Ask the Dissertation Diva

Diagnosis: A.R.S.

Dear Dissertation Diva:

I dusted off my dissertation and made moves towards revising it into a book. An ancient email from an interested editor at a university press lurks stage left. I need to update my take on the current state of the field for the book's introduction in order to show where my argument fits. Problem is: Whenever I do JSTOR searches or try to update my bibliography, I break out in hives. Trying to situate my project in the 100s of new articles -- many in convoluted academicese that seems downright toxic to my confidence -- is overwhelming and demoralizing. Even making a list of the articles makes me think that my book is irrelevant, bizarre, or boring. Any thoughts? 

Signed, 

Anachronistic Annie 

Dear A.A.:

You are suffering from A.R.S.: Academic Re-entry Shock. A.R.S. affects PhDs who take a break from their dissertation research in order to focus on new research, a full time job, or other reasons. When they dust off their dissertation a year or more later, the dust enters their respiratory tract, causing hives-like symptoms, including wheezing and a sense of dread brought on by JSTOR searches.  

Antidote: Decompress in one of those chambers -- you know when people come back from deep-sea dives? 

You can also homebrew Dissertation-to-Book Diva Anti-A.R.S. Spray (TM) using NYC or San Francisco tap water, organic peppermint or rosemary oil, and a sprig of mint from a community garden. Spritz it around your workspace to clear your aura from toxicity. 

When you can approach updating your research once again, I suggest focusing on the major developments (books, authors) in your field and related fields, not every tiny article. Who are the Big Three in each field? Who is closest to your sensibility?  Also, stay on track with your book's argument, contributions, and unique angle, while taking into account new developments. 

Spritz! Spritz!

Dissertation Diva

Dissertation Haiku Contest!

Announcing... the 1st annual Dissertation Diva DISSERTATION HAIKU CONTEST!

Send us your haiku poems about the dissertation process. A haiku, you'll remember, is a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five. Send us your English-language haiku. Have fun!

FABULOUS & USEFUL PRIZES: One grand prize winner will receive a 30-minute dissertation coaching session, a featured spot for their haiku on Ask The Dissertation Diva, and bragging rights! All haiku worthy of their seventeen syllables will appear on Ask The Dissertation Diva. Send us your dissertation haiku even if you don't want the prizes, because we want you to get creative and WRITE something, even if it's 17 syllables.

Deadline EXTENDED!: March 1, 2008.

TO ENTER: Submit your haiku as a comment to this blog post by clicking "Comments" directly below this post. Feel free to include your name, university affiliation, and dissertation title or topic, or to remain anonymous. All entries become the property of Ask The Dissertation Diva and may be reproduced. Please include your email (which remains private). Ask the Dissertation Diva reserves the right to decide what constitutes a haiku for the purposes of this contest. We reserve the right to change or cancel the terms of this contest at any time. Thanks and happy writing!

The top image is the  kanji of  'haiku' .

Conquer Criticism

Dear Dissertation Diva:

How do I keep from being totally crushed when a top scholar in my field levies harsh criticism against my methodology, my approach, my training -- in short, me -- in a public setting?

Signed,
Trying to Stay Confident

Dear Confident:

It's harsh, and it happens. Here are three tangible strategies you can use.

First, depersonalize the criticism. It's not about you personally. It's about a difference of opinion on methodology or approach. This strategy can help you not take the words personally.

Second, look at why this particular scholar is critical of this particular methodology or approach. Why is that scholar invested in their position? What is threatening or groundbreaking about yours? Use your analytic skills to understand their position and to shore up your confidence in your own approach.

Third, be compassionate. Some elder academics may shoot arrows of criticism at emerging scholars in the public space of conference hall or panel discussion out of fear of losing their own positions as fields develop and shift. If you can build a bridge of understanding that other person's fear, you can keep from being crushed.

If all else fails, envision a criticism-proof armor of white light! But whatever you do, don't let others' unhelpful comments block your own brilliance. Keep doing your own work!

Dissertation Diva

Dissertation Diva in the news

Great news! We've been featured on American Historical Association's AHA Today blog. The article is "Dissertation Diva to the Rescue"  by Elisabeth Grant.

"Liena Vayzman is the Ann Landers of ABDs. On her new blog “Ask the Dissertation Diva”, Vayzman dispenses supportive and constructive advice to dissertation writers of all stages..."

Read the rest of the article here.

Thank you for the positive feedback! 

Staying Connected to Your Dissertation During Times of Emotional Upheaval

Dear Dissertation Diva,
I have just suffered a major setback: the sudden death of my brother. I thought I'd finally have time to finish the dissertation now that I sent my daughter off to college. But I can barely think. Instead of writing up my lit review, I am dealing with my brother's disarray of unpaid bills, looking for insurance papers, and negotiating my own grief. How do I stay connected to my dissertation during this time of emotional upheaval?
Thanks,
Swamped & Sad

Dear Swamped & Sad:
My condolences. This is a challenging time. You may feel like the you who was writing your dissertation last week is a million miles away. Here are 4 strategies to stay connected to your dissertation process:

1. Take time off to grieve. It's OK to do nothing. Don't pressure yourself by saying "I should be working on my dissertation." In time, you will return to it. It's normal to take time off from other jobs for family emergencies; take time off from your academic work right now.
2. Stay connected to your dissertation though visualization. Sit at your desk and make a visual inventory of what you see: The notes for your lit review. The stacks of articles and books. Look at everything that you have already created for yourself en route to reaching your goal. Then, when you are in a stressful situation of, say, doing your brother's paperwork, take a moment to close your eyes and visualize your workspace. See the notes you wrote waiting for you on your desk. The article on research methods you printed out. Know that the work you've done is waiting for you to return. Connect to that part of you that's not taking care of someone else, but is being true to your OWN intellectual goals.
3. Transition back to working on your dissertation by spending time in your workspace. It may feel like all you can do is go and sit in your office. Good. Do that. It's a start. Keep remembering your big picture goals.
4. Use the dissertation work as a refuge from grief. Some see the dissertation as a source of stress, but when a family loss happens, you can use the dissertation writing process in quite the opposite way: as a sanctuary. An island in the stream. Try working for short bits at a time -- like 30 minutes. Read a paragraph of an article, and let your mind rest from the other kinds of tasks and from emotional upheaval. You may find that your brain is actually HAPPY to think about your dissertation topic, and not about the stressful tasks around a death in the family. Your dissertation process will gain new life and new meaning for you in the larger context of your life. 

Take care!
Dissertation Diva

De-Stress Your Dissertation with Exercise

Tempted to skip that yoga class or morning run because of an upcoming deadline?

Don't.

Think you lack time for an inspiring, relaxing fall hike in the woods because you have to write your dissertation -- the whole thing, today -- which is making you stressed out in the first place?

Think again!

Stress reduction strategies should be a priority during times of intense mental work. And a proven method of natural stress reduction is exercise. Call it physical activity, call it movement, but just do it. Make it something you enjoy, like salsa dancing. Chills you out, like tai chi. Challenges you, like mountain biking. Or lets you read the NY Times or watch CNN, like the treadmill at the university gym. Whatever it is, plug it into your iCal or schedule, and go.

If you don’t exercise, what better time to start than six months before that 300 page beast is due? I started training in karate in the last semester of writing my dissertation at Yale, and it changed my life. Not to mention: helped me maintain laser sharp focus on my writing.  So, if you need motivation to exercise: sign up for a spin, yoga or tai chi class. Train for a 5K. Join a recreational sport team. At least get up from the computer and walk around the block.

Mind/body practices with an element of meditation are particularly helpful to writers. Exercise boosts oxygen flow to the brain, reduces stress, and increases alertness.

If you're not buying my line that exercise is good for your mind and body, then let me trying convincing you from a time management perspective: It is far more efficient to schedule exercise into your busy week than to lose entire days or weeks of work to stress or illness.

Exercise regularly when working on your dissertation, book, or article. It will help you write better, finish faster, and stay sane!

Try This: During your work sessions, take breaks to rest your eyes and stretch your hands, arms, shoulders, neck and back. If you can, take a brisk 15 minute walk outside, using your eyes to focus on items in the distance to counteract the stress of focusing on the computer screen or text on a page.

Healthfully yours,
Dissertation Diva

How to Focus and Actually Write

Dear Dissertation Diva,
I am supposed to be writing, but everytime I try to set aside time, I get antsy. Instead of writing, I check my email 1,000 times or get up to make tea, or play with the cats. You get the idea. My friends tell me to just sit there and "write." But if I do that, it gets pretty unbearable, and no words emerge. Bottom line, how can I get focused enough to actually write something?!

Sincerely,
Hyper Girl with a touch of ADD

Hyper Girl:

The dictum that the way to write your dissertation is to "spread crazy glue on your chair and sit down until you have 300 pages" does not work for energetic, ADD-addled smart people like yourself. Your body wants to move. You want contact with your friends. You may have mixed feelings about finishing or not know what to write next. While I cannot diagnose or treat ADD or other disorders (my lawyer makes me say that), as a dissertation coach, I can identify challenges and craft personalized strategies to help your particular situation.

I see three problems going on:

1. working from home, as indicated by getting up to make tea and play with the cats;
2. unchecked Internet access; and
3. the antsy, energetic quality that makes sitting still unbearable.

May I offer you three interrelated solutions?

First of all, dissertate outside the home. Anywhere with less domestic distractions. Coffeeshop, university library, public library, rented office, or shared office space at your department.

Second, pull the plug on your internet. Disable your wireless connection, unplug your modem, and/or work from a place with no internet access whatsoever.

Third, exercise and socialize before and after dissertation work sessions.

Integrating these three strategies into your day might look something like this:

In the morning, bring your laptop and notes, ride your bike to your favorite gym/karate/yoga/swim class, and work out hard. Eat a healthy snack, then ride your bike to your chosen dissertation work place, which allows you NO INTERNET. If you're in city with free wireless connections bouncing off all the buildings, then literally disable your connection. (On Macs: "Turn Airport OFF.") Another idea is to work from a cafe that requires you to pay for wireless internet access (i.e. Starbucks, Caribou, or your favorite local coffee shop). Plant yourself there for 2 hours -- a short duration with a clear stop time. So now you are too tired to want to run around, glad to be sitting after all that biking and exercising, nowhere near your cats, and you can't even check your email! Darn! What are you going to do now?

Write!

(If you are still wondering "how do I start?" I will be talking more about writing strategies later on in the blog. )

Finally, you seem like a social person, Hyper Girl. Friends are important to you, as they should be. End your day with plans with friends! Invite them over, cook dinner together, play with your cats, and make endless cups of herbal tea. Fun with friends will give you human interaction, something to look forward to while you are in the coffee shop or library drafting dissertation notes. You can promise yourself that you can talk about everything else besides how your dissertation is going. Because deep inside, you'll know it's going FINE.

Attentively Yours,
Dissertation Diva