Toes and Dissertations

August 6th is National Wiggles Your Toes Day. Being silly is serious business for dissertation students…

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
…

Adults who decide to pursue their doctoral degrees are insanely busy and work really hard. If you are like most of my students:

You hold a full-time job.

You have a mortgage.

You have kids you’re raising, …

or putting through college, …

or helping to finance a wedding.

You’re involved in church or community groups.

And, you have a dissertation sucking up every available minute.

With everything else you have going on, it’s perfectly natural to think that you should buckle down and put your nose to the grindstone to finish your dissertation as soon as possible. Right?

Well, yes… and no!

You see working hard is a necessary but not sufficient condition to complete your dissertation. There are two additional things to consider if you want to graduate…working smart and resting!

Now, I’ve talked about working smart and planning, over and over, againand again. But, on National Wiggle Your Toes Day, I’d like to talk about the importance of … rest!

I know you don’t have time to rest. You’ve got too much to do! But, Parkinson’s Law says that your work will expand to fill the available time. So, consider setting aside some down time right from the start. Just don’t make that time available. Schedule time for yourself like you would any other appointment.

In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen Covey identified the 7th Habit to be Sharpen the Saw. You see, all work and no play really does make Jack a dull boy. Not dull as in boring, but dull as in not sharp!

If you work constantly, trudging from task to task, your mental strength and cognitive capabilities are always under maximum stress. Your brain has no time to process what you’ve read and create connections for you to investigate.

It’s important that you set aside time to switch gears, to do something different, to play! I have a game on my iPad called Plants vs. Zombies 2. It involves a little bit of planning, a little bit of strategy, and takes just a little bit of time. I love it because I can pick it up for a few minutes, get my mind into a different place, and then put it down a few minutes later, feeling more relaxed and ready to face the challenges of the day with a slightly different perspective.

I also enjoy playing tug-of-war and catch with my dog, going on a walk with my wife, and heading out to the pool with my kids during the summer.

None of these things take up a lot of time. In fact, far from being wastes of time, they actually give me more time. They make me more efficient, more productive, sharper.

So, on National Wiggle Your Toes Day, take some time to wiggle your toes in the sand, if you’re near the beach. Or, wiggle your toes in the grass, if you have a yard or park nearby. Or, wiggle your toes in the carpet, if that’s what you’ve got.

A few minutes of relaxing, recharging, and just being silly can get you out of a rut, inspire new thoughts, and keep you sane as you forge ahead on your dissertation journey.