It's been 9 days since school ended and I could turn my gaze onto the wealth of data I collected for my dissertation this past Spring. I've worked 7 of the 9 days...clocking in anywhere from 4-5 hours per day. I work for 90 minutes then take a 30 minute break...repeating this process three times. My breaks include but are not limited to yoga, reading literature and of course...eating! Most of the work I'm doing...I'm doing at home though I have "gone on the road" a few times...once to visit with some colleagues and once...just to get out of the house! I knew I was going to really enjoy this part of the process. I say this because the data collection phase of my dissertation was such a rich, rewarding moment in the ongoing evolution of "Tony the researcher." I've been posting updates of my progress this summer to Twitter which in turn gets pushed to Facebook. My school friends tease me...telling me to calm down and enjoy the summer. They are very supportive and impressed with my efforts but don't truly understand what it all entails. That's ok...I don't expect them to fully understand. The fact that they are supportive means the world to me! My friends outside of school...several who have already attained their Phd's and/or are currently working on them...cheer me on which is equally appreciated by me!
As I mentioned above, I've worked 7 out of a possible 9 days (not including weekends). I bring this up only because it's relevant to the workflow. I've given myself permission to take one week day off...to re-charge, and relax. I'm finding it crucial to my efforts. On any given workday...I notice that I'm the "strongest" in the earlier sessions. As the day progresses my mind gets muddy, blurred by all that I am trying to do. The mini-breaks in between sessions help but to be able to disconnect (for a full day) from the computer screen and pages of data that I've a-massed...I think it's really important. Even though I struggle to give myself this time to re-charge and relax...I find that I'm dealing with issues of guilt, that I'm not working and as a result missing an opportunity to move things forward. But then I think...this path has never been...nor will it ever be...linear. It's been full of twists and turns...stops and re-starts...both on a macro and micro level.
I am so happy that summer has finally arrived! To have uninterrupted blocks of time to do what I'm doing...words cannot describe the feeling! I'm equally happy to have the opportunity to give myself time to re-charge and relax. This is all about balance and balance only comes with reflection!
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