Working on Your MBA Dissertation: How to Complete Your Paper without a Hitch

Writing and creating an MBA dissertation is one of the most rewarding things you can do; but make no mistake, it’s also one of the hardest! Here are some tips to help you get yourself motivated and stay on track while you embark on this life-changing project.

  • Find a mentor you can work with, and reach out to them often. Your mentor will be one of the most important people involved in your dissertation; in fact, the only person who will be more important is you! Make sure your mentor is someone you can get along with but who will also challenge you to do your best. Make sure that your mentor is also someone you feel comfortable turning to at any time for help; if you’re afraid to call them in a crisis, you should probably look for someone new who’s willing to be there for you if you need them!
  • Treat it like a full-time job. Your dissertation is not just another paper that you can take your time with and do at your own pace – in a sense, you do have control over the timing, but if you allow yourself to slack off all the time and put off all your deadlines, you’ll find yourself years and years away from achieving your goal. Treat your dissertation like a job, and show up every day to work for as many hours as you can; no excuses, no free passes! Be diligent; you’re the only one who’ll keep tabs on you during the work, so don’t let yourself slide. Of course, sometimes we all need a break, but act like you’re taking time off work and schedule your “days off” in advance so you can make up the lost time before and after!
  • Take advantage of all the resources your school offers you. If your school has a business lab, a writing lab, study rooms, research assistance, or an MBA support program, take advantage of it! Knowing how to use the tools available to you can go a long way in terms of writing your dissertation. Bounce your ideas off fellow classmates, and reach out to the English department to see if someone there can help you maximize your paper. The more resources you can turn to, the more places you can go when you find yourself stuck or lost!
  • Have confidence in yourself. One of the reasons that some people never manage to finish their MBA is a simple one, but it’s a sad one all the same: they don’t believe in themselves. After months or years of hard work, they simply lose steam and begin to believe that they can’t finish. Don’t let yourself become one of those people! Know that other people have done it before, so there’s no reason you can’t. Have a support group of friends and family you can turn to when the going gets tough, and if you find yourself in a very dark, hopeless place, take a break instead of quitting altogether. Sometimes it just takes a relaxing weekend away or a guilt-free night out with friends to recharge those batteries and get you back on track.
 
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