It is inevitable that your motivation will fluctuate as you work on the thesis. Despite this variability in motivation, it will be important that you develop a plan that allows you to work consistently on the thesis in order to meet your long-term goals. Therefore, it will be necessary to have strategies for working that are not entirely dependent on motivation.

You are in charge of your motivation. Therefore, you need a variety of strategies for managing motivation over the course of a long-term project like the thesis.  Be creative.  Be persistent.  Try new things.

• Move your workspace to a coffee shop or library if it has become difficult to work alone.
• Spend time with colleagues, family, and friends who provide support and encouragement.
• Find a balance between thesis-related work and personal life.
• Prioritize activities that increase your energy and enthusiasm, including sleep.
• Be aware of how self-doubt and uncertainty affects your motivation, and challenge yourself to work through these issues rather than avoid them.
• Identify something that will motivate you to work on the dissertation even on days when you aren’t feeling inspired by the project.
• Establish a routine that allows you to work consistently irrespective of how motivated you feel on a particular day.
• Consider ways that your motivation will increase as you make progress on the dissertation.
• Shift your work to less challenging parts of the thesis whenever you are struggling with motivation.
• Establish specific, realistic goals and reward yourself (e.g, take the weekend off) whenever you accomplish them.
• Allow yourself to feel a sense of accomplishment as you make progress.
• Create links between the thesis and future professional goals.
• Focus on ways that your research will make a meaningful contribution to your field.
• Anticipate the future and the opportunity to pursue other professional goals.