We are 14 days into the New Year, and you bet this read will come in handy. As the New Year dawned, did you nobly resolve to dissertate every single day? Did you remember to vow to socialize less and turn off the TV early? Perhaps you also listed daily morning runs before breakfast to boost productivity? Did you pat yourself on the back for your new commitment to shaping up your dissertation or yourself? Not so fast. The bad news is that chances are, a significant 4 out of 5, you will give up by Valentine’s Day. Not my words, but according to research by researcher and scholar Marti Hope Gonzales, Ph.D., at the University of Minnesota. Good intentions don't guarantee success. However, there's hope! You can still set yourself up to be among 20% who succeed. Let’s keep those resolutions by embracing these year-round special tips, shall we? 1. Focus on Just One New Habit at a Time Before you jump into action, take time to plan. The main challenge most of us face is not a lack of goals; rather, it’s that we tend to have too many goals. The best way forward? Focus on one change at a time towards completing your dissertation. Developing new habits eats up your daily reserve of willpower, so don't spread it too thin. Break it down into small steps. 2. Boost Your Motivation Frame the goal in terms of what you will do rather than what you will stop doing. Take time to reflect on how this change complements your values and overall goals to enhance your interest as a doctoral candidate. "Do everything you can to keep your personal goals manageable and meaningful, and you will see the tasks become less aversive. 3. Monitor Your Progress Find a user-friendly way to monitor your progress on your resolution. It's easy to forget to follow through on a new habit, and unfortunately, that spells disaster. You can tack up an old-fashioned wall calendar or pick from the mushrooming Android and iPhone habit tracker apps to keep track of the progress made and celebrate all the small and big wins while at it.

Greetings everyone, I just published an article on qualitative coding on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/qualitative-coding-developing-common-schema-across-three-kotowski-esmdf. @Ian Anderson and @Lujain Saleh Since both of you are the closest to the data analysis phase, I think it is definitely worth having a read over. Everyone else, I highly recommend you read it as it will get you thinking about what your data and analysis needs are. @Stephanie Burke since your study is shaping up to be a phenomenological study, the section on Moustakas approach will be very valuable to you. Please let me know your thoughts and feel free to share/repost it on Linkedin.

Greetings everyone, Just a friendly reminder that I am starting up our Doctoral Masterclasses and Seminars on LinkedIn this evening at 7PM EST. If you are free, do stop by and be sure to invite any other doctoral candidates you know and to like/share the post on LinkedIn. Attached are the slides for tonight and below is the Zoom link to join. Hope to see everyone later this evening! Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88612176418?pwd=GmQScXz2vVs6E876b1lplx7UBygt9e.1 -Ryan

Hello everyone, today we have more insights on our Wednesday Dossier series. I will share a few things about dissertation inertia and how to overcome it as indicated by the title of this post. Shall we? "An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion." – Isaac Newton's First Principle. This Law of Inertia can impact your dissertation progress significantly. Overcoming dissertation inertia is tough, especially with distractions like social media and the allure of low-effort tasks. As a doctoral student, you might struggle with inertia because you've been accustomed to external structures since kindergarten—schedules, deadlines, and feedback kept you on track. Writing your dissertation is likely the first time you're expected to generate your own momentum. The good news? Once you overcome that initial inertia, it becomes easier to keep moving. Let’s explore strategies to help you get started and maintain your progress! 1️⃣ Build your writing habit by starting small. Don’t be hard on yourself for struggling to write consistently. Start by dedicating time to it, as a novice runner would. Set a daily writing goal for the first week, like thirty minutes, and block that time on your calendar. Use a habit tracker in a visible spot to log your sessions, adding fun with markers or stickers. Celebrate your progress and gradually increase your writing time. Remember: To build a habit, showing up consistently matters more than output. 2️⃣ Be strategic about when you work. ​The time you spend on your dissertation is important, as everyone has different circadian rhythms that influence peak alertness. Successful academics often tackle significant tasks during their "prime time," typically in the morning, while routine activities are saved for the mid-afternoon. Have you identified your own "prime time"? Are you more of a night owl or a morning lark? To maximize focus, set boundaries by giving yourself permission to say "no" and "not now" as often as needed.

Hey everyone, I wanted to know if everyone would be interested in me doing Ethical Use of AI in Doctoral Research workshop sometime this month. Please reply to the poll!