What's Done is Done: Getting Out of Dissertation "Project Mode"

I expect this to be the last post on my dissertation - in fact, that it should be is part of the point of this post. A friend of mine that completed who successfully defended her own just a little over a year ago thought it would probably feel weird for me to not have that ongoing project anymore. At the time, I still had some revisions and edits to make, but I didn't figure that would be the case for me. I expected to be glad to be done. This thing that I'd let hang over me too long was finally put to bed. I found it still lingering, though, just as she'd suspected.

Continuing to think about your research agenda is good. At least for me, it meant there were still some embers I could stoke to escape the onset of burnout. My chair and I had discussed the possibility of pursuing the publication of some chapters separately, so when I found a source that looked like it would have been a great inclusion for Chapter 2, I was sure to link and save it. It would not be lingering in the past to improve that chapter while prepping it to stand on its own as a journal article. In my view, that is moving forward.

Look! The desks have surface area.

Still, I wanted to make sure my orientation stayed that way. The book I mentioned in the last two posts - Sternberg (1981) - suggested having a space to work that was dissertation-centric, with little else. So, I think it is a good corollary that in moving past "project mode", that organizational centrality needs to be deconstructed. For those with a whole office, and who can afford it, a redecorate might be a great idea, but personally I just put the notes, edits, and printed sources in a binder, and printed a "working copy" of the dissertation should I need to reference it or loan it to someone. Printed copies are too pricey to loan, and seeing a fresh copy drives home some finality; meanwhile, the "active folder" in my desk file system has gone from bulging to flat, and "hen-scratched" pages don't adorn my peninsula desk. Unfortunately, I can't similarly cleanse the job search folder, but otherwise the space is fresh for new projects. If you've recently finished a big project that had consumed your office, perhaps getting the space organized will help you get reoriented as well.