Will I finish writing my dissertation by the end of May 2010?

2009-12-08T09:15:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted in almost two month principally because I've been transitioning from reading to outlining. Now I'm writing. The first section of my first chapter is drafted. My goal is a chapter/month. We'll see if I'm being realistic. Accordingly, I've change the title of my blog to "Will I finish writing my dissertation by the end of May 2010?" I hope to have a 150 page draft by then. Again, we'll see. Stay tuned.

2009-10-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

So far it feels fairly reasonable to work through about one shelf (of a five-shelf bookcase) per day -- reviewing the pages I previously marked over the past year of reading, photocopying the salient passages, tagging the photocopies, and sorting them into a file folder for each respective chapter (or section of a chapter). The process is quite similar to the many long, research papers I have written in the past, except I'm working on a much larger canvas.

I am hopeful that I may even finish this major part of the sorting process by the end of next week, although that does not include sorting each of the individual folders into even more specific divisions within each chapter or section.

2009-10-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

The sorting has begun.

I'm following a plan adapted from the book Destination Dissertation. So, I'm developing an outline, then I'll photocopy quotes I want to use and tag them based on my outline.

For now, I'm plowing through a bunch of notes I made for myself low these past few months. Now I have to organize them. I hope to emerge a week or two from now with a better map for moving forward.

2009-10-07T13:54:00.000-07:00

I am essentially done reading, although I will, in reality, continue reading for my dissertation throughout the next year -- principally new books that will be released over the next year or so.

I'm, thus, in the process of shifting my focus from reading to outlining -- that is, directing my first and best energy toward outlining. I'm preaching this Sunday, but hopefully next week I'll be able to start outlining in earnest.

2009-10-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

I finished Charles Taylor's breaktaking A Secular Age on Thursday, October 1, one day after my somewhat-arbitary, self-imposed deadline to finish reading by the end of September -- which is not too shabby since my original goal was to finish reading by the end of 2009.

Now I only have three books left, in addition to a few articles that I'm waiting to arrive from Interlibrary Loan. So, I hope to have most, if not all, of my outline done in October, so that I can start writing in November.

2009-09-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

The end is drawing nigh. I've got approximately 6 books left to read as well as about 11 essays; however, I've got an inch of essays on my desk with notes on them that I need to follow-up on, so I may be adding a few more items to the list. Nevertheless, I can see the light at the end of the reading tunnel.

I doubt I'll finish by the end of September exactly. Maybe by the end of the week that starts on Monday, September 28 -- that is, by the week ending Sunday, October 3...we'll see. Stay tuned.

2009-09-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted this week because I've been waiting to process a bunch of notes from the stack of books and articles on my desk, but I doubt I will get to the stack today...maybe tomorrow (too many unexpected duties have cropped up this week to get to paperwork). Will I finish reading by the end of September, or even by the end of the week that begins Monday, September 28? It's possible, but I'm not certain. Stay tuned.

I hope to, at minimum, finish in early October, and then perhaps be done by the end of October with an detailed outline, so that I can perhaps start writing in November.

2009-09-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

14 books in 5 weeks = 3.5 books/week.

However, one of those 14 books is Charles Taylor's A Secular Age, which is massive, but also directly addresses many topics I'm interested in. His book may mean I do not finish my reading until the end of October, but that will allow time for all my interlibrary loan requests to arrive. I'm currently waiting on 8 books to arrive in addition to 26 chapters/articles.

2009-08-31T10:52:00.000-07:00

17 books in 5 weeks = 3.4 books/week.

Now that the finish line of my year-long, mostly non-fiction reading marathon is almost in sight, it might be fun to actually read some fiction for fun on the weekends for a change, once I start writing on weekends.

2009-08-24T15:04:00.001-07:00

16 books in 6 weeks = 2.67 books/week. The end (of reading) is in sight!

2009-08-17T15:09:00.000-07:00

25 books in 7 weeks = 3.57 books/week. I need some used books to ship faster!

2009-08-10T13:48:00.001-07:00

26 books in 8 weeks = 3.25 books/week. I'm feeling increasingly good about finishing the reading for my dissertation by the end of September. It's time to stop reading and start writing a book!

2009-08-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

In light of my urge to start writing sooner rather than later, I've done some re-evaluating of my "to read" list, and I've thinned the books down to 32. Thus, if I try to finish reading by the end of October, I need to read 2.67 books/week. Or, if I try to finish by the end of September, I'll need to read 4 books/week.

2009-07-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to feel like it is time to make the transition from reading to writing.

In the past, I've always felt like I had to stop researching prematurely due to an external deadline imposed by a professor. With my dissertation, I'm experiencing the opposite: an internal prompt to stop reading and start writing -- with the accompanying sense that continuing to read will result in decreasing marginal returns at this point.

To that end, my current count (although I need to process some recent notes that may result in some added books) is the following:

46 books in 18 weeks = 2.56 books/week.

2009-07-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

Biking home yesterday I decided that I should commit to upping the ante and recalibrate to finish my dissertation reading by the end of November 2009, then use December to outline, so that I can start writing in January.

Here's the new data:

58 books in 19 weeks = 3.05 books/week.

Not too shabby.

2009-07-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

59 books in 24 weeks = 2.46 books/week.

I'm pleased that the total numbers of books remaining has decreased steadily the past three weeks from 66 to 63 to 59.

I'm also hopeful that I'm going to get quite a bit read in the next two weeks.

2009-07-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

63 books to go in 25 weeks = 2.52 bks/wk. I feel like I'm getting back on track again, and I'm excited to see where I'll be by the end of August (after which the fall schedule picks up again).

In the short run, I'm glad to be down three books from last week, which is my approximate goal these days: three books or so per week -- with, of course, the complicating factor of occasionally finding new books to add.

2009-07-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

66 books to read in 26 weeks = 2.54 bks/wk.

I've just finished one of my busiest weeks this year (I think), so I expect to pick up the pace again soon.

2009-06-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

66 books and 28 weeks = 2.36 books/week. I'm creeping upward, but I'm not too worried since I'd have to be up at 84 books/read to be back at 3 books/week.

2009-06-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

67 books to go and 29 weeks to go = 2.31 books/week.

2009-06-02T13:14:00.001-07:00

72 books to go and 31 weeks = 2.32 books/week. I stayed up later than planned last night to finish a few books since I got off track last week writing my sermon for last Sunday.

2009-05-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

75 books in 32 weeks = 2.34 books/week. The total number of books is up somewhat markedly from the last few weeks. In fact, I'm back where I was in late April as far as the total number of "books to read" is concerned -- which means I have the same number to read as I did then with a one month less time in which to do the reading). However, I feel good about the current status. The books I'm reading -- as well as the ones I have recently added -- are excellent and seem important. I slowed down a bit last week, but now feel like I'm getting back in the groove. The prospect of reading approximately three books a weeks feels manageable at the moment.

2009-05-18T11:42:00.000-07:00

67 books in 33 weeks = 2.03 books/week, which is disappointly back over the 2.0 books/week threshold. However, I'm in the midst of reading some particularly lengthy, though also helpful, books; so in a week or two I will hopefully be back below the 2.0 barrier.

Being back over the 2.0 point has also prompted me to move some books into the "read if I have time" category -- because as 2009 is almost halfway over, I do not want to set myself up to have an unrealistic crunch at the end of the year.

2009-05-10T13:27:00.001-07:00

34 weeks to go and 66 books = 1.94 books/week. I'm up slightly from last week, but still under the 2 books/week threshold. I hope to get the ratio down by this time next week. I'd love to get below the 1 book/week level, but, for now, I'm grateful to still be under 2.0.

2009-05-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

61 books to go in 35 weeks = 1.74 books/week.