New Orleans and Dissertations

November 9th is National Louisiana Day. When I think of Louisiana, I think of New Orleans and the French Quarter. Even when you have a dissertation to complete, sometimes you just have to laissez le bon temps rouler!…

I’ve discussed Dr. Stephen Covey and the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People at length before. These habits form a system for defining, organizing, and executing project in an efficient and productive. My children attend an elementary school that uses the Covey Habits as a framework for all of their behavior, as much of their academic, teaching.

If you ask the students at a typical elementary school which is their favorite part of the day, they invariably say, “Lunch and recess!” If you ask the students at my kids’ school which is their favorite Covey Habit, they tend to say “Sharpen the Saw!”

Habit #7, Sharpen the Saw, emphasizes the importance of regular periods of rest & relaxation. Taking time away from a project to allow your brain the opportunity to refocus and recharge, often results in a noticeable boost in productivity when you re-engage.

And then, there’s the motivational benefits of scheduling rewards for yourself when you reach certain milestones. A weekend in the French Quarter may or may not be your thing.

Maybe a hike in a local park is more to your liking.

Or, taking in a movie.

Or, planting flowers in your garden.

Or, a round of golf.

Whatever it is, it’s important that you schedule small celebrations for yourself on a regular basis. For example, each time you complete a specific number of productive sessions working on your dissertation over the course of one week.

You also want to schedule slightly larger celebrations when you accomplish certain milestones, like completing the first draft of your lit review, or successfully collecting your data.

And then there’s the big one! What’re you gonna do for yourself when you defend your dissertation? It needs to be a huge celebration or reward that you can’t wait to have. Use it as bulletin board material whenever you feel frustrated and tempted to slack off. Spend a little time each day thinking about how great it will be to reward yourself.

Maybe it will be a trip to New Orleans. Maybe it will be something else. But, whatever it is, you need know when you’re done exactly how you’re gonna  laissez le bon temps rouler!