|
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—tuition discounts for grad students Subscribe to our other 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."™
Be sure to place us on the white list or approved
list for your incoming email. To subscribe, go to www.abdsurvivalguide.com.
To unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this email. Please
forward this newsletter to your friends!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE - July 6, 2006
2. Lessons Learned as an ABD by Dr. L.D. Castel
4 . Free workshops on procrastination on July 16 and 17.
July 6, 2006
A Note from the Editor
Tracy Steen, Ph.D.
The ABD process is a serious, sometimes sobering undertaking, so those stalwart souls caught up in the process are likely to receive on occasion the following counsel: “Hey—Lighten up!” It matters not that this bit of gratuitous advice comes from someone totally unaware of dissertation requisites. Our would-be counselor is simply passing along a sentiment derived from our culture’s ever-popular inclination to make life as easy—or as light—as possible.
In the quest for lightness, even the word “light” has been lightened, now often rendered “lite.” We can begin our day with lite syrup on our pancakes, lite cream in our coffee, and lite butter on our toast (or lite cream cheese on our bagel). And things needn’t get too heavy at lunch: There’s lite mayo for your sandwich and lite chips for your plate. And how about a lite beer after work?
It’s too easy to get on a roll with this, and I am fighting the urge to try your patience by coming up with more examples. Lite classics on the radio? Lite liturgy in church? But you get the idea—The effort to “lighten up” has infiltrated many dimensions. However, one facet of life undoubtedly remains on the heavy side: There is no Dissertation Lite!
At the moment you may wish it were otherwise. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the dissertation requirements lightened so that you could slip through the ABD process with more sleep and less stress? With more time relaxing and less time writing?
Hmmm…. It might be tempting to dream such a dream, but if the dissertation process were light and easy, would the goal be worth achieving? You already know the answer. The Ph.D. is of value precisely because it is not easily acquired. A minimalist endeavor just doesn’t get it. If it did, the prize would be trivialized and ultimately meaningless. The ABD process may be a struggle at times, but once that coveted credential is yours and the hard-won honorific precedes your name, you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You have proved your mettle already in progressing this far; now it’s just a matter of time and hard work. As for the admonition to “lighten up,” there is certainly a place for that. In fact, as we’ve consistently emphasized, it’s essential that you punctuate your hard work with well-spaced breaks to rejuvenate mind and body. Afterward, of course, you must lead your disciplined self back to the computer, back to the writing, the drafts, the rewrites. It’s demanding, but you are up to it, and the reward is commensurate with the hard work. In other words, there will never be a Dissertation Lite, because the Ph.D. is a heavyweight goal. Go for it!
In this issue’s guest article, Dr. L.D. Castel shares the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of her recently completed journey to the Ph.D. She does not understate the hard work required for a doctorate, but rather recalls the “immense, extremely unpleasant pressure” she had to impose on herself to finish. (Strong words, to be sure, but you will appreciate her honesty.)
Observing that “finishing involves working even though sometimes you
are not enthused or in the mood to work at all,” Dr. Castel shares
the details of how she managed to get down to work and get it done. There
is no sugar coating of her experience; she found it difficult. But she learned
valuable lessons along the way and is willing to pass them on in the hope
that others might benefit and avoid some of the potential pitfalls. She concludes
with what she calls her three “Zen-like pearls of general wisdom.”
Lessons Learned as an ABD
by Dr. L.D. Castel
The feeling of succeeding at earning a Ph.D. is a great joy, heightened in the anticipation of building a fulfilling career. I had some wonderful experiences (I even see them as “small miracles”) and some painful but instructive experiences. I learned more than in any class, and I came to know myself more and to love my work. There is no single right way to do things, but I hope that some of these tips might be helpful to you. Good luck!
Timing/deadlines
Start negotiations for data permission, ethics committee approval, paperwork, and image reproduction way sooner than you would ever think necessary. These things can drag out for months. Build a long time for their completion into your timeline.
After you have your topic and committee, making your timeline is the first big step. Look at your department’s requirements and discuss the timeline not only with your Chair, but also with your department’s administrative/student services person to make sure you are not leaving anything out or being unrealistic.
The main motivator for me to meet a specific deadline for the defense was a concrete date by which I needed to start a fellowship position. I think that right after the proposal defense, it is good to meet with the statistician, a committee member, or your Chair to go over the nuts and bolts, plan what needs to be done for your proposed scope of work, and make a timeline. Ask this person in his or her honest opinion how long the project should take. If you are doing a job or research assistantship, factor that into your timeline.
I advise looking for a full-time “afterward” job or fellowship about a year to 6 months prior to your hoped-for finish date. The bad side effect of this is that you may interview with people who wish you were available earlier (and they may try to convince you that you can work for them AND finish your dissertation), but it is a good test of the employer to see who would wait for you to be done on your finish date. The good effect is that if you get a job or fellowship, a start date (placed at the end of your reasonably-estimated timeline) will motivate you to finish.
I used a wall calendar so I could see longer-term deadlines approaching. I used an electronic calendar to block out work time in my schedule (even though it was very hard to stick to it). I used a large dry-erase board to detail what should be done each day. And on the busiest days, I blocked out hour by hour, with planned breaks of 15 minutes for email, or even 3 hours for a nap, after which I would make espresso and keep working. This time-blocking was really the most difficult part of getting it done. Plan on sacrificing your social life until the end of your timeline – your friends will still be there afterward. Your true friends will be there with champagne at the end!
Jobs and loans
I am convinced that the reason it takes an average of 6 or more years to finish dissertations is because people are working more than half-time on a job or assistantship. In my experience, it helped to put a limit of 15-20 hrs/week on any other work obligation. It is worth taking loans, even unsubsidized loans, to have the degree and increase your earning power and career options sooner.
Internal
My biggest source of anxiety is when I feel I am not doing what I am supposed to do. I still struggle with the feeling of things “hanging over me.” I haven’t found the solution, but often think of the principle that some anxiety motivates, but too much anxiety destroys.
I started out operating under the assumption that I would be most productive when most inspired, but I am most productive when pressured. I had to put immense, extremely unpleasant pressure on myself to finish.
Finishing involves working even though sometimes you are not enthused or in the mood to work at all.
When you sit down to work, use earplugs, do not have your popup email program open, do not check internet-based email, and do not answer the phone or even look to see who is calling (unless there is a life-or-death situation at hand). Tell yourself that you will get up only for three things – food, toilet, or a fire! You can assign breaks and know that you will indulge all urges to make contact with the outside world only on those breaks.
Make sure you are managing any medication that you are taking. Depression, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, ADHD, alcoholism, marital problems, and even suicidal ideation happen more among grad students than in the general population--We are not a happy-go-lucky lot. Considering what is at stake, it is worth the time to find a doctor who will help you find what works so that your mood is stable.
Everyone told me that I should take care of myself – get sleep, proper nutrition, exercise…I found, however, that I can only do one thing well at a time, and I had to give up these tenets of wellness in order to finish. I had to work until the sun came up about twice a week, which is harder to recover from now than when I was younger… So I would advise you not to feel guilty if you can’t keep up with, say, an elaborate fitness plan for a few weeks. Acceptance that you cannot be completely on top of everything is key.
On an interpersonal level, you may not have time to really work through life’s large questions, feelings of alienation, challenging inner struggles, interpersonal issues, or professional conflicts. For better or worse, taking the time to talk extensively or really deal with anything that is not of top importance (life-or-death, marriage, or some family issues) can prevent you from finishing. This is why I advise prioritizing the most important relationships in your life, and trying to disentangle yourself from complicated relationships wherever that is possible. Avoid and perhaps re-think your relationships with anyone who is not supportive of you reaching your goal.
If you are married, go to marital therapy if needed to keep your relationship communicative. The stress that a dissertation places on both your lives should not be ignored. It is top priority to value the sacrifices your spouse is making for you, and to keep your marriage a source of mutual support and love.
My dissertation Chair, a beloved mentor, died of cancer 3 months after my proposal defense. I believe that if someone dies, it is normal to need time to mourn. I needed to change my deadline because I could not keep working every day through the grieving process. My motivation was eventually revitalized by the thought that he would have been proud of me for finishing.
Committee
See your committee members as people who are busy, who need time to read your work, who need vacations when they take them, and who are doing you a collegial service in reviewing your work. It is part of your responsibility to find out their wishes as you go, and focus your effort on respecting their wishes and addressing the issues they bring up. Your Chair’s job is building and finalizing consensus on any issues where the committee members differ, even slightly.
Set up regular meetings with your Chair.
Set up regular meetings with a statistics or writing consulting service. It helps so much to have clear deadlines, giving your dissertation work more structure.
Use your webspace to post your full schedule/timeline, and send notifications to your whole committee and your consultants every time you update it.
Meet or speak individually with all committee members 2 weeks before the defense.
Always take feedback graciously. Most likely your committee members are trying to help you be prepared for criticism you will encounter with your work professionally. Show goodwill in listening to any concern brought up by a committee member. Think of it as if you were working together on a project for work, not as an attack on your “baby.” They should be trying to help you.
Also, be persistent in seeking their advice. If they do not answer your email, this does not mean ANYTHING about how they feel about you or your work. Proceed to voicemail (again, if they do not call you back, this does not mean ANYTHING personal). The next step from there is to find them in person. Talk with an administrative assistant or students to find out when the committee members are likely to be in their office or coming out of class. When you finally find them, be pleasant and say simply, “I wanted to catch up with you and find out what your main concerns are at this point.” Hand them the most recent draft you have printed out if they do not have it. Give them an update on what you have been grappling with most recently. If you do this, pursuing them without fail to the point of having this conversation, then you will be doing your part to avoid bad surprises.
Remember that if it is not clear to you what you need to do to address a particular criticism or suggested improvement, then either the member didn’t phrase their feedback well or you didn’t understand it well. In the latter case, clarify until you are able to plan specific steps to address the issue. Itemize changes and send out that itemization after your meetings, and give a deadline by which you will have integrated the changes into a specific later version.
In closing
I gained three Zen-like pearls of general wisdom:
- The only difference between finishing and not finishing is not giving up. Do not give yourself the option of giving up. At the same time, do not feel guilty for wanting to give up. It is normal to feel downtrodden, fatigued, and disillusioned. Just don’t translate those thoughts into the action of giving up.
- Multitasking is doing several things badly or not at all. Whatever you are doing, when you sit down to do it, consciously decide to let go of doing anything else you could be doing. You must decide to do what is most meaningful, outside and inside the sphere of your dissertation. Both work and relaxation (allowing yourself to not accomplish anything for a few hours or a day at a time) are quite meaningful, so designate time – and equal importance – to each.
- It is what you do every day that makes you up as a person. Who we are is actually determined by our thoughts, words, and actions. Working daily in a consistent way and striving to be how you want to be (or wish you were) will make you proud of who you are. The degree will help your career, but it will not make you more valuable or worthy – of success, respect, love, or anything good in life – than you already are right now. Value yourself as you strive for all your goals in life.
Inspirational Quote
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Fr ee Workshop
Procrastination: How to Take the Next Right Step
Choose one session:
Sunday, July 16 7:00 P.M. EDT
- OR -
Monday, July 17 4:00 P.M. EDT
At one time or another, all of us have put off doing work that we really know needs to get done. This is especially true when the work is difficult or stressful - like a major project or writing a dissertation. This free group teleclass offers strategies for creating a pathway out of a procrastination cycle. This workshop will help ABDers learn how to take the next right step in moving forward with their writing. It will also be useful for those with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
Marcia Lindsey is an experienced psychologist and coach in private practice who has enjoyed helping people overcome their fears, avoidance and disorganization for more than 25 years. She has a Doctoral degree from the University of Denver and lives in Houston, Texas. Marcia has longstanding interest in ADHD and helping those with issues of procrastination, need for time management and personal skills for life management. www.coachingworksml.com
Jayne London is a dissertation coach. For the past 10 years, she has also been the Manager of Graduate Student Life at the University of Michigan. In this role, she organizes workshops for graduate students to help students gain essential skills such as time management, overcoming procrastination, and practical strategies for writing a dissertation.
To sign up for this class, or for further information, please contact Marcia at mjlin@coachingworksml.com
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
writing 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. He is also founder of eCoach (www.ecoach.com),
which trains interdisciplinary professionals to become superb 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!
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR OTHER NEWSLETTERS
Subscribe to our other two free e-mail Newsletters: Coaching Toward Happiness and the Therapist as Coach
About your privacy and ABDSG •|• This newsletter was sent to <$email$> by request on <$today$>.
Ben Dean, Ph.D. , MentorCoach®
4400 East West Hwy/ Suite 1104 • Bethesda, MD 20814 • USA
E-mail: info@mentorcoach.com • Tel:
+1-301-986-5688
Web: www.abdsurvivalguide.com • www.mentorcoach.com
© Copyright 2006 Ben Dean, Ph.D. All rights reserved
For more information call or email
us:
The All-But-Dissertation Survival Guide •|• 4400 East
West Highway/Suite 1104, Bethesda, Md 20814
info@mentorcoach.com (email) •|• 301-986-5688(voice) •|• 301-913-9447(fax)