Life in Thesis-land : goal setting

Want to get away from it all? Postgrad Writing Retreat applications now open.

Karen.Hall — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 05:35:00 GMT

The Graduate Research School is calling for applications for the Postgraduate Writing Retreat to be held in 2008. The writing retreat will take place on 4-8 February, at UWA’s Albany Centre, and includes both time for individual writing as well as opportunities to develop writing skills and receive feedback. 16 places are available for students, with costs for the retreat, accommodation, and transport to be covered by the Graduate Research School. Students wishing to participate must apply by Monday 10 December. Further details, including application forms, are available at
http://www.postgraduate.uwa.edu.au/events/writing_retreat

That's the official blurb: unofficially, I just like to point out that the writing retreat means

getting out of Perth to somewhere cooler in the middle of summer
having a whole building - including a ghost - to set up for your writing space
time to write without everyday interference
access to people whose job it is to help you write better
did I mention the getting out of Perth?

The applications aren't that scary. We basically want to know that you would make the most of the time and opportunity to make progress on your thesis. Don't promise anything unrealistic, like writing the whole thing in a week, but work out a clearly defined goal that fits the scope of the retreat. You're also asked to get a statement of support form your supervisor - this is so that they can support your goal-setting and shows that they won't report us for kidnapping you or anything! If you have any queries, comment here or contact me.

Good Habits

Karen.Hall — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 06:47:00 GMT

In the quest to find some way to balance the job-thing and finishing-thesis-thing while maintaining some shreds of sanity (don't laugh!) I've decided that the key is good habits. There is no point in pretending that I can manage to live on sugar and caffiene for the next five months, just writing and not sleeping, and doing well at either of the things. So I am aiming for sustainable but solid work practices and balance. So here are my new habits:

Going to the gym again. Having fallen into a gym slump in the absence of my gym buddy - because gossip can motivate me to get out of bed, but machines of torture aka circuit and pump classes cannot - I'm trying to reverse the trend and get to the gym 3 times a week.
Restricted TV watching. As some of my previous frivolous posts might have shown, bad TV has to get pretty bad indeed to stop me watching it. My current scheme requires me to register with Housemate Sister a weekly roster of shows I am allowed to watch, while she has total control of the remote and permission to be Official TV Doorbitch.
A tidy study desk, with all the resources I need on hand. Any junk that tries to move onto the desk has to go to a proper home or the bin.
Blocks of time. Thesis writing time is two hours each weekday evening. That means the two hours have to be done, but also that once they are done I can switch off the computer and go to bed.
Rolling Things To Do List. All the steps that need to be taken to get the thesis done get written down, and eventually crossed off. At the end of each evening's writing time, I select that tasks for the next day from the list. For example, tonight is two paragraphs of writing for Chapter 5, where I've blocked in the topic but haven't written the content, and one paragraph for Chapter 6. Small steps and attainable goals, that's my mantra.
And in a confession of potential New-Age wackiness, I've found that using an oil burner at my desk can help me get into writing headspace. I guess it is a sensory signal to myself to get to work, plus having the candle burning makes me feel like I shouldn't leave the room.

So, this Gantt thing...

Karen.Hall — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 04:33:00 GMT

Until Matthew's reply to an earlier post, I'd never heard of this Gantt chart thing. But it sounds interesting - and possibly rather useful. I've downloaded a template from the Learning Skills site: it seems pretty straightforward.

However, things that seem straightforward to me usually end up being the wrong way to do things. (Wire doesn't work to hold drip hose in place, unless you wire the hose to a stake or handy bit of fallen branch - yes, I might try listening to my father next time). So Gantt-chart-users out there, what words of wisdom can you share?

Deadlines (the word 'dead' is in there for a reason)

Karen.Hall — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 09:02:00 GMT

Having just read Karina's post about her impending thesis deadline of doom, and Robyn's comment on my last post about the completion scholarship (which my supervisors and I have already decided we aren't touching with a ten-foot pole, even a metaphorical one) I thought I'd ramble for a bit on why I hate deadlines.

I hate deadlines. Useful, maybe; neccessary, maybe; hell to live with - yes. Deadlines either send me into crazy tunnel-visioned focus where the house becomes a pigsty, I live off Mars Bars, chips and waaaaaay too much caffiene (motto 'if your hands aren't shaking, you haven't had enough') and anyone unfortunate enough to attempt to interact with me gets snarled at. At the other extreme, I go into extreme deadline denial - which equals procrastination at a black belt level - until there's no way I can meet the deadline.

So how do I manage to get things done if deadlines don't really work for me? I have been know to submit articles and abstracts on or before due dates, can get marking done on time etc. I think the key is breaking down the task into smaller components and setting 'guideline' dates. ('Guideline' in the rather negotiable Pirates-of-the-Caribbean type sense). Even a false deadline before the real one, or promising to get the work to someone else to read over first before the deadline seems to help make the real deadline feel more manageable. For all that I have a bad Arts student habit of leaving things to the last minute, it is often lowering the pressure rather than raising it that works for me.

This Week I Will

Karen.Hall — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 02:27:00 GMT

I'm experimenting with publicly setting goals in order to force myself into meeting them. And Monday seems a good day for goal setting.

So this week I will:

Get Chapter Five to 8000 words
NQDJ Unit Guide off to the printers
NQDJ Reading to CMO
Write Limina conference blurb draft
Edit 10 pages of Chapter Four

Anyone else want to volunteer their goals?