Dear Caneel,
Choosing a thesis topic is kind of crazy. I feel like I’m committing to marriage or something. Is it the right one? Will I be happy? Will I get bored? Will it keep my interest? Is there something better out there?
- A Masters Student
Dear Masters Student,
I know, the decision can be crippling!!! Don’t let it paralyze you. The best way to pick is to write out your thought process. Play with ideas. Talk to yourself in your journal about the pros and cons of each idea that pops into your head, not worrying about the order.
Most importantly, free-write through your thoughts, feelings, fears, and fascinations relating to your thesis. They are extremely relevant to your progress. I like handwriting best as I have more access to my emotional evaluation of my ideas when pen touches paper. I go to a café where I can noodle in my journal without being lulled into the safe distractions of the internet.
THINK BY WRITING… This is my biggest advice for the whole entire process! 15 minutes a day free-writing, every single day except Sunday. Let it flow, writing “I don’t know what to write” when you’re stuck – don’t wait till you know what you want to say. You figure out what you want to say by writing.
Feels disorderly? That’s okay, and a necessary part of the process you need to push through. Probably you don’t have a list of distinct dissertation topics or ideas that you could list and write pros/cons for at this stage. There are probably many that are similar. Or maybe you don’t have any ideas (or so you think!). This method acknowledges that. Instead, it allows you to investigate the blurry edges between ideas – the overlaps.
Don’t spend too much time on this process however (your subconscious wants you to procrastinate, waste time debating, because writing the dissertation is so much more threatening to the ego than indecision is… don’t give in to this temptation). The best thing is to pick an idea and commit to it after allowing yourself a short while to debate. Any idea is always more interesting the more time you spend with it, making it yours. So don’t worry too much about picking the right idea.
