A giant construction project disrupts the lives and the commute of many people who use the Washington DC (or Capital) Beltway and the business routes between the Beltway and the Dulles International Airport. This same construction project also raises hope among many travelers that one day they can take the metro the full 30 miles [...]
Archive for the ‘productivity’ Category
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 [...]
Decision Fatigue: When It’s Finally Time to Write, What Have You Got?
Posted in commitment, demands, determination, discipline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, finishing the dissertation, following through, getting started, mental toughness, motivation, perseverance, planning, productivity, re-start, resilience, self-discipline, self-sabotage, using your strengths, write more easily, tagged decision fatigue, dissertation, dissertation coaching, ego depletion, John Tierney, mental toughness, Roy F. Baumeister, self-discpline, willpower, writing on September 25, 2011 | 2 Comments »
When did you first hear of “decision fatigue”? Perhaps, like me, it was when the New York Times Magazine published an article on decision fatigue and you started getting emails from your friends and family with links to that article. In fact, you probably received many links, and maybe the term “decision fatigue” has even [...]
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 [...]
How Can a Dissertation Boot Camp Be like Flying?
Posted in accountability, boot camp, commitment, dissertation boot camp, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, getting started, productivity, tagged accountability, dissertation boot camp, no distractions, producing text, productivity, unplugged on July 29, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Do you think if only I had nothing to distract me, nothing else to do but write, no choice but to write… then I’d write? How about flying somewhere? Whenever a dissertation coaching client tells me she’s flying somewhere—on a vacation or a business trip or to see her mom—I sit up a little straighter. [...]
Gain priceless productivity with a 20-minute nap
Posted in academic, boot camp, dissertation boot camp, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, focus, productivity, self-care, writing, writing breaks, tagged BBC World News, dissertation, focus, nap, National Sleep Foundation, productivity, self-care, self-discipline, sleep, writing on June 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Getting more sleep is high on the Wish List, if not the To-Do list, of most dissertation writers. And so it is with me. I always mean to go to bed earlier than I do, and I have all sorts of reasons for what keeps me up, some good, others not so much. As I [...]
Cut through writing in chaos
Posted in accountability, deadline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, focus, getting started, mental toughness, momentum, planning, productivity, realistic goals, take stock, tagged clear goals, concrete approach, dissertation coaching, make a plan, marker, thesis, track the argument, vacation, Writers Resources, writing, writing in chaos on June 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Dissertation writers tell me they often find themselves writing in chaos. It’s not clear to them where they’re headed or how long it’s going to take to get wherever it is they’re going. Occasionally a cultural ritual, like the summer vacation, is a marker that writers use to cut through the chaos. The vacation can [...]
Store Your Dissertation in the Cloud
Posted in academic, dissertation writing, productivity, Smart Tips, time management, write more easily, writing, tagged academic, access to your files, cloud computing, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, DropBox, Smart Tips for Writers, Washington Post, writing on May 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Do you work on multiple computers? How are you dealing with the need to make optimum use of your time and to make headway on your dissertation no matter at which one of those multiple computers you find yourself? Have you heard of cloud computing? “Cloud computing isn’t merely on the way; it’s already [...]
