Posted in dissertation coach, dissertation writing, fun, happiness, zest, tagged Canada Day, celebrate, fireworks on July 1, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
If you are celebrating Canada Day, all good wishes! Are you going to Parliament Hill to see the fireworks and maybe catch sight of Queen Elizabeth? It sounds like a spectacular event.
Happy day to all of my Canadian dissertation coaching clients and friends and to all of you who read my blog across wonderful Canada!
My best to you,
Nancy
Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation and Academic Career Coach
nancy@nancywhichard.com
www.nancywhichard.com
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?
Exercise is good.
Exercise will eat some of that anxiety and definitely improve your mood. If you improve your mood, your resistance to writing will be lessened, and it will be easier for you to see connections among your ideas.
How about lowering the stakes?
Here’s a tip from a couple of my dissertation coaching clients, who are always a great resource for what works: Try www.750words.com. My clients recommend it as a place to brighten your mood and help you ease into writing.
This website is safe, fun, and makes it easy to write. You write on the site, and it’s like writing for a new friend, someone who’s cheerily wishing you well and nonjudgmentally suggesting that you do some writing.
A little number at the bottom of the screen shows how many words you’ve written and when you have written 750 words (more or less three pages) you get a “Congratulations!” And you also get points toward such rewards as a little electronic penguin.
One dissertation coaching client told me that she has her web browser set to that site. It’s the first thing that opens for her, making it a little easier to start writing. She also said that her first writing on the site was a letter to her dissertation, telling it how much she hated it. Take that, foul dissertation! Then, to be fair, she let her dissertation write back to her.
The goal is to start writing. If you lower the stakes, you’re more likely to break through your resistance to writing. Keep making the attempt. Things will add up.
All good wishes,
Nancy
Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation Coach and Academic Career Coach
nancy@nancywhichard.com
www.nancywhichard.com
www.usingyourstrengths.com
www.smarttipsforwriters.com
Posted in email, family, fun, happiness, joy, laugh, writing, writing breaks, tagged poking fun at holiday eating, snow days and goofy emails, snow days and writing on December 19, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Here on the East Coast of the U.S., it is snowing and snowing and blowing. There’s no sign of snow removal on my cul-de-sac, so it’s time to write. How about you? I hope you’re having a good writing day.
It’s also a time for goofy emails. A relative who can always make me laugh sent me the following 10 Tips for Holiday Eating.
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It’s rare. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It’s not as if you’re going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It’s a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It’s later than you think. It’s Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they’re made with skim milk or whole milk. If it’s skim, pass. Why bother? It’s like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people’s food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year’s. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you’ll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a twelve-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don’t budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They’re like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you’re never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies… Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don’t like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Columbus Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it’s loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don’t feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven’t been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.
Have a great holiday season!
And if today is a snow day for you, make it also a great writing day.
Smile and write.
Cheers,
Nancy
Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation Coach and Academic Career Coach
nancy@nancywhichard.com
www.nancywhichard.com
www.dissertationbootcamp.net
Posted in academic, coaching, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, fun, travel, writing, You Tube, tagged dissertation writers, dressage, encouragement, fun, MLA interviewing, suppport, Youtube on December 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
As many of you know, the MLA meetings begin on Dec. 27th in Chicago.
I’ll be thinking of those of you who are having interviews.
For good luck and for some fun, click on the link below to see a spectacular performance—it’s just amazing:
Do well! And safe journeys,
Nancy
www.nwcoaching.com
http://www.mentorcoach.com/training-team.html#whichard
Posted in coaching, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, fun, joy, writing, writing, dissertation, tagged dissertation writers, snow, snow on blog, thanks to readers, writing on December 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Dear Friends,
Do you notice the snow falling here on my blog? I guess it isn’t sticking, but in my part of the US, we don’t get a lot of snow.
Thanks to all of you who have read my blog this past year.
Keep reading and let me know how I can be of help.
Also, I have a great gift for you– go my website (www.nwcoaching.com) and sign up for my newsletter.
Nancy
www.nwcoaching.com
http://www.mentorcoach.com/training-team.html#whichard
Posted in basketball, Charlie Rose, choice, coaching, commitment, courage, creativity, discipline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, fun, mental toughness, momentum, perseverance, play, Steve Nash, television, top strengths, writing, writing, dissertation, tagged mentally tough, Steve Nash on August 29, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I don’t watch NBA basketball because it’s NBA basketball. But I will watch Steve Nash, the point guard from Canada who plays for Phoenix and is the winner of the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award.
Nash is bright and personable. I first saw him on David Letterman. Last night Charlie Rose interviewed Nash in a show focused on leadership.
And Nash is a leader. As a point guard, he says he “mothers” the other 4 players on the team, thinking about what they need and helping them find ways to succeed.
But I found myself wondering even if a man is paid whatever basketball players are paid, what does he do to keep himself motivated and at his best? How does a 6’1” player, a self-described small guy, have to be in order to play in the midst of those sharp elbows and huge shoulders? And how does he stay committed during the long season, the training, the traveling, the endless tournament at the end of the season?
Nash knows what he has to do. This is what he says:
1) Since he’s a small guy in tough territory, he has to be creative. He has to come up with new plays.
2) He has to be mentally tough. When he’s jostled or intimidated, he remains “unflappable” because he has decided that “nothing will bother” him.
3) He has no fear. Without fear, he can charge into the midst of play.
4) He doesn’t give up because he’s committed “to stay the course.”
5) And he does it because it’s fun.
He smiles when he says that, and you believe him.
As a writer, here’s what you have to do:
1) Be mentally tough, even when you feel you’re out-manned or losing ground. You choose to let nothing bother you and to remain unflappable. You just keep going.
2) Like Steve Nash in basketball, you didn’t get to this level of writing by being a non-starter. You were training for this long ago. Remember that.
3) Character matters. Dig deep and find the courage to be fearless.
4) Keep your commitment to your team—even if it’s just a team of one. Or add a coach to your team and have someone along side of you who takes your commitment seriously.
5) And one more thing, Steve Nash plays hard and plays to win because it’s fun. You can make your work fun, too—writing is a challenge and challenges can be exhilarating. Choose that perspective.
You asked about motivation? Having motivation is a choice. It takes courage, discipline, and work to achieve a measure of success.
Motivation follows success.
Take risks and charge through tough places.
And then you, too, will feel the wind in your hair as you run fast in your arena.
To watch the Steve Nash interview, click on this link:
http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/08/27/2/a-conversation-with-basketball-professional-steve-nash
Until next time,
Nancy
P.S. Sign up for my e-newsletter, Smart Tips for Writers, at my website – www.nancywhichard.com.
Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation and Academic Career Coach
nancy@nancywhichard.com
www.nancywhichard.com
www.usingyourstrengths.com
www.dissertationbootcamp.net
