“I’ve had very little, if any, support from my advisor or my committee,” and so began another coaching call this morning with the writer of a dissertation. Many dissertation coaching clients say that their advisors are hands-off, giving little or no substantive feedback, or not wanting to see a dissertation at all until it’s [...]
Archive for the ‘coaching’ Category
5 Tips for Creating a Breakthrough When You Have a Hands-off Dissertation Advisor
Posted in academic, advisor, alliances, coaching, courage, creativity, curiosity, dissertation advisors, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, isolated, momentum, perseverance, planning, resources, restart writing, strategies, tagged dissertation advisors, dissertation coach, Linked-In, Small World, Woody Allen on October 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Delivering the Dissertation: Dissertation Writer as Showrunner
Posted in acting as if, coaching, deadline, discipline, dissertation advisors, dissertation boot camp, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, finishing the dissertation, following through, goals, mental toughness, motivation, perseverance, planning, self-discipline, showing up, structures, take charge, time, time management, top strengths, using your strengths, writing schedule, tagged dissertation writer, leadership, organize, plan, project manager, schedule, showrunner, time management, use your strengths on August 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Have you heard of a “showrunner”? Writers in the TV industry are now expected also to manage—or to have the skills and strengths that would allow them to manage. According to John Wells, Writers Guild of America West president and writer/producer of E.R., Third Watch, and West Wing, it is virtually impossible to be just a writer [...]
Is Your Dissertation One of Your Big Rocks?
Posted in accountability, coaching, dissertation boot camp, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, following through, mental toughness, planning, self-deception, self-sabotage, showing up, structures, take charge, time management, tagged Big Rocks, dissertation, distractions, late summer chaos, prioritize, self-sabotage, summer writing, time management, where you have control on August 15, 2010 | 1 Comment »
August can be a time of scrambling A friend who was taking her family on a trip to Europe was rushing to get everything done. She said, “All I have to do is just get to the plane.” I know what she means—what a wonderful feeling it is to settle in and stare into space, [...]
Getting Motivated
Posted in academic, coaching, dissertation boot camp, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, finishing the dissertation, getting started, mental toughness, motivation, productivity, self-discipline, writing, tagged autonomy, Dan Pink, getting motivated, mastery, purpose on August 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Motivation is in short supply. We know that motivation is a force that causes us to move toward a goal we’ve set. Reason, physical urge, and self-discipline are part of that force. For many writers, motivation is difficult to find, to come by, to pin down. Recently I received an email about an upcoming teleconference— Ellen [...]
What do ABD’s want from their parents? Unconditional food
Posted in academic, children, coaching, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, family, relationships, tagged ABD's, food, graduate students, parents, support on August 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
“There’s a certain amount of humility that comes with being 30 years old and a graduate student. The stipend is paltry, the housing less than prime,” writes Hinda Mandell. Like many graduate students, Hinda knows where to find cheap or, better yet, free food. The best place to shop free is at her parents’ home, [...]
Is Writing Your Real Job?
Posted in coaching, commitment, discipline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, procrastination, productivity, reasons for not writing, self-deception, self-sabotage, take charge, writing habit, writing schedule, writing, dissertation, tagged Ann Patchett, eliminating distractions, writing as a job on July 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
How would your productivity change if you looked at writing as if it were your real job? Ann Patchett, an award-winning author, has done her best to avoid writing. Her novel Bel Canto, has won both the PEN/Faulkner Award and England’s Orange Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She [...]
5 Tips to Help You Maintain Your Writing Momentum and Still Enjoy Your Vacation
Posted in coaching, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, family, habit, Happier, happiness, momentum, re-start, reflection, restart writing, time, time management, write more easily, writing habit, writing schedule, tagged 25-minute writing sessions, life balance, Maintain writing momentum, minimum goals, modest tasks, restart daily writing habit, vacation on July 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Are you worried about losing your momentum while you’re on vacation? But does working on your dissertation while vacationing seem depressing? Actually, writing while you’re on vacation may be easier and more pleasant than you think. Vacation will make you feel happier and livelier. Since it’s easier to write when you’re happy, you may be surprised [...]
Start Writing by Lowering the Stakes
Posted in anxiety, coaching, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, exercise, fun, getting started, momentum, play, re-group, re-start, resources, restart writing, restarting, start writing, strategies, struggling, write more easily, tagged 750words.com, exercise, improve your mood, lower resistance to writing, restart your writing, to write lower the stakes on June 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Feeling stuck? Feeling as if your well has gone dry? What’s a writer to do? At such times when nothing seems to be coming together for you in your writing and when you feel more resistance toward your dissertation than usual, what can you do to stir things up a bit and to start writing? [...]
