Meryl Streep and Dissertations

June 22nd is Meryl Streep’s birthday. Love her or hate her, one of the most decorated actors of all time has a few things to say that will help you get your dissertation done!…

“All that attention to the perfect lighting, the perfect this, the perfect that, I find terribly annoying.”

— Meryl Streep

Me too! I think you and Meryl are going to get along just fine. Don’t be a perfectionist. Just don’t. It doesn’t help anyone, especially you! When you’re constantly searching of the “perfect” you completely miss out on the fact that it’s already “good enough.”

“You just have to keep on doing what you do. It’s the lesson I get from my husband; he just says, Keep going. Start by starting.”
— Meryl Streep

Her husband sounds like a sensible man! “Start by starting.” Sounds simple enough, but I find that getting started can be an incredible hurdle for many students.

The problem is that you can’t just start anywhere. If you’ve been hanging out with me for any length of time, you know that you have to begin with the end in mind. Develop a solid foundation and everything else will flow much more easily!

“I have a very busy life, and not many people who have a career and four kids go out a lot to the movies.”
— Meryl Streep

See? Sometimes you can’t just fit it all in! Keep in mind that doing what everyone else does will get you where everyone else is. And, everyone certainly does have a doctoral degree!

The tassel’s worth the hassle!

Perfectionism, getting going, and time management are three of the most common complaints of doctoral students everywhere. Need some help with any (or all!) of these challenges? Click here to schedule a quick, 15-minute chat with me to see if you’re a good candidate for our Fast Track Your Dissertation Coaching Program. If you are, then I’ll invite you to join the fastest group of dissertation students out there and help you to reach graduation a good year or two faster than you would on your own.