Get up early, no matter how much you think you think you need sleep, and write.
Writing a dissertation takes single-mindedness. It takes mental focus. It works best when you feel calm, when anxiety is low, stress is low, and you feel little or no ambivalence.
And how often do you feel this way?
Do you waste time [...]
Archive for the ‘family’ Category
Morning Has Broken—Are You Writing?
Posted in You Tube, academic, anxiety, coaching, determination, discipline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, family, getting started, music, writing, tagged music to raise your mood, time to write, writing in the morning on July 14, 2008 | No Comments »
Conflicting Demands: Family, Holidays, and Dissertations
Posted in advisor, choice, coaching, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, family, tagged hard choices on May 25, 2008 | No Comments »
I always look forward to Memorial Day week-end. As I enjoy the current Memorial Day holiday here in the U.S., I am thinking back to a Memorial Day week-end a few years ago when I had to choose my dissertation over the holiday week-end with my family.
In my Washington, DC suburb, Memorial Day has always been [...]
To Keep Your Writing Going, Put Your Energy Around What You Want
Posted in Smart Tips, academic, boundaries, demands, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, family, momentum, relationships, self-care, take stock, writing, dissertation, tagged communication, demands, dissertation, focus on what you want, hard choices, keep the writing going, positive focus, reframing, relationships, self-care, writing on February 26, 2008 | No Comments »
If you put your energy around what you want, that’s what you’ll get.
One client told me that she had been ambivalent about all of the questions her dad had about her dissertation. But she decided to make a positive out of the parental interest. She saw that her dissertation could be a bridge in her [...]
How to Deal with Others Invested in Your Dissertation Process, Part III
Posted in Smart Tips, academic, boundaries, courage, criticism, demands, discipline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, family, fears, goals, life, mental toughness, relationships, self-care, writing, writing, dissertation, tagged demands, dissertation, fears of scrutiny and criticism, focus on what you want, hard choices, parents, relationship, self-care, writing on February 24, 2008 | No Comments »
Writing a dissertation brings with it many hard choices. Often those hard choices directly impact relationships.
One dissertation client told his parents that he can’t talk about his dissertation with them—not when it’s going well and not when he’s stuck—because he feels that it opens him to too much scrutiny.
But he’s always ill at ease around [...]
Where Do You Want to be on Your Dissertation in 3 Months?
Posted in Smart Tips, academic, alliances, choice, coaching, commitment, discipline, dissertation advisors, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, family, following through, getting started, goals, momentum, perseverance, planning, productivity, re-start, realistic goals, resources, restart writing, self-sabotage, strategies, tagged 3-month goals, alliances, goals, plan, resolutions, resources, short-term, support, write it down on December 30, 2007 | No Comments »
Making goals for an entire year seems to me to be self-sabotaging.
Are we talking about making a big change that you’ll be so disciplined that you’ll do that action you’re contemplating every single day for the next year? That’s too much time to deal with.
Chunk it down.
If you decide where you want to be in [...]
Finding Time to Write—Give A Gift to Yourself
Posted in coaching, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, family, time, writing, tagged carving time, writing during the holiday, writing for a few minutes on December 23, 2007 | No Comments »
For those of you who are celebrating holidays this week, it means you can’t be absolutely sure of anything, not of one day to the next, particularly if you have children home from school (pre-school through college) or adult offspring visiting for a few days.
I’m taking time off from coaching to be with my family [...]
During Your Dissertation Daze, Bravely Isolate the Unimportant
Posted in academic, brave, choice, cleaning, coaching, commitment, courage, decluttering, demands, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, family, housecleaning, planning, self-care, teaching writing, time theft, tagged choose family, compartmentalize, cutting corners on teaching, decide what is important, dissertation writing, housekeeping chores, let go of the unimportant, speed clean on December 9, 2007 | No Comments »
When I was writing my dissertation, I tried my best to let go of all that was unimportant.
I always wanted more time to be with my kids and to do that I had to let go of all but the essential aspects of my teaching. I wasn’t perfect. Even though I tried to compartmentalize, class [...]
