13 Best Tips to Cope with Dissertation Stress

Stress and dissertation writing is a duo that goes hand in hand. Any time you are completing a dissertation, stress will inevitably follow. The quote above is only one of several dissertation stress quotes that students often use. 

In addition to the difficulty in choosing a dissertation topic, these lengthy papers need a lot of time to develop a convincing argument and organize your work into the appropriate chapters. Here, we’ll highlight several suggestions for reducing dissertation stress and ensuring a positive dissertation experience. 

How to deal with PhD dissertation stress

  1. Start early

Procrastination is a common weakness expressed by many students. unfortunately, squandering the available time for your dissertation may put you at a fix. 

As such, it is best to start working on your dissertation as soon as you receive it, saving ample time for extensive research and detailed editing. 

  1. Prepare a schedule

Time management ranks top among various dissertation stress management techniques. Often, the misappropriation of the available time is the cause for worry among students. also, students may try to rush their dissertation, resulting in unnecessary pressure and compromised quality of the dissertation. 

It is thus best to come up with a schedule dividing the available time into various phases. Where possible, leave some room for adjustment in your schedule to cater to emergencies.

  1. Seek help

When working on your dissertation, reach out to friends and tutors for assistance on the challenging portions of your paper. Struggling with confusing concepts may inspire procrastination and offset your schedule, causing late submissions. 

  1. Make use of writing tools

Writing tools are a great addition to your essay writing experience. These tools help you to easily go about editing, research, and other aspects of writing, saving you from the common academic writing challenges. 

  1. Take breaks

Taking long study sessions may exhaust you after a few minutes, rendering the remaining portion of your sessions useless. Ideally, take breaks between sessions and employ the Pomodoro technique for maximum productivity in your writing sessions. 

  1. Get ample rest

The urge to surpass your bedtime and tackle your dissertation is a misinformed approach that is bound to compromise your efficiency. After exceeding your bedtime, you may experience a compromised ability to focus your attention on the task at hand, resulting in lower productivity. 

Make sure to go to bed on time, to recharge your focus and handle the next day’s tasks with ease. 

  1. Develop an outline

Keeping tabs on all your arguments can prove a daunting task. For this, we recommend that you outline your paper to organize a logical argument. Doing this will allow you to visualize your arguments in each chapter, therefore, helping you overcome dissertation stress. 

  1. Consult your superiors

Whenever you get lost or face confusion about what to do in various sections, consult your tutor for guidance. Your tutor can help you to gauge your outline and also to identify the ideal structure for your paper helping you overcome challenges in the latter writing stages. 

  1. Delegate editing

Sharing tasks ranks top among approaches to manage the stress of a dissertation. When you are working with a tight deadline, delegate the editing of each chapter, to focus your attention on writing and meet your deadline without compromising the quality of your paper. Be keen to delegate to reliable service to avoid late delivery and subpar editing. 

  1. Employ a reward system

Motivation is vital for managing various tasks in your dissertation. As such, employ a reward system to associate the completion of each task with a positive stimulus. This will help you to focus on your paper and overcome any challenges that would derail your writing efforts. 

  1. Overcome the urge to be perfect

Perfection-seeking is often a major stressor for students handling their dissertations. The pressure from this urge may cause you to over-dwell on irrelevant arguments, mounting the dissertation stress. 

We recommend that you avoid the urge to be perfect and be content with the effort you manage to put into each chapter. Also, if you are unsure about a portion of your paper, reach out to a tutor or your supervisor for guidance. 

  1. Request for time extension

The time extension is a popular dissertation stress management tool for many students. If your schedule was thrown off by an inevitable occurrence, e.g., sickness, consult your supervisor for an extension. 

This will allow you to focus on your dissertation, ensuring the comfortable management of your paper without the pressure of late submission.

  1. Be positive

Finally, have a positive mindset and envision the success of your dissertation. A negative attitude to your dissertation may cause you to second guess yourself, resulting in procrastination. Some of the ways to build confidence in yourself include checking the existing dissertations and consulting various rubrics to familiarize yourself with the dissertation requirements.

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