Summary: Why your brain chooses scrolling over dissertating—and what to do about it.

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Reading Time: 5 minutes that will get you happily choosing to work on your dissertation now.

​By Gayle Scroggs, PhD, PCC

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You want that doctorate. You've invested years of your life, thousands of dollars, and countless hours pursuing it. Finishing your dissertation matters enormously to you.

 

So why, when you finally have a free afternoon, do you find yourself answering emails, cleaning the kitchen, or scrolling through your phone instead of writing?

 

Don’t blame a lack of discipline. Learn from the latest neuroscience what is really happening in your brain—and learn how to influence it to your advantage.

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Your Brain Is Always Making Deals

 

In her fascinating book What We Value: The Neuroscience of Choice and Change, neuroscientist Emily Falk explains that our brains are constantly calculating the value of our options.

Every choice involves an implicit question: What's worth doing right now?

 

And here's the catch: Your brain gives considerable weight to immediate rewards—not to what really matters most.

 

Consider your options:

 

• Work on your dissertation: Possible frustration, difficult decisions, uncertainty, and the distant reward of earning your doctorate.

• Check your email: Easy accomplishment, perhaps some interesting news, and the immediate satisfaction of clearing your inbox.

• Watch a favorite show: Relaxation and enjoyment, available instantly.

 

You may value your doctorate more than anything else on that list. But at this particular moment, another activity may seem more rewarding.

 

Your brain's calculation favors the easier payoff.

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Change the Calculation

 

Falk's research suggests an intriguing possibility: We can influence our choices by changing what we pay attention to.

 

Suppose you're sitting at your desk thinking about your dissertation. Your attention goes immediately to everything that's difficult: the confusing literature, the unfinished analysis, the committee's expectations, and how much work remains.

 

No wonder your brain looks elsewhere for something rewarding!

 

But what happens if you deliberately shift your attention?

 

Instead of thinking about the entire dissertation, think about the satisfaction of solving one small problem. Imagine the pleasure of discovering a useful connection between two studies. Remember how good it feels to finish a productive writing session.

 

You haven't changed the task. You've changed what you're paying attention to.

And that can change how worthwhile the task feels.

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Make Progress Rewarding Today

 

Here are three ways to put this insight to work.

 

1. Find something to look forward to.

 

Before starting, ask yourself: What could make today's dissertation work interesting or satisfying?

 

Perhaps you're curious about what your data will reveal. Perhaps you enjoy organizing ideas or explaining a complicated concept clearly. Give that appealing aspect of the work your attention.

 

2. Shrink the distance to success.

 

A completed dissertation may be months away. A completed paragraph could be twenty minutes away.

 

Choose a task small enough to finish in one sitting. Then give yourself credit for completing it. Your brain responds to immediate rewards. Give it some!

 

3. Connect today's work with what matters most.

 

Why did you begin this doctorate? What will completing it make possible? Whom do you hope to help with your knowledge?

 

Take a moment to reconnect with those values. Then ask yourself: What is one thing I can do today that moves me toward that future?

 

Try a Five-Minute Motivation Reset

 

The next time you catch yourself avoiding dissertation work, try this:

 

1. Notice: What am I choosing to do instead of writing? What immediate reward does it offer?

2. Get curious: What feels unpleasant or unrewarding about the dissertation task right now?

3. Shift your attention: What aspect of the work could be interesting, meaningful, or satisfying?

4. Choose a small win: What can I accomplish in the next twenty minutes?

5. Appreciate your progress: When you're done, acknowledge what you accomplished.

 

The goal is to make working on your dissertation a more attractive choice, one small decision at a time.

 

The Bottom Line

 

You already know how much your doctorate matters. But knowing what matters most doesn't automatically determine what you'll do next.

 

Falk's work invites us to become more curious about the moment-to-moment calculations that shape our behavior.

 

When writing feels overwhelming, ask yourself a different question:

 

How can I make working on my dissertation worth choosing right now?

 

The answer might help you get back to work today.

 

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GAYLE SCROGGS, Ph.D., P.C.C., Editor, ABDSG

Gayle is a social psychologist and certified professional coach who specializes in helping doctoral writers complete their dissertations with clarity, confidence, and far less stress. Drawing on positive psychology and years of teaching and coaching, she helps clients overcome procrastination, perfectionism, and impostor syndrome—and finally make real progress. She is also the author of the popular free e-book Nine Strategies That Get My Dissertation Clients Across the PhD Finish Line (free copy here) and a contributor to Women’s Paths to Happiness. Find coaching support and free tools at essencecoaching.com.

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BEN DEAN, Publisher, ABDSG
Ben holds a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. He began writing the ABDSG in 1997. Over the years, the ABDSG has published hundreds of articles and provided thousands of hours of pro bono coaching and teleworkshops to ABDs all over the world. Ben is also the founder of MentorCoach (www.MentorCoach.com), a virtual university focused on training accomplished professionals to become part-time or full-time coaches. You may wish to subscribe to the Coaching Toward Happiness eNewsletter! It's on applying the science of Positive Psychology to your work and life (131,000 readers). Ben lives in suburban Maryland with his wife, Janice, their two children, and Dusty, their Norwegian dwarf bunny.

 

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