在看這篇文章之前請注意：我的博士論文花了我三年半的全職研究時間來收集數(shù)據(jù)，本文所指的三個月只是用于寫作的時間，在該時間段的最后我寫得很快。我并不是說每個人都能寫得那么快，如果你沒有做過研究，那就不可能寫出來。你可能不會像我一樣寫得那么快，但你可能會從我的方法中得到一些有益的啟示。
Before reading thispost please note: it took three and a half years of full-time research to gather the data for my ?PhD thesis; the three months refers only to thewriting, which I did quickly at the end. I do not claim that everybody canwrite that fast, and if you have not done the research it will be impossible.You might not write as fast as I did, but you might gain some useful insightsfrom the way I approached it.2006年夏天，在開始攻讀博士學位近3年后，我想到放棄。原來，當時我的成果遠遠不夠，我所使用的設備大部分時間都不起作用，我?guī)缀鯚o法在早晨喚起起床的動力。In the summer of 2006,?almost 3years after starting my PhD, I was ready to quit.?I had nowhere near?enough results, the equipment I was using didn't work most of the time, and I could barely summon the motivation to get up in the morning.
一年多以后有了折轉(zhuǎn)，我成功做到了：扭轉(zhuǎn)局面，獲得了一些可發(fā)表少數(shù)幾篇論文的結(jié)果；在3個月內(nèi)從零開始完成我的博士論文；無爭議地通過我的口頭答辯。而且，最重要的是，我居然開始享受這個過程。我是怎么做到這一切的？Cut to just over a year later and I'd managed to?turn things around and get the data for a few publications，write ? ? my entire PhD thesis from scratch in just 3 months and?pass ?my viva defence with zero corrections.?And, on top of all that, I actually started to enjoy the process.?How did I do all this?1.應對壓力——?Dealing with?stress
在經(jīng)歷了一次近乎崩潰的經(jīng)歷后，當我在研究中遇到問題或者發(fā)現(xiàn)自己壓力大的時候，我就會開始在校園里散步。我花時間思考自己需要做什么，讓自己有一個正確的心態(tài)回過頭來處理問題。以前我發(fā)現(xiàn)我自己會處于一種為了熬過一天而在網(wǎng)上浪費時間的境地。這一個習慣的改變可能挽救了我的博士生涯。After a near-breakdown, I started taking walks around the campus when I faced a problem in my research or found myself getting stressed.?I took the time tothink about what I needed to do and get myself in the right frame of mind to come back and deal with the problem.?Previously I would have found myself killing time on the internet just to get through to the end of the day. This one change in habit probably saved my PhD.這似乎有悖于直覺，但放慢速度有助于我走得更快。通過在實驗上多花點時間，盡可能仔細地做事情，我消除了很多耗時的錯誤。This may seemcounter intuitive, but slowing down helped me to go faster. By taking more time over my experiments and doing things as carefully as I could, I eliminated a lot of time-consuming mistakes.3. 限制可用時間——?Limiting the?time available
雖然我想明白了如何應對壓力之后，我的工作效率就提高了，但進入第四年我還在做實驗。我有了提交論文的截止日期（在我第四年的年底），但我的研究仍然有點混亂。并沒有集中精力去發(fā)現(xiàn)什么。我的導師（杰出的Moriarty教授）就告訴我，2007年3月底以后不再允許我進入實驗室，我必須寫出我的所有東西。Though my productivity increased once I figured out how to deal with stress, I was still doing experiments well into my fourth year.?I had a final submission date (at the end of my 4th year), but my research was still a bitchaotic. It wasn't?focused on finishing.?My supervisor (the brilliant?Professor Moriarty) then told me thatI would no longer be allowed into the lab after the end of March 2007, and that I?would have to write whatever I had.?4. 適應和果斷行動——Adapting and acting decisively
因為時間有限，我不得不做出一些艱難的決定。我所做的任何事情，要么完成，要么放手。會有一些枝節(jié)，但這沒關(guān)系，只要我把其他的事情處理好。我必須決定不做某些事情，而用精力和決心專注于其他事情。不過，論文還是會有些單薄。于是，我在另一名學生研究的基礎上，接了一個副項目，這樣可以很快地產(chǎn)生一些成果。這個副項目產(chǎn)生了我科研生涯中最有趣的成果。Because of thelimited time, I had to make some tough decisions. Anything I did, I would?either have to finish or let go.?There would be some loose ends, but that wasOK as long as I tied up others.?I had to decide?not to do?certain things, and focus with energy and determination on others.?Still, though, thethesis would be a little thin. So I took on a side project based on another student's research, which could produce some results quickly.??This side project produced the?most interesting result of my scientific career.?5. 寫作前完成研究——Finishing research before writing
等到我不再做實驗的時候，我知道我已經(jīng)有足夠的能力面對博士學位了。不是最好的博士，也不是改變世界的博士，但有了兩篇論文和足夠的數(shù)據(jù)，我覺得已經(jīng)足夠了。因為我不被允許回到實驗室，我只需要專注于寫作。困難的部分已經(jīng)過去了。結(jié)果是不會改變的，所以我只需要確保自己在寫作的時候是有效率的。當你知道原始材料不會再改變的時候，寫起來就容易多了。提示：如果還有研究或分析要做，就把這個放在比寫作更優(yōu)先的位置上。By the time Istopped doing experiments, I knew I had enough for a PhD. Not the best PhDever, and not world-changing, but with two publications and enough data foranother, I felt it was good enough.? Because I wasn'tallowed back in the lab, I just had to focus on writing. The hard part was behind me. The results weren't going to change, so it was just a matter of making sure I was productive when writing.?It is much, mucheasier to write when you know the raw material isn't going to change.?Tip: If there'sresearch or analysis still to do, prioritize this over writing我決定在家里工作，而不是在辦公室，因為這樣可以減少干擾。我扔掉了電視，電腦上也沒有網(wǎng)絡連接。沒有網(wǎng)絡意味著我必須事先收集所有需要的文件，迫使我思考我需要的東西。我還設置了一個專門的空間（2張大桌子連在一起，還有一張非常舒適的椅子，旁邊有一扇大窗戶，自然光充足），專門用來寫論文。I decided to workat home, not at the office, because there would be fewer distractions.?I got rid of theTV, and had no internet connection on my computer. The lack of internet meant Ihad to gather all the papers I would need beforehand, forcing me to think aboutwhat I would need.?I also set up a dedicatedspace (2 large desks joined together and a very comfortable chair, next to alarge window for plenty of natural light), just for thesis writing.7. 目標和一致性——Targets and consistency
我給自己設定了3個月的目標，分解到每一章的目標。這將使我在最后的絕對截止日期前有3個月的儲備時間。我每天的目標是500字，我知道即使在效率最低的日子里我也能達到這個目標。這意味著，由于我在大多數(shù)日子里都突破了目標，所以我每天完成后都會對自己的進展感到滿意，這反過來又意味著我在第二天開始時感到自信。提示: 把你的目標設定為你知道你每天都能完成的事情，然后完成它。不要把它設得你能想象的那么高。I set myself atarget of 3 months, broken down into targets for each chapter. This would giveme about 3 months in reserve before the final absolute deadline.?I had a?daily minimum target of 500 words, which I knew I could meet even on the least productive days.?This meant that because I smashed the target most days, I finished every day feeling good about my progress, which in turn meant I started the next day feeling confident.?Tip: Set your target as something you know you can achieve daily, then beat it. Don't set itas high as you can possibly imagine.一天中最重要的兩個部分是開始和結(jié)束。盡早建立動力很重要，結(jié)束一天的工作也要有一個規(guī)律。在每天結(jié)束時，我總是給自己留下一些容易做的事情，以便第二天開始工作，所以我醒來時知道自己要做什么。我還在每天結(jié)束的時候收拾桌子，這也有助于結(jié)束一天的心理狀態(tài)，也讓我的大腦不再在晚上反復地看論文。The two most important parts of the day are the beginning and end. It's important to build momentum early, and have a routine for ending the day too.?At the end of eachday I always left myself something easy to do to get started with the next day,so I woke up knowing what I was going to do.?I also tidied thedesk at the end of every day, which also helped close the day mentally and stopped my brain going over and over the thesis at night.9. 將冰冷的標準應用于我所包含的內(nèi)容——Applying?ruthless standards to what I included
不管是研究綜述，還是我自己的工作，只要是不合格的，我都會刪掉。我只關(guān)注最好的文獻，為自己節(jié)省了大量的時間。這樣做的結(jié)果也是讓我的工作與該領(lǐng)域最優(yōu)秀的工作聯(lián)系在一起。我只寫我所知道的東西，這使得論文比我把所有的東西都包括進去（不管我是否理解）都要短、快、容易寫，質(zhì)量也更高。提示：你選擇的是評判，而不是考試。只包括你能從容答辯的內(nèi)容。Whether it was the lit review, or my own work, I cut anything sub-standard.?I focused only onthe very best literature, saving myself a huge amount of time. It also had theresult of associating my work with the very best in the field.?I only wrote about what I knew about, which made the thesis shorter, faster and easier to write,and of higher quality than if I had included everything whether I understood it or not.?Tip:?You choose the syllabus, not the examiner. Only include what you can comfortably defend.10. 在重要的細節(jié)上花時間——?Taking time over details that matter
我對文字的清晰度、圖表和論文的整體面貌都費盡心思。如果一張圖花了2個小時，那就這樣吧。如果在論文中找不到高質(zhì)量的圖片粘貼，我會自己重新畫。為什么這樣做呢？因為這樣可以增加論文中貫穿的質(zhì)量感。這花了很長的時間來畫圖，并確保圖的準確性。通過每次對一個細節(jié)的執(zhí)著關(guān)注，我可以確保我不會再做一次。這讓我想到了最后一點... ...I took painstakingcare over the clarity of the writing, the diagrams and the overall look of thethesis.?If a diagram took 2hours, so be it. If I couldn't find a high-quality image in a paper to pastein, I would re-draw it myself. Why? Because it adds so much to the feel ofquality running through the thesis.?"The unreconstructed Si(111) surface". This took a very long time to draw and make sure the diagram was accurate.?By applying obsessive focus to?one detail at a time, I could make sure that I wouldn't have to do it again. This brings me to the final point...我總是邊寫邊編輯，目的只有一個：確保我把腦子里的想法清楚地表達在紙上。直到我覺得句子有意義，沒有含糊不清的意思，我才會繼續(xù)寫下去。思路清晰永遠是第一目標。但是，如果你不趁著思想還在腦海里的時候澄清你的寫作，就很難在幾天或幾周后再來整理出亂七八糟的思想。這意味著我在不斷地重讀和修改剛剛寫好的東西，同時也意味著當我把東西提交給我的導師時，只需要很少的修改，這節(jié)省了幾個月的時間，只是因為我在第一輪就盡可能地接近 "正確"。?提示：如果你知道什么是好的寫作，那就會有所幫助。?請觀看視頻以獲得更多提示。（視頻見本文末尾所列的第二篇參考文獻提供的連接——譯者注）I always edit as I write, with one goal only: to make sure I've expressed the idea in my headclearly on the page. I don't move on until I feel the sentence makes sense,with no ambiguity of meaning.?Clarity of thoughtis always the number one aim. But it is very difficult to come back to a pieceof writing days or weeks later and sort out a mess of thought if you don't clarify your writing while the thought is still fresh in your head.?This means I was constantly re-reading and revising what I've just written, but also means thatwhen I submitted something to my supervisor it needed very few revisions and saved months, simply by getting as close to "right" as I could the first time round.?Tip: It helps ifyou know what makes good writing. Check out?this video for the most important tips另一個關(guān)鍵因素是，?在整個博士期間，盡管很多地方都出了差錯，但我在我一直使用的技術(shù)和數(shù)據(jù)分析方面積累了很多經(jīng)驗和技巧。這也是為什么當我放慢腳步，更仔細地做實驗時，能夠快速分析結(jié)果的原因之一。?我經(jīng)常遇到一些學生，他們把分析工作留到最后幾個月才做，整個博士期間幾乎沒有做任何分析。這是很困難的情況，因為你必須在巨大的壓力下非?？焖俚貙W習分析技能。盡早練習分析，不要忽視你的數(shù)據(jù)!Another key factor。Throughout thecourse of my PhD, event though a lot went wrong, I built up a lot of experienceand skill in the techniques I'd been using and in the data analysis. This isone of the reasons why, when I slowed down and did experiments more carefully,I was able to analyse the results quickly. Too often, I meetstudents who have left analysis to the very final months, having done virtually none throughout the course of their PhD. This is a difficult situation to bein, as you have to learn analytical skills very fast under immense pressure. Practice analysis early and don't neglect your data!請注意，我得到了對我這篇文章的一些評論，好像我在3個月內(nèi)完成了整個博士學位。不是的，我是先做了三年半的研究，然后再寫論文。我也沒有說任何人都能寫得那么快，因為這取決于很多不同的因素。這就是為什么標題是 "我是怎么寫的......"，而不是 "怎么寫的......"Please Note，?I've had some comments on this post reacting as if I completed my entire PhD in 3 months. No,I did three and a half years of research first, then wrote the thesis. I also do not claim that anyone can write that fast, as it depends on a lot ofdifferent factors. This is why the title is "How I wrote...", not "How to write..."James Hayton，How I wrote a PhD thesis in 3 months，F(xiàn)ebruary 28, 2012，?https://jameshaytonphd.com/quick-tips/how-i-wrote-a-phd-thesis-in-3-months
James Hayton，How to write your PhD thesis (without going insane): Full lecture，April 20, 2020，https://jameshaytonphd.com/quick-tips/how-to-write-your-phd-thesis-without-going-insane-full-lecture
非原創(chuàng)聲明：本文中的閃圖復制自北嶺加州州立大學（California State University, Northridge）網(wǎng)頁https://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/creativity/define.htm
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