Motivating the timeline

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Monday, 28 January 2013 10:34
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My boys, who share way more than the same smile. The most amazing guys on the planet. My boys, who share way more than the same smile. The most amazing guys on the planet.

These days I'm doing most of my work from that "other" side of myself--the comparative literature PhD candidate side. My goal is to finish a full draft of my dissertation by early next spring, a very ambitious timeline for a humanities dissertation, much less one in literature.

But I'm told it can be done, and I HAVE managed to produce A LOT OF WORDS in similar amounts of time. Of course, as I explained to a writing buddy... in fiction, I can improvise. I can't really do that to the same degree with literary criticism.

The good news is that the work is exciting and challenging. It keeps me cranking away during the day and wakes me up at night with (mostly helpful) revelations. Thanks to the elves in the back corridors of my brain who are making that happen... I don't think I could do this without you.

To motivate myself, I have combined a favorite photo of "my boys" (because they are a big reason for wanting to get this done sooner than later) with my ambitious but achievable writing schedule. Any other brilliant ideas for staying motivated and on task? Email or comment... I'm always looking to boost my productivity.

I've got fingers crossed that I'll land a dissertation fellowship to cover childcare next year--and buy myself a few hours a week to dip back into fiction even as I'm writing the Frankendraft of my dissertation.

comments  

 
#1 Kelly 2013-01-28 13:14
Compared to my experience, this is a luxurious schedule so it's more than do-able! If I could get my work done in 7 months, start writing to successful defense, plus bound copies to the dean, dept. and library, you can do this!!! And, then some!!! Fear is a great motivating factor. Get it done or you don't graduate. When you're done, I'd love to read your manuscript. Keep the nose to the grindstone. The guys will survive this...and you will, too.
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#2 Laura 2013-01-28 14:17
One thing you could do is reward yourself in some way. I just learned how to make lucky stars out of strips of origami paper. You could make yourself some and then literally give yourself a gold star when you meet a goal!
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#3 ashleyp 2013-01-30 16:18
Great idea, Laura. I do love rewards. I use this time management strategy, the Pomodoro technique (with mytomatoes.com to track progress), and a short break is often a great motivator... Might have to try the stars!

Kelly, 3 years is "quick" for comp lit dissertations, which are expected to have the scope and originality of a publishable book of literary criticism. But it is great to be reminded that others have done large projects on even shorter time frames.
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#4 Sarah Laurence 2013-02-07 15:05
Your boys are adorable! It is hard to stay motivated during the long haul of a dissertation. I remember my husband struggling with his. What motivated him to finish was being able to apply for a postdoc. What motivated me to finish my 140 page master's thesis was being pregnant - I actually moved my defense date up a month to be sure the thesis would be delivered before the baby. Still, getting pregnant again is not perhaps the best advice! So perhaps a better motivation is your desire to get back to writing fiction and your readers' desire to read your next novel.
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#5 ashleyp 2013-02-08 22:10
Aw, thanks, Sarah! Getting pregnant again is on the to-do list for AFTER a draft of the dissertation, and it's one of the reasons I wish that could be sooner rather than later. But I'm learning that working myself up into a lather isn't the best way to be productive... eating this elephant one bite at a time. :)
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