Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for August, 2010

Delivering the Dissertation: Dissertation Writer as Showrunner

Posted in acting as if, balancing dissertation with work and family, coaching, creativity, deadline, discipline, dissertation advisors, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, finishing the dissertation, following through, goals, mental toughness, motivation, perseverance, planning, self-discipline, showing up, take charge, time management, using your strengths, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Have you heard of a “showrunner”?

Writers in the TV industry are now expected also to manage—or to have the skills and strengths that would allow them to manage.

According to John Wells, Writers Guild of America West president and writer/producer of E.R., Third Watch, and West Wing, it is almost impossible to be just a writer anymore in television.

Instead of “head writer,” the path for the writer is to control the material and make decisions, thus be a  “showrunner.”

Similar to the showrunner, you are managing your career, and an important step on the ladder of your academic career is writing the dissertation. How are you managing the important project of writing your dissertation?  When will you close and deliver the project?

To deliver the dissertation:

1. Use the process and mindset of a showrunner/ Project Manager.
2. Exercise the strengths and skills of a showrunner/ Project Manager.

What strengths do you think an effective showrunner/ Project  Manager has?

Consider these:

1.  Leadership
2.  Judgment and critical thinking
3.  Self-control/self-discipline
4.  Diligence and perseverance
5.  Creativity and ingenuity

What happens if you look at  your dissertation project through the lens of leadership?

A showrunner/Project Manager has the job of  providing leadership in these areas:

1.  Planning
2.  Scheduling
3.  Organizing and holding to a timeline
4.  Collaborating with team members
5.  Working with superiors/bosses
6.  Managing a budget
7.  Closing the project

How can you encourage and motivate yourself to get things done?  How can you organize tasks to make following through more of a given?

Along with writing content, make sure you are managing your project:

— Closing the project depends on planning, scheduling, and organizing.

–Exercise your strength of working with others.  Don’t hide out to avoid all personal contact with advisors or others who can help you in the process.

— Consider the costs.

You may not be managing a $26-million-dollar budget for a TV show, but consider what it costs you not to make and meet a schedule.

Writing a dissertation is a great time to practice the strength of leadership.  How are you running your show?

I’d love to hear from you

All good wishes,

Nancy

Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation and Academic Career Coach
[email protected]
www.dissertationbootcamp.net
www.usingyourstrengths.com
www.smarttipsforwriters.com

Read Full Post »

Revisiting “Is Your Dissertation a Big Rock?”

Posted in accountability, boot camp, coaching, demands, discipline, dissertation boot camp, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, following through, getting started, planning, re-group, regrouping, restart writing, Smart Tips, time management, You Tube, tagged , , , , on August 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

To Do: Dissertation likes my using the rocks metaphor in “Is Your Dissertation One of Your Big Rocks?”
 
Many thanks to ToDo, who has a tip for us– go to youtube
 
Thanks! What fun!
 
See you on YouTube

Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation and Academic Career Coach

www.dissertationbootcamp.net
www.usingyourstrengths.com
www.smarttipsforwriters.com

 

Read Full Post »

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 , , , , , , , , 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, awaiting take-off (as long as you haven’t left a child at home, of course!  But that’s a different movie.).

For most of us, our looming deadline isn’t making the plane to Europe, but there is that sense of finality or urgency at fitting in everything we need to do over the next few weeks or days.

Maybe you’re moving, reinventing yourself, starting a new job (or going back to your same teaching job).  What minutiae swirl in your head as you try to focus on the chapter you’re writing? 

1. Put the Big Rocks in first.
A wonderful client reminded me this week of the time management story about the rocks and a jar.  Have you heard it?  Stephen Covey in his book First Things First describes a time management speaker using a jar and rocks as props for a talk.  The speaker asks the group how many rocks do they think he can get in the jar.  After the guesses are made, he proceeds to put the large rocks into the jar.  He asks if the jar is full.  The group answers that it is full, but of course, it isn’t. The speaker proceeds to add small rocks, gravel, and water

The point is that if he hadn’t put the big rocks into the jar first, then all the gravel and little rocks would have filled it and there wouldn’t have been room for the big rocks. 

Our take-away is that we should make a list of the large things we need to do, our big rocks—a big project, family time, exercise…– and then plan so that the big rocks are done first.

What is your gravel?   That stuff can fill up your time.  What are your big rocks? 

2. What are your 3 priorities today?
 Each day brings its own crisis, but you can still have three priorities that get attention, even as you deal with the crisis of the day.

It’s hard to mentally hold on to all the things you need to do at this time of year, but if you write down the 3 most important things you must do today and put the time when you will do each of those things, you will feel a great deal of anxiety drain away.  Try it!  The 3 priorities may be the same thing as your Big Rocks, but they might not be. 

How can you make sure that your Big Rocks do make your list of today’s 3 priorities?  Practice.  Tell yourself that your dissertation isn’t some Big Rock that’s part of an interesting illustration.  It’s a big deal that you have to address every day in a practical manner—it’s one of each day’s 3 Priorities.

3. Make plans for following through. 
I’ve found that I must have visual reminders of how my day is planned to unfold and what I will get done no matter what—my 3 priorities– or I’ll forget.  I use large, colored sticky papers for my schedule and highlight my 3 priorities.  I stick my schedule in a couple of different places. I need to be able to remind myself that one of my priorities is coming up, so that I don’t self-sabotage by staying too long on something easy and blow right through the time slotted for a priority.  Written reminders are key.

4. Where do you have control?
 As you think about all of the moving parts of your life—whatever comes next for you, your advisor, your department chair, the students, your feelings—the most difficult part may be controlling yourself. How do you want to frame the current chaos so that you can look at it in a positive way?  What do you want to tell yourself?

The time you have available to write may seem limited, but whatever time you have now is under your control.  You can choose to write in the 30 minutes or 1 hour that you’ve set for your dissertation or your journal article, or you can let the time slip away, while you run in circles.

Can you make your Big Rocks into your 3 priorities for today?  Make sure your diss is definitely getting a spot on your priority list and has a chunk of dedicated time in your schedule.

How about grabbing some big rocks and inscribing them? Maybe put them where you can see them on your desk?

I’d love to hear from you. 

All good wishes,

Nancy

Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation and Academic Career Coach

www.dissertationbootcamp.net
www.usingyourstrengths.com
www.smarttipsforwriters.com

Read Full Post »

Getting Motivated

Posted in academic, coaching, dissertation boot camp, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, finishing the dissertation, getting started, mental toughness, motivation, productivity, self-discipline, writing, tagged , , , , on August 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Motivation is in short supply.

We know that motivation is a force that causes us to move toward a goal we’ve set.  Reason, physical urge, and self-discipline are part of that force.

For many writers, motivation is difficult to find, to come by, to pin down. 

Recently I received an email about an upcoming teleconference— Ellen Britt, an Internet Marketing Mentor, was offering  a teleconference titled “The Big Why.” The subtitle was “Why Having a Bigger Purpose behind Your Business Matters.” 

Having a purpose behind your work –feeling  passionate about your work — is the key to productivity and  well-being.  That sounds great, but is it possible . . . for someone writing a dissertation?  Is that a pie I’m seeing in that sky?  What has to change in order that you feel passionate about your work?

Daniel Pink writes in Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us that  human beings are “purpose seekers.” While making money is a huge motivation, Pink declares that an “equally powerful source of energy “ is the “purpose motive.”

According to Dan Pink , people in the work force are motivated far less by an extrinsic reward, such as money, than they are by the opportunity to do what they feel passionate about.  They’ll volunteer their time to in order to feel they’re doing something meaningful.

Pink says that the 21st Century work place can’t function on the rules and systems from the past.  The new system must be based on work being done because it matters.  To be productive, people need autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Writing a dissertation seems as if it would be about autonomy and mastery and purpose.

But something doesn’t match up here.

Aren’t writers looking for the “big why”?  Aren’t they supposed to be building expertise in their field?  Aren’t they left to themselves to be autonomous?  If so, shouldn’t they feel better about their process  and their writing than they do?

For many ABD’s who contact me, the motivation seems based on fear—fear of failure or fear of what others will think. 

The writing is something that has to be done.  It’s a process made up of one deadline after another, and the deadlines become the motivating force.  

What motivates you? 

How would you like it to be?

How can you get motivated?

I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time,

 Nancy 
Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation and Academic Career Coach
[email protected]
http://www.dissertationbootcamp.net
http://www.usingyourstrengths.com
http://www.smarttipsforwriters.com

Read Full Post »

What do ABD’s want from their parents? Unconditional food

Posted in academic, children, coaching, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, family, relationships, tagged , , , , on August 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

“There’s a certain amount of humility that comes with being 30 years old and a graduate student. The stipend is paltry, the housing less than prime,” writes Hinda Mandell.

Like many graduate students, Hinda knows where to find cheap or, better yet, free food.  The best place to shop free is at her parents’ home, she says. 

Resourceful, you bet! And it sounds like she has parents who give her the support she needs, but hold the guilt.

Graduate students not only know where to find free food, but they also come home for unconditional food.  And parents are doing what they can do best– providing for good relationships with you, their studious offspring, for years into the future by stocking the larder with your favorite food and then claiming, “Oh, we’ll never eat all of this. Take whatever you want.” 

No questions asked, no reference to your dissertation, no recriminations, no comparisons to someone else’s son or daughter who finished the dissertation so quickly (as opposed to you know who).

Most parents of ABD’s want you to write your dissertation and get it behind you, and they also want you to keep coming home.  Did you think that the fridge or cabinets just happened to hold items that you particularly like?

So pack the food, take it back to your apartment, and write.

Until next time,

Nancy

Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation and Academic Career Coach

www.dissertationbootcamp.net
www.usingyourstrengths.com
www.smarttipsforwriters.com

Read Full Post »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 170 other followers

Build a website with WordPress.com