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This is it. This is the last month of my intensive writing bootcamp to finish my dissertation. That was the reason why you have not seen any posts from me recently... I was busy. Busy with writing, reading, writing, planning my writing, ... and nearly lost my mind on it.The last phase of your PhD is the most exhaustive one in you career, trust me on that.Oh, and it is December already, so, I have to get all my Christmas presents for my loved ones as well, next to finishing that dissertation.But December also means candles, cookies, lights and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - and yes, I admit it, I LOVE that time of the year. The play on words "Diss-cember" is not that new, I know, but it totally seemd accurate for the first sunday in Advent. I even picked a nice image with a candle to provide you with some seasonal flair. :) I hope you like it.Here comes my list of how not to lose my mind - I hope it will help you, too: Make a plan.Okay, yeah, this is the most obvious thing, I guess. Stick to it, but be gentle with yourself.Allow yourself to miss some of your own deadlines. Calculate enough time spots for breaks. After all, you have to take good care of yourself, because you cannot afford to drop out for days or weeks beacuse of getting sick or ill or whatever stress can do to your body and mind. Ask for help and tell your friends about your last phase of writing.You may need some eyes to get through your text, doing corrections. I am just saying... I, myself, am perfectly unable to see my mistakes, and I want to thank all my dear test readers on this occasion for helping me with my corrections and revisions. Reward yourself when you finished a task or a bullet on your huge to-do-list. And YES, you have time for that, because you have your plan, right? ;) It's allowed to shout, cry and being frustrated. This is actually called soul hygiene. It is allowed to say that you want to f*ck all this sh*t. Really, without such little controlled breakdowns you will harm yourself. I have them at least three times a week. If you are not working with Microsoft Word, there might be less occasions. :) Sorry, not sorry. Celebrate your good days - good days are days where you get a lot of stuff done and can relax in the evening.This is also an opportunity to reward yourself with some self-care-stuff like watching a movie with a huge mug of hot chocolate on your couch. It is as simple as that. And it is so important, because you have to enjoy this feeling of being satisfied with your work. Be actually satisfied with your work.Yes, I know, I am a perfectionist myself and I am never ready to submit a paper, even if I had the time to review it at least three times. Therefore, tell one person about your good work and tell them that you need help to enjoy the feeling, too. Really, try it. Get fresh air and do some physical training.You need your body to be trained - and yes, just take a walk around the block, it's 10 important minutes to get your mind clear again.[caption id="attachment_747" align="aligncenter" width="446"] I am buried with books, in the middle of revisions and quotations still to check and verify, half through my writing plan, and highly desperate for the Christmas cookie season to start. (image: Pixabay)[/caption]Until now, everything just worked out fine for me. I try to keep moving, I try to stick to my plan and I try to be at least proud of me by doing so. Yes, the last thing is the actual hard work to do. I could spent another year on doing research, on writing, on reading, but: A good dissertation is a done dissertation.There is a silver lining: I plan to submit my thesis in february at last. I am still good in time, I planned even a nice Christmas break and I am pretty sure to get enough work done to actually enjoy it without any bad conscience. ;) And soon, I will have finished my good dissertation!So, I am sorry that you have not heard from me and that I had no time to do any posts, but I guess you can forgive me. :DHave a very nice and not too stressful December, enjoy picking your presents for your loved ones, eat a lot of cookies and do not forget to celebrate the important things in life.Stay tuned, dear fighters of academia!See y'all,Astrid