starting at this point. I want to have left a couple of weeks or three weeks before then and create those interim deadlines that you were talking about, Nick. So you've got that plan. Use, you know, times when you're meeting with your supervisor. Use that as, "Okay, by that point, I want to have... I want to have thought about my data collection methods so I can talk them through with my supervisor. I want to have written this part so I can have a chat about what I've written." You know, use those opportunities. For some students, they might be having lectures on different sections through the course. So be like, "Actually, by that point, I want to have done this section so I can sort of, not box it off, but have something so I can move on." So, identify those opportunities for interim deadlines.

Speaker 3: I was just going to say, keep coming back to your schedule, your plan, you know, kind of plan for yourself to have regular check-ins with that schedule. So, whether it's a Sunday evening, Monday morning, however it works on your schedule, but just make sure that you can go in and say, "Right, where did I want to be this week? What has cropped up that I hadn't expected? Where am I actually at?" You know, it's about that flexibility again. Things are going to change. So you need to make sure that you keep checking in with yourself so that you don't get to the end of a month and think, "Hold on a minute, I've started to spiral," and then it feels like you've lost control. Whereas actually, it's okay, "We've planned for this, we can get back on track."

Speaker 2: And I think it's also like, when I was studying, I'd always do what in my field we call practice journals, where you reflect on your creative practice, but I think it actually works quite well for more critical writing as well, where you are thinking about the questions that might have cropped up during the week, the things that you've struggled with or the things that you need to research more, kind of just checking in with how you're feeling about your dissertation and what you need to do. But also a little bit deeper than that, in that it's kind of just thinking about, "Has there been an unexpected avenue of research that you need to go down?" Things like that. And that can be quite useful to kind of keep that record because then you can talk through that with your supervisor or in any seminars that you have to kind of unpack that a little bit.

Speaker 1: Yeah, it's one of those where when you're doing a long project, you'll get to points where you feel really frustrated with it, and you'll need to step away. And then it's in that moment of kind of not thinking about it that you actually come up with that idea. You think, "Oh, that's what I needed to do for it," or, "I hadn't thought about it in that way, but I've read something else or I was speaking to somebody else and there's your moment of inspiration." So, you should, I mean, you shouldn't say... in that idea of having somewhere that you can record that, because that might happen at, you know, 2 in the morning. You sit bolt upright and you're like, "Oh! That's it! That's the thing. That's the penny-drop moment for something you might be a bit stuck with."

Speaker 2: And I think that's an important thing to say is there will be points that you just feel, "I feel a bit stuck with it." A lot of students, and I know I felt this at both my undergrad dissertation and my master's dissertation, is methodology sections for me are a section that I'm like, I probably shouldn't say this, but they're not my favorite part of research. And so they were parts I always got stuck with. They were the parts that always took me a bit longer because I was like, "Oh, I'm not really that interested in it. I know I need to do it, I know it's important, but I can't quite get it." And then I'd be doing something else and be like, "Oh, no, actually, that's..." Something would click in a different way or a different context. So having somewhere you can record that, whether it's a voice note on your phone, a physical journal, a document that you just have in your dissertation folder where you can be like, "Random thoughts," you know, that's a really useful thing to kind of have as a, yeah, for those moments of inspiration that come when you sort of least expect them. And then what you don't want to do is forget them, especially if it's 2 in the morning.

Speaker 1: And I guess it can be useful if later in the process you're stuck or you need some kind of motivation or something, you're trying to figure out where to go next, opening that document or whatever it is again can be really useful in helping kind of trigger your next steps or that thought process.

Speaker 3: Yeah. I think part of being able to set out a really good plan for a longer project is to know the process. Know the structure of the type of research that you're doing. There are all sorts of different types of research, whether it's a systematic review, it's qualitative data, it's quantitative data, or, you know, my undergrad dissertation, I went out mapping glacial features. It wasn't, it didn't really fall into any, you know, it wasn't quals, there wasn't quants, it was a different form of research. So before you embark on the journey that is your dissertation, know the process for what you're interested in. Know what stages you need to complete. Do you need to get ethical approval? That's something else you need to factor in. And you have your timeline, but the university has their timelines for giving ethical approval. They're going through ethics for different departments. Maybe the entire cohort are all seeking ethical approval. Not everybody gets their ethics through the first time, you know, and that's nothing to worry about, but it's all about coming back to that contingency time and that wiggle room. But know that you might need to do that so you can start preparing for it. I think part of being able to plan that process is to look at examples of the type of research that you're doing so you know what your structure is going to be, what each section looks like. "Actually, that's a big component of research of this type; therefore, I'm probably going to need to give a bit more time to it." "That's a completely new area of research," like I was saying about the methodology before. If you have to talk about, you know, philosophical underpinning, that might be something you've never considered, you know, what your ontological, epistemological... that's something you don't think about until you're doing a research project. And that's going to take time to get your head round. So you might think that's a section I'm really going to need to spend time on and factor all of that in as best as you can to create that initial plan. And as I say, you never know when you're going to get an unforeseen delay.

Speaker 1: I think also it's about, and it can be quite intimidating, so it's best to do this as early as possible. Write down everything that you need to do, so at least the structure. So, what is it that you need to include? Your introduction, your lit review, your methodology. So break it kind of down into its components, and then break it down even more. So, what do you need to do to complete your lit review? What do you need to do to complete your methodology? And I love to-do lists, but I also, and they can be quite intimidating for some people. So, finding the strategy that works for you in identifying what it is that you need to do exactly. And then just keep breaking it down.

Speaker 2: And know that people are there to support as well. Like, if this is your first time doing a dissertation or a long project, and you've got an idea of what you want to do, but you don't actually know what that entails, then, you know, that's what your supervisor is there to support with. We are here as well. So, knowing who you can go to to talk to and find out these things is just going to help you be more prepared to plan as best you can as well. So, you're not in it on your own. Although it might feel like it at times, you're absolutely not. So, just keep remembering that.

Speaker 1: And I guess the key as well is not to kind of guilt trip yourself or punish yourself for falling behind. You know, as Nick said, life happens, things happen. It's about kind of again reaching out to those support services, having that dialogue with your supervisors so they know where you're at, what's happening, because if you don't tell them, they don't know. So if you are struggling with your methodology, for example, speak to your tutors, you know, come to our team, make sure that you are using all the support that's available to you and you're communicating where you're at with your process.

Speaker 2: And be kind to yourself.

Speaker 3: I'm all about being kind to yourself.

Speaker 2: And ignore anyone else. Like, it's so easy to get sucked into, "Well, we're all doing dissertations," but they're all going to be on different things, and they're all going to encompass different elements and different aspects. So yes, you might be doing a dissertation and your friend is as well, but that doesn't mean that process and that plan looks the same. And there's nothing worse than hearing someone else is at this point and you're not, because your project is very different, and then you go into panic mode and think you're behind when actually you're not. You're where you should be, but, you know, someone else is just somewhere different. So, just ignore everyone else as best as you can because it's so easy to compare, and it's just, it's not good for us. It's hard.

Speaker 1: And everyone works... you're all working on different projects and everyone works at different speeds. You're kind of aiming for the same finish line, but just kind of, yeah, give yourself some grace, I would say.

Speaker 2: I think the other thing with the dissertation is it's a real juggling act, isn't it? And we've all been there, so we know the kind of, it feels like an impossible task. And it might be that you're working on different aspects of that dissertation at the same time. So you might be, I don't know, carrying out a study, but also doing your research. And that can be quite overwhelming.

Speaker 3: Messy. It can feel messy.

Speaker 1: Messy. I think that's the word of the episode, isn't it? "It's going to be messy. It's going to be chaotic, and then it will fall into place."

Speaker 3: It should be messy. I think it's that thing of you see a finished dissertation or a finished piece of research, and it looks very linear. It looks very, "We did this. So this is what we set out to do. And then we looked at what the literature was, and then we worked out how we were going to collect our data. Then we collected our data. This is what the data showed. This is what the data means. And then here's now going back to my original question." It feels like it should be very straightforward and very linear. But I should say, actually, you might be sort of working on your lit review and also thinking about, "That's an interesting approach. I wonder how that, if I could use that in my methodology?" Or you might find, you make notes on your methodology, but actually you don't write that chapter up until you've actually collected your data because it's easier to then say, "This is what I did and this is why I did it the way I did it." So, you might not necessarily address things in the order that they will finally appear. You know, if you're doing qualitative data collection, if you're doing interviews, that might take place over a number of weeks because of people's availability, and you might actually be still working on other things whilst you're trying to collect some more of that data. So, I think that's a really good point actually is that just because it ends up looking very straightforward and linear, it probably, any researcher hasn't actually maybe approached it in that exact way all the way through, and it's okay to do that. But one thing I think I would say about that in terms of staying true to what you set out to do, if you do feel like you're getting a bit sort of disorientated with where you are with your research—"What am I working on? Which bit? Where does this go? What am I doing next?"—is keep revisiting that question or those questions that you set out to answer. Are you still going down the path? Albeit you might be coming off the path occasionally and coming back onto it, taking a slight detour, retracing your steps a little bit sometimes, are you staying true to what you set out to do? Because it is easy sometimes, it's like with any assignment, but even more so with a dissertation in a way, is it's easy to lose sight of what you set out to do. And we very often see students who have gone so far and then they're like, "So I've got this, and this is my question. Can I answer this question with this data that I've collected?" Maybe not as much as you would like to potentially. So, just keep, as part of your plan, I suppose what I'm trying to say is, building those checking points, a bit like that Sunday evening. "Where are you up to? What do you want to work on this week?" And, "What is it I'm ultimately trying to achieve here? What is it I'm trying to answer?" Just to keep you, just to keep reminding yourself.

Speaker 1: Yeah. For occasionally when you are feeling a bit lost.

Speaker 3: Yeah. That was a really wordy way of saying that, wasn't it?

Speaker 1: No, no, it makes sense because there's so much to consider, and it's really easy to go off track. And you know, even if you've set yourself the best looking plan for your dissertation or your project, and then you get into a situation where you've maybe fallen a bit behind and then you've buried your head in the sand. I think it's important to kind of try and recognize that as early as possible to put some things in place to try and avoid that happening. But it could happen, you know, nobody's safe from it. So, if you can just recognize if that has happened and reach out for support as early as possible.

Speaker 2: And if you are a procrastinator like me, we do have an episode on powering through procrastination, so I can put the link in the show notes to that episode.

Speaker 3: I think it's interesting with longer projects. I think they're a great way of working out what your procrastination activity is, because everybody has them. And when you're in the trenches of doing your dissertation, you're in it. You'll very quickly realize, "Oh, that's the thing that I seem to do when I know I should be going to do something else," or "I feel like I should be working on something else." As you're saying, sometimes you've got to be kind to yourself and say, "Do you know what? Maybe the reason I'm really procrastinating today is that I'm just not in that mindset to do that," and that's absolutely fine. But actually, sometimes you need to... take a break. That might be your red flag to say, "I have tried and I've given it my best, but today it's not happening, so I'm not going to do it. I'm going to go to the cinema or for a coffee or for a cake or whatever it is, because that's going to serve me better than sitting here scrolling on social media or whatever."

Speaker 1: I enjoyed how all of Nick's options began with a 'C' then.

Speaker 2: It did then. Coffee, cake... I didn't want to just go into food. I don't really like the cinema, but I just threw that one out first. And then I thought, "Well, that's not what I would do."

Speaker 1: So, thank you for listening to this episode of the Skills Pod.

Speaker 3: I'm Lisa.

Speaker 2: I'm Nicola.

Speaker 1: I'm Emma.

Speaker 3: Bye.

Speaker 2: Bye.