Today is Thursday and I have had a productive, albeit emotional, week so far. I had a valuable, and humbling, meeting with my supervisor on Tuesday. She had a lot of questions about my “elegant solution” for grappling with participant response obstacles. The conversation highlighted a few things to me. First, I was too quick to adopt this “elegant solution” without thoroughly thinking it through. Second, I still don’t know the methodology used in my field of study to the degree that I should. Third, I am pushing myself to adhere to overly aggressive time-lines instead of recognizing that the doctorate is a “marathon not a sprint”!
Sigh… So I have let go of my plan to write 30 pages by the end of this week. Instead, I have spent a good deal of time thinking about my research question, revising my colloquium deck and reading. Although I had hoped to not do work this week, I have had to spend a few hours each day checking email and addressing some operational challenges. This was prudent because I am only in the office next Monday and then in the US for a conference.
I have also decided to maintain my commitment to have another “free day” because between research and work this week, I am feeling pretty zonked. I will take tomorrow off and then return to the library on Saturday. Tomorrow I am looking forward to sleeping in and perhaps going to an art gallery.