Is there a writer who isn’t lured and waylaid by the distractions of the internet and email? Is there a writer who hasn’t written about those same distractions? How about you? How well did you do today? Did you stay on task and reach your writing goal for the day? Or did procrastination and Facebook [...]
Archive for the ‘boundaries’ Category
The cost of keeping score in a relationship
Posted in academic, boundaries, cleaning, decluttering, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, family, finishing the dissertation, happiness, housecleaning, tagged dissertation coaching, dissertation writing, email decluttering, family life, Gretchen Rubin, Jonathan Haidt, relationships, reward for writing, score-keeping, unconscious over-claiming, writers on October 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
A Saturday alone is a gift. My husband is gone for the weekend, and I am writing. As a reward to writing first, I promised myself a bit of email-inbox decluttering. To see if I should read it or delete it, I clicked on Gretchen Rubin’s “5 Mistakes I Continue To Make in My Marriage.” [...]
Precommit to Write: The Nothing Alternative
Posted in accountability, boundaries, commitment, determination, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, finishing the dissertation, following through, getting started, mental toughness, motivation, perseverance, planning, productivity, resilience, restart writing, self-discipline, self-sabotage, showing up, using your strengths, writing schedule, tagged decision fatigue, dissertation coach, John Tierney, nothing alternative, plan for writing, precommitment, Roy Baumeister, schedule, setting boundaries on September 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
What could help you have an easier time starting to write and sticking with the writing? In the new book Willpower, psychologist Roy F. Baumeister and New York Times science writer John Tierney present research that willpower is limited, in part because you use the same resource for so many different things. Since you can’t [...]
Trying to Write? Put a Door between You and Your Kids
Posted in academic, accountability, boundaries, children, determination, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, family, productivity, self-sabotage, writing, tagged assuming control, dissertation writing, juggling writing and children, producing text, productivity, setting boundaries on August 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
In a recent blog, I sang the praises of writing whenever you are taking a plane somewhere. The quiet, distraction-free atmosphere makes flying perfect for writing, or so it seems to me. I heard from a dissenting reader. She said, “I’d love to be able to devote myself to writing while on a plane, but [...]
Mom’s in Maine – Marking Boundaries for Space to Write
Posted in boundaries, children, choice, commitment, determination, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, family, perseverance, planning, reasons for not writing, strategies, time management, writing, writing schedule, tagged assuming control, dissertation writing, juggling writing and children, Maine, making space for writing, producing text, productivity, setting boundaries, summer writing, work identity on July 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Are your children home on vacation from school? And you’re trying to keep an eye on your children, as well as make headway on your writing project? How’s that working for you? During the school year, most academics teach and try to write. Both teaching and writing are critical for an academic’s success and are [...]
Full time job? And trying to write a dissertation, too?
Posted in academic, boundaries, commitment, determination, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, family, mental toughness, motivation, planning, restart writing, self-sabotage, time management, writing, writing schedule, tagged dissertation, dissertation coach, full-time jobs, juggling dissertation with work and family, scheduling dissertation time, writing on May 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
A few months ago a person who had finished her course work for her Ph.D., but had not done much toward her dissertation, wrote to say that as someone who worked full-time away from home, she couldn’t fathom how she could add writing her dissertation to the mix of not only working full-time, but also being [...]
Writers and Spring Break–Sail on, Silver Girl
Posted in academic, accountability, boot camp, boundaries, commitment, dissertation boot camp, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, finishing the dissertation, momentum, productivity, start writing, strategies, structures, success, time management, write more easily, writing schedule, tagged discipline, dissertation boot camp, dissertation coach, dissertation coaching, self-care, solitude, Spring Break, structure, thesis, use fail-proof writing strategies, Weight Watchers, writer’s retreat, writing on March 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Are you one of the lucky ones with Spring Break in the offing? Have you been thinking and hoping and waiting for Spring Break? Finally, you say, I’ll make some headway on my dissertation or book. Visualize how it will work when you have none of the usual demands that take your time and distract you [...]
Bonjour Mars! What do you really, really want to have written by the end of March?
Posted in anxiety, boundaries, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, focus, goals, self-care, strategies, structures, write more easily, tagged Lizard Brain, Research, results first, thesis, Writer, Writers Resources, writing, Writing Exercises, writing vs research on March 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
March is a long month – 4 ½ weeks. And for some people, there’s a week of Spring Vacation thrown in! Whoopy! What kind of plan for writing do you want for March? Days you are going to work, the amount of time you will work, or how much you will get done? Results [...]
Breaking the all-or-nothing mentality
Posted in academic, boundaries, coaching, dissertation boot camp, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, perfectionism, perseverance, planning, realistic goals, Smart Tips, strategies, using your strengths, writing habit, writing schedule, tagged all-or-nothing distortion, all-or-nothing thinking, daily writing habit, dissertation boot camp, goal, patience and writing, Smart Tips for Writers, thesis, write consistently, Writer, Writers Resources, writers' retreat, writing on February 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
You’re frustrated that it is taking so much time to get to the dissertation finish line. Do you minimize your efforts and withhold any sense of accomplishment for the work you’ve done to get this far? Each week you look back and dismiss your work “Is that all? Well, really, that wasn’t good enough.” [...]
