See, if you hang out in the grad office and chat with your friends and you all get an email from the Uni about graduation application deadlines… you all start doing some math.
Let’s work backwards, shall we?
- Graduation Goal: April 31st 2005.
- Need 30 days to complete revisions and get thesis bound and take care of some paperwork stuff so must defend by: April 1st.
- Uni needs six weeks to schedule defense so completed thesis must be into Graduate Studies office by: Feb 15th.
- Thesis committee revisions and feedback process takes at the least six weeks. Therefore rough draft must be into committee by: Jan 1st.
- Seeing as there is this whole family/Christmas/gathering thing that goes on, I head home and must actually get my rough draft into committee by: Dec 16th.
It is November 3rd.
Bugger.
Need to do:
- Wrap up chapters four and five (both are sitting at about 20 pages). They really just need to be fluffed up a bit and given some polish. Goal of 22-23pgs each.
- Conclusion. Goal of 5-8pgs.
- Introduction. Goal of 5-8pgs.
- Revamp Chapter One (kinda done, but kinda needs work because a whole lot has changed since I wrote it the first time and it is too long at 25pgs). Goal to cut to 15-20pgs.
- First run of revisions. This is Chapters One -Five, Intro and Conclusion. My Chapters Two and Three are 'done' and currently sitting at 30 and 25pgs, respectively. Yes, my thesis is too long. Why do you ask?
My thesis should end up at 100 pages. I'm currently running at the 140 mark...
I really really really want to get to my first run of revisions by Dec 1st. Dear me, please do this. Please get to 1st revisions by Dec 1st…. please!
So my mottos are as follows:
- Good Enough
- This is not my PhD
- Do not read further sources, just footnote the bastards
- Min 3hrs a day of writing, every day.
I'm currently working on this thing five days a week - but I'm going to cut out the quality control and just go for finishing. Because I'm not paying this university for another freaken semester of tuition.
What I know is enough. And the main thing I know is that I want to finish this and get the hell outta here!
If I don't phone or email you for the next six weeks, I'm very very sorry.
posted by jenn at 9:58 a.m.
8 Comments:
Incredibly good luck. You can do this!
I know you can do this. And I think you are bang on with your approach. Focus on finishing: don't get caught up in expanding by looking at new sources, and don't get caught up in perfectionism. You do good work, trust that, and just keep moving ahead.
Go Team Jenn!
Jim
PS I hope maybe I get _some_ calls and emails over the next six weeks. :-O
Go team Jenn!
You can do this, I know you can [huggles]
And to keep you going, [smooches]
At least you know what you need to do, by when, and you have a list. That's the start.
Helen
This is Dani.
*beats you soundly* Get writing.
Please send me your thesis, as I would like to read it.
You may send to missionbear@helen.ocn.ne.jp if you so desire.
Firstly - breathe!
Secondly - your plan sounds good. You're at a point where more information would probably be overload. I think it's sensible to just stick to what you have, and get writing. The sooner to get it finished.
Good luck! I know you can do it, I have every faith in you. [hug]
I am very impressed that you have a timeline. I coulda used timelines. Though in my experience, condensing information is a lot harder than filling in information. You probably couldn't just mess with fonts and margins? ;)
I wish you the best!
well, I could, I dunno.... I already rub your shoulders and help you mock people you don't like. Sometimes I play with your hair. If you want I can come bearing more presents (heehee... bears!) and coffee. Speaking of.... goshdarnit I hate coming to school during the weekend! I love it how the caferteria is closed. Hey, all you people who depend on the caferteria for food, guess you just have to eat cold stuff and probably junk food allllll weekend. That just doesn't seem right. Wow, tangent. What am I talking about? Oh right, my sister's breakdown. Okay, well, as you can see Jen, lots of support, and in some cases, offerings of physical harm, so wheeeeeeeeeeeeee! No matter what, it's all good and pear pimples for hairy fishnuts will always exist. heehee.
Bananagirl here -
I feel your pain sister. Best piece of advice from a prof I have here at U of W? "This is not your magnum opus - this is a credentialing tool - don't be a perfectionist."
I always hand in drafts that, while having been edited, are somewhat rough. I figure that my prof will rip them apart anyways - so why get them perfect pre-handing in? ; )
I find setting a page goal (3-4 pages/day) helps. Not to mention - working 6 days a week when a deadline is looming - using the 6th day for review and revision.
Absolutely stop reading at this point - go with your gut - argue your point of view - and write, write, write. Revisions and rewriting will happen post committee commentary.
And now back to my own enormous project.
Good luck girlie - and keep the faith!
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