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May I request a bit of technical assistance?
Some of my e-newsletter readers can't access my web site from university computers (so far, I know about Johns Hopkins and U of Chicago.)
Would y'all mind clicking on my web site: http://www.successfulacademic.com to see whether you get an error message?
Does anyone know what could be up with this?
BTW these same folks have no trouble getting my blog (via typepad) so at their request I've posted this week's newsletter about self-monitoring.
"The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen. "
-- Lee Iacocca
One of the best ways to develop regular work habits is to consciously attend to your daily activities and accomplishments. Self-monitoring is the process of keeping track of your process and progress. There are many advantages to tracking your efforts in a relatively systematic way and it is worth spending the time to devise methods that work for you. Watching what you do helps you do what you want.
One advantage of self-monitoring is that it helps to structure work projects without a clear deadline -- such as working on the dissertation, sending off a journal article, or completing a book proposal. Your efforts and progress become more concrete when observed by visible, external measures. A second benefit is that simply monitoring a behavior changes its occurrence in the desired direction.
Watching what you do helps you do what you want.
For example, studies of people trying to quit smoking show that the mere act recording each cigarette smoked decreased the total number people smoked.
Ways of monitoring yourself vary as much as the events or behaviors you choose to monitor. Methods range from completely free form approaches, such as a personal journal with no regular schedule of entries, to extremely structured programs, such as a graph indicating the cumulative time you spend on your scholarly work.
Some Types of Self-Monitoring:
What type of self-monitoring do you do?
What would you like to add to your repertoire?
One of my faculty clients has been keeping track of the number of pages he writes each day. Looks great, eh? He has graciously sent me the template of his chart – it is a Microsoft word document – and if you’d like a copy, just email me at [email protected] and I’ll send it as an attachment. 
I really like the strategies for successful dissertation completion by Ester Hargittai posted at Crooked Timber. It is one of those posts in which the comments are as useful to read as the original post.
Here is a liberally edited compilation/summary of tips both from Hargittai's post and some of the commenters. Notably, suggestion #1 was made by Michael, and suggestions #2 and #3 are from a commenter with the moniker "arm." A couple are my own additions.
21 Strategies for Successful Dissertation Completion.
1. Avoid the Magnum Opus myth. It’s a plumber’s license, the thing you need to join the union.
2. Start early in your grad school years.
3. Write as you go - don't wait until you've finished your research.
4. Have a small achievable goal for each day.
5. Have mental health days. (“I can’t stand it anymore, I’m going to the movies instead.”)
6. Keep a diary of research progress and even your tangential ideas.
7. Back up everything! Reguarly! And keep backups in different locations.
8. Identify your thesis committee early and meet with the members regularly.
9. Get frequent feedback on your work from the committee members. (Often easier said than done!)
10. Think about one chapter at a time; if you worry about the entire thing, the anxiety will paralyze you.
11. Don't be surprised/worried if the project changes over time.
12. On the other hand, your proposal is your "contract" with the committee - if you complete it as promised they pass you.
13. Do not be discouraged if you find another project that * sounds * like yours, chances are good that it is not.
14. Go to conferences and present portions of your dissertation.
15. Form a dissertation support group with other students.
16. If you need resources, look for and write grants to get funding.
17. Do not include all material you have ever read in the literature review section of the manuscript -- keep it directly relevant to your topic.
18. Care about your topic -- you'll live with it for a long time.
19. Don't care too passionately about your topic or it will increase tendencies towards perfectionism.
20. Develop regular work habits and avoid marathon writing sessions.
21. Take care of your health and maintain an active social life. Your years as a grad student are not a prelude to real life: this IS your life.
Please feel free to add tips and modify liberally....
The way I first found out about Badger was via a post from Scrivener about little-known, wonderful bloggers. What a great idea, David.
May I add someone? Edie at Annotated Life. She's not an academic -- but a dirt-poor mom of two young boys who is married to a post-doc (I think.) She's scary smart, creates beautiful art,and is an ardent socialist (not a very common political party nowadays, right?) Awesome, angry, political posts abound on her blog. As I do with Bitch, Ph.D., I look to Edie for great comments on current events -- esp. poverty and social injustice. Wow!
Warning: prepare to read for hours once you get started. Do let me know what you think of her commentary.
(BTW, the eyes are Edie's work - a colored pencil drawing. Probably a self-portrait, don't you think?)
