Post hole digger, piled higher and deeper. Whatever you call it, some discussion on my journey to that destination.
Most of us have heard of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where you go crazy writing and aim to churn out 50,000 for a novel in November. I have been aware of it for the last couple of years and I thought it sounded like a really cool idea. Now there are a whole lot of variations on the theme, including one more relevant for me, which is AcWriMo – academic writing month. Continue reading My pledge for AcWriMo
I came across the Pomodoro technique from John Birmingham via Twitter (where I seem to find all of my good ideas these days).
I liked it because it fitted well with a workshop I had just completed about self-sabotage and writing, and how beneficial snack writing could be (as opposed to binge writing).
I duly re-tweeted about this fruity little number on #phdchat, and Thesis Whisperer picked it up.
Then this twitter conversation happened last week, and the Pomodoro playlist was born!
@thesiswhisperer @litreviewhq I like surf instro. I think a pomodoro (25 minute) genius playlist list would be cool too!
— Danya Hodgetts (@danya) June 18, 2012
@thesiswhisperer @litreviewhq You can make a smart playlist in iTunes for the duration of 25 mintues! support.apple.com/kb/HT1801
— Danya Hodgetts (@danya) June 19, 2012
@danya @litreviewhq fab! Just made one in 2 seconds – there’s a lot of madonna in it 🙂
— Dr Inger Mewburn (@thesiswhisperer) June 19, 2012
I don’t like music all of the time when I am writing, but there are some Pomodoros that need every bit of encouragement you can muster.
There are more IT-minded boffins around than me who can show you how to make a playlist, and it’ll depend on your library. I used a Smart Playlist on iTunes.
My only hints are to skip genres that won’t rock you. For me that is comedy, holiday and children (I have wayyy to much Wiggles in my library). I’ve also found that it will err on the side of caution, so I make my list 26 minutes – just to squeeze every drop of tomato-ey goodness out of my time.
What’s your rockin’ Pomodoro got in it?
Following Mark Arbib’s resignation as the Federal Minster for Sport earlier this month, The Age published a farewell message.
The article’s four main topics were: sport’s ability to transform lives, funding of elite sport, the need for a national curriculum for sport and the ongoing challenge to uphold the integrity of sport.
Continue reading No, Minister! Olympic medals won’t get us off the couch
Before starting a PhD myself, I remember attending a lot of drinks to celebrate various and often baffling milestones of colleagues’ candidature: being accepted and/or getting a scholarship; confirmation (which always sounded Catholic to me); thesis submission; examination; and finally, graduation. I didn’t really think too much about it – I was happy enough to go along to the drinks. Continue reading The yes whens and no buts of finishing your PhD
1. Sleepless nights
Both will give you a super hero-like resistance to fatigue that you would not have thought was previously possible.
2. Good organisation skills never go astray
There is little difference in the skills required to have 400+ journal articles filed with consistent naming conventions and getting to swimming lessons on time every week.
Continue reading Six reasons why doing a PhD is the same as being a parent
I have been both a Tweep and an attendee at the conference of the Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand (#SMAANZ) since 2007. I have been itching to have a go at combining the two after watching others tweeting from conferences. I had a bit of a go in 2009, but it was only @GeoffSchoenberg and I, so it was a bit lonely. This year there was a critical mass of tweeps in attendance.
Continue reading Reflection on #SMAANZ 2011 – the value of tweeting from a conference
Having had three babies during my candidacy, I feel reasonably qualified to comment on the commonalities between confirmation, confinement and completion.
1. Everyone is asking you when it’s due
Have you submitted your thesis? Are you a doctor yet? Have you had those babies yet? Finishing a pregnancy is probably more obvious to spot, but don’t think I won’t be sharing either of these things with you. Repeatedly.
Continue reading Four reasons why doing a PhD is the same as being pregnant
This week saw the 10 year anniversary of the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 200o Olympic Games. A commemorative ceremony was held at the Olympic Stadium. Volunteers were excited there was finally a (semi) valid reason to get their uniforms out of mothballs and don them once again. It’s no coincidence that Lord Coe and the London 2012 team are in Sydney, hoping to emulate the magic that the volunteers added to the games.
I was one of the 45,000-odd people who took some time off work and volunteered, carrying a placard in the opening and closing ceremonies and working with doping control during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I knew it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And it was. Continue reading Sydney 2000 Volunteers. A decade of wasted legacy?
Build it and they will come? An analysis of the impact of the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships in Scarborough, Western Australia on sport development (a research summary*)
It is commonly believed that major sporting events should provide ongoing benefits, including increased participation in the sport and physical activity in general. This is becoming an increasingly important aspect of hosting a major sporting event and it is commonly recommended that event organisers consider how a major event can benefit the development of the sport. In terms of providing ongoing legacies, it is not a case of “build it [an event] and they [legacies] will come”; a conscious, sustained effort is required in order to create a legacy that will benefit sport. Continue reading PhD on Event Legacy: results from a preliminary study
There’s a small event on at the moment. It may have just brushed the realms of your outermost consciousness. It’s the FIFA World Cup.
My PhD research is in the area of event legacy – the impact and change that events have. My specific area is in community sport/sport development – so in this current example, will Football in South Africa be played more? Have better coaches/officials? More members and supporters?
Continue reading It’s in our hands: my World Cup legacy
A Time for Thinking 
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