No time to write your PhD? Try this 3-step fix

Every PhD student dreams of the perfect writing day: no meetings, no emails, a quiet desk and a steaming mug of coffee.

But when that rare day arrives, the pressure to be productive can freeze you. By evening, you’ve reorganised folders, answered messages, and written a sentence. Cue guilt.

The truth? Big writing blocks often backfire. The expectation of a “perfect” session triggers procrastination. The fix is smaller, lighter sessions that you can actually show up for. Here’s how to make that happen:

Step 1: Use tiny writing blocks

Real progress comes from small, frequent bursts. Ten minutes before work. Fifteen minutes after lunch. Half an hour between errands.

Set a tiny, realistic target - rewrite one paragraph, add one citation, jot three bullet points for tomorrow. When you lower the bar, you raise your consistency. A few short bursts each week quickly add up to pages of thesis writing you didn’t think possible.

Step 2: Protect your writing time

Treat your writing time like a meeting - because it is. A meeting with Future Dr You.

Book two mini-sessions into your calendar this week and guard them fiercely. When someone asks for that slot, say, “Sorry, I’m already booked.” No one needs to know it’s with your thesis. Showing up for these micro-appointments trains your brain to respect your writing time - and to trust yourself to keep your promises.

Step 3: Cut the time leaks

Most PhD students have more time than they realise; it’s just escaping through tiny leaks. Endless scrolling for “research inspiration,” rereading the same article, tweaking references, checking email “real quick.”

Track your day for a week. Where is your focus bleeding out? Then patch the leaks: set social-media timers, batch admin tasks, and use your sharpest hours for writing instead of admin. Small adjustments reclaim surprising amounts of time.

Progress without the pressure

You don’t need long, perfect writing days to finish your thesis. You need small, consistent moments that respect your reality.

If you wrote 150 words a day, you’d have a chapter in under two months. It’s not glamorous, but it’s progress, and progress builds confidence.

So stop waiting for time to appear. Make it. One tiny, protected, leak-free block at a time.

Need more help getting the words down?

You’ll find an array of sentence starter cheat sheets - and a load of other useful resources for those “stuck” days - in my Cheat Sheet Library. Click here to learn more.