The most important part of achieving something comes down to consistency. Doing the same thing day in and day out until it is complete. I understand it might sound boring or dull or whatever, but there is literally no other way around it.
When it comes to a big project that takes years to complete, like a PhD, slow and steady is the only way to go. A PhD is a marathon, not a sprint. You don't want to burn out in the first semester. And that's where routines come in. We go through many routines throughout the day, even though we might not realize it. We have morning routines that get us from our bed to our job's location. We also have an evening routine to get us from watching Netflix on the couch to bed. We might have a workout routine, or a cooking routine or a reading routine or a skin care routine.
Automatic routines form after months or years of practicing the same habits in the same order, and probably at the same time of day. Sometimes, they form within weeks. They are little rituals, if I may, little steps, big or small, that take us from place A to place B. And as you may have guessed, they are helpful in many ways. But what about routines related to the PhD? If you are doing experiments in the lab-besides the experiment itself-you definitely have a standard routine on taking notes and cleaning up after you're done.
When it comes to writing, you should do the same. Create a standard routine. A starting time, and an end time, probably, to make sure you know exactly when you are going to write. Maybe you add little habits before and after so your brain knows you are supposed to be writing in between those habits. For me, my standard writing routine involved making a warm cup of coffee right before I started, closing all doors in my home office (there are two) and putting on a timer or one of those study-with-me videos (45-50 min studying and 10-15 min break intervals). When I was done I would tidy up my desk, clean the space, tuck everything neatly inside drawers so I don't accidentally look at my notes while trying to relax later in the evening, and then I open the doors. During my breaks I usually do simple chores to keep my body moving, or I spend time at the balcony to get some sunlight.
These are simple routines, but effective, and at the end of the day they leave me with a sense of accomplishment-even if my first draft is full of errors. My thesis writing routine started as simple things I had to do in order to start writing undistracted, and quickly became a ritual that got me in the zone (and out of it) automatically.
The takeaway? I highly recommend establishing a routine for writing. Find out what works for you and keep doing it, day in, day out, until the writing is over.
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