Dissertation
Survival Skills:
How
To Survive The Summer Doldrums What
happens when everyone, including your dissertation advisor, disappears for the
summer? For all too many students I have known, this is the time when they feel
most isolated and alone. When the weather is nice and the library is empty, enthusiasm
for doing a dissertation vanishes and you find your dissertation becalmed in still
waters. How can
you make this summer count? In today's column, I would like to suggest three tools
you might consider adding to your dissertation survival kit: a dissertation support
group, a dissertation coach, and a dissertation summer camp. Dissertation
Support Group
A group is a powerful source of motivation; and identifying with individuals who
are experiencing their own dissertation journeys tends to keep everyone on course.
Some programs actually provide dissertation support groups or dissertation seminars,
however, some of the most effective support groups are those that individuals
like yourself create to avoid the isolation, loneliness and sense of overwhelm
and to maintain the necessary focus to sustain themselves even when everyone else
is on vacation. There
are no rules about how to structure a support group, but if you decide to take
the initiative to create your own support group, you might begin by trying to
find a group of 4-6 doctoral candidates who are similarly committed to maintaining
their productivity over the summer months and are willing to contribute to such
a group. Since you may have some dropouts, you may want to recruit 6-8 members
to begin with. If the group is to sustain all of you, it is important that meetings
be scheduled on a regular basis and that an agenda be set up in advance to determine
who is presenting when. You will find that this an excellent venue for presentations
and critical feedback as well as for sharing expertise on subjects such as effective
oral presentations, reviewing statistics or setting up a bibliographic database.
The group may
also help members brainstorm ways of handling diplomatic problems with advisors
and provide a source of information about the unspoken politics of various programs.
Dissertation
Coach
Another effective
strategy to overcome the gloom and doom of the summer months is
to hire your very own personal, totally loyal and dedicated dissertation
coach. A coach that you
meet with on a regular basis can drastically boost your productivity
by providing support and helping you set up a structure with realistic
goals. Some of the things you can expect from working with a coach
are:
Self-confidence
that comes from regular feedback and acknowledgement
Accountability
knowing that you will have to report to your coach on a regular basis
Prioritizing
weekly tasks
Breaking
down huge tasks into do-able chunks
Focus
that comes with deadlines and accountability
Objectivity
from an external, uninvolved professional
Venting
to someone who is familiar with the intricacies of the dissertation process Dissertation
Summer Camp Yet
another strategy for surviving the summer months is to organize your own dissertation
summer camp far away from the pressures of family, work, e-mail, cell phones,
television, traffic and all the rest of it. Find a nurturing setting in the mountains,
on the desert, or near the ocean and identify a few like-minded scholars who are
willing to support each other's writing. Create a structure for rising early and
sustaining long days of writing. Allow for group breaks for communal meals and
walks or other forms of exercise that will stimulate the creative juices. Set
aside time to discuss your work and your progress with the group and to foster
the sense of community and shared intellectual purpose. A week intensive writing
camp may be just what you need to dramatically increase your productivity and
reduce your sense of isolation during those long, hot summer days. Be
Proactive The
best advice I can give you is to be proactive in setting up a structure that will
support your dissertation before the summer arrives and the doldrums set in. So
be resourceful in choosing and creating tools to bootstrap your dissertation this
summer!
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