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Posts Tagged ‘Smart Tips’

Winter Olympians’ Smart Strategies Can Help You Finish Your Dissertation

Posted in accountability, brave, commitment, courage, deadline, determination, discipline, dissertation writing, fears, finishing the dissertation, focus, habit, mental toughness, perseverance, planning, productivity, resilience, self-sabotage, Smart Tips, staying in the moment, top strengths, writing habit, writing schedule, tagged , , , , , on February 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Is a non-negotiable deadline closing in on you?  Has it been set by your university?  Or is a job – perhaps a postdoc– resting on your finishing your dissertation soon?

As you struggle to meet the deadline, it can feel as if you are barreling downhill on an icy, bumpy slope.  And you fear that at any second you could be thrown violently off course.

It’s easy to fall victim to fears of not meeting a deadline and fears of success and the future.  To meet the deadline and finish, you have to be almost counter intuitive.  You have to keep skiing or skating into the jaws of danger, no swerving, no hanging back, no delaying.

The desire, courage, tenacity, mental toughness, and resilience of the athletes of the Winter Olympics are studies in relief of what a writer needs in order to finish a dissertation sooner rather than later.

Even the boldest of Olympians speak of their fears about performing and competing.  From Russia’s skating superstar Evgeni Plushenko to the U.S. Men’s Half-Piper Gold Medal Winner Shaun White, they speak of the need to get into their routines before being sabotaged by their nerves and fears.  

For you to finish your writing in a timely way, rather than fall along the wayside, means that you must move quickly into a writing routine. You also need to have in place a careful, specific timeline and a detailed writing plan that you follow religiously.
 
Evan Lysacek, the winner of the gold for the Men’s Figure Skating, planned each minute of his performance for maximum points. 

Similarly, to finish your dissertation, you must be as strategic, practical, and savvy as Lysacek.  Know the requirements and expectations of those who will review your work.  Factor those requirements and expectations into your goals and timeline.

Your work is every bit as important to you as winning is to an Olympian athlete. Be smart.

Smart Strategies:
1.  Plan a timeline and writing schedule.
2.  Move quickly into a daily writing routine.
3.  Break out the outline and follow it.
4.  Stay in the moment and focus. 
5.  Use your character strengths. Put your desire, courage, tenacity, mental toughness, and resilience into action.

The dissertation is yours to finish– plan, stay in the moment, and practice resilience.

All good wishes,

Nancy

P.S.  My February newsletter is being emailed.  Last Call to sign up—go to www.smarttipsforwriters.com

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

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

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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 , , , , , 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 appreciate your time and your support.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Are you writing at a snail’s pace?  Are you stopping short of making your deadlines?  Are you still not meeting your goals?  What’s it going to take at the end of the day to have completed what you said you were going to do?
 
Try a fast, easy adjustment — making a small change can sometimes have a good effect.  Let a quick-fix jolt in you into action.

Here are three quick-fixes that are truly Smart Tips:

1.  Put your dissertation on your Desktop.
How many clicks does it take for you to get your writing up on your screen? Make it easy to get to your work.  At the same time, lessen the possibility of getting distracted by another file or (Quelle horreur!) email.

2.  Be a good boss.
You’re the manager for your writing project, so act like one.  Decide how much of one hour you work.  A 52-minute hour sounds good to me.  Work 52 minutes and get an eight-minute break.

3.  Plan your writing breaks.
What are you going to do during each break? Make sure the break refreshes.  Sitting down in front of yet another “Law and Order” or “Medium” will not refresh.  Take it from me, TV is addictive and exhausting. Instead take a shower and wash your hair. Or see how far you can walk in 4 minutes.

I have more Smart Tips for you.  I’m ready to send out my Smart Tips newsletter. To make sure you get your copy, go to my website at www.nancywhichard.com. Underneath my picture on the home page, you’ll see a box where you can sign up for the Smart Tips for Writers e-newsletter.

My very best to you,

Nancy

Nancy Whichard, PhD, PCC
Your International Dissertation Coach and Academic Career Coach

www.nancywhichard.com
www.smarttipsforwriters.com

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Blogs for Writers: Operate under the Assumption that You’re Awesome

Posted in academic, acting as if, Blogs, coaching, dissertation boot camp, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, Google, Lizard Brain, positive psychology, self-criticism, Smart Tips, take charge, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on May 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

What are the possibilities if you wrote under the assumption that you could not fail?

Some blogs tell you in bulleted points what’s best for you if you want to finish your dissertation.

Other blogs share golden nuggets in more reflective ways.

Yesterday a colleague mentioned an incident in the news that sounded to me as if it came straight out of John Irving’s novel The World According to Garp.

Googling John Irving to see what he’s been up to, I came across a post by blogger Jessica Liese.  After attending a reading by writer John Irving, she wrote that John Irving wears his celebrity as a rock star.

Irving admitted to only an occasional bit of writer’s block and an infrequent sense of  indecision at which he would  find himself  “hopping from project to project.”

Jessica Liese was enthralled by the enormity of Irving’s sense of self.  She said that Irving has “an ego [that] is palpable.”

That sense of greatness must make him sure he will never fail.

The blogger’s advise to herself is applicable to writers of dissertations.  She says, “I think maybe operating under the notion that I’m awesome is the only way I’ll ever accomplish the huge task of finishing a novel.”

What could you achieve if you assumed you could not fail?

Give it a try!  Shut down your internal critic. Tell ole Lizard Brain to lumber off, and then pump up your ego and write.

50 Useful Blogs for Writers

Do you have a couple of blogs that you read religiously?  What blogs come to you as a feed?  I have a few, some on writing and others that are wisely applicable beyond their subject matter.

Have you come across “50 Useful Blogs for Writers“?  I was surprised to receive an email from the blog’s writer, Randy L Ray, saying that he had included my blog, Successful Writing Tips, in his list of “50 Useful Blogs for Writers.”

Are there some blogs missing from the list that you think should be included?  I would love to hear which blogs hold value for you.

Until next time,

Nancy

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

www.nancywhichard.com
www.dissertationbootcamp.net

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Stop Procrastinating on Writing Your Dissertation’s Conclusion: 3 Strategies to Get You Started Sooner Rather Than Later

Posted in academic, coaching, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, getting started, planning, procrastination, re-group, re-start, restart writing, restarting, setbacks, Smart Tips, start writing, writing, writing models, writing, dissertation, tagged , , on September 2, 2008| Leave a Comment »

You maximized your time this summer, and you’ve moved your dissertation along.  But it’s September 2?  How did that happen?

If you’re teaching this fall, you have been doing a number of admin things. You’ve over-prepared for the first few classes and have a great syllabus in place. You know your lines.

But to move into your fall teaching or work responsibility, you have had to ignore the dissertation chapter that you had meant to wrap up in August. 
 
Not only did you not finish that chapter—and I’m betting it’s the conclusion that you left hanging—you may have slowed down because finishing the conclusion means that everyone on your committee will read your text.  Perhaps you might be dragging your feet in order to ward off all imagined criticism.
 
At this point, you know that you’re procrastinating.  You know that you will eventually move back into that chapter.  To make that move sooner rather than later, here are three ways to help you get started:

1.  Look at the conclusions of a couple of dissertations.
 Are they relatively short?  How many pages? Estimate how long will yours be.  Choose one dissertation and outline it— how does the writer move into the chapter?  What are the parts or subheads of the  chapter?  How complicated does it seem?  How much development and depth does it have? 
 
Can’t you say without a doubt that you could do as well?

2.  Without rehashing your argument and evidence and in no more than 2 paragraphs, summarize where you’ve been and what you’ve said in this dissertation. If you are dillydallying, then give yourself a time limit.  Write your summary in 5 minutes or you have to send 10 bucks to the presidential candidate that you do not want to succeed.  Is it a deal?

3.  What is the personal investment that you have in this work?  How is that connected to the theorizing you’ve done in the dissertation?  Write a paragraph delineating both your personal investment and its connection to the theorizing.

O.k., then, you’ve got a running start on your conclusion.  I know you can take it from here, but just to support you, I may check in with you again tomorrow.

Until then,

Nancy

Nancy Whichard, PhD, PCC
Your International Dissertation Coach
www.nancywhichard.com

P.S. If you have been procrastinating on your dissertation, you might want to read the next issue of my Smart Tips for Writers newsletter.  In the upcoming issue, the main article will be  “How to Become a Recovering Procrastinator.”  If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter, don’t put it off!  Go to www.nancywhichard.com.

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Three Quick Fixes to Jolt You into Action on Your Dissertation

Posted in academic, coaching, deadline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, distractions, email, goals, mental toughness, planning, regret, self-sabotage, Smart Tips, take charge, television, time management, time theft, writing, writing breaks, writing, dissertation, tagged , , , , , on April 30, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Are you writing at a snail’s pace?  Are you stopping short of making your deadlines?  Are you still not meeting your goals?  What’s it going to take at the end of the day to have completed what you said you were going to do? 

Try a fast, easy adjustment — making a small change can sometimes have a good effect.  Let a quick-fix jolt in you into action. 

Here are 3 quick-fixes that are truly Smart Tips: 

1.  Put your dissertation on your Desktop.
How many clicks does it take, for you to get your writing up on your screen?
Make it easy to get to your work!  At the same time, lessen the possibility of getting distracted by another file or (Quelle horreur !) email.

2.  Be a good boss.
You’re the manager for your writing project, so act like one.  Decide how much of one hour you work.  A 52-minute hour sounds good to me.  Work 52 minutes and get an 8-minute break. 

One of my relatives, who is coaching his son’s first team sport, told his son, “While we’re practicing and playing, you can call me Coach or Mr. ______, but not Daddy.”  His son smartly said, “O.k., Coach.” 

When you’re writing or on a break, call yourself Boss and listen to that Wise Person within that you’re addressing as Boss.

3.  Plan your breaks.
What are you going to do during each break? Make sure the break refreshes.  Sitting down in front of yet another “Law and Order” or “The View” will not refresh.  Take it from me, TV is addictive and exhausting.  Go there and you’ll regret it! Instead take a shower and wash your hair. Or see how far you can walk in 4 minutes. At 4 minutes, turn back in order to be at work when the “boss” starts to look for you.

A colleague told me yesterday that her coach told her to “get out of your own big, fat way.”   How about you?  Do you need to get out of your own big, fat way?  To get into action fast, it’s time to get serious.  Put one of these Smart Tips into use today.  Try just one quick fix and say to yourself, “Thanks for that tip, Boss.  I needed a change.”

I have more Smart Tips for you.  I’m just about ready to send out my Smart Tips newsletter.  I think you’ll enjoy it – the lead article in this issue is “5 Strategies for Drastic Situations.”

Go to my website at www.nancywhichard.com, and underneath my picture on the home page, sign up for Smart Tips.

My very best to you,

Nancy

Nancy Whichard, PhD, PCC
Your International Dissertation Coach
www.nancywhichard.com

 

 

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The Top 7 Tips to Help You Re- Start Writing Your Dissertation

Posted in academic, choice, creativity, decluttering, discipline, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, focus, following through, getting started, grateful, gratitude, mental toughness, momentum, perseverance, procrastination, re-group, re-start, regret, regrouping, restart writing, restarting, self-sabotage, Smart Tips, top strengths, writing, writing breaks, writing, dissertation, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 28, 2007| 2 Comments »

1. What is the key to perseverance?
 Getting started is the key.
 The first step is the hardest.  Sit down and then stay there.

2. What is sending you right over the edge? 
 You are– Catastrophizing only raises your blood pressure.
 Who needs the drama?
 Remember: Catastrophizing is just another form of procrastination. 

3. Who could work at a desk stacked so high that you can’t see the computer screen?
 Decluttering is a terrific focusing mechanism.
 Just don’t get carried away with it—we’re talking desk top, one surface.

4. Even if you get going, something seems to stop you. 
 Ever hear of a momentum-breaker? 
 It’s usually something you do to yourself, when you’re at your self-sabotaging best.

5. How did creativity get to be #24 in your list of strengths? 
 Oops—time to try a new approach.  Give yourself a moment to let your mind wander—in the grocery  store line or driving to take care of an errand.  Turn the radio off and let your mind do what it loves to  do for a bit.

6. How can you write when you’re feeling so mean?
 So you didn’t have a great holiday.  Or you don’t want to go back to writing after having a great  holiday.  Meanness is uncalled for.  Time to practice gratitude and empty that mean-spiritedness before it really gets in your way.  What do you have to be grateful for? 

7.  Think how irritated you will be with yourself next week if you goof off all of this week. 

8.  Bonus Tip:  Go my website (www.nwcoaching.com) and sign up for my Smart Tips newsletter. I have  something you can use!

Until next time,
Nancy
www.nwcoaching.com

 P.S.  Get in touch with me–what would help you move into action?

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