A Timeline

It has begun. What I like to call Dissertation Beast Mode.

On Thursday, I made some decisions regarding what needs to happen to finish my dissertation thanks to the help of a wonderful faculty member. And it started with setting a very aggressive timeline:

• January - Draft to committee members.
• March - Proposal to committee/oral exams.
• May - Begin data collection.
• October/November - Defend.
• December - Graduate.

What does this mean? It means that I may be saying no to some other things. I am committed to my current volunteer opportunities, but won't be taking on any more. There may be less fun things on my plate. I may live in the same house as Chris, but we may spend a lot less time together. Sad face. But my reality is that this is the only way that I am going to get it done. I cannot be a student forever. And I refuse to be happy with "ABD." It also means that some of the other 30B430 goals are on hold. Blogging may decrease too. Dissertating kinda has to be a goal all by itself. This is the goal that I care about the most.

Next steps include setting smaller benchmarks. Reading a lot. And writing something everyday. One of the best pieces of advice that I have received is to write something everyday, even if it is only a sentence. It keeps the work fresh in your mind. Which may have been the hardest part of stopping and starting again.

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