December 4th marks the birth of Jeff Bridges, aka The Dude. And, The Dude is a fount words of wisdom for dissertation students everywhere… I’m the Dude, so that’s what you call me. That or, uh His Dudeness, or uh Duder, or El Duderino, if you’re not into the whole brevity thing. — The Dude You can […]
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December 3rd is National Roof Over Your Head Day. Let’s honor this day by acknowledging our good fortune. And, while we’re at it, are you putting the roof on your proposal too soon?… Worldwide, over 22% of people lack adequate housing. More than 12% of the world’s population goes hungry. The next time you get […]
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December 2nd is National Special Education Day. Let’s honor this day by thinking about the special contributions you will make as a Doctor… Since your reading this blog, I’m going to assume that you’re a doctoral student. But, I don’t want you to think of yourself as a student. you should start thinking of yourself […]
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December 1st is Javier Baez’s birthday. The Chicago Cubs utility infielder is such a wizard with on defense that he’s known in the clubhouse as El Mago, the magician. Do you ever feel like completing your dissertation requires amazing feats of magic and prestidigitation?… Adult doctoral students have to be master jugglers: work, school, family, […]
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November 30th is Computer Security Day. What does computer security have to do with you dissertation? Plenty. Read on, grasshopper… Aside from your actual brain, your computer represents the single biggest point of failure in the dissertation process. For many students, if their computer suddenly disappeared, so would every bit of research, notes, and writing […]
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November 29th marks the births of C.S. Lewis and Don Cheadle. Pop quiz: which of the cultural icons proffered each of the follow pieces of advice for dissertation students?… Every time I’ve learned something, I’ve realized there are a hundred more things I don’t know about the thing I just learned. — Mystery Mentor #1 […]
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November 28th marks the birth of Jon Stewart. The former host of The Daily Show has a few words of wisdom for dissertation students everywhere… If you try to hit a grand slam, you’re going to strike out. — Jon Stewart Your dissertation doesn’t have to be a grand slam. It doesn’t have to solve all the world’s […]
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November 27th marks the birth of Jimi Hendrix. A genius musician, yes. But, did you know that Jimi Hendrix was also a philosopher of the highest order with ample words of wisdom for dissertation students everywhere?… I’ve been imitated so well I’ve heard people copy my mistakes. — Jimi Hendrix You may not want to copy […]
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November is National Scholarship Month. How do you balance the demands of scholarship with the goal of graduating… When I was in high school, a scholarship was a means to go to college. Getting into college wasn’t a problem, but paying for it? Well, let’s just say that I really needed that scholarship… But today […]
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November 25th is National Blasé Day. Here are the Top 4 reasons why doctoral student become complacent, frustrated, or just plain stuck… Motivation By definition you are motivated to do what you do and not motivated to do what you don’t do. So, does that mean that doctoral students aren’t motivated to complete their dissertations? […]
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