by thetendingyear | Nov 6, 2018 | Dissertation, Graduate School, Project Management, Writing
I usually open the semester by asking my students why they are taking my Composition course. A handful of students will share that they are genuinely excited to improve as writers, but the most common answer I receive is “because I have to.” My university requires all...
by thetendingyear | Oct 16, 2018 | Dissertation, Graduate School, Habit formation, Mental Health, Project Management, Slow Living, Time Management, Workaholism, Writing
Do you ever try to start your creative engine and feel like you are met with the mental equivalent of sputters, grinding gears, and high pitched screeching? Do you ever begin a project eagerly, only to find yourself saying “there is no way I’ll ever be able to...
by thetendingyear | Sep 18, 2018 | Dissertation, Graduate School, Project Management, Writing
My theme this month is a fun one: live the life I want to live. In brainstorming for last week’s focus, I asked myself two questions: What do I want? What do I need to do to get that thing? Unsurprisingly, my answers hearkened back to one of my main goals for The...
by thetendingyear | Aug 14, 2018 | Dissertation, Graduate School, Writing
I spent last week in Los Angeles working with the Lisa Ben papers at the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives. I was one of nine (out of 60!) applicants awarded a 2018 LGBTQ Research Fellowship, courtesy of the ONE Archives Foundation, Inc. Spending five days...
by thetendingyear | Jun 5, 2018 | Addiction & Recovery, Dissertation, Graduate School, Productivity, Workaholism
Most graduate students learn how to condense their dissertation projects into a one sentence “elevator pitch” when someone asks us, “So, what do you study?” We are also just as likely to field the question “Why do you work so much?” with a rehearsed answer. My own...
by thetendingyear | May 21, 2018 | Chronic Pain, Graduate School, Mental Health, Workaholism
This image is by the artist Layla Durrani. You can see her artwork on Instagram and on her website. I love black and white thinking. I love rules, instructions, how-to guides, and most of all I love doing a “good job.” Sometimes, due to pain or illness or overlapping...
