Week One: Trial by Fire

There is no better way to start a new adventure than to jump right in. The cliche quote for this is “trial by fire”. This quote accurately describes the first week of a doc program. Orientation is over and it is time to get to work. The wonder of what the experience will feel like and what the work load will be is finally over. It is time to see what the reality that lies ahead really looks like, ready or not. Here were a few happenings that are helpful to note as the week passed by.

• Life is now written in APA format (Sixth ed). Notice from this point on each sentence now has two spaces between it rather than one. Get comfortable with the manual and ear mark the pages that are used most frequently. The sooner this adjustment is made, the better.

• Prepare to read, and then read some more. There is a lot of information to absorb when setting the foundation for future study.
• Ask yourself why each piece you are reading was assigned.
• What contextual value does each piece have to the course and to the study of the discipline globally?
• Find a way to take notes to quick reference later and stick to it.

Tips so good that I cannot take credit for them.

• If you know what time a day you work best plan to schedule time your other commitments around that. If you happen to be a morning person, make sure you are doing your academic work in the morning if possible. The same goes for the evening. Use you best time to commit to your purpose, learning and ultimately graduating.

• “Begin with the end in mind” (Covey, 1989, p. 95). If you know what your research interests are apply them to as many work assignments as possible to start to get exposure to areas of interest. This helps to narrow things down some and learn how future research might be further adapted to close in on a potential dissertation topic.
• To take this a step further a resource that was suggested to me was the following book to start the process of the dissertation from the first day.
• Single, P. B. (2010). Demystifying dissertation writing, a streamlined process from selecting a topic to the final text. Sterling, PA: Stylus

Techniques I have tried that may or may not be worth considering using.

• 20/10.
• Some of the materials that have to be read are rather heavy in content. To keep focus I broke down the reading into twenty minute lengths and then took a 10 minute break to rest and get something else small done. This kept my focus on the material for the time I was reading and was far more productive than trying to stay focused on a piece for hours at a time. This might sound a little elementary but it was helpful in being productive and maintaining focus amidst long study periods.

• Find quiet places to go that will keep you motivated to keep working and change up the environment in which you study. This might help to keep you fresh even when that is far from the truth.

Quote that best represents this week.

• "We must face tomorrow and whatever it may hold with determination, joy and bravery" (Helm, 2007).

That is all for week one. Stay tuned for further updates.

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.

Resources:

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American psychological association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people. New York: Free Press.

Drake, J., Kahane, N., Miller, J. (Producers), & Helm, Z. (Director). (2007). Mr. Magorium’s wonder emporium [Motion picture]. United States: Mandate Pictures.

Single, P. B. (2010). Demystifying dissertation writing, a streamlined process from selecting a topic to the final text. Sterling, PA: Stylus