I learnt something interesting from a book I’m currently reading: a work in progress actually means nothing; it adds no concrete value until it’s complete. I don’t fully agree but it’s what I needed to hear.

Perfectionism and procrastination go hand in hand. I’m no longer procrastinating, I’m afraid I’m past that stage where I could still procrastinate… But my struggles with perfectionism still remain. This means that I have written parts of all of my chapters but most of them are not finished.

It’s easy to spend hours looking for a stronger explanation/arguement or reading a whole book when one can write only one paragraph/page out of it. It’s so important in the last few months before submission to keep reminding oneself to begin finishing chapters. I feel like most of the learning that could have happened has already happened; now it’s time to focus on the finish line. The illusion of learning needs to be kept at bay. Also, one need not learn one new theory at the cost of ruining their mental health; I don’t think anyone could argue that anything but completing your writing should be your priority in the last six months. It’s for good reason that one is given years and years for PhD; the last few months need to be about efficiency more than new learning. Yet this is something that has to be attempted intentionally every single day!

It’s the easiest thing in the world to want one’s thesis to be perfect, for it to be a work of art even, and to stay in the limbo of ‘trying to wrap up’ one’s PhD. I don’t know if anyone can have absolutely no regrets; I don’t think it’s possible to not wish for more time or more of something else. Something is going to be missing. It’s best to then silence one’s inner critic and go forward with everything one can devote to the thesis, without spending too much time or energy on emotional chaos, on wanting every line to be the perfect line.