Completing a dissertation is often compared to a long journey or a steep mountain climb, but it doesn’t have to be as tedious or as painstaking.

In fact, it can be a much simpler step-by-step process.

Getting your dissertation done can be broken down into a series of steps, completed through a set of short and long-term goals. The key is to break down a seemingly large, and perhaps at times overwhelming project into realistic milestones and deadlines:

1. Research an issue or problem in your field of study
2. Come up with interesting and relevant research questions
3. Make sure you can define and measure your variables
4. Go back and complete a more thorough literature review
5. Set milestones and deadlines for each dissertation chapter, including proposal submission and data collection.
6. If you miss a deadline, don’t get discouraged; just make sure you set a new one!

Here is a very useful book that breaks completing your dissertation into 29 steps: Destination Dissertation

The average dissertation completion time is 7.5 years, and almost 50% of doctoral students never complete their degree. One potential reason is that unlike set dates and deadlines that are common in college courses, when writing a dissertation, you have to set your own deadlines because technically, there is no “due date” that is set in stone. Another reason is that writing is a lonely process, and without someone to talk to and get feedback from, it is easy to procrastinate and get off track. So if you find that family and work obligations are getting in the way, and “next weekend” is becoming “next month” which could become “next year,” it may be time to consider hiring a dissertation coach.

A dissertation coach can help you stick to deadlines, periodically check your progress, and help you solve problems at times when your advisor may be too busy or too far to respond. A dissertation coach can be there to provide “hands on” help for nitty and gritty stuff like research question formulation, data coding, and statistical analysis. So if you are ready to fast track your writing, contact me today for a free 30 minute consultation! It may not be an easy journey, but it is definitely worth it and soon you will be enjoying the view from the top!