|
THE ALL-BUT-DISSERTATION SURVIVAL GUIDE™ The All-But-Dissertation Survival Guide™ focuses on ways to help its readers more readily overcome the roadblocks that often seem to stand in the way of completing the dissertation. It is read throughout the world. Want to become a coach?New MentorCoach Training Programs launching. Subscribe to our other no-cost ezines: INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH A DISSERTATION
COACH? Email: ben16-76471@autocontractor.com. You will receive an email outlining the application process. Simply follow the instructions and submit the form. Your application will then be forwarded to potential coaches so that you might arrange a free initial consultation. Various fee plans are available. A FAVOR ARCHIVE |
Devoted to providing practical strategies for completing
your Doctoral Dissertation.™
INSIDE THIS ISSUE - May 20, 2010
2. Deprivation Doesn't Work for Dieting, and It Doesn't
Work for Dissertation Writing
by Nancy Whichard, Ph.D.
May 20, 2010
A Note from the Editor
Tracy Steen, Ph.D.
Atkins Diet, The Blood Group Diet, The Perricone Prescription, South Beach Diet, The Flat Belly Diet, NutriSystem, The Biggest Loser Diet, The Zone….
So
many diet books and so many diets; so many pounds lost, so many pounds regained.
Our culture has long had an obsession with dieting, despite the evidence that
weight-loss schemes and self-denial seldom achieve the desired result.
When it comes to dieting, self-denial is not only ineffective; it is damaging.
According to Dr. Nancy
Whichard, it can make you angry, mean, and lifeless. So, not only do you
not get what you wanted, but you get what you do not want as well.
(For more on this subject, see Dr.
Linda Bacon's research and resources.)
You are probably wondering at this point what dieting could possibly have to do with your dissertation. Wonder but do not doubt! The ABDSG is always about the dissertation, and all will become clear as you read Dr. Whichard's delightfully insightful guest article, "Deprivation Doesn't Work for Dieting, and It Doesn't Work for Dissertation Writing."
In
addition to Dr. Whichard's enlightenment via the dieting analogy, she conveys
some very helpful information on other topics as well. For example, she points
out that we can foster serenity and reduce anxiety--and even enhance progress
toward our goals--by getting focused in our scheduling and by developing an
attitude of gratitude. Yes, gratitude! You can follow up her wise thoughts
on these subjects in this issue's Inspirational Thoughts.
Deprivation Doesn't Work for Dieting, and It Doesn't Work for Dissertation
Writing
by Nancy Whichard, Ph.D.
And, finally, it's spring--ah, freedom! Release from the grinding routine of teaching, taking classes or working in the lab, and trying to squeeze in writing. Time to reward yourself and to plan a bit of down time.
At least a reward and a bit of down time are what I would have chosen over the years had I known then what I know now.
In the past when the school year would end and summer beckoned, I was wired for two responses: crash dieting and binge writing.
During the spring semester, I would have pushed myself as hard as I could both to teach my classes and to write my dissertation. Then, as goofy as it sounds now, the next day after handing in grades, I would immediately return to worrying about how much text I had to produce in x amount of time.
Similarly, instead of thinking about giving myself time to rest and to plan
a healthier exercise and eating routine, my hard-wired brain told me that
it was time to stop eating--yep, starve!--if I wanted to fit into my summer
clothes, or look good at the family wedding in two weeks, or not embarrass
myself at the Fourth of 
July
family gathering.
Writing a dissertation can move us into survival mode. We may stockpile every minute, push ourselves beyond what's reasonable, prop ourselves up with caffeine and sugar, and push away others, compounding the isolation.
Sound familiar?
Some of my dissertation coaching clients who are teaching or working as TA's are currently trying to finish end-of-the-semester grading. At the same time, they're worried about getting a draft of their dissertation finished and also holding onto committee members who may disappear into the mist come the end of the semester.
One overwhelmed client facing a deadline told me that there is only one thing she wanted to do. What was that? "Work in my yard," she said. "Just for an hour, but I can't. I can't take the time off."
But let's take a minute to look at this decision from a different perspective.
What is to be gained by depriving yourself of one hour of doing something
that gives you pleasure and which could broaden and build your creativity
and problem solving? The positive emotions from a treasured hour of gardening
can empower you for months and broaden and build far beyond what you might
imagine. (For a good review of the research literature on the relationship
between positive emotions and creativity and problem solving, see Dr.
Barbara Fredrickson's publications.)
Starving yourself as you crash diet doesn't work. It makes you angry, mean, lifeless, and most assuredly shortens the length of the diet.
Similarly, depriving yourself of sleep, pleasurable pastimes, and contact with others while you write your dissertation can result in fatigue and a high level of stress. It can stunt your creativity, executive functioning, and emotional health. It can turn you into an angry, lonely person.
And deprivation will make it easier for you to abandon the diss before it's finished.
Deprivation doesn't work with dieting, and it doesn't work with writing a dissertation.
Instead of feeling deprived and angry as you write, what can you add to your life that will bring about positive emotions?
What is already in your life that you should pay attention to in order to increase positive emotions?
Here are some things to consider:
1. Keep a daily priority focus. You can't do everything. To head off feelings of being overwhelmed, narrow your focus. What do-able steps forward do you want to take today?
2. Focus on the process and the experience. What will you learn today? What strengths do you want to use today?
3. Stay in the present. Keep from being way too focused on the future.
4. Protect your time. Are you a whiz at multi-tasking? Do you think that you should be able to look after your kids and also work at the same time? Make more of an effort to protect your writing time and focus on accomplishing one thing at a time.
5. Look for the good in others. Watch for triggers that make you feel you need or want to be perfect or right. Let the little stuff go. Avoid getting into arguments with your partner or your colleague. Don't try to get the last word. Instead think about what you like about this person.
6. Take short breaks to stare into space. A couple of minutes day dreaming eases the pressure and helps you regroup--it can give your brain time to reshuffle and process your ideas. Day dreaming can help you build resilience. It is definitely productive.
7. What gives you joy, serenity, inspiration? Schedule those things first and fit your work around them. Know when your day begins when you will be exercising, gardening, or meditating. Even twenty minutes of bike riding or walking or sitting on your deck and watching the trees move in the breeze can infuse you with positive emotion.
8. Have a gratitude attitude. When I've asked dissertation coaching clients to look at a problem through a lens of gratitude, I'm surprised at how transformative the exercise can be. They quickly let go of some or much of their anxiety about their writing or about other problems in their dissertation process and acknowledge the role others play in their lives. In addition, research suggests that there is a positive relationship between gratitude and goal achievement. (See research by Dr. Robert E. Emmons and Dr. Michael E. McCullough for more about the beneficial effects of gratitude on mental and physical health.) If you would like to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, you might start by keeping a daily gratitude journal: a list of five things you appreciated during the day. Traditionalists might choose to record their grateful moments in a journal before bed; technophiles can try this gratitude iPhone application.
9. Others matter. Dedicate time to the people in your life. Spending time with the people you love nurtures you and will help you think more clearly and creatively when you go back to your dissertation. Is there a friend that you would like to have in your life again? Or perhaps you would like to join a group of like-minded dissertators who would support you where you are right now.
10. Acknowledge your wins. As you remind yourself of your daily priority focus and what you plan to do, also acknowledge what you have done. Celebrate each day that you write. Build momentum by reminding yourself that you have done what you said you would do.
Recently a client told me that rather than seeing the dissertation process as a large and daunting experience, she wants to see it as a gift to her life that will add dimension and interest.
Choose to structure your life so that you do not feel deprived as you write your dissertation, but rather that the process and experience add to your life.
Dr.
NANCY WHICHARD, Contributor, ABDSG; Director, MentorCoach Academic and
Writing Coaching Programs
Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC, is a dissertation and career coach. She has successfully
coached to completion doctoral candidates from 40 major American universities
and from many Western European and Canadian universities, as well. She holds
a Ph.D. in English from the University of Maryland and for two decades was
on the English and Literature faculties at George Washington University and
American University. A recovering academic, Nancy knows the importance of
politics and diplomacy in negotiating the dissertation experience. Nancy has
added a Virtual Dissertation Boot Camp to her offerings. For more information
on the Virtual Dissertation Boot Camp and on coaching, email Nancy at nancy@nancywhichard.com.
Sign up for her Smart Tips for Writers e-newsletter at www.nancywhichard.com
and read her blog at www.successfulwritingtips.com.