🎯 The Short Answer: You have two solid options: give yourself permission to genuinely rest and recharge, or work ahead on the next section of your dissertation. The key is picking the strategy that works for your mental health, not forcing yourself into either box.
If you’re working on a dissertation, you’ve probably experienced this scenario: you submit a chapter to your supervisor and settle in to wait. Two weeks pass. Then three. Then suddenly it’s been six weeks and you still haven’t heard back. The silence is maddening, and you’re left wondering what to do with yourself in the meantime. Should you keep moving forward? Should you sit tight? How do you stay motivated when you’re stuck in this waiting game?
🛌 Permission to Rest is Underrated
Here’s something we don’t talk about enough: rest is actually productive. If your supervisor typically takes three weeks to turn around feedback, that’s your cue to give yourself a genuine break. Not a “I’ll rest but feel guilty about it” break, but a real one where you step back from your dissertation entirely.
We know this is hard. You’ve got an ambitious goal ahead of you, and the pressure to keep moving is intense. But here’s the truth: you won’t make it to the end of your dissertation if you don’t rest along the way. That three-week window is the perfect opportunity for a long weekend, a family trip, a spa day, or whatever genuinely refuels you. Think of rest not as stopping, but as fuel for the next phase of work.
The tricky part? Rest only works if you actually know how long the waiting period will be. If you’re expecting feedback in one week but it takes six, the anxiety of uncertainty can make rest feel impossible. That’s when your second strategy comes in handy.
📝 Work Ahead on What’s Coming Next
If you can’t rest, start working on the next section. Let’s say you’ve submitted your literature review and you’re waiting for feedback, but a few weeks have passed. Go ahead and start drafting chapter three. You’re going to have to write it eventually anyway, so why not get a head start?
The beauty of this approach is flexibility. You can always pivot and adjust once your supervisor’s feedback arrives. The key is making sure you carry that feedback forward into your new work. So if you get comments on chapter two, you don’t just move on to chapter three unchanged. You pick chapter three back up, integrate those lessons from chapter two, and then submit with that alignment in place.
This is something we spot so often with our clients during private coaching sessions – they feel trapped between waiting and working. Getting ahead on the next chunk gives you back a sense of agency and momentum, even if you’ll need to revise later.
💡 Let Your Brain Work in the Background
Here’s something that might surprise you: sometimes the best insights come when you’re not actively writing. One client we worked with was anxious about waiting for feedback and felt she had to keep pushing forward on her dissertation. We encouraged her to take a weekend off completely – no work, no thinking about the project.
She was reluctant at first, but she took that break anyway. When she came back on Monday, she hadn’t received the feedback yet. But something interesting had happened: while her conscious mind was resting, her brain had been processing. She came back with fresh ideas and a clear plan for what to tackle next. That weekend off didn’t slow her down – it actually accelerated her progress.
🎯 Start Planning, Even if You’re Not Writing
If full rest feels impossible and you’re not ready to draft the next chapter, there’s a middle ground: planning. Start thinking about what information you’ll need for the next section. Gather resources, organize your notes, or outline your approach. These small steps keep you moving without the pressure of producing new content.
If you’re further along in your dissertation and waiting for final feedback, use that time to start preparing for your defense or viva presentation. Practice talking through your research, anticipate tough questions, or refine your presentation. These activities keep your momentum alive without interfering with the feedback cycle you’re waiting on.
📌 Key Takeaways
- Rest is productive – use predictable feedback delays as an opportunity to genuinely recharge.
- If you can’t rest due to anxiety, work ahead on your next chapter or section instead.
- Always carry supervisor feedback forward into new work to maintain alignment and quality.
- When you’re unsure what to do, focus on planning and gathering resources rather than full drafting.
- Sometimes stepping back gives your brain space to generate better ideas than pushing through.
P.S. Have a question? Join our next Live Q&A Session – it’s free!
