Project Update: PhD

I thought I should write a post commemorating the fact that I finished my PhD. It seemed appropriate considering I’ve been doing the PhD as long as I’ve been keeping the blog, and the blog has (in a tiny part) been about me getting stuff done (particularly the PhD).

Photo Credit: FotoBart

I had some idea of writing about the things I learned (not 100% sure what those are), or possibly to sum up the project I worked on (don’t really want to do that yet), or maybe to give some suggestions about PhDs in general (which I don’t have). So for now, I'm just happy to say: I'm Done!

I worked a long time, fairly hard, but slowly, and managed to finish, mostly refusing to stop. I’m proud of myself. It may not be all I had envisioned, but it is finished. Someone once pointed out to me that the PhD is supposed to be the beginning of your research career, not the end, and I’m trying to keep that in mind now.

I didn’t get my PhD to become a researcher or to become a teacher. I mostly worked towards it because I was interested in the work. I’m still interested in that work, and some of that work will filter along here in the shape of smaller projects. I also enjoyed the journey, for the most part. There was stress, and I stayed put a bit too long. 

I feel extremely free to take on new projects. To some extent, that’s a statement that practically anything I take on can’t be as large as the PhD, so I should probably be able to do it. I am also enjoying being rid of that stress every time I sit to do anything, that I should be doing something else. It’s not a cure all, that stress is still there, but I feel like I’m more able to compartmentalize my time and stop working when it’s time to stop working.

Practically, I’m pleased to say this caps of the revival of #nafyofuthmo. Project in the books (literally), done and dusted. I’m a bit sad though, because: how fun is it to say #nafyofuthmo. (Seriously say it out loud, naf-yo-futh-mo). I’ll have to find some other snazzy, weird agglomeration of words to say now.

So there. I finished my PhD. I built the software I needed to build. I did the experiments I needed to do. I wrote the words I needed to write. I made the edits I needed to make. This isn’t the end of the road, but it’s a spot I should put a marker to remind myself I made it this far. 

I don’t really know what’s next. I’m a little burned out, I’ve been a grad student since January 2007 and that’s been a while. In the short term I’m teaching and enjoying the parts of computer science I enjoy, and I’m taking a rest. I’ll figure the rest out, but for now I’m glad to be done.

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Project 17: #NaFYoFuThMo - Wrap Up

Has anyone seen November? I distinctly recall there was going to be a November.

Ok. I did kinda notice November an I got a lot written for my thesis. Not as much as I'd hoped, but quite a lot, and I'm almost finished the next major chapter.

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I have to say I really enjoyed doing #NaFYoFuThMo. It was a good motivator to get me to sit down and write even when I didn't want to. It also made me feel like there was an end to the project and it was a small enough chunk that I was able to accomplish it. Finally it was fun to report back to Twitter on how I was doing and post Cowboy Bebop gifs (Also #NaFYoFuThMo is fun to say and type).

I managed to write on 13 out of 30 days in November, and in total I wrote 6356 words. That's not great, but its better than I often am, so I think #NaFYo has been good for me. I also keep a "day score" which is basically a weighted average of the last 7 days and I've managed to keep that above zero for the entire month of November, so I feel like that's a win and a step in the right direction when it comes to getting things done.

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So I dunno where to go next. #NaFYoFuThMo is really tied to the idea of #NaNoWriMo so I don't feel like I can carry it on beyond November. I also think if I do it'll loose the special feeling of a month long project. On the other hand I really did enjoy reporting back to twitter on how I'd done for the day. I'll think about it for a while and see where I get to.

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Project 17: #NafYoFuthMo

It's November, so the Social Internet has turned to its habit of either doing or whining about #NaNoWriMo, in which people write a novel in a month. I don't have time to write a novel in a month and I do have a thesis to finish (related points).

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Therefore, I am going to do #NafYoFuthMo, National Finish Your F*ing Thesis Month. I'm not going to be able to finish everything this month, but I have enough stuff that I could do right now that it's a good time to give myself a big push and get closer to the line.

I have 3 big chapters I can finish, I'll consider it a win if I can have significant progress on each of the three. In the smaller scale I'm going to shoot for a new word target of 750 average each day.

I'll update on twitter regularly and occasionally here.