November 12, 2015, by Lisa Chin

The joy of writing: thesis write-up

This post is written by Maysoun A. Mustafa, PhD candidate, CEPD, UNMC.

I always enjoyed writing. Be it for academic or recreational purposes; scientific or non-scientific audiences, I have always regraded writing as a pleasurable exercise. Thus, as a lab-based PhD student, it does not come as a surprise that I would always fantasise about my write-up period. A cup of green tea on my desk with Sade playing in the background while I was busy typing up page after page – that was how I imagined those days.

It all started as planned. After all, I had concluded my lab-work (pretty much within the 3 years) and completed the analysis of the generated results. I set daily checklists as well as weekly milestones to follow. I made sure my goals were SMART^* and I also factored in time for mini-breaks. As the days went by, I was meeting my goals and was steadily completing the chapters. However, one month into this routine and I couldn’t continue any further.

I needed to break the routine. At this point, it seemed most logical that a change of my working environment would offer more inspiration. I started to change my scene frequently, working at different cafes around town^**. Although my productivity^*** improved and my writing was back on track, it was not too economical. After continuous days of expensive writing I realized a different approach was needed.

I took up a part-time job at an NGO^****. I was introduced to a regional NGO that carries out projects on enhancing rural livelihoods and food security throughout ASEAN. They were commencing a new project that required additional manpower, and I savoured the experience. Although the idea of working on another project while I was still caught up on my own was questionable, here was a chance to assist a regional NGO on executing people-centered initiatives to address food security, agriculture and trade issues. This has always been a passion of mine as well as my preferred career choice.

Finding a balance was not easy, but it was very rewarding. At the organization I was surrounded by a very supportive group who understood the demands of my thesis. Together, we developed a flexible working arrangement with clear targets to achieve. Ultimately, not only was I in a better financial position, I was actively socializing and networking with relevant bodies in my field. Moreover, I was enhancing my employability skills, which was a strong motivator to complete my write-up within time. And most importantly, I was back to enjoying writing.

I have since completed my write-up and I am currently awaiting my thesis defence (hoping for the best).

*Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely

**KL has a lot of interesting hipster cafes to explore

***Productivity = number of pages written per day

****You would be surprised what you can achieve by simply talking to the right people

 

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