Pushing hard, or letting go
Nov. 30th, 2009 09:47 pmHmm. On the one hand, I would reeeally like to have my prelim paper in G's hands within the next three weeks, so that I can relax properly during the holidays. I want to defend it as early as possible in winter term, and move on to my dissertation.
On the other hand, that's probably not realistic. I also have a big push on my grant at work, and it's very time consuming to organize a lit review of 150+ papers and two original conceptual models. Maybe I'd be happier if I made the entire process more pleasurable but let it stretch out into a few more weeks.
Unfortunately, if I want to graduate in December 2010, I'd need to have data to analyze from spring term, which means getting a study to the IRB by mid-February, which means defending a dissertation proposal by late January. Urgh.
I guess the question is: Would a really, really intense push within the next week pay off? Or would it just wear me out - should I instead focus on keeping the project fun, a manageable part of daily life?
On the other hand, that's probably not realistic. I also have a big push on my grant at work, and it's very time consuming to organize a lit review of 150+ papers and two original conceptual models. Maybe I'd be happier if I made the entire process more pleasurable but let it stretch out into a few more weeks.
Unfortunately, if I want to graduate in December 2010, I'd need to have data to analyze from spring term, which means getting a study to the IRB by mid-February, which means defending a dissertation proposal by late January. Urgh.
I guess the question is: Would a really, really intense push within the next week pay off? Or would it just wear me out - should I instead focus on keeping the project fun, a manageable part of daily life?