NOTE:  This Meetup Group has reached maximum capacity and cannot accomodate additional members at this time. 

The dissertation needs to get done, but something is inhibiting you... anxiety... lack of confidence... feelings of disappointment... questioning your topic...frustration with your advisor...confusion of where to begin... depression and self-doubt… the stack of unread articles... the disorganized notes...the boredom of writing alone . . .and, of course, the house that needs to be cleaned.

We've all been there. What you may need is an opportunity to carve out some time and energy in an organized environment to focus on what seems to be the most disorganized writing and thinking task you have ever undertaken. The purpose of the Houston Dissertation Writing Group is to provide support in order to make daily progress on one's dissertation (or candidacy paper or thesis).

While the majority of our time is spent on silent writing, we also: 1) set goals to complete by the end of the meet-up session, 2) conduct our own research (e.g., reading articles, organizing notes, searching the library databases for more resources, etc.), 3) do a 30-minute timed writing session (with a timer) as a group, 4) debrief the timed writing process, and  5) discuss next steps  (or homework).

Alone, no one knows that we were on Facebook for 2 hours. Together, we help hold each other accountable.  Don’t be scared away from attending in the event that only one other member has RSVPed for a particular meet-up. All it takes is ONE other person being present to motivate you to stick to the schedule you’ve made to sit down and write. We’ve found that we’re much more likely to stick to our plans to write if someone else is expecting us to show up and sit down to actually write. Not only does this built-in accountability help us keep the writing commitments we’ve made to ourselves, it’s also often inspiring!       

Can't stay for 3-4 hours? Then come for one hour!  Spending 1 hour focused on your dissertation will still be beneficial. After all, some writing is better than no writing, right?

We meet at various venues across town at different times of day, so take a look at the calendar of upcoming meet-ups to find one that fits your schedule. And feel free to suggest a meet-up time and location of your own. (Just be sure to check out the venue first to make sure it has electrical outlets for plugging in laptops.  Free wi-fi is also a plus.) 

Still not sure? Then here's the bottom line. If you want to study with others instead of alone in your home where the closets are screaming to be reorganized, you can't seem to self-regulate your study habits (and you've tried lots of different motivational strategies), you’re experiencing writing anxiety or other significant struggles, or you’ve considered hiring (or have already hired) a writing coach, then this is definitely the group for you. Current group members share similar characteristics. You don’t have to be alone in this process.

RSVP to meet-up with this group ASAP! Your advisor, committee members, family members, friends and pets will thank you.