The value of an anchor

advice from @alexiskirke Alexis Kirke (who has just completed his second PhD)

As I'm writing up my thesis (and as it is taking such a long time) I asked him for some tips.


This was his advice in a brief tweet:

'be clear about ur motivations, be clear what ur trying to demonstrate, 

relate to past lit, and don't try to be perfect'

With this in mind I produced a document and pinned it on the wall above my desk. 

It reminds me of:

- my research questions

- significant points being made in my thesis

- their relationship with fundamental theoretical ideas

- not to make everything perfect (whatever that is I tend to overwork things)

- my motivations

It sounds obvious but having it there has proven to be a real anchor.