Weird Al Yankovic and Dissertations

October 23rd is Weird Al Yankovic’s birthday. Here are some words of wisdom from Weird Al for dissertation students everywhere…

My personal taste doesn’t enter into it a lot when I make my decisions as to what to parody.
— Weird Al Yankovic

And, personal taste shouldn’t enter into your decisions as to what to write your dissertation on, either. The popular advice is to “immerse yourself in the literature” and to “choose a topic you’re passionate about.”

When you’re working on your dissertation, you have two choices: You can either prioritize your study or you can prioritize graduation.

You can focus on solving a problem and making the whole world a better place. Or, you can focus on completing your dissertation, graduating, and making your world a better place.

I’ve learned how to use my spam filter pretty effectively.
— Weird Al Yankovic

Feedback from your committee members can be difficult to absorb. But, you have to do so if you want to graduate.

Unsolicited advice from friends, family, and others can be downright debilitating if you let it.

Be careful about whom you enlist in your support network. And, simply ignore everyone else.

Few, if any, of them have ever written their own dissertations… So, do they really even know what they’re talking about in the first place?

If something is good enough, it can be out there and people will see it.
— Weird Al Yankovic

“Good enough.” Not perfect. Not your absolute best. Good enough.

Your dissertation isn’t going to change the course of Western Civilization. It isn’t your legacy. It isn’t even going to be referenced in any significant way at any point in time throughout the rest of your life.

So, keep your eye on the prize: Complete a dissertation that’s good enough for you to graduate. Then move on!

Then you can change the world. Then you can make your impact. Then you can have your voice heard.

But, none of this will happen if you keep yourself locked in an office, tinkering on your dissertation. Don’t get it perfect. Get it good enough. Get it done!