Have you ever felt like a DR (that’s dissertation-rebel, not Doctor (yet). A dissertation rebel is a graduate student who knows they *should* be working on the dissertation but finds hundreds of reasons to avoid doing so. This might be similar to procrastination, except in procrastination, you feel anxious and avoidant. In dissertation rebelliousness, you’re likely to feel kind of p*ssed off, and mad. You might rant and rave, "Why do I have to do this? I don’t FEEL like doing this! This isn’t fair!" etc. Why does dissertation rebelliousness show up? Mainly because you have either been working really hard, with no time for fun OR because you are dreading working even though you haven’t really done it yet. I’ve also seen it show up when ABD’s are in the final stretch of writing- maybe a week or two away from finishing up the full draft. I’ve been told that marathoners feel the same way- when they are close to the finish line, they feel like rebelling & quitting. But remember, ultimately, what are you rebelling against? If you don’t want to finish your degree- don’t. If you do, though, there are certain steps you have to take to do so. When you feel some dissertation rebelliousness coming on, take yourself out for a dose of fun- and then get back to work.
