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[rubyslippers]

I'm currently in a quandary because my paying work is taking up more time than I'd like, and I really need to get some of my own dissertation work done.  It's a vicious cycle: little money = too anxious to buckle down and do research; or enough money = not enough time to do research.  Is anyone else in a similar situation out there?

[zharkov]

I completed my dissertation while working in industry, so some of this may apply....

It is better to have a steady-eddy job, not a high level, high pressure job.  For me, although I had a 40-hour per week job, I could get everything done in 20 or 30 hours, and could use the extra time at work to do grunt work, like typing quotations from articles and books, which would (likely) get used in my dissertation. (Note: I made sure to avoid time wasters at work, like going out to lunch with co-workers, and etc. My boss was a control freak, so as long as I was getting my work done, he didn't really care about my looking for new things to do.)

You can get a lot of grunt work done early in the morning or late at night, depending on whether you are a morning or night person. I often did an hour of skim reading in the morning before work.

BTW, about skim reading, keep a good supply of post-it flags handy, and mark those sections you want to go back to.

I used most Saturdays for writing, and went into the (almost deserted) office from mid-morning to late afteroon.  No interruptions and I work better and can concentrate more given a block on time like that.

Don't be cheap about buying books and making photocopies of articles. That saves time running to the library.  Plan a trip to a research library only every 2 to 4 weeks, say, and be focused about those sources you need.   

Be aggressive about giving things up or putting them on hold. A fellow student once complained about how long the dissertation was taking. Then, later in the conversation, it became clear that things like being on the board of the local Y were taking up too much of the student's time.  You need to give all those things up until the dissertation is complete.

Good Luck!

 

[cancom]

I was in exactly the same boat -- and still am to a large extent. My circumstances were a bit odd but the details probably don't matter as much as the end result. When I started my PhD, within the first two months the union I am in went on strike. It lasted for the better part of 5 months. During that time, I could have lived off my partner's income but it didn't seem right so, working class kid that I am, I got an outside paying gig. That lasted a year, full-time. Though it was the first, it wasn't the last outside work.

Lucky for me that I was able to turn that job into a research opportunity that turned into the basis of my dissertation. That's the only way I'm anywhere near done (in fact, I'm going to defend in six weeks, yikes!). After that, we had one child, my partner went on an extended maternity leave, I needed to fill in her income...and it goes on from there, into another child, needed to work for money...you see where this is going.

The fact is, if you're not working in a science lab and/or you aren't well funded, or come from money it's really hard to say that being broke is the way it ought to be in order to get through the whole thing. At least not from my point of view. We live in a moderately expensive city and have a manageable if formidable amount of debt. We'd be swimming in debt if I hadn't worked. Sure it's taken me a lot longer than I would have liked to get this far but not that much longer than the average (I'm finishing six years in a humanities/social sci PhD).

In the end, it's what you're prepared to live with and the system you figure out to balance what you have to do to afford to live with what you have to do to eventually finish. It's neither easy or fair but I suspect it's half about choices and half about resolving yourself to the life you'd like to live now and later.

[rubyslippers]

Zharkov and Mohabeer, this is a long overdue thanks for your advice.  I'll definitely follow up on Zharkov's time management tips, and it's an inspiration that you were able to finish your dissertation while working full-time.  And best of luck with your defense, Mohabeer - I also appreciated your comments about not wanting to live off your partner's income.  If I had a dime for every faculty member who asked "Oh, can't your husband support you," I wouldn't need to work after all!