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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