D-Day Has Come and Gone

It dawned on me that I have completely neglected this blog. I started a new job (in a fabulous location), and begin working from EARLY in the morning until late at night to get my dissertation done. However, last semester I FINALLY defended! I am SO grateful to be DONE! The relief wasn't immediate because I had some revisions. My need to focus on those overshadowed any feelings of relief I might have otherwise experienced. I was back to working non-stop from morning to night. I did experience a great deal of relief and elation when my major professor finally gave me the last thumbs up. She is wonderful, but she doesn't settle for anything less than the best so I knew I had really accomplished something at that point. Right before she told me the final change, she said, "Now remember! Your study isn't really done until you submit it for publication." I couldn't believe it. My journey had finally reached that point. Many days, I never thought I would ever see that day. Then, the time finally came for me to submit it to the Grad School. I sat in my new office until 11:58 p.m. on the due date. In retrospect, I wonder now if in some sick way I didn't really want to let it go. I nitpicked over it until the very last second--to the point that I later had to alert the Grad School that it indeed was submitted on time. They just laughed and said leave it to you to submit it at the last possible minute. Anyway, when I woke up the next morning after submitting that thing, it was like Christmas morning when you are 6. I didn't expect the joy. I should have expected it, though. For the first time in nearly 5 years, I finally had a day when I didn't have to think about a dissertation. It was amazing. If there is anyone else out there, keep pushing. You can do it if I can. And it is worth it in the end. I promise.

Yesterday and Today

I have spent the last two days working on my manuscript. All of the sudden all of these articles are being published out of the woodwork dealing directly with my topic. Of course, I have to add them. This means that while I should only be rearranging words at this point, somehow I am back to reading articles. Goodness gracious! At least they are interesting, but this is getting on my nerves.

Stats Horror

Worked on data analysis today. It was irritating. I am shifting gears tomorrow and hoping for better success.

Something is Better...

Today has been a continual string of meetings and e-mails. However, I managed to squeeze in a little dissertation work at the end somehow. It wasn't a large amount and maybe not even the highest quality work, but at this point something is better than nothing in my book. I am mildly freaking out because I missed some articles that examine my constructs of interest. I am going to try to remain calm, though. These previous studies do not seem to be exact duplicates of my study. Even if they were, you still need multiple studies to confirm an idea right? Good grief.

Working

Since I wrote last, I have taken a fresh look at two central meta-analytic reviews concerning my topic. I am glad I did because there are some articles that I missed before. I have begun to seek out these publications so that I can include them in this final version of my paper. *Sigh*

Getting Back on Track

Well, it should be obvious that my 10-day plan got cut down by 4 days. There are a few reasons for this. One of them was a very good distraction, so I welcomed that. However, I was also too ambitious in my goals for each day. My new strategy that seems to be working well is keeping a documentation of the things that I have actually gotten done on my dissertation rather than an overly ambitious list of what I want to get done. The new way is better for my morale right now and makes me feel that I am capable to continue. I am more focused on the progress rather than the length of the journey.

Today, I read some material to obtain a better understanding of my data analysis. I re-read a brief article and found that it has a place in my paper. I found some new articles that will not appear in this paper but that I will need in the future. I realized that something is wrong with my ILL account, so I need to check on that. I evaluated the semi-finaly changes I need to make to my lit review. Finally, I made a list of some questions I need to ask my stats consultant. I feel good about today, and hopefully I can feel even better about tomorrow. My main goal is to not let a day go by without doing something, no matter how small. I can't let everything else take away from this dissertation! Gotta keep pushing!

Time flies when you're running like crazy!!!

Hi guys. Hope all is well. I'm here running like crazy as always. I can't believe that its been so long since I last posted. I would love to report that I've been working away at my dissertation but that isn't true. The truth is that I've been trying to find a rhythm and it just isn't coming. Life keeps getting in the way. However, Erica recently let me borrow a book titled 'Writing your dissertation in 15 minutes a day'. It has given me a new bolt of energy. However, I haven't quite yet been able to apply it. I planned to start this week with 2 hours of writing every morning but that hasn't worked just yet. However, I am committed to finding a way of making this work. Keep praying for me and I'll keep praying for you. Hope to see you guys at the Women's Resource Center Today.