The PhD Writing/Outlining Cycle | Weekly Vlog 2 

I think it’s amazing that you are doing this series. I’ve been watching your videos for a while and they are great! I am two semesters into the start of a masters/phd program and it’s part time. I also hear all the little nasty voices that fill me with doubts and imposter syndrome and being part time makes it so much harder it seems. But although we can’t control the voices coming into our heads, we can control how we are reacting to them. What you are doing is an excellent way to combat the doubts! You rock, keep going!

Hi Morgan,I wanted to let you know how grateful I am for the positive impact you've had on my life. Your videos have been instrumental in helping me break free from a phase where I felt incapable of doing anything. As a second-year PhD student, i have been and still struggle with mental exhaustion, a sense of being stuck, and overwhelming anxiety that has hindered my ability to carry out the tasks essential to my studies but your guidance has been nothing short of heroic in navigating through these challenges. 🙏🏻💚

Only halfway through the vlog but just wanted to take a second just to say I really admire you putting this out there. And all of your stresses and concerns you've expressed so far are *entirely* relatable! I wound up here because I'm currently in the middle of my own planning vs writing tangle, and even just hearing you speak so openly and talk through your experience is really reassuring and comforting. So thank you! And best of luck with everything, I'm sure you will ace it! :)

Hi! I'm at the beginning of my phd and you were one of the people that showed me that I could maybe do this, too! And I'm using Obsidian too - I just put my entrire vault folder into my university's equivalent of dropbox/google drive, so it synchs easily with everything without paying for Obsidian. Maybe that'll work for you too!

I like this new series which shows the real ups and downs of writing. The 'writing in the fog' is a true struggle! When I struggle feeling my writing doesn't flow, someone told me sometimes it's so hard to write with so much literature living in your head. The more you read the more expectations you want your piece to sound a particular way. And when it doesn't it's so frustrating. He then draws an analogy to cooking. Is it a really a flow issue or are you trying to overspice your dish ? Sometimes it is ok to leave it bare . You can season it later on , or maybe you don't need to at all. It's fine the way it is, proceed to the next dish. You got this Morgan!

I agree about the necessary of "consistency" planning. I'm currently working on my master's thesis, Planning for me is a way to make me feel I have control, control my overwhelm and strategize what action I need to take. Some of the time if I start writing without even able to see it through or have clear plans I end up more anxious and hard to concentrate.

Thank you, Morgan, for your excellent materials. You introduced me to Obsidian! I use Syncthing to connect my Obsidian on the desktop and tablet. It will not be as smooth as Obsedian sync, but it is free and it works. Thanks

I really appreciated and very much related to your mentioning constant movement between writing and planning. I would also add a third element, which is reading. I'm an experienced researcher but I still find it so challenging to structure my writing in the most convincing and comprehensive way. Good luck!

Usually when I'm going back and forth with my writing, I just record myself explaining my thesis like a lecture or something like that. Saying out loud adding frases like "the first idea" or "after that" to really mark the transitions really helped me. Planning helps a lot too, but I feel that a little of "chaotic criativity", mixing different ways to make sense of my ideas do make me feel more confident and more certain of my writing. I love your videos and they are really inspiring me to go back to my master's degree (which I gave up, research is really difficult in Brazil most of the times), so thank you! Best of luck to you, Morgan. ❤

your intro is so nice! also, ive seen people in your comments give unsolicited advice too. you're doing it at the times and in the ways you're meant to. its nobody else's business. loving your vlogging series :) hope each of your weeks is even better than the last!

Hi, Morgan! I'm loving these series, and I couldn't relate more to your writing process. I'm in my 4th year (masters but I'll transfer to PhD), and currently working on my 4th chapter. Although we have a very structured research methodology in my area (Computer Science - stance detecion in social media), there are still some things that are very blury and it's a constant back and forth. Even though you're finishing and I'm in the beginning (in Brazil we have 2 different exams), our timelines are very similar. My exam will be in august, and I'm in the last few months of writing, too. I wish you tranquility in these last few months, and I'm sure we'll cheer together our acomplishments by the end of the year!!!

Regarding planning and that unfortunate comment on Kaelyn's video: in the humanities planning is so so important, and I find myself constantly planning and re-planning my ongoing chapters. Because our research is solely based on the written word, it is important to constantly check on our structure, the flow of our argument, etc., hence the major role of planning and moving things around constantly. I'm writing a chapter right now and for the past couple days all I've been doing is re-planning my chapter and moving my writing around in order to make it make more sense (and also to help me develop my argument better by helping me see connections, lack in flow and evidence, etc.). So I completely agree with you! Planning is fundamental to writing.

I'm 11.5 weeks away from my due date 0_0 and writing a thesis, for most of us, is not easy. If you're doing a PhD as an experienced specialist in the field, then that experience would be very different. For many, a PhD is about learning to do research, as well as learning to write better. I understand the inclination to plan but I have felt the same "fog" you describe and I think that's just how it is. While each area of study will have its own preferred structures, the theses I've seen have had similar layouts. Ch1 = justification of the study, Ch2 = background, Ch3 = methodology, Ch4 = methods, Ch5 = results/findings, Ch6 = discussion, Ch7= additional integration with literature maybe, Ch8 = quality and limitations, Ch9 = conclusion and list of recommendations if applicable. I dare say the earlier chapters would be the most similar between different fields of study, as it is a logical layout. I think just put it all down and get it out of your head, then start moving the pieces around and refining it. You can then try reverse outlining.

I'm just an undergrad, so I mightn't know what I'm talking about. But my professor once said that: "[o]n reading it through you should find that the introduction is already there [and] the conclusion is already there [...]." I think that in the humanities and arts, the structure of the texts we write emerges to a greater extent than in the sciences, where it often is more clearly defined from the beginning. While it is of course a hermeneutic-circle type thing - where the chapter influences the writing and the writing influences which chapter it is in - perhaps it would be useful to decide on chapters later, once the text is more fully written? Perhaps you will find that the chapters are "already there". I'm really impressed with all you're doing, and I can't wait to read your dissertation. I'm absolutely certain you'll get it done, and not only that: It will be really really good!

I am on my final year masters project. My project is a bit overwhelming for me right now and I'm just trying to be on it one day at a time. Seeing your video is really timely for me and I appreciate your honest approach. It gives me hope. Thank you for sharing your experience. I will keep tabs on your post because it is practically motivating.

12:40 - By the way! I saw you use apple computers, which means there's a pretty easy way to get cross-device syncing. You simply place your vault in the iCloud folder. Then, on each of your devices (including your iPhone, if you have one) you choose that folder as your vault. Each time you make a note on one of the devices, it will be uploaded to the vault of all the devices. When I did it, I already had a vault on my computer, just like you, and I couldn't simply move it. The way I did it was that I made a copy of my vault which I placed in the iCloud folder. Then, I chose the iCloud folder as my new primary vault. It's very simple, and saves a lot of time, both when working across devices, and in the event that one device fails and the notes are lost; here they're always safe. iCloud storage is like $2 (9DKK) a month for more storage than markdown files could hope to fill (not counting pictures or PDFs one might store in the vault, though). I hope this helps a little.

I get you!!! I’m having the same issue. The organization of the chapters and the narrative I want to provide. Thanks for doing this series. I’m getting inspired to keep going. 🙌🏼 We can do this!!!!❤

Morgan, I love this series. Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. I'm in the process of deciding whether to pursue a PhD (in Spanish). I want to, more than anything, but a lot of the advice I'm finding online says that pursuing a PhD in the humanities is a waste of time! Eek! This is part of the reason I find your channel so uplifting and inspiring. I'm determined to try to follow my dreams, as I believe the process of pursing a PhD will change me in unforeseen ways. I'm eager to be challenged and stretched. I've been doing a ton of soul searching and my gut just tells me again and again that I owe it to myself to go for it. I think I'm very well suited for intense research. Anyway, thanks so much for all you share. Keep up the excellent work and know that your voice is really helping folks like me.

5:00 Yes that comment to Kaelyn was infuriating!! Can you imagine telling someone how they should be doing their enormous project and telling them to ignore a crucial stage of project management in favor of a strategy that she clearly doesn’t want to do?? Honestly pissed me off. Everyone is different. And in my opinion for people like me, “failing to plan is planning to fail” just write is great advice for some people but not everyone. Okay, now let me take a moment to get back down from my high horse. Anywho, love your video! Dissertation vlogs are some of the only vlogs that don’t bore the crap out of me lol. Can’t wait to keep following your journey ❤

Beware those voices. : )))))) And 'unclear' order of 'stuff' can be a painful struggle. And the mental anguish of the outlines not 'mapping' for getting lost can be great. As you find 'other' links... but it sucks not carrying a copy of Obsidian on the laptop. As others have said there are other syncing options BUT just copying the vault folder works well enough provided you periodically make sure both end up with the same version of Obsidian... and you similarly manage your 'copies' of the plugins... All of these are in the obsidian folder. Refusal to let the side paths and diversions 'depress or worry' you is also a great tactic, they can be fruitful, if not downright interesting rabbit holes - that some exploration can be permitted, and noted for future re-digging.

It's been a while since I've seen one of your videos, good to see you pressing on and doing it with such amazing nails. :) Mine are broken and bitten - submission in 4 weeks! 😂😂

I feel you in this one - my PhD journey is definitely not a straight route as well, and it seems especially challenging to connect chapters and keep the overall outline in mind all the time! Thank you for sharing your process 😊 Have you thought about syncing your obsidian with git? That's how I keep mine updated, and I think it should work on several computers. 😊

I've just started my PhD and your videos have been so helpful and comforting in this very new time for me

Thanks for bringing me through the process. I’m glad you rediscovered your map and were able to get back on track.

Great video as always morgan! I love your pink flannel you wear at 11:52 (I wear flannel alot myself) where'd you get it? I am very interested in PhD related content even though I haven't been to college yet (I'm a high school graduate, trying to decide college stuff haha).

I just caught snow crash and William Gibson on your shelf....Respect on that.im a HUGE Gibson fan..So yeah,ur doing doing good,almost done.You have waaay more patience then me😂

I used to save my obsidian (when I used one) to a onedrive account which I could open on both my laptop and desktop computers -- kind of an unofficial way to transfer it between computers. That might work for you? EDIT: love this series

always appreciate any vids you put out. I would love to hear more specifics about your research itself, though I know those videos tend to get less views

My own 2c - without an outline of sections big or small, I just struggle to write with a sense of purpose and clarity. So, I do think whatever work you do on outlining is crucial and strategic.

I'm halfway through a 3 year Humanities PhD, and my chapters are in no way fixed. I think they are, then I have a conversation with my supervisor , and I am overwhelmed by new ideas and a whole new structure. In my last supervision, we decided I am not going to worry about it - I will just write, and work out the structure when I have more to work with. 😏

I’m curious if you’ve considered using the three act structure to write the dissertation. In Effective Data Storytelling by Brent Dykes there is an emphasis on using narrative structure to discuss research. Perhaps that could be helpful if you get lost again?

As always -- love your videos. I am considering a phd -- even though I'm quite a bit older than the average phd student. Haha! I don't pay for Obsidian either -- but sync with iCloud. I think you can also sync with dropbox. Both without paying. It works for me. I can jump into my obsidian libraries from any device. Anyhoo -- thanks for what you do!

I used to sync my obsidian vault to google drive, so I could access my notes from my phone. This could maybe be an option / partial solution for you without needing to pay for obsidian sync )provided you have internet access). With google drive I could track/sync the folder so it uploaded automatically, I have no idea if this is something other cloud based storage apps can do, but I would assume so, and since markdown files are usually not that big, it did not take up much space (I stopped because it turns out I didn't needed it that much so it was useless, and I started to back up my vault in a different way as well)

5:31 👏👏👏

Hey Morgan! Stick to it. You’re just going through a lull. One question: is your zettlekasten not helping you out?

Why not try scrivener as a tool to write?

🏃‍♀️