I know how tough it can be when you want your graduate students to succeed, but you’re unsure how to help them stay productive. After working closely with 150 dissertation writers over the past 12 weeks, one thing is clear: there’s often a big gap in communication between faculty advisers and graduate students when it comes to writing a dissertation.

Advisers usually think delays are because of the project's content, but more often, students are struggling with the act of writing itself and the mental block that comes with it. Because of this disconnect, advisers may not be addressing the real issues students face, leaving them feeling isolated. In turn, their feelings of impostor syndrome can be so overwhelming that they hesitate to ask for the support they need.

For many doctoral students, the hardest part of the process, one that’s crucial for finishing the dissertation, is simply sitting down and writing. Instead, things like procrastination, perfectionism, and isolation often distract them, causing them to focus on everything except writing. Unlike shorter seminar papers, a dissertation is too large to be completed in just a few days.

It’s important to recognize and take this seriously. The conversations you’re likely having with your students about the content of their work might not be addressing the true issue: they’re not writing the dissertation itself.

I recommend that you bring your doctoral students together for a candid conversation. During this talk, there are three key things you should communicate in a nonjudgmental way.

You should:

1. Recognize that it’s a widespread problem and something many students struggle with.

2. Let your students know you are dedicated to supporting them through the dissertation process and are invested in their success.

3. Make it clear that the goal is to focus on strategies that will help them develop better productivity habits, ultimately helping them stay on track to complete their dissertation.

After that, I recommend using the following questions to help them confront their procrastination and move past their dissertation avoidance.

#1. What Is a Dissertation?

It might seem like a simple question, but the expectations that many graduate students have for their dissertation are often very different from what their committee members actually expect. When I ask students what they think a dissertation is, and whether they've ever read one, especially one that was recently accepted in their department—the response is often confusion.

No matter how bright, experienced, or skilled your students are in research, most of them have never written a dissertation before. And let's face it, a dissertation is very different from any other type of research they have encountered.

What this means is that your students likely don’t know how to approach writing a dissertation. They might have unrealistic ideas about how large or perfect it needs to be, which can actually stop them from making progress. Keep in mind that after years of analyzing and critiquing the best work in their field, their critical skills are so well-developed that it can be hard for them to even start writing.

If your students are struggling with unrealistic expectations or simply don’t know what to do, be ready to offer them clear guidance. One of the best ways to support them is with a dissertation rubric. If your department doesn’t have a specific one, consider recommending a helpful book on dissertation writing. One I highly recommend is Destination Dissertation by Sonja Foss and William Waters.

#2. Do You Have a Daily Writing Habit?

It’s widely recognized that the most successful academics write every day, Monday to Friday, usually in short bursts of time. (By "writing," I mean any activity that helps move the manuscript forward.)

However, this approach is quite different from how most graduate students write their dissertations, or how they think they should write. This often stems from past habits of binge-writing followed by long breaks, the belief that nothing can be accomplished in just 30 minutes a day, and the pressure to have everything figured out before starting the writing process.

If your students mention any of these reasons for not dedicating at least 30 minutes a day to their dissertation, this is a good opportunity to point out that their current approach isn’t working. Encourage them to try a new habit, daily writing, for the next two weeks and see how it works for them.

Along with having an open, judgment-free conversation about their writing habits, it might be helpful to directly address issues like perfectionism and procrastination. You’ve probably encountered these challenges in your own writing, and sharing your experiences and strategies for managing them could be incredibly helpful for your students.

They will appreciate hearing that even successful academics struggle with perfectionism and procrastination. If you’ve never experienced these challenges yourself, you can still acknowledge that they are common and offer a few helpful resources to support your students.

#3. What Support Do You Need to Produce a Written Draft?

Through my experience working closely with dissertation writers, I’ve discovered that they work best in a community of daily writers who provide support. Why is this important? Because the isolation graduate students feel is made worse during the dissertation phase. At this stage, they need more support, not less. However, the most helpful support is the kind that holds them accountable for writing every day and creating drafts.

I’m not suggesting that you take on the role of their personal accountability partner. What I am recommending is that if your students aren’t meeting deadlines, writing regularly, or making progress, it’s often because dissertation writing lacks built-in daily accountability.

A mistake many graduate students make is focusing on tasks that already have set deadlines, teaching, service, research work for their adviser, or job applications, while pushing their dissertation to the side. These other activities come with clear deadlines, so the dissertation often gets postponed for “tomorrow,” a holiday, summer, or even the next year. This is a good opportunity to ask your students what kind of accountability structure could help them prioritize at least 30 minutes of writing every day, putting it above everything else demanding their attention.

Another important point is that many graduate students are unaware of the support resources available to them. Many universities now offer writing spaces, writing retreats, dissertation coaching, and writing workshops. If your school doesn’t provide these services, there are many online communities dedicated to dissertation writing that can offer the supportive accountability your students need to write consistently.

Final Thoughts

In the end, my goal is for you, as an adviser, to guide your students in producing meaningful work so you can have in-depth discussions about their dissertation research. These are the conversations you want to have and are fully equipped to have.

However, before any of that can happen, they need to start writing. Identifying what’s preventing them from doing so is where you should begin.