Latest articles
Preparing for a binge writing session
It’s been a busy month here at Thesis Whisperer HQ… I am doing #LazyPost this month by recycling a bit of my teaching content. This post is about organising yourself for a ‘binge writing’ session. While ‘snack writing’ (writing small amounts, consistently) is good practice, there comes a time when deadlines require the strict application …continue reading.
Building a second brain for writing – with Obsidian
Writing a thesis or book is an enormous task that takes years and involves reading hundreds, sometimes thousands, of books, papers and articles. At the same time, you must produce your own words and make sure you don’t accidentally plagiarise other people. People end up with all kinds of home-brew solutions to solve this epic …continue reading.
New year, new Bullet Journal!
Happy new year friends! They say how you spend NYE night sets the tone for the year. If that’s the case, I’ll be eating Indian takeaway with my girlfriends and going to bed at 9:30pm. I’m VERY ok with this plan after the eventful couple of years we’ve had. I followed up the quiet start …continue reading.
What can we expect in the next phase of the pandemic?
So, we made it to the end of the year! We’re coming up to the third anniversary of the first death from Covid (January 11th 2020, in case you were wondering). I don’t know about you, but this year of the pandemic has felt more exhausting than the others. Perhaps it’s because there’s been a …continue reading.
Where to for the Thesiswhisperer?
A little content warning for this one friends – I mention my own mental health in the context of talking about the future of the Whisperer. If you want to skip it, I understand and would appreciate you considering filling in my reader survey here. The link will appear again below the explanation that follows. …continue reading.
Building a second brain – for academic writing
** Apologies to email subscribers – I accidentally sent a draft version of this post on Saturday. The fully edited piece is below. Thanks for your patience and understanding.** —————————– Before I start, big news! Long time readers will know that I have been working for years with a team here at ANU on PostAc: …continue reading.
Why are we all so tired?
A little content warning first: I talk about depression and anxiety in this post. If that’s not for you today, click away friend. I’ll see you another time. I have been trying to work out how to write this without sounding like a privileged white lady, but I can’t, so I’ll just say it: I …continue reading.
How PhD busy work is like vegan junk food
Hello dear reader! It’s been a busy winter and I am suffering a bit of post-election exhaustion. Last month, For the first time in 12 years, I did not get around to doing a Thesis Whisperer post. While I felt bad about breaking such a long streak of self-imposed discipline, I consoled myself that the …continue reading.
How to unf*ck your writing – a check list
Language warning. It’s fruity in here people! On the back door of the Greens office in Braddon, where I’ve been spending a lot of time lately, there’s a sticker with ‘unfuck the future’ right at eye height. This sticker made me chuckle each time I opened the office during this long election campaign. The election …continue reading.
The feedback loop of shit
I’ve often compared the last part of your PhD to putting your head in a bucket. In the Researcher developer trade we call this last bit of the PhD ‘The Write Up’. ‘Writing up’ involves hours and hours of detailed work; to end up with a manuscript ready for examiners. There’s a sameness to Writing …continue reading.