Self Care in the Dissertation Part III

Self Care in the Dissertation Part III

This is the third in a series of articles dealing with caring for yourself while working on your dissertation.

It is important to tap into all of your social, emotional, and intellectual resources to complete this next phase of your academic career. I hope these tips and hints will aid you in feeling happier and being more productive.

1) Start to let go of the need to be perfect.

Stated another way, "sometimes good enough is good enough". This tips refers to the idea that we spend a lot of time worrying over many unnecessary things. Keep in mind that you're ALWAYS doing the best you can, whether or not you recognize it.

2) Make your workspace as effective and comfortable as you can. Make your office or workroom as attractive and pleasing as possible.

There is nothing worse than trying to complete a major project in too little space or without the right tools. At minimum, your workspace should include a large surface for writing, note taking, and your computer. Have a comfortable and supportive chair. Your space should be well lit, temperate, and well organized. Keep all necessary information or supplies at close reach. Ideally, your workspace should be out of the way of other people to cut down on interruptions or distractions. Get in the habit of screening your calls or just letting them go directly to the answering machine or voicemail. Try to limit the amount of time you waste in checking email or surfing the Internet.

Make use of soothing colors, textures, sounds, or smells to keep you contented and happy as you work.

3) Learn to work according to your natural rhythms and the flow of your life.

First, you need to recognize those times of the day when you feel most alert and mentally clear. Try to schedule your dissertation time into these periods. Use your peak times to your advantage.

One client kept insisting on working on her dissertation late at night, after everyone else was asleep, without considering the fact that she started to wind down and get sleepy at about 10:00pm. When we switched her to waking up a bit earlier, and using the quiet time in the morning before everyone else woke up, she was able to be more effective and made more progress.

Figure out what works for you.

4) Learn to say "No". And practice often.

This tip is helpful both in the dissertation process and also in life. Too often we take on new responsibilities or activities at times when we really should be saying "No" so that we can safeguard our time, health, and other resources.

Sometimes we have to say "No" to others so we can say "Yes" to ourselves.

5) Get yourself into a healthful and comfortable routine-and stick with it.

Though it's never too late to make positive changes, it will be good if you can practice a healthy and comfortable routine before starting the dissertation, and keep it going throughout the process. This might include eating well, regular physical activity, sleeping well, committing to regular relaxation, etc. It takes about 21 days for something to become a habit, so the sooner you start, the better.

6) Learn to value consistent effort rather than the quality of output.

In our fast paced and frantic world, it's very easy to become caught up in the outcome or the goal rather than the process leading up to that goal. Learn to value all your effort, no matter how small it seems.

7) Use technology, as appropriate, to assist you.

One of the greatest things I ever discovered was voice recognition software. This is a type of computer program that allows you to speak out loud, and watch as your words are typed on the screen. Although I type fairly quickly, I found this to be very helpful on those days when I was tired, or when I wanted to hear how my sentences would sound.

Now, this type of software is fairly inexpensive, and fairly accurate (after some training), so it might be a good option for those of you who could use some help with typing. You can "train" this program to recognize technical language, so it might be useful even for those of you writing in highly scientific or technical fields.

Some other ideas about technology have to do with making your life easier or motivating you. When I was writing my dissertation, a friend used to send me motivational cards via email, which would pop up on my computer screen and cheer me up. I also used email to communicate with my friends, as this allowed us to "connect" without pulling us away from our work. It also made it easier to cross time zones.

8) As much as possible, don't get bogged down in the negative emotions-worry, shame, guilt. They are called "negative" because they don't do anything for you.

Finally, remember that you have already met many of your goals, and that you'll meet this one, too.