3 Common Dissertation Pitfalls for Busy Business Professionals (and How to Avoid Them)
By Aubrey Huber, PhD and Chris McRae, PhD, Co-Founders and Academic Book Coaches Specializing in Dissertation-to-Book Support
Writing a dissertation is a huge undertaking for anyone, and even more so if you are a working full time. The good news is you are not alone. Many professionals are putting in full days at work, and staying up late to finish their dissertations.
As you work toward that finish line, there will be pitfalls along the way. You may miss deadlines, fail to turn in pages to your dissertation advisor, or find yourself staring blankly at your cursor. We’ve all been there. But this is not about blame, it is about understanding patterns that slow your progress and identifying realistic ways to stay on track.
Pitfall #1: Over committing without a Clear Plan
As a working professional, you are used to juggling multiple tasks and delivering results at a high level, and so you assume you can fit a dissertation in without much adjustment. However, as an ongoing project, a dissertation is a beast of another kind. Between work obligations and life obligations, you may find it hard to sustain momentum for writing. Deadlines come and go, you begin skipping research and writing sessions, and stress builds up over time.
How you avoid it:
Set micro-goals instead of grand milestones. For instance, instead of the vague goal to, “write chapter 1,” work toward a manageable micro-goal like, “draft thesis statement for chapter 1,” or, “generate an outline for chapter 1,” or, “draft a 200-word introduction for chapter 1”
Block off designated writing time every day. Even 15 minutes a day puts words on paper.
Use physical or digital calendar tools, like Rainlendar, iCal, or Google Calendar to help physicalize your schedule.
Pitfall #2: Working in Isolation
As a working professional you may not be part of a traditional academic community. Working full time, you are not consistently on campus and therefore unable to share in all of your institution’s events and resources. Finding yourself outside a common cohort of peers who work through and experience the program together, it might be harder for you to get feedback or ask questions. This can lead to increased doubt about your ability to finish the dissertation, and procrastination can set in.
How you avoid it:
Join an online dissertation writing group or peer accountability circle that meets on your schedule or uses asynchronous communication.
Schedule regular check-ins with faculty mentor or advisor to hold yourself accountable for completing pages, and getting advice when you get stuck.
Work with a dissertation coach, academic coach, or writing coach to help you organize your ideas and writing and stay on track while working full time and finishing your dissertation.
Even brief social interaction can go a long way at keeping you motivated.
Pitfall #3: Perfectionism Disguised as Productivity
You have earned success as a professional and pride yourself on your work ethic and high standards. As you begin your dissertation, you realize that writing is a never ending process with persistent tweaking, outlining, and second-guessing, especially when you receive extensive revisions on your Chapter 3 from your advisor. Chapter 3 seems like it will never end! Unlike at work, your progress on your dissertation is delayed. You start to doubt yourself and worry about submitting “imperfect” work.
How to avoid it:
Embrace the “ugly first draft.” It does not have to be perfect, you do not even need to show it to anyone. You just need to get it out so you can begin the process of establishing your argument and support.
Focus on putting words on the page, not making them perfect. As my colleague, Chris McRae, PhD
always says, “A good dissertation is a done dissertation.”
Treat writing as a process, not a strategic report or annual review assessment. Writing can always be revised. Theoretically, it is possible for it never to be finished. However, with your dissertation, get pages to your advisor as soon as you are a) happy with it and need help or b) are stuck and need feedback. Remember, feedback will improve your document.
Even if you are succumbing to these pitfalls, this does not mean you are failing. It means you are experiencing what many, if not all writers feel during the dissertation process. The key is finding strategies that work for you while you are writing your dissertation and working full time. Remember, the writing is a process. Your dissertation does not have to be perfect, it just has to be finished, and you can absolutely do that.
Aubrey Huber, PhD — Academic Book Coach helping busy professionals turn dissertations into publishable work while balancing full-time responsibilities.
Chris McRae, PhD — Co-Founder & Academic Book Coach supporting faculty and working professionals with strategic writing, dissertation completion, and high-stakes academic projects.
Ready to stay on track with your dissertation? Contact us today.