Struggling with my Bachelor's thesis

[Judy2]

@kbonethank you so much:) i'll take some time to keep trying and come back if i run into any more problems.

Edited June 11 by Judy2

[Judy2]

@kboneI've already got about 200 pages of notes (all very incoherent though) and need to hand in a maximum of 50 in the end. The major difficulty lies in organising it all, also because the secondary literature includes a mixture of "big-picture" insights, as well as some very specific "small-picture" level type of information and interpretations. Somehow that's very confusing to me because I don't know how to prioritise these things/if I should just select things at random.

Also, editing a 200 page-long document is extremely difficult because my memory is not sufficient to remember all the tiny bits I could potentially include or move around. That also makes it difficult to temporarily delete stuff because it will probably get lost forever, even though it's useful (even juicy/brilliant - stuff that will look good if it makes it into the final version) information. I tried to work around that by having a "discarded" file, but that file itself is probably a 100 pages long and too much to memorise, so I don't have a good overview and lose sight of all the information I could potentially include....so it becomes difficult to decide where to include it, if my memory is too limited to look at all the information all at once. 

Edited June 11 by Judy2

[Leo Gura]

@Judy2 Read all the content. As you do, rank pieces of it on a scale of 1-10 in importance. Then collect all the top 10, 9, 8 stuff and make an outline out of it.

[kbone]

3 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

@kboneI've already got about 200 pages of notes (all very incoherent though) and need to hand in a maximum of 50 in the end. The major difficulty lies in organising it all, also because the secondary literature includes a mixture of "big-picture" insights, as well as some very specific "small-picture" level type of information and interpretations. Somehow that's very confusing to me because I don't know how to prioritise these things/if I should just select things at random.

Also, editing a 200 page-long document is extremely difficult because my memory is not sufficient to remember all the tiny bits I could potentially include or move around. That also makes it difficult to temporarily delete stuff because it will probably get lost forever, even though it's useful (even juicy/brilliant - stuff that will look good if it makes it into the final version) information. I tried to work around that by having a "discarded" file, but that file itself is probably a 100 pages long and too much to memorise, so I don't have a good overview and lose sight of all the information I could potentially include....so it becomes difficult to decide where to include it, if my memory is too limited to look at all the information all at once. 

The mind can only deal with so much info at a time. The 200 pages is a now a BLOB, and it creates resistance. This is a success-oriented approach used by 100s of my students/trainees. There's no short cut to successful completion.

Breaking the thesis down into sections, then breaking down the sections down into paragraphs is breaking down the cognitive load into manageable chunks. The notecards help you move ideas around and internalize the ideas as you move through the project. Otherwise, the overwhelm gives way to procrastination. If you are trying to do it all on a screen and remembering that insane amount of info, location and detail, welp, goooood luck. Imagine your room floor covered in notecards with specific details, examples, anecdotes etc.... HOW can you remember all that? Why even try? Get real and go old school. Eventually, the organization will begin to become more automated, but you have to start from scratch. Once you get more comfortable with the structure, the time on screen can/will increase. Right now... it's just blob and confusion. 

It sounds like you are dealing with the perfection-procrastination conundrum. It's a losing battle with a self-fulfilling prophecy of uuugggghhh..... start small, brick by brick, and get good at it. Build complexity, and refine the product in phases. C'mon, girl!!

[Judy2]

So i figured i'll prepare a power point presentation with the goal of giving a 40 minute introductory talk to my mum. That way, I'll have to put things in a comprehensive order and if I record and then transcribe the talk, I'll probably get a good 20 pages out of that and that'll be a good foundation to work with. Then I can add in some more quotes from secondary sources as I move along. ....something like that. 

 

9 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

@Judy2 Read all the content. As you do, rank pieces of it on a scale of 1-10 in importance. Then collect all the top 10, 9, 8 stuff and make an outline out of it.

thank you:) i'll do that, too. 

 

9 minutes ago, kbone said:

It sounds like you are dealing with the perfection-procrastination conundrum. It's a losing battle with a self-fulfilling prophecy of uuugggghhh..... start small, brick by brick, and get good at it. Build complexity, and refine the product in phases. C'mon, girl!!

unfortunately, yes. i am working on that...

[kbone]

9 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

So i figured i'll prepare a power point presentation with the goal of giving a 40 minute introductory talk to my mum. That way, I'll have to put things in a comprehensive order and if I record and then transcribe the talk, I'll probably get a good 20 pages out of that and that'll be a good foundation to work with. Then I can add in some more quotes from secondary sources as I move along. ....something like that. 

Buenoooooo!! 

You young folks looooove the screeeeeens, dontcha?! 

[UnbornTao]

This might be a naive suggestion, but what software do you use? You might find Scrivener to be an efficient way to organize the project. You can break it down into sections and smaller documents, keep all relevant files in one place, see the big picture, etc.

Edited June 11 by UnbornTao

[Judy2]

@kboneidk...i remember having a lot of fun during a seminar a few years ago where i learned how to prepare more engaging presentations. plus individual slides are easier to shove around and my psychological blockages aren't as intense this way. 

if i take too many notes on paper, i'll force myself to copy those word by word later on and waste a lot of time doing that. been there...

Edited June 11 by Judy2

[Judy2]

@UnbornTaookay i will check that out:) thank you!

 

[kbone]

24 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

@kboneidk...i remember having a lot of fun during a seminar a few years ago where i learned how to prepare more engaging presentations. plus individual slides are easier to shove around and my psychological blockages aren't as intense this way. 

if i take too many notes on paper, i'll force myself to copy those word by word later on and waste a lot of time doing that. been there...

All good. You do you!

I'm old and just have a variety of pre-Internet skills that still work. I even used a typewriter for undergrad work . Luckily, during my early professional life, they developed the Internet before I returned to school and did my dissertation.

Your predicament just sounded so much like my students', who always tried to tackle the blob. Granted they were just writing extended essays, not theses.

I'm sure you'll be fine.

G'luck!

Edited June 11 by kbone

[Davino]

I'm currently writing my thesis as well. I love the pressure.

I have to say that I feel much more relieved after two weeks of working through the index with my tutor. Now it's just about filling in the gaps but the skeleton is rock solid. Still a lot to write though and with all the academic paraphernalia.

Although there's something about writing precisely and concisely that brings me a lot of joy. Although perfectionism rubs me the wrong way when I'm writing, it gets almost neurotic. Yet the end result is super satisfying.

[Rishabh R]

I completed my master's thesis and presentation work a month ago and got a descent mark ranging from 81-90 out of 100. What helped me was following the instructions of my supervisor and lab mentor.

[Judy2]

@kbonethank you:) and i guess i can see where you're coming from:) 

[Judy2]

@Davinothat sounds great! yeah, i should definitely also schedule another appointment with my professor.

[Judy2]

@Rishabh Rcongrats:) sounds like you did a good job!

[Rishabh R]

@Judy2 Thanks.

[Grateful Dead]

Before I started my thesis, I asked a friend who was very knowledgeable about it for some advice, and he told me that this kind of work is 90% about making decisions. It might help you, too.

[Ramanujan]

@Judy2i wanna pass my bachelors. how do i pass it .

tips are welcome

[Judy2]

@Grateful Dead i noticed that, too. might explain why i find this so difficult. making decisions is THE WORST. 

[Judy2]

@Ramanujanevidently, i am not qualified to answer that yet;)