I don't know if I can manufacture any evil tasks you'd rather not do, but a cheerleader who tells you to get on with it never hurts. So, having someone you can check in each morning or afternoon or whenever you commit to working on the material is nice -- they'll tell you "Good on you! I'll keep you encouraged!" all the way through.
It's just revising, you say: how much is new writing? Do you need to acquire new resources for that? Are they all in hand? Focusing on acquiring everything is avoidance, though. (And not enough dissertation advisers know this, but the thesis only has to be good enough for the defense, not perfect poetry of scholarship. If your dissertation adviser is not a source of perfectionist anxiety, you're fortunate and should excuse yourself from that role!)
Can you just focus on the tidbits that need updating and reworking or are the X many new items to shoe-horn in? Break the whole task down into manageable bits or measurable tasks -- "Revise the opening to chapter two; add in evidence from Smith & Jones; expand argument on economic activity (see Johnson); etc.)
Try setting up a calendar that breaks all of that down into so many tasks on the go per day/week. That way you know exactly what you're hoping to do on the micro-level and the macro-fear will decrease.
I'm glad that I could help. My dissertation adviser was very pragmatic, concerned simply about getting it "good enough to go out" and not on perfecting the piece. It's a wise bit of advice for any writing situation.
And breaking down each chapter's revisions into a to-do list really helps me get through various road blocks as in a few writing projects that I'm juggling right now. It may not be fun, but it works! *goes back to the word processing screen with a sigh*
It's just revising, you say: how much is new writing? Do you need to acquire new resources for that? Are they all in hand? Focusing on acquiring everything is avoidance, though. (And not enough dissertation advisers know this, but the thesis only has to be good enough for the defense, not perfect poetry of scholarship. If your dissertation adviser is not a source of perfectionist anxiety, you're fortunate and should excuse yourself from that role!)
Can you just focus on the tidbits that need updating and reworking or are the X many new items to shoe-horn in? Break the whole task down into manageable bits or measurable tasks -- "Revise the opening to chapter two; add in evidence from Smith & Jones; expand argument on economic activity (see Johnson); etc.)
Try setting up a calendar that breaks all of that down into so many tasks on the go per day/week. That way you know exactly what you're hoping to do on the micro-level and the macro-fear will decrease.
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And breaking down each chapter's revisions into a to-do list really helps me get through various road blocks as in a few writing projects that I'm juggling right now. It may not be fun, but it works! *goes back to the word processing screen with a sigh*
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