Tuesday Too # 15

1.) Is there a goal, or something you value highly that a simple time commitment would put within your reach? What is it? Why is it important to you? If it's a high school, or college degree that is of the utmost importance to you, why is it significant beyond the obvious reason (i.e. job)?

As I think about this question, I realize that I've had good luck with setting goals and working toward their achievement, although at some points in my life the process was more haphazard than that. When I was a teenager, I had various ideas about what I was going to do with my life, in terms of what job I would do, how much education I would pursue, where I would live, etc.

Anyway, I changed my mind about the career part during my undergraduate days, and then I spent my twenties trying this and that, mostly entry-level, deadend paraprofessional jobs, some enjoyable, some not. In K-12, I was a good student in the academic (not social!) sense, and as a teen I did figure I'd get a graduate degree, but as the years passed, that possibility seemed remote. One day, when I was in my late twenties, I approached my boss at a small, non-profit arts organization for a raise and the sum she coughed up bordered on an insult. I impulsively let my temper get the best of me (something that happened more frequently when I was younger, but still flares with the right inducement), and the next day I resigned, deciding to go back to school for a master's degree.

At that time, I had developed an interest in public service, and so I decided to study public administration. Two years later I had the MPA in hand. In the course of my studies for the master's degree, I found an internship in academic administration and discovered that a worklife in the university was a good fit for me. A career in higher education practically demands a doctorate for advancement, I was feeling kind of ambitious at that point, and so about eleven years after that showdown with my boss, I reached that goal. Once I was near to getting a PhD, teaching, research, and writing became appealing. I also started wondering about the need for new goals, and replacing the formal educational process with things in the consumer sense isn't adequate. (Don't get me wrong, as I have no illusions about this. Although not necessary or sufficient, a certain level of material comfort is really nice.) So what's next?

I plan to write some about this quest soon. Actually I was thinking about writing on this subject today, but had forgotten about "Tuesday Too." If I wrap up the higher ed booklet [it's getting close] I might still do it. If not, it will keep a day or so.

2.) Why haven't you done this already? If you're already working towards it, tell us about a particularly difficult hurtle.

#1 pretty much covers the goal achievement process. Sometimes I was very aware of the prize, and really had my nose to the grindstone. The master's degree was kind of like that. Sometimes life's circumstances, for example financial pressure, time commitments, being unhappy about something and having to focus a lot of energy finding a remedy, a thousand other things, knocked me off track for a while. There was a long spell while I was taking classes for my doctorate where I hated everything about the program and I didn't care at all if I finished. Sometimes class would end at 10 PM and I was exhausted (or sick) and I had to work the next day on some big important project. I remember the comprehensive exams were a big obstacle that filled me with dread for years. I couldn't possibly do all the work the department faculty and students whisper is needed to pass those exams. And I had no idea how I would find the time, energy or focus to write a dissertation. I knew something would have to give for me to get through it.

Something did. See answer #3.

So what's the roadblock to "what's next?" More on that in my planned post about deciding to be a writer.

3.) Be realistic. How much time can you comit towards making it happen?

Juggling time has always been a big player in decision-making in the past. For the comprehensives, I abandoned my usual standard (which is rather last-minute, but intense) and didn't study much. I just signed up, and took them. I am a competent note-taker, and I did read through about five of my notebooks once (this required me to hunt for the most important notebook the night before the test in boxes we had stored at a rented storage unit). I passed. For the dissertation, I had to (once again) make sacrifices in standard of living, and leave my full-time job.

Coming soon: commiting to writing time.