Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day

Bolker, Joan. Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis. (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1998).

Joan Bolker, a clinical psychologist and writing counselor, does not, in fact, tell you how to write your dissertation in only fifteen minutes a day. She does, however, explain how starting with fifteen minutes of work each day might lead to a habit of work that will lead to the successful completion of a dissertation. Her psychological training is particularly beneficial in the sections of the book where she describes the many underlying reasons behind graduate students’ inability to do consistent work. She offers suggestions for handling all sorts of roadblocks. Some of her recommendations are long-range, large-scale changes like cultivating a "writing addiction." Others are short-term, quick fix solutions, like making a list of all the things you want to jump up and do while writing (like cleaning the oven, paying the bills, edging the lawn, etc.), promising yourself that you can do them when you have completed your allotted amount of work for the day. "You’ll be amazed," she promises "how much less attractive the items on your list look once you’ve finished your writing that day." (pg. 90) Some may find her suggestions to take out additional loans or hire help with cleaning or child-care unrealistic, given their finances and the job market, but on the whole she offers useful advice.

From http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/dissertation.html