thesis update ( 1

[houseelf]

Claudia,

I'll take a peek too,
sears_kelly@hotmail.com

Kelly

[Phoebe]

Claudia- I remember having to write and rewrite my thesis after my advisor said mine stuff didn't work. One night I awoke at 2 am with an idea and finally got it flowing correctly after days of no progress.

I would be happy to read it if you need another pair of eyes.

Good Luck!

jlp23@po.cwru.edu

Jennifer

kmmath@hotmail.com

I'm looking forward to it!

Kris

kris (& anyone else who did a master's thesis):
did you spend a lot of your time in a state of paralysis over what must still be completed? i can't stop thinking that if i spent as much time THINKING about what i need to do as i did actually WRITING that i would have been done months ago! not to mention that i am so burned out. the thought of writing another ten pages today makes me ill.

[Phoebe]

Writing my thesis extended into years because of that very thing. I did my best work when I woke up in the middle of the night with ideas. I spent so much time procrastenating and editing my work that I didn't make much headway until I absolutely ran out of time. Afterwards, I looked back and wondered why I thought it was so hard and wished I hadn't spent so much time worrying.

I made so many excuses that I made doing it much harder than it was. Like you Claudia, I was writing from long distance using email and fax machines for revisions. By the end, I think my advisor hated me. One of my committee members told me that a master's thesis is mostly about jumping through the hoops to get your degree. She said that she found errors in her dissertation looking back. You will do great.

I know what you mean by being burned out. Maybe you need to take a few days away from it to gain some new perspective. Can you work on another part of it like typing your bibliography or something and wait until you return from your trip to start again?

Jennifer

Claudia.....

When skiing down a mountain, focus only on the ground in front of you...if you look down and see how high up you are, you'll only scare yourself to death (and if you're like me, you'll fall face first down the mountain ).

I spent days, weeks...ruminating, planning, thinking instead of doing...Good Grief...why do you think this website has so many posts and pages I'm not kidding...

What you have to do is set a firm deadline for yourself. To solidify it, tell your profs..."I'll have my finished draft to you by X day". Then you have no choice but to stick to it. You've established the height of the mountain! Now divide up what you have left to do and plot your course...how many pages per day to write....of course, you are free to exceed that amount in case you need to take a day off!

Sometimes it also helped me to skip around. I had different chapters and so if I was really struggling with one area, I headed somewhere else and at least I felt like I was accomplishing something.

Don't let this get away from you. Sit down and figure out your dates...then tell US what your dates are. I'm going to read your chapter 1 tomorrow.....when are you sending me chapter 2, etc....because if you tell me...I'll nag you like a hound (just ask my husband ) until I see the completed work!

Hang in there...just forget about all emotion and force yourself to do it...it's worth it in the end....


Kris

You GO GIRL!







Kris

Thanks, ladies. It comforts me to know that I am not the only one who thinks more than writes. Being the natural procrastinator that I am, this just adds to the guilt complex. Well, I already typed the biblio and tables on an "off" day last week! I guess I could always play with the fonts! The good news is that I just emailed Chapter One to her five minutes ago. I am up to 48 pages including my biblio and tables. I just need one more chapter and the conclusion. This should not be more than 20 pages total. Not hard, huh? Yeah, right. I mean I am only TWENTY pages away from freedom!! Well, I'm sure she will have plenty of edits for me but editing is a whole lot easier than writing!!!

OK, deadlines. realistic deadlines is key! By next Tuesday, I will have Chapter Three completed and an outline of the conclusion. I'll read up a little tomorrow and do an outline on Thursday - then vacation - and write Sunday and Monday. Sound good??

***************THANKS*******************

Ummmmm...I didn't hurt your feelings with my comments, did I? I wasn't sure of what you wanted me to do....





Kris

Oh Kris, *NO*, you didn't hurt my feelings!! Are you kidding?

I am up to the ceiling with books and papers right now! I had emailed my latest draft to my advisor before we left for Charleston and she emailed me back on Saturday and really liked it?!?! She ordered me to make a lot of edits where she indicated and fedex it to her & my committee by this Friday (?!?!?!?! eeeeesh!) - AND start setting up a date for the defense before the 24th . . . of April! So, I am looking forward to an all-nighter tonight and tomorrow night. But as my title here goes, that is when I do my best work. . .as all procrastinators do! She either wants me out of her hair or she actually likes what I wrote. I *know* she read it from the zillions of comments that she made.



Soooooooooooooooo, now I'm flipping out over the defense. What should I expect?? The prospectus defense & orals were such a nightmare. What do you think this will be like?



I cannot believe that I *might* have my Master's in like a month. Unbelievable.

wwwwwwwooooooooohhhhhhooooooooooooooo!!!!



Kris

Any luck with your thesis??



Kris

Not yet. I'm sort of in a "holding pattern" which utterly stinks.

I'm waiting to hear from my advisor and two committee members because I refuse to enter another defense with them without having time to prepare for their comments and questions. This is what happened for the prospectus which is why I was completely stunned. I'm flying home this weekend with hopes that it will take place at some point next week. ?!? What should I do while I am just waiting?? I feel like a slacker right now.

Kris:

I hate to bring up bad memories but what was your thesis defense like? I *finally* have a date: this week! I can't believe it will soon be over!!

Good Luck Claudia!!! You will do great!!! Thumbs Up!!!



Christy