I was poking around the internet, seeing what peeps are suggesting about techniques to gather ideas. Lucky me– I came upon a discussion in answer to the question “What is the best way to gather good ideas?” And, for a bonus, the discussants are IT people. Given the innovation and productivity within IT, some of their approaches [...]
Archive for the ‘creativity’ Category
Sleep on it
Posted in academic, creativity, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, self-care, strategies, tagged Brain, dissertation, gathering ideas, self-care, self-discipline, sleep, Writer, Writer Resources, writing on June 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Release those endorphins and write
Posted in coaching, creativity, dissertation coach, exercise, happiness, motivation, running, self-care, Smart Tips, tagged an exercise high, connection between exercise and writing, creativity, dissertation coaching, endorphins, good mood and writing, mind and body, motivation to write dissertation, writing on February 8, 2011 | 1 Comment »
“The idea for this post hit me today when I was at the gym, sweating profusely,” writes Larry Brooks in a blog post called “Blood, Sweat and Words: How Badly Do You Want This?” As I read his guest post on the blog “Write To Done,” I was reminded once again with how often we [...]
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 »
“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 [...]
To Write Your Dissertation or Book, Make a Break
Posted in creativity, finishing the dissertation, getting started, hope, isolated, isolation, life, memories, self-care, start writing, strategies, success, write more easily, writing, writing breaks, zest, tagged happening upon a memory, make a break, make a change in your life, moving forward on your writing, triggering a fresh idea, Unexpected connection on March 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A little after noon on Sunday as I was driving to the Regional Post Office, which is open on Sundays, I turned on NPR radio and happened upon Garrison Keillor, telling one of his yarns on “Prairie Home Companion.” Even though I enjoy Garrison Keillor’s humor, I immediately felt weepy. On far too many Sunday [...]
Writing the Dissertation: Learning how to do something you didn’t know how to do, Part 2
Posted in academic, acting as if, brave, courage, creativity, discourse, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, higher education, practice writing, resilience, teaching writing, top strengths, trusting yourself, underprepared students, using your strengths, tagged bluff, dissertation coach, Learning how to do something you didn’t know how to do, learning to write a dissertation, learning to write an argument, rhetorical conventions, self-taught writer, writing as if you know what you’re doing, writing instruction on September 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Dissertation writers are largely self-taught academic writers, and the learning process can be a bold and daring adventure. Over the years many of my dissertation coaching clients talk about the challenges in writing academic discourse. Academic writing is its own special discourse, with its own particular conventions. My dissertation coaching clients largely learn this discourse [...]
Occasionally, Raise Your Eyes from Your Dissertation: Producing Insights and Breakthroughs
Posted in academic, creativity, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, happiness, hope, joy, life, planning, self-care, Smart Tips, strategies, struggling, success, trusting yourself, using your strengths, write more easily, writing breaks, tagged burst of mental clarity, creative thinking, discoveries, Eureka moments, insights, problem solving, recalibration, relaxation, stuck on August 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Monet set staring at his garden in Giverny, France. A neighbor asked him when he was going to start working. Monet said that he was already working. Later, when Monet was painting, the neighbor passed by again and said, “Oh, you’ve started working.” To which Monet said, “No, now I’m resting.” I don’t know if [...]
Take Some Time Away from Your Writing to Recalibrate
Posted in academic, creativity, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, joy, life, self-care, writing breaks, tagged relaxation increases creativity, time away from writing leads to insights on August 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Several of my writing and dissertation clients are trying to finish a dissertation or finish a book at the same time that they’re teaching or working full time and also trying to be attentive to the people in their lives. And they wonder why they aren’t getting more work done on their dissertations! One of [...]
Like Writing, Exercise Needs to be a Habit: Nine Benefits for Writers
Posted in anxiety, coaching, creativity, discipline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, exercise, getting started, happiness, inertia, isolated, planning, productivity, restart writing, running, self-care, start writing, time, time management, write more easily, writing, tagged exercise enhances mood, exercising is an aid to writing, plan schedule around exercise on July 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“How would I rate my self-care this week, particularly in the area of exercise?” is one of the questions I ask my clients to think about before we have our coaching call. Since many of my coaching clients are writers, and many of those writers are trying to find time to write a dissertation, I [...]
What Does It Take to Persevere? – A Snapshot and a Tip
Posted in brave, coaching, courage, creativity, determination, discipline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, gratitude, mental toughness, perseverance, Smart Tips, writing, tagged against the odds, obstacles, perseverance, relief from writing, visual game on July 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
She is in the last big push toward her defense, but she has had to climb mountains to get here. She has persevered in spite of incredible obstacles. Now she is demanding a great deal of herself by working until far in the night. As a scientist, she often is trying to make sense of numbers on a page or screen. When the numbers start to blur for her, she looks for a moment of fun, a change.
