Unconsciously incompetent!

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  Amanda said,

  Hi guys,

  I can really relate to this and I’m going to ask for some help.

  I have 1 1/2 chapters of my PhD thesis left to write, and have to have it done by July 26. But I am so bored, so unmotivated and so convinced that I don’t have anything worthwhile to say, and that I’m dumb (!), I think I need a coach.

  Any suggestions?

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  Paul said,

  Hi Amanda,

  Thanks for your comment. Sounds like you have got so far already but just that last little bit is being a really hard nut to crack! Yes a coach would be able to help you through this but I’ll try my best to give you some suggestions as you requested.

  Break it down: How many days per week do you want to spend working on your thesis? Be realistic here. Think about how much time per day you can comfortably work without getting too distracted ( see a previous podcast where Gina sharpens her pencils! ).

  Once you know how much time you can commit to, divide the chapters in to paragraphs, sentences or a word count so you can determine how much you need to do per session to have completed this in time.

  Now you should roughly know how much work you need to do and how often you need to do it. Now again be honest with yourself, does that sound achievable? Do you need to tweak anything to make it more realistic?

  Once you have fine tuned your plan, write it down in a short statement and read it aloud a few times. Does it sit comfortably with you? Yes- Great on to the next stage, No- do a bit more tweaking!

  Now you have your plan and have accepted and committed to it. Think about what you will do about scheduling your time. What will you need to do to prepare? Who needs to be told about this so they give you the time and space you’ll need to focus? What will be distracting for you and how will you combat it? How will you celebrate your progress each day/week and finally upon completion? This kind of prep work will help you slide naturally into the work without getting caught off guard and failing to do anything.

  A good test at this point is to ask yourself, when this is all done and dusted, how will it make me feel? What will it mean to me? What did I find hard about doing this?

  Lastly, but strangely firstly…. what do you have to do right now to start the ball rolling? When I say now, I do mean right now, or at least within the next 24 hours. Often people tell me the first thing they need to do is XYZ, but I always ask, OK to do XYZ what do you have to do before that so that you hit XYZ running? Hopefully you’ll think of something so simple, easy and obvious that it will be at this point to find the mists have cleared and you now have a structure laid out in front of you that seems strikingly easy to follow!

  Let me know how you get on, either by re-posting here or contact me directly via email paul at actionpodcast dot com.

  Good luck!

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  Amanda said,

  Thanks, Paul. I am going to sit down and try this. I work full time (manager of anthropological research in a small g’ment authority) so I am fitting this in on weekends, spare time at work and home. My workplace is very supportive. However, I really need to lick this final bit and after 10 years (yes, ten years!) I just want it done and off my back.

  Thanks so much and I’ll let you know tomorrow night what happened.

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  Amanda said,

  Oops. There’s my website with the correct link. Gee, I’m a doofus tonight!

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  Sam said,

  Hi Amanda,

  It is brilliant that you’ve found our podcast helpful, and that it has enabled you to ask for help on this immediate challenge!
  You’ve done some great work in getting this far with your PhD, and in working with Paul’s action steps which you’ve shared with us via email – so I’d just like to add a couple of extra observations & questions to Paul’s initial great plan!

  - Are you doing this PhD ‘for yourself’ or for someone else? An external source of motivation can be a real drain on energy levels, and make it hard to sustain action. Chris wrote a blog on the different types of motivation which may help you to get a feel for where you’re at with this, and decide if it is worth exploring what the internal-pull type motivation for your PhD would be. http://www.actionpodcast.com/2009/04/the-secret-to-discovering-your-ultimate-motivation-749/#more-749

  - What would a really exciting, inspired end to your PhD thesis be? What would it look like? What would these last 2 chapters need to be like to really bring the entire thesis off the page and into energetic substance?

  - It sounds like you have both a very supportive workplace, and partner, to help you achieve this and finally free up the energy that has been tied into it for 10 years! The relief this will bring you will be phenomenal! In what ways can you make the most of your workplace’s support during the next 5 weeks in order to complete your thesis? Making the most of all resources & support available to you now will pay off for everyone with the energy you’ll free up once this is done – & remember: there is always a ‘cost’ of not utilising support that is available.

  - You may well come across a hurdle, distraction or equally important priority that could override even your best intentions to achieve your writing targets at some point during your plan. You mentioned a couple of options already for working this into your schedule realistically. What contingency can you build into your plan? What other options come to mind?

  - The incremental distractions of the internet can really eat into available time. What does using the internet give you? How is it serving you? What *specific* topics would help with your writing of these last 2 chapters? If you have a specific aim for the articles you’re looking for, then it will take a lot less time to find them than via general browsing; & will help you get clear on what is taking you closer to your target of completing the PhD, vs what is taking you away from it. Then your choices become clearer!

  - How hard are you being on yourself? The thing that struck me the most, was that you are perhaps beating yourself up with a big (figurative) stick for even the smallest blips (like your website address being wrong!). If you were to adopt a large feather instead of this big stick – just for the next five weeks – how would that be? What would be different?

  Paul & I are excited to be helping you through this, both cheering you on with support & providing constructive challenge when necessary. We look forward to hearing how you progress over the next 5 weeks!

  With love & curiosity,
  Sam

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