A few months ago a person who had finished her course work for her Ph.D., but had not done much toward her dissertation, wrote to say that as someone who worked full-time away from home, she couldn’t fathom how she could add writing her dissertation to the mix of not only working full-time, but also being [...]
Posts Tagged ‘dissertation’
Full time job? And trying to write a dissertation, too?
Posted in academic, boundaries, commitment, determination, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, family, mental toughness, motivation, planning, restart writing, self-sabotage, time management, writing, writing schedule, tagged dissertation, dissertation coach, full-time jobs, juggling dissertation with work and family, scheduling dissertation time, writing on May 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Perfectionism be damned!
Posted in academic, accountability, commitment, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, finishing the dissertation, getting started, mental toughness, perfectionism, procrastination, productivity, reasons for not writing, self-sabotage, tagged dissertation, excuse for not writing, fear, mental toughness, perfectionism, procrastination, self-sabotage, writing on April 10, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Perfectionism gives you a perfect excuse never to write. Perfectionism not only slows productivity, but it also makes sure that your dissertation will never meet your expectations. Put up with the messiness of writing You have to go through the stage of writing “abominably repetitive, colloquial sentences,” as a dissertation client once described the [...]
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, [...]
Three Quick Fixes to Jolt You into Action on Your Dissertation
Posted in academic, coaching, deadline, discipline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, following through, mental toughness, perseverance, planning, self-sabotage, Smart Tips, structures, take charge, television, time, time management, time theft, writing breaks, writing, dissertation, tagged dissertation, plan breaks, quick fixes, small changes, Smart Tips, take charge on February 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
This is an encore of a blog post that appeared here April 30, 2008. Note: If you haven’t signed up for my free e-newsletter, Smart Tips For Writers, you can take care of that by going to my website at www.nancywhichard.com or www.smarttipsforwriters.com. The next Smart Tips e-newsletter goes out this week-end. Thanks so much. I [...]
Use Humor to Re-group and Start Your Dissertation Writing Session: Practice Resiliency
Posted in coaching, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, flow, getting started, laugh, momentum, re-group, re-start, regrouping, resilience, restart writing, restarting, self-sabotage, start writing, using your strengths, write more easily, tagged dissertation, dissertation coach, keep the writing going, keep your perspective, playfully firm self-discipline, practice resiliency, re-starting dissertation writing, Resiliency, self-sabotage, sense of humor, writing on October 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
How was your writing today? You couldn’t get a flow going today during your writing session? Some writing sessions are like that–you start off more slowly, maybe because you’re tired, it’s the end of the week, or maybe because you didn’t prime the pump, didn’t try to induce a good mood, or didn’t practice resiliency [...]
Caught up in Fearing Failure, Avoiding Risks, Watching Time Slip Away?
Posted in academic, coaching, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, perfectionism, procrastination, Smart Tips, writing, tagged dissertation, fear, fear of failure, mental toughness, perfectionism, perfectionist, procrastination as protection, self-sabotage, writing on September 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A dissertation client told me that that a couple of years ago her professor suggested they plan to publish together. But the graduate student could never get herself to devote even a day to work on this project. She kept putting it off. Now she feels like it will never happen. And why would the [...]
How I Avoid Writing: Procrastinating on the Dissertation
Posted in academic, coaching, discipline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, following through, goals, mental toughness, perseverance, procrastination, re-group, restart writing, self-deception, self-sabotage, top strengths, writing, writing breaks, tagged dissertation, procrastination, self-regulation, self-sabotage, writing on June 19, 2008 | 2 Comments »
This morning as I was reading a paragraph here and there in Newsweek, I swear I saw the words “put off finishing his dissertation” rise off the page in 3-inch-tall block letters, or so it seemed. Procrastinating on one’s dissertation isn’t unusual, but to get your name in Newsweek because what you’re doing to procrastinate [...]
How Does Mental Toughness Affect Your Motivation to Write Your Dissertation?
Posted in academic, coaching, discipline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, goals, perseverance, Smart Tips, writing, tagged accomplishing something, discipline, dissertation, mental toughness, motivation on June 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
One of the top 3 posts on my blog is “Motivation in Writing the Dissertation–It’s All about Mental Toughness and Discipline.” Day after day, it stays in the top 3 posts. As yesterday turned into today, the first two hits of this new day again were on “Motivation in Writing the Dissertation–It’s All about Mental [...]
Whatever You Do, Don’t Open Your Email
Posted in choice, coaching, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, getting started, mental toughness, planning, restart writing, self-sabotage, Smart Tips, time management, writing, writing, dissertation, tagged dissertation, distractions, email on May 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve been carrying a black L.L. Bean bag filled with writing projects. I keep thinking that I will surely have a moment here or there when I can dive into my bag. That write-now moment just does not jump out from my current what-the-heck-is-going-on-here life. So what do I do when I can hide out for [...]
