Eights and Dissertations

The Games of the XXIX Olympiad began on 08/08/08 at 8pm. In Chinese culture, the number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence, exactly what every dissertation student needs…

What does it mean to be prosperous in the dissertation process? I’d say that it means that you are able to work on your dissertation a couple of hours a day and feel like you’re making progress everyday. It means that you feel comfortable about where you’re going and how you’re getting there. That you look forward to working on your study because you know that each day brings you another step closer to graduation.

So, do you feel prosperous and confident about your dissertation process? No? Kind of the opposite, actually?

Have you ever avoided working on your dissertation to do something else instead? Have you set aside the time, or even sat down at the computer, only to decide at the last moment that there was something else that you “had” to do? Like clean the toilets?

I’m not kidding. I spoke with a student recently who told me that she felt so frustrated and unproductive when she tried to work on her dissertation that she let her mind wander… She would come up with any excuse to do something — anything — other than work on her dissertation.

“Last night, I actually got up from my desk and went downstairs to clean the toilets!” she told me. “I’m not some kind of neat freak that has to have everything sparkling either… and we just had the whole house cleaned the day before. What’s wrong with me?”

She went on to describe how this had become a bit of a ritual for her: Setting aside time to work on her dissertation, sitting down at her desk, staring at the computer screen for several minutes, and then getting a spark of inspiration…to do something else!

Have you ever felt this level of frustration? Questioned what to do next? Lost all of the confidence that you used to have as a student?

The dissertation process can sure do that to a person!

So, how do you regain those feelings of confidence and prosperity?

You begin by making sure that you’re clear on your reasons for doing this in the first place.

Some students pursue that doctoral degrees because they want to embark on a life-long career in academia. They want to become a full-time professor at a major university. They want to spend their days writing grant proposals, researching, and (occasionally) teaching. These students may spend the rest of their lives continuing to work on their dissertation studies. Sure, they’ll finish the dissertation itself at some point, but then they’ll  move on to the next project, and the next, all in the same vein.

But, I’m betting that’s not you. No, you already have a career. You just want to move up, get a seat at the table, make a bigger impact. You want to prove to your kids…and yourself… that you can do it. And, if obtaining a new platform from which your voice can be heard means more money coming your way… Well, that’s OK, too!

If this is you, then you’re like most of my students. Your dissertation is not important to you. Graduating is! You need your doctoral degree to accomplish your goals, to move ahead, to make a bigger impact. The dissertation is simply a degree requirement — a means to that end.

So, the most important thing about your dissertation isn’t the topic, it isn’t the literature review, and it isn’t the results. It’s getting it done! That’s the goal that should drive every choice you make. It’s your sole decision-making criterion… “Which way will help me get my dissertation done sooner?”

When you give yourself permission to succeed by defining success as just finishing, you’ll feel like you just set down a load of bricks that you’ve been carrying since you started to even think about your dissertation. You’ll feel more free and less constrained. But, you still won’t know what to do next!

That’s why I’ve spent so much time writing about the importance of planning. Your plan will give you the crystal clear picture of where you’re going and how to get there. Your plan is your map, your destination, and your route.

When you know where you’re going and how to get there, you can break the process down into manageable chunks. When you can break the project into manageable chunk, your confidence and productivity returns. And, when your confidence and productivity return, you’ll never walk away from your dissertation to clean a toilet, again!