In the end, I finished ‘early’ haha. Turned the dissertation in a day before my deadline, and dang that felt good! That felt really, really good 🙂 I am well and truly done! Well, I do have to print and submit two hard copies to my home institution and funding body, but I can do that later.

The days following submission last Monday were filled with 1) sleeping like the drugged, 2) attending an online academic reading group that commenced this month, and 3) joyfully receiving my first assignment for the freelance gig. I had plans of getting right into it the past weekend but helas! The sinus infection. Turns out it was only delayed this year (and thank goodness! Had it struck on schedule-in Jan-I’m fairly certain my dissertation would not have survived it, given how every hour came to count in that month). The weekend therefore and thus went in more sleeping, because the sinus thing really did not leave me very functional.

The goal this evening, thus and therefore, is to sit down to the joy of drafting atleast 2 out of the 3 scripts I am due to submit. And I say ‘joy’ deliberately- it really is such a joy! Best case scenario, I finish all three, like I had said I’d try to do, when I accepted the assignment last week, pre-sinus thing. Here goes!

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The week draws to an end, and so does the Phd! Stayed up all night on Thursday and finished the thing a little before noon on Friday. A little bit of polishing was required which I did today morning, and now its off to the printers and binders! A few things remain: a few forms to be filled, a digital copy to be prepared, and then on Monday, if all goes well, I turn it all in. I do have Tuesday as well, just in case. Let us see how it unfolds!

God bless the neighbourhood cafe! Today I was really struggling with sleep and exhaustion, and naps and a strong cup of tea at home was not helping. So I packed my bags and headed there in the evening, and worked there until it closed at night. A double cappuccino and a takeaway of iced cappuccino has powered me through the insertion of page numbers in the references within Chapters 3-8, and the formatting of the final Biblio list.

Today I will be pulling an all-nighter. The goal for the next block of work: Acknowledgements and the abstract. The block of work after that: the remaining section of Chapter Five. Final block of work: compiling the entire thing into a soft copy. Here goes! The final leg 🙂

Edit: It is 6.30 in the morning and I have just finished the abstract and acknowledgements. Now on to that remaining section of Chapter Five!

Edit at 7.41: that finished quicker than expected! And now on to the compiling bit!

Edit at 11.19: FIN! Sent off to the supervisors and now I wait.

Feels marvellous to have slept in AND had a good night’s rest. The goal today is to get through the copy edits of the last two chapters quickly, by evening. Following which I return to the page numbers that have to be inserted for Chapters 3-8. That would leave, for tomorrow, the last day-the abstract, the acknowledgements, formatting 20 odd entries in the Biblio, and compiling the entire thing together, formatted and all. Here goes!

Edit: Chapters Seven and Eight are done. Here’s hoping tomorrow is a beautifully productive day!

The goal today is to turn in early, by midnight at the very latest! Lol. But yes, I need to catch up on sleep a bit since I need to push myself this week.

So…aiming to wrap up Chapters Five and Six, and finalise the synopsis and abstract, and the dissertation cover page. That seems doable. With coffee. Lotttsss of coffee today till 6 PM.

Edit: Had to innovate today, because I was exhausted and the brain needed rest. So I left the cafe early, attempted to nap and returned to work late evening. Chapter Six is FIN as are the synopsis and cover page. And now off to bed with me at 1.40 AM.

Today the goal is to wrap up Chapter Five by the evening, and do a recce of required copy edits for Chapter Six before heading home. I need to have a couple of conversations with supervisors during the day, and take care of some minor housekeeping in the evening. Following that I need to make serious headway into Chapter 6.

Here goes!

Edit: I’m pleased with how Chapter Five is shaping up, it’s now much improved. And also very grateful that a supervisor did extensive copy edits on it! I still have one thing to tackle before moving on to Chapter Six, which I will after a quick break for dinner.

Edit 2: It’s nearly 2 AM and I’m calling it a night, after taking a look at what needs doing in Chapter Six (comparatively little) and making a small start on it. Chapter Five is polished and done except for that small thing, which I will address tomorrow. I have also decided to leave pages numbers for now and return to that bit for Chapters Three though Eight right in the end.

Chapter Five is the second of two chapters with heavy edits required. I’ve made some more headway today, i.e. Sunday. It’s past two in the morning, so I now retire and return to it with a fresh mind from the cafe tomorrow.

I bought planners yesterday for the first time in my life. Usually, I’m not a planner kind of person. However I felt like giving it a go this year because I intend to spend the year expanding my life, on my own terms. Joyful steps into a future I can finally envision. There are a lot of things I want to low-pressure have fun with, in the spirit of this little write-up. I was going to paste an extract but DAMMIT WORDPRESS WHY YOU MAKE INDENTING A PARA IMPOSSIBLE argh. Google saves the day. Feeling victorious and able, I paste the entire piece now.

“Have you a secret ambition? If the choice were given you that this day you might begin life anew, what would you do?

Life is offering you that choice. The plastic clay of Time is in your hands to mold as you will. Often the seemingly impossible achievement is the most logical one. That which you thought you could not do — BEGIN IT!

Throw off the self-placed shackles of thought-habits which are your only limitations. Hearken to the inner whisper. Life holds happy surprises for him who digs deeply into the well of Self.

No goal is attained in a day. The one thing essential is that you start now—not tomorrow. BEGIN! This magic moment is the key to the treasure caves of opportunity.

Tap the reservoir of your ingenuity, whose source lies in the Infinite. Take the first step, however small. Your power released, will, like the snowball, gather more of itself.

“Ability is responsibility to the last degree.” Your latent talent is a fruitful seed entrusted into your keeping. Have you the right to let it wither in the arid soil of procrastination? Life asks only that you faithfully harvest that which she has implanted within you.

All things needful to the task are at hand. Recognize them with the eyes of your awakened awareness.

Work not with tense, desireful striving, but with ease and joy. Love not the goal more than the doing. With alert mind and loving hands, weave the glistening threads of Now into the pattern of Eternity.

And if the shimmering vessel of your fashioning should become shattered by a careless touch or wayward wind, weep not. With heart made richer by understanding, with hand more pliable and eye more true, BEGIN AGAIN! Only begin! In that alone lies genius.

“It hath not yet appeared what ye shall be” (I John 3:2). In the heart of the seed sleeps the blossom. But does the seed know its own beginning or its own end? Gathering what it may of warmth and moisture, the expanding heart of its own being bursts forth in joy to greet the sun.

Life is coaxing, entreating, commanding you to action. This day, become conscious of its urge within you. Break the shell of your limitations. Turn your face to the Light, and step forth, a risen Son of man.”

-From the SRF Magazine, 1935 

So yes, because I want to expand, I figured it would be nice if I could dream ahead weekly, monthly, and set the intention for the things I want to do. And this particular journal had the loveliest artwork for every month, just my kind of art. Very ‘fairy witch cottagecore vibes’ lol which by the way is a thing. It was the art in fact that first brought it to my attention last year. Let’s see how that goes.

Today’s goal is to finish the remaining pages of copyedits on Chapter Four, except for page nos/referencing, and move on to Chapter Five and make major headway on its copy edits. I can stay as long as I need to at the neighbourhood cafe as I make my way through the pages. Here goes!

Edit: Chapter Four copy edits-FIN. I need a break so I will take one and then return to a few more hours of cafe time. I will devote this to getting started on copy edits for Chapter Five.

Edit 2: Made decent progress on Chapter Five and calling it for the day.

I hit a slowdown again-two days of almost no work. Back at it today. Aiming to make major headway on Chapter Four copyedits, and a co-working session with a friend over WhatsApp which I’ll devote entirely to catching up on the references (page numbers) left over from Chapter Three.

For additional motivation, I think I’ll start choosing the pile of books I’ll be rewarding myself with after submitting. Physical copies, all, ofcourse. Just thinking about them gives me a rush of joy.

Edit: Looks like spicy mocktails are almost as effective as caffeine in keeping me alert and awake. Finishing the cope edits on Chapter Four by tonight, minus page numbers in references, seems doable and within reach. Since that is so, I will shunt the task of page number insertions for both Chapter Three and Chapter Four to tomorrow.

Today’s goal is to move on to Chapter Four and make substantial progress. The references of Chapter Three do indeed still need to be done, but I’ll try to fit them in when I can. I’m not treating it as a priority because it’s more important right now that I cover ground with Chapter Four.