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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 ezines: INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH A DISSERTATION
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE - December 5, 2006
3. Find Your Balance
by Sarah Reiff-Hekking, Ph.D.
4. Two free workshops for ABDSG readers
December 5, 2006
A Note from the Editor
Tracy Steen, Ph.D.
It's that time of year! With Thanksgiving over and the December/New Year's rush just around the corner, you may be feeling the annual holiday excitement that so readily morphs into panic. So much is expected…with so much to do…with so little time in which to do it… It's easy to become overwhelmed by the demands of the season, and it's tempting to let yourself be carried along by events rather than remain in control of them. Fortunately, it doesn't have to happen that way.
Dr. Reiff-Hekking points out in this issue's guest article that a disciplined, healthy lifestyle can be achieved and maintained, step by step, even during the most hectic times--yes, even as you make progress toward completing your dissertation. By following the steps she outlines, you may give yourself a holiday gift that will keep on giving.
And since Dr. Reiff-Hekking focuses on change--how to effect and maintain it--be sure to note this issue's Inspirational Quotes by such noteworthy advocates of change as Winston Churchill and Carl Rogers.
As for things that never change, one of them is my wish for your success in the common endeavor of all our ABDSG subscribers. And during the holidays, I hope that you will find just the right tempo for a season of enjoyment for you and yours.
Inspirational Quotes
Winston Churchill
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.
Carl Rogers
The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn ...
and change.
Find Your Balance: 6 Steps to Living a Healthy Lifestyle
AND Completing Your Dissertation
by Sarah Reiff-Hekking, Ph.D.
When juggling graduate school, work, and personal life, it may seem impossible to keep your balance and live a healthy lifestyle. Busy schedules and multiple demanding roles such as student, research assistant, teaching assistant, bread-winner, partner, parent, or friend can make it difficult to take care of yourself. However, if you make the effort to shift into a healthier lifestyle and regularly include physical activity, healthy eating, self-nurturing, and (as needed) stress management, you are likely to get more done and feel better in the process. Creating a healthy lifestyle and maintaining it is a process that can be achieved one step at a time, even when life is busy and demanding. Try beginning with the following 6 steps:
Step 1. Be honest. Creating a healthy lifestyle is about you doing what you want to do for yourself. It is NOT about what your kids want, what your partner wants, what your parents want, or what anyone else in your life wants. It is about you, so be honest with yourself.
Being honest includes clearly acknowledging your reasons for wanting to make a change in your lifestyle. Do you want to wake up and go to sleep at more regular times? Do you want to get more work done during the day so that you can spend time with your family/friends in the evenings? Do you want to replace mindless internet surfing with more energizing study breaks? Take a minute and write down your reasons for wanting to change. Keep this list close, and use it to remind yourself of why you are embarking on this path.
Step 2. Decide where you want to go. Spend a few minutes in writing down a detailed description of what a healthy lifestyle looks like to you. If you were leading that lifestyle today, what would you be doing? What would you be feeling? Who would be sharing it with you? How much physical activity would you be getting? How much sleep? What would you be eating? What would you be doing to manage stress? What would you be doing to nurture yourself? What else is part of your healthy lifestyle?
Once you have envisioned what a healthy lifestyle would be for you, take another few minutes to write down all of the areas that you identified in that vision. Then pick one area that you would like to focus on over the next couple of weeks.
Step 3. Just notice. Once you have determined which aspect of a healthy lifestyle you want to focus on first, be aware of what you are doing. It sounds so simple that most people discount this step. It is simple, but it is also powerful.
Notice what you are doing NOW. You want to make changes. You want to move toward a healthier lifestyle. But before you make those changes and move in a positive direction, you need to know EXACTLY what you are doing NOW. How do you do that? Start to pay attention to the behavior you want to change. Without judgment, notice what you are doing in this area of your lifestyle, and the thoughts and feelings associated with it. Be curious about your own behavior.
Step 4. Be specific. Quantify and write down what you observe about your current behavior. Understand when, where, and why you are doing what you are doing. I recommend that you continue this step of "just noticing" or self-monitoring for a week or more. Knowledge is power when it comes to changing behavior.
Step 5. Set your goals. Now that you know exactly what you are doing in the area of your lifestyle in which you want change, you can start to set goals. Setting goals sounds simple…and it is. The hard part is setting goals that are attainable.
The secret to setting goals that are attainable is setting two types of goals, outcome goals and process goals. First determine the outcome that you want. This is your outcome goal. Then determine the steps it takes to get to that goal. These are your process goals. For instance, your outcome goal may be that you want to finish a chapter of your dissertation by January 1. Your process goals would be activities that support your outcome goal. In this example, you might decide to wake up at a regular time every morning and write for two hours before work.
Process goals are the steps that help you build new habits. They allow you to start small and build. Begin with a few steps that feel easy to do and continue adding a few new things each week. Set only goals that feel attainable.
Write down your goals for the next week. Once you have done that, read through them again and rate how sure you are that you can accomplish them on a scale from 0 to 10 with 0 meaning "not at all sure" and 10 meaning "completely sure." If you did not rate your ability to accomplish your goals an 8 or higher, go back and adjust your goals so that you are doing something with greater certainty of success.
Step 6. Keep yourself accountable. Once you have set goals, share them with someone who will help you monitor your progress. One format that is often helpful is a "check-in meeting" in which you report your progress, review what worked and what didn't, and set new goals.
Keeping Your Balance: 4 Steps to Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle AND Completing Your Dissertation
Once you have accomplished major changes in your lifestyle, it is an ongoing challenge to maintain those changes. The following 4 steps can help:
Step 1. Make your physical and social environments work for you. When changing your lifestyle, it is important to spend some time thinking about your physical environment and what you can do to make it more supportive of your healthy lifestyle. Is your desk a cluttered mess? If e-mailing and the internet are time wasters for you, can you disable your internet connection until you have finished your writing goals? If you are trying to eat more healthily and reduce caffeine consumption, do you have healthy snacks and alternative drinks on hand?
And just as adjusting your physical environment is important in changing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so is adjusting your social environment. Think about the people with whom you spend most of your time. Who would help support you as you move to a healthier lifestyle? Are there people who would be unsupportive or undermine you? If so, what can you do to keep them from interfering with your goals?
Step 2. Be aware of negative thinking. If negative thinking begins
to impede your progress, these suggestions may help:
1) Keep focused on small, positive steps of progress.
2) Keep in mind that when you are dealing with a demanding new life situation or stressful circumstance, progress can be defined as simply maintaining course until things get back to normal.
3) Talk back to your Internal Critic. Internal Critics are those small thoughts or voices that get in your way. Remind yourself that you can do this one step at a time, and that if you keep making small positive steps forward you will reach your goal. When you are feeling negative about continuing your path, ask yourself what thoughts are contributing to your feelings. Then ask yourself if your thoughts reflect reality.
Step 3. Re-Examine. Re-commit. Re-invent the excitement--as often as you need to. Essential aspects of maintaining lifestyle changes are renewals of commitment and keeping it fun. If you find yourself becoming bored with your routine, find ways to make it fun. Try something new that is consistent with your goals.
Step 4. Have a no-brainer fall-back strategy. When the going gets tough (and it will), we all need a "no-brainer" way to get back to basics and keep a few things in place until we can get our heads above water. For example, you might resolve to jump rope every morning for ten minutes and work on your dissertation for at least 20, even when you are entertaining houseguests over the holidays.
Change is seldom easy, but it doesn't come at all if you don't take the first step in the right direction. On the other hand, if you follow these steps and the ones outlined in the previous issue, you can create and maintain a healthy lifestyle one step at a time, and that kind of change will support and nurture you through the dissertation process and beyond.
Sarah Reiff-Hekking, Ph.D. is the owner of True Focus Coaching
and provides state-of-the-art healthy lifestyle and life coaching. Dr. Reiff-Hekking
is a coach and clinical psychologist with a specialty in health psychology.
She has been helping her clients make changes to improve their health and
wellbeing for the past decade.
In addition to her work as a coach, Dr. Reiff-Hekking worked at the University
of Massachusetts Medical School for 8 years and led the development of a hospital-based
Behavioral Weight Management Program and supervised their Quit Smoking Program.
In addition, Dr. Reiff-Hekking has conducted NIH funded research in topics
such as stress reduction and its effect on people with elevated blood pressure
and brief health behavior change interventions for primary care providers.
You can find out more about her at www.TrueFocusCoaching.com.
Two free workshops for ABDSG readers
Worskhop Option #1
Making Perfectionism Healthy and Functional
(a free one-hour teleconference)
When? Monday, December 11th at 3:00 PM EST
Workshop Facilitator: Jackie Bean (jackiebean2@yahoo.com)
Jackie Bean is a Coach and a Psychotherapist in Atlanta, GA. She specializes in removing blocks to performance and change, and managing anxiety and interpersonal difficulties. If you are interested in this free teleconference, e-mail Jackie Bean at jackiebean2@yahoo.com for more information.
Worskhop Option #2
Make A Fresh Start
(a free four-session teleconference)
When? Preview Session on Sunday December 10 at 9 PM EST and Thursday December 14 at 1 PM EST.
Workshop Facilitators: Lynne Berrett, MA, LSCW, and Catharine Beecher, MD, NCC. Contact them at YouCanWriteItNow@aol.com for more information.
ARE YOU STALLED IN WRITING YOUR DISSERTATION?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A FRESH START
AND GO FROM ABD TO PHD?
This announcement is for those of you who have finished your coursework, passed your qualifying exams, perhaps written a proposal or even parts of chapters--but your dissertation has come to a standstill because life intervened.
You have many responsibilities these days and a day job you need to keep. You may no longer be living near your university or in touch with your committee. Actually completing your degree feels less and less possible.
But that unfinished dissertation is still on your mind. You recognize that having Ph.D. after your name will make you even more appealing to employers. And you know you will feel proud and vindicated for all the years you spent in school if you actually complete the process.
MAKE A FRESH START is a free four-session teleworkshop with enrollment
limited to ABDs in your situation. Meeting with other students facing the
same challenges and issues can be mutually beneficial, especially under the
guidance of two experienced coaches who will facilitate the group so that
each member can also focus on his or her individual needs.
We will offer a preview session detailing our program to interested candidates
on Sunday December 10 at 9 PM EST and Thursday December 14 at 1 PM EST.
WHY WAIT? In the preview, we will help you discover how to use this holiday season to jumpstart your dissertation again, so that you can come to our workshop in the New Year ready to roll! Email us at YouCanWriteItNow@aol.com. We will send you the bridge line for the preview sessions and more information about us. Your facilitators are Lynne Berrett, MA, LSCW, and Catharine Beecher, MD, NCC.
Dr. TRACY STEEN, Editor, ABDSG
Tracy Steen, Ph.D. , is a clinical psychologist and dissertation
coach in Philadelphia, PA. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan
and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in positive psychology at the University
of Pennsylvania. Dr. Steen draws on her research background in positive psychology
in her coaching work with writers, helping them to remove internal obstacles
so they can find more engagement and flow in their work. You can contact Dr.
Steen with questions about this newsletter or about coaching in general at
tracy@mentorcoach.com. You can
also visit her website at www.tracysteen.com
YOUR OWN COACH
If you are considering whether to get your own coach to help you
reach your academic goals, send any email to the following: ben16-76471@autocontactor.com
BEN DEAN, Publisher, ABDSG
Ben holds a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.
He began writing the ABDSG in 1997. Over the years, the ABDSG has provided
thousands of hours of pro bono coaching and teleworkshops to ABDs all over
the world. Ben is also the founder of MentorCoach (www.MentorCoach.com),
a virtual university focused on training accomplished helping professionals
to become extraordinary coaches. Finally you must subscribe to the Coaching
Toward Happiness eNewsletter! It's on applying the new science of
Positive Psychology to your work and life (131,000 readers). Ben lives in
suburban Maryland with his wife, Janice, their two children, and Norman, their
Norwegian dwarf bunny. They all love coaching from the beach!
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