Getting it done...

Well trying to at least.

I have to admit that I'm sick to death of working on this dissertation project. Probably because it's yet another summer where I'm trying to get it done. I think I will. Rather, I won't allow myself not to.

But, for multiple reasons that shall remain un-blogged, I just don't feel motivated by the light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps this has something to do with my own personality traits - if I've been doing something for a while it's always the last few steps that I find challenging. Not because the work that remains is a challenge compared to what I've accomplished on the thing in question up until that point but because I get restless and bored. I was that way in school as far back as first grade even. I'd have all the enthusiasm throughout the year and then we'd have final year-end assessments and I'd be completely distracted and not do as well. Undergrad was like this for me too - I took really easy classes the last semester of the last year and had an incredibly breezy schedule. However, I probably fared the worst most of them except for one (which is the one I actually felt challenged by). I wonder if this is a pattern I need to break. I think I already start thinking ahead to what comes next and what I need to finish up to move on seems to take a backseat. That's probably bad. Especially since the stuff I've worked on in the past had a definitive timeline - exams ended and once you amassed 128 credits successfully you had a Bachelor's degree. Alas PhDing isn't like that. If you ignore that little thing called The Dissertation you don't magically finish but giving it the bare minimum.

And so I must try to be productive this summer even though I'm already daydreaming about what comes next. I'll keep you folks posted on my progress.

The (New) Plan of Action

Yes I've been crying wolf on finishing The Dissertation for so long now that even I wouldn't tend to an SOS from myself. Part of it is me obsessing for perfection but mostly it's been a combination of unrealistic expectations that I have held myself to and a fear of turning in anything less than perfect.

But 'tis the Summer Of Change. Not only that but I can actually see The Finish Line.

So here's the plan. Well some of it anyway....writing too much might divulge my identity and I need the (semi?)anonymity this space affords me...at least for now.

I'm going to write every day except Sundays....no matter how little it is going to get done everyday. Until I get done with my dissertation I'm going to post my favorite sentence from the day's writing here. The caveat: the sentence might not seem all that captivating for readers of this blog since I'll be deleting stuff that identifies me or my dissertation. Yes paranoid-seeming I know but like I said I need the anonymity for the next few years.

So check in, share my progress, and on the days that you don't see a sentence please, please, please yell at me! Unless it's Sunday :-).

Of course I'll be posting other stuff from time to time but first priority is The Dissertation. The subject of these posts will be that day's date. Hmm maybe I'll throw in non-identifying progress updates along with the favorite sentence every now and then (regularly will mean I spend more time blogging that could have gone into a little more writing). No promises on the latter since those require time to draw up a list etc and almost always gets in the way of work in my experience.

Deadline to finish you ask? I have one in mind but I want to wait to re-evaluate it after a few weeks before announcing it in The Blogosphere or Blogistan or whatever other 'nation' sounding label you prefer. I just don't want to cry wolf again and be a bit prudent about this.

So stay tuned for daily updates. There will be one later today but that will likely be from The Project That Is Not The Dissertation (TPTINTD). I'm going to aim for a paragraph in the dissertation but no promises. TPTINTD beckons!