Upping the Ante
Last night was my first seminar for my university course since I came back after the Christmas break. Though I knew this moment was arriving, I still tried to put it out my mind so I didn't worry too much about it. But now, I have to...
It's the dreaded d- word - the dissertation. Last night's seminar was a gentle reminder that we are supposed to be here in Westminster using the opportunities it presents us from a research perspective. I know that when I get back to Hull and start writing the dissertation I will be annoyed at the fact that I didn't use my time here productively. The whole point of this jaunt to London from an academic perspective, as far as the university is concerned, is that it allows us to produce a much better dissertation than anyone else. So the expectation is higher.
The only trouble is that, between now and July, I also have three other pieces of work I need to complete. I knew about these assignments too, but I put them out of my mind for the entire first semester, always saying that "I need to get settled in first". Yeah, right. Any excuse. Well, now I need to do something about it. I can already see my time slipping away. In some respects I am still wishing this year would go faster, but I know I shouldn't be. I am in a unique position, and I really shouldn't be wasting it.
So I'm going to have to stop accepting my own excuses. I am going to set myself some tough deadlines. It would be great if I could get my first piece of work done by the end of this month. That would release a lot of the pressure to think about how I can research my dissertation. Yes. Things aren't quite as bad as they seem, but I always manage to panic myself in such a way that I end up doing things too early. But when I look at the way my housemate deals with his academic work, which is often a night before, all-nighter, I think I know which way I prefer to do it.
Meanwhile, in "real" work, things are trudging along very slowly. I have much work to do, but my MP is so useless at the moment that he's not doing what I need him to do, and consequently it leaves me with piles of work which can't be completed, and in the meantime I get endless calls from people asking if my MP is coming to their event, or whatever. My job at the moment is effectively to stall the process until a decision has been made. Which may never happen, since my MP's decision making capacity is almost zero.
Anyway, time to face up to the delights of the day. There has been much wind and rain overnight, and it still sounds terrible at the moment. It's not filling me with much enthusiasm to see through the day. Sigh.
It's the dreaded d- word - the dissertation. Last night's seminar was a gentle reminder that we are supposed to be here in Westminster using the opportunities it presents us from a research perspective. I know that when I get back to Hull and start writing the dissertation I will be annoyed at the fact that I didn't use my time here productively. The whole point of this jaunt to London from an academic perspective, as far as the university is concerned, is that it allows us to produce a much better dissertation than anyone else. So the expectation is higher.
The only trouble is that, between now and July, I also have three other pieces of work I need to complete. I knew about these assignments too, but I put them out of my mind for the entire first semester, always saying that "I need to get settled in first". Yeah, right. Any excuse. Well, now I need to do something about it. I can already see my time slipping away. In some respects I am still wishing this year would go faster, but I know I shouldn't be. I am in a unique position, and I really shouldn't be wasting it.
So I'm going to have to stop accepting my own excuses. I am going to set myself some tough deadlines. It would be great if I could get my first piece of work done by the end of this month. That would release a lot of the pressure to think about how I can research my dissertation. Yes. Things aren't quite as bad as they seem, but I always manage to panic myself in such a way that I end up doing things too early. But when I look at the way my housemate deals with his academic work, which is often a night before, all-nighter, I think I know which way I prefer to do it.
Meanwhile, in "real" work, things are trudging along very slowly. I have much work to do, but my MP is so useless at the moment that he's not doing what I need him to do, and consequently it leaves me with piles of work which can't be completed, and in the meantime I get endless calls from people asking if my MP is coming to their event, or whatever. My job at the moment is effectively to stall the process until a decision has been made. Which may never happen, since my MP's decision making capacity is almost zero.
Anyway, time to face up to the delights of the day. There has been much wind and rain overnight, and it still sounds terrible at the moment. It's not filling me with much enthusiasm to see through the day. Sigh.
posted by Matt at
7:17 am
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