Slow and dirty torture
Michigan Alum calls it slow and dirty tortute. Stanford Alum calls it academic hazing. I just call it quals.
As higher education PhD students, we’re expected to write three ten-page papers. The first question we’re given is supposed to be tailored to our specific research interest. The second is a general question on something we should have learned in our higher education coursework and additional reading. The third paper is a critique of an article pulled from a major higher education journal. Three days. Three ten-page papers. At the end of it, we get to advance and start working on the dissertation proposal. Well, that’s if you pass. If you fail, you can retake the exam. If you fail again, you’re out.
It’s just an exam. It shouldn’t be so bad, right? And even if I did fail once (or twice), leaving my program wouldn’t be so bad. I mean, who really wants to spend the last few years of her twenties in school?
Of course, I don’t want to fail. I want to be prepared so that when I see the questions I’ll be set and know exactly how to answer them. In order to prepare, I’m working with six other students including Michigan Alum and Stanford Alum to draft abstracts of important articles and books on a plethora of higher education topics. This part of the quals preparation is simple. The tough part will be working on my worst habit: procrastinating. If the weekend of the first-year exam is any indication, I have a lot self-improvement I need to do. Here’s a list of all the things I did during that 3-day weekend to avoid writing the two 6-page papers:
- Eat lots of candy.
- Visit Alfred (for the hookup!) at the Coffee Bean.
- Listen to Dodger games or follow the play by plays online.
- Go to a Dodger game with A.
- Go to dinner at a Los Feliz diner full of hipster kids with A post Dodger game.
- Write blog posts and read blogs.
- Clean my room.
- Wash the dishes.
- Play solitaire and freecell.
- Take random pictures.
- Sleep.
- Have dinner with my mom and play with the puppy.
- Mess around with Isa and her friend.
- Go for a jog.
- Change clothes a lot, fix my hair, and shower more than I needed to.
- Look at photos on Flickr.
- Write haiku.
- Chat on IM with a few friends.
- Catch up on celebrity gossip in Us magazine.
- Eat breakfast.
- And check and write email.
I have ten weeks to find mis ganas, mentally prepare myself and try out different strategies for using my time wisely. Wish me luck (or give me useful advice, I need it!).
go...
When I studied for the bar, I found going to the public library (not the university library) useful. I didn’t know anyone there and I wasn’t really too familiar with its sounds or sights anymore (I hadn’t studied there since high school). It worked out pretty well in terms of making me focus. Plus, watching all the HSers trying to study for APs and SATs kind of helped keep me motivated.
Do you have to write out your answers in longform, or do you type it out?
At the risk of souding brusque, I would point out that you can always drop out but I don’t think you seriously want that (nor should you).
As much as I loved my days in higher education, I always found the bellyaching from that portion of the student body for which everything was drama irritating.
Just do it.
The fact that you’re studying with Standford alum is worrisome though. That’s a sure guarantee that you’re going to fail. I’m kidding.
Go Bears!
Forgot to mention. Under no circumstances should you go study at the public library. Noisy people, noisy teens, weird looking homeless people, dirty tables and chairs, etc.
Whoever made that suggestion hasn’t been in a public library in a while.
i could not have gotten through my exams without mis amigas! we rolled 5 deep and made a pact to force each other to be productive (i.e. not chat the hours away). i’m NOT a library person–which, i know, is really bad for a historian to admit. so me and my grad student homies camped out at coffeeshops–the ones with the plugs and free internet–and only took short breaks every now and then. it was good because we could ask each other questions and talk through ideas. and if someone showed up who was being too chatty, we’d call them out, or i’d just move to a different coffeeshop to do work. i did spend a lot on coffee and snacks. i also gained a few pounds in the process. but it was SO worth it.
One thing I’ve found to help with my procrastination is keeping a list. I keep it on my desk and write down all the things I need to do. (I break down big projects into smaller chunks.) I love being able to cross something off my list. It makes me feel so good and I feel like I’ve accomplished so much when I cross off everything on my list.
I also reward myself for sticking around and doing work by listening to my favorite music.
Regardless, you’re going to do great Dr. Cindy.
uh, you are my long lost sister.
Maybe you can motivate me to write one of my own qualifying exams… or we can post something on our blogs that really doesn’t relate to what we are trying to write the big D on.
whenever i can’t write i go to the lucy’s on sunset and alvarado. they have a starbucks there and for some reason i can sit there and work for hours. but be sure and bring quarters for the bathroom.
I feel your pain! The only cure I have found effective in counteracting procrastination- is to take on even more daunting tasks than what I am trying to avoid.
Oh, and I recently read that we actually do need sleep to synthesize our ideas, so make sure you rest up before taking on those Q’s!
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