Sunday, January 24, 2010
BYOBBQ*
So this evening I hosted my first dinner party at my new apartment. It wasn't much of a dinner, just some slow-cooker pulled pork and assorted snacks. And I guess it wasn't that big of a party per se. Mostly it was a bunch of friends from work hanging out, chowing down, and watching the Saints beat the Vikings. But it was the first time that I had more than two visitors in my apartment at any once since I moved in last August, and I think it went pretty well.
The downside is that today I did not spend any time working on my dissertation. Indeed, for the past few weekends, my dissertation work has dwindled somewhat. It used to be that I would go in everyday, without fail, to try to write something, but this chapter has led me to new levels of...frustration? distraction? some combination of the two? I'm not quite sure, but this chapter has been quite stressful. I set myself writing goals which I consider quite reasonable (2-3 pages/day, for example), and then get flummoxed when I fall behind schedule. This leads to more stress, the feeling that I need to make up for lost time, and, well, you can see how things could cycle out of control.
Consequently, I've decided to try taking one day off from my dissertation each week. Perhaps, the thinking goes, taking some time away from the office will help me refocus or at least help cut down on the stress. So far the results of this experiment have been decidedly mixed. When I have an activity in mind or am interacting with other people, then it's somewhat easier to take my mind off of my work. Otherwise, I tend to wind up sitting around and worrying about the future. Because no matter how I justify the decision to take a breather, the work remains. Dissertations do not vanish just because you turn away for a moment. They linger in the background, waiting to strike...
On the one hand, this can be rather intimidating. On the other, given the fact that the dissertation will be there whether I enjoy myself or not, I'm inclined to try to make the best of a potentially rotten situation. In other words, eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we write!
* No, I'm not going to go for the obvious Simpsons joke. Maybe in the next post.
So this evening I hosted my first dinner party at my new apartment. It wasn't much of a dinner, just some slow-cooker pulled pork and assorted snacks. And I guess it wasn't that big of a party per se. Mostly it was a bunch of friends from work hanging out, chowing down, and watching the Saints beat the Vikings. But it was the first time that I had more than two visitors in my apartment at any once since I moved in last August, and I think it went pretty well.
The downside is that today I did not spend any time working on my dissertation. Indeed, for the past few weekends, my dissertation work has dwindled somewhat. It used to be that I would go in everyday, without fail, to try to write something, but this chapter has led me to new levels of...frustration? distraction? some combination of the two? I'm not quite sure, but this chapter has been quite stressful. I set myself writing goals which I consider quite reasonable (2-3 pages/day, for example), and then get flummoxed when I fall behind schedule. This leads to more stress, the feeling that I need to make up for lost time, and, well, you can see how things could cycle out of control.
Consequently, I've decided to try taking one day off from my dissertation each week. Perhaps, the thinking goes, taking some time away from the office will help me refocus or at least help cut down on the stress. So far the results of this experiment have been decidedly mixed. When I have an activity in mind or am interacting with other people, then it's somewhat easier to take my mind off of my work. Otherwise, I tend to wind up sitting around and worrying about the future. Because no matter how I justify the decision to take a breather, the work remains. Dissertations do not vanish just because you turn away for a moment. They linger in the background, waiting to strike...
On the one hand, this can be rather intimidating. On the other, given the fact that the dissertation will be there whether I enjoy myself or not, I'm inclined to try to make the best of a potentially rotten situation. In other words, eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we write!
* No, I'm not going to go for the obvious Simpsons joke. Maybe in the next post.
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