The postgrad agony aunt: Five things I wish I knew for my Uni of Birmingham dissertation

‘Tis the season for third years to begin writing their first drafts of their dissertations. Such a festive time.

Firstly, don’t worry, you also won’t be the only one asking your friends if they’ve made a thorough plan of what to write. I guarantee you’re all in the same boat.

The pressure of having already completed your first chapter by now is crazy too, I know. So, I’m bringing you a breakdown of the things I wish I knew now as a postgrad student.

Just a side note: I can confirm the world won’t blow up if you do go on the night out you’ve been telling your friends you are too stressed to go on. You have my permission, go.

Make mini deadlines

You should definitely make mini deadlines.

For example: Wanting a quarter of chapter one done in two weeks is a great way to de-stress your brain. Big deadlines can be overwhelming, so I can confirm, this is the way to go.

Thinking about how you need to have your life sorted, stop going out to Circo on Mondays, and not get a Starbies every five minutes is a lot for anyone. Trust me.

So, alleviate that pressure by giving yourself strict realistic deadlines to allow yourself to not think the end of the world is near.

Also, I didn’t even have my first chapter completed by end of January, you will be fine, I promise.

Go to your student hours and make notes

Going to your student hours is essential as a dissertation girlie. Even if it is only one question you quickly need answering, if you don’t ask you don’t get!

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One essential trick I learned is recording your meetings on your phone. Ask prior to the meeting if you can do this. It is sometimes impossible with how fast these meetings go to get all the notes you want down on paper, so by being able to repeatedly go back on your conversation, this truly helps on understanding the feedback given by your tutors!

You can also transcribe the recording so you’ve got a great set of notes from the meeting. There are loads of auto-transcribers on the internet too, so don’t worry about having to write out these chats.

Don’t be afraid to email your tutors repeatedly if they don’t answer

We’ve all had that one lecturer who never seems to answer, possibly due to a legitimate reason, or because they don’t check enough.

This is your reminder you are paying over £27,000 in tuition alone so you NEED to remind them. This is not to say to be mean to your lecturers, everyone is human and has rough days, but don’t be afraid to respectfully remind them they haven’t emailed you back in two weeks.

Wasting days is precious time gone to waste. If you take anything from this article, do not be afraid to repeat an email you have already sent! The worst thing thats going to happen is they’ll come up with an excuse.

You are paying way too much in student loans to be worried that the lecturer hates you, the person’s job is specifically to help you! Just make sure you treat them how you’d want to be treated. We’re all about respect here.

Give yourself rewards throughout the process

Constantly thinking you don’t need to reward yourself after milestones is not as alpha-male as you think. By no means am I telling you to go to Ibiza with your mates or go for a spa-weekend, but having time to yourself or with your friends is important.

Ideas you could do are bottomless brunches, movie marathons with friends with a side of baking, going to the Old Joe Bingo, hitting the clubs on Broad Street and so much more!

You are more than your dissertation, you are a whole person with hobbies, passions, and friends!

Take care of your mental health

Especially in the winter months, taking care of your mental health is vital during the “winter arc”.

It is not embarrassing to ask for help, you are not annoying your friends if you need to take a breather outside the library from stressful deadlines, this is for many people very normal.

As someone who also suffers from mental health issues for periods of time, it is important to tell your dissertation tutor, the welfare team relevant to your college, and also your doctors.

If you haven’t signed up to a doctors, I highly recommend you do as they can give you therapy, prescriptions and advice on taking care of your mental health.

The University Medical Practice, located on Prichatts Road, has always been amazing regarding mental health and is currently taking on new patients. You can find the link to register as a patient here.