GSA #10: On Organizing Your ABD Time

(Today is a "get some work done" day, so of course I take a break by blogging...)

I had three years of coursework and then three years of ABDness. Looking back, I don't feel like I did much during those ABD years—I mean, I think I can count them on one hand. Year 1: 1) apply for external fellowships, 2) write prospectus; Year 2: 3) collect sources, 4) write chapter drafts; Year 3: 5) finish and defend dissertation. Um...that's it?!

When I think of it that way, those three years seem so compact. Every day passed so slowly and yet so fast, each moment just slipping right into the next.

But maybe because of that, it's easy for me to think now about what needs to get done during ABDness. It probably helped that I'm a freak who loves to plan and write up to-do lists, but at the end of every quarter, it helps to lay out what you need to do in the following quarter. Provided that you already have a prospectus, here are some things that might help in order to get through that nebulous ABD zone.

1. Outline your dissertation. Yes, the whole thing. And yes, it's OK to have "I. Introduction. II. History. III. Theory. IV. Textual analysis. V. Conclusion." (That's how most of my chapter outlines looked at the beginning anyway.) It's just important to have a single outline/document that lists all the (planned) sections of the diss so that you can see what needs to get done before you can defend it. (This also helps because outlining one chapter often gives you ideas about what to include in others.) 
2. Fill in the outline. I said "at the beginning". Go back to your prospectus and imagine every single section that would have to appear within all of the sections. Which historical events will you have to explain? Whose biographical details will you need to include? Which authors, which texts? The more you do this, the more excited you'll get about your dissertation. (Or at least you...hope?)
3. Insert all your past papers into your outline. I'm telling you, this is the lazy bum's guide to getting through ABD. Once you have a filled-in outline, it's possible to see which pieces you've already written might belong in the diss, and if they do, where. Those seminar papers were not for naught! 
4. Revise your outline. Did you find that many of the "pieces" you inserted don't have the perfect fit? Revise your outline (i.e., the individual chapters as well as the larger diss) so that they do. And all the pieces that were left on the cutting room floor? See if you can't reframe things further to make those fit, too. After all, you wrote them—they must be related to your larger scholarly project. [Note: OK, by no means should you be unreasonable and try to shove things in where they really don't belong. Just keep in mind that your diss will continue to evolve anyway, so you might as well front-load the evolution and give yourself a head start.]
5. Figure out the sources you need. This is easier if you've written grant proposals, but given your revised and filled-in outline, list up all the sources and pieces of information you'll need. Is it something you can look up in an article, in a book, on the Internet, in an archive? Build yourself a plan that enables you to collect the things you need, when you need them. (Maybe it'll even include a trip to an exotic location!) Prioritize, and be flexible. There will always be more things you'll need, and always things you won't be able to get to. That's OK—you can save them for your book project.
6. Now—write! No, really. Start with the first paragraph of the intro, or the last paragraph of your conclusion. Start anywhere, but just be sure to write. The damned thing's not gonna write itself; at some point you have to move from planning to writing. And let's hope it'll be a fun process.

Do this at the end of every quarter to celebrate turning in grades, and you'll be done with that puppy without even knowing what hit you.

As a friend of mine (who had a Ph.D. in some sciency, bioengineering field or whatever) once said: at some point you have to lay out all the papers you've got, put them in an order that makes sense, figure out what's missing, and go churn out the missing pieces. That's what ABD is about, really—a whole lot of figuring out, and a whole lot more of churning out. Enjoy.