Taking Care of You
-
I turned in my full draft to my committee at the beginning of January. I had done everything “right.”I planned ahead.I mapped out revisions.I blocked time off work to respond to feedback quickly.I felt organized and prepared. And then… things shifted. There wasn’t much feedback at first. Then, within a short window, I had to…
-
You can plan all you want. Color-code the calendar. Block the time. Take the day off. Line everything up so the next step feels clear, responsible, and earned. Planning matters, and it’s something I take seriously. And still, you have to stay flexible, especially when your work depends on other people. Today was a good…
-
I’m taking every Monday off in February. No burnout. No resolutions. Just winter, planning ahead, and writing my dissertation with care.
-
Dissertation work asks more of your brain than most people realize. It is not just writing. It is sustained decision-making, conceptual alignment, synthesis, and constant evaluation of whether your thinking is “good enough” to move forward. This level of cognitive load cannot be carried continuously without consequence. When we treat breaks as optional or indulgent,…
-
I am deep in the thick of research right now. My days are a mix of work, interviews, analytic memos, and everything that comes with trying to finish a dissertation while also showing up for the people who matter most. It is a strange balance. Some days it feels seamless and other days it feels…
-
Today I am starting something I have not allowed myself to do in a long time. I am taking a full week off with no work tasks, no dissertation writing, no interview scheduling, no coding, and no academic responsibilities at all. Just rest. It feels strange to type that because, like many of us in…
-
This past week, my sister text me to ask a question about a birthday and stated she couldn’t look at Facebook (which she would have done to double check) because she deleted hers. I found myself jealous. Then, I realized that meant it was time to be done with Facebook. There’s a quiet moment that…
-
🌿 Taking Care of the Person Behind the Dissertation Somewhere along the dissertation journey, I realized I had become a human doing instead of a human being. I was managing outlines, citations, deadlines, committee feedback, and life responsibilities all with a smile that said, “I’ve got this.” But underneath it, I was running on caffeine,…
The Dissertation Diaries 