the encouragement lounge: Getting unstuck -- Strategy #2

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Getting unstuck -- Strategy #2

Ask for help.

That's right, this is secret #2 for getting unstuck. As graduate and adult students, many of us tend to think we should be able to figure out everything on our own. And certainly at this point, we are independent. However, we still get stuck.... whether it's struggling to frame a topic for a paper or deciding who you will ask to be your dissertation chair....school presents many challenges and occasionally we get stuck.

Now, sometimes we need to step back from the problem and just get enough distance to clarify... perhaps a bike ride does that, or a few days away from the work. However when you find that days or weeks go by and you are not making any forward progress... it is time to ask for help. Talk with a trusted classmate, or your advisor, or even another professor. In fact, if you don't already have a few people in your program who you know you can count on for advice and support, now is the time to seek and cultivate those relationships (hmmm, another post for another time).

So, when you get stuck... reach out. And remember, someday a classmate or colleague will turn to you in much the same way for help... and you'll pass it on...

Cheering for you!
Harriet

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Working adult students, on my mind...

I hope this blog will be helpful to friends and others involved in a variety of endeavors. However, I created the blog with students in mind and continue to develop it with that specific group as my focus.

I believe that with the increase in evening, weekend, and low-residency programs, students are working more and more in isolation. If we were all full-time students on campus, we would have the informal support that comes with being able to go down the hall and talk with a colleague, etc. But instead, we are working late nights and weekends at home in front of the laptop.

With that in mind, I hope the encouragement lounge provides brief moments of respite and energizing connection. This does not at all replace valuable face-to-face contact. Many aspects of the academic journey can only be addressed via in-depth conversations with colleagues and teachers. And I would always rather sit down and talk with someone than to communicate online. Nonetheless, my aim is to give you one more channel for quick hits of support.