Image- Courtesy of Dave-FYesterday I had a meeting with my thesis supervisor to chat about my progress and the direction my project is taking. I am completing my honours year and so that entails two course-work units which I did last semester, and a thesis which I am to complete this semester. So far, word count-wise I am a third of the way there which is some consolation because I have aimed to work to a fairly rigid schedule. As our conversation progressed, my supervisor kindly told me that I look tired- how kind! I am still recovering from my cold/flu that I had last week and feel rather exhausted this week and I knew yesterday that I looked like crap so to be told that was just the compliment I was looking for! Ahem...
I went on to express my desire to keep moving forward in a brisk fashion and my intentions to complete the first draft at least a month before the due date so that I have at least four weeks to re-work and edit. I did mention that the looming deadline was featuring prominently in my thoughts and that I wanted to avoid becoming overly stressed about it. I was somewhat surprised when my supervisor told me that a bit of anxiety is good for me and my project- Excuse me?! This piece of advice came as somewhat of a shock!
Having given a bit of thought to my supervisors advice since recovering from my shock. I can see what he means. A little bit of anxiety can help keep the project on track, progressing and help with maintaining a focus. Anxiety and stress become a problem when it is more than a niggle in the back of your mind and overcomes everything you do. From my experience, when you have reached this level of anxiety and stress it can be fairly unpleasant. At the moment, my anxiety is a mere niggle and thats how I would like it to stay!
While I know that both feelings are sometimes unavoidable, I do try to avoid them at all costs. When there is a spanner thrown into the works, maintaining this sort of order and routine can be a challenge. Since I have been unwell all schedules and routines have been disrupted and I suppose this hasn't helped my anxiety. I have huge plans for the coming week to get back on top of my work and hopefully I will be back on track by Friday; that is if everything falls into place.
So how do I try to avoid anxiety and stress? I try to work to my schedule and complete my tasks with enough time so that I can re-work and have a think about improvements and alterations. I try to establish a routine so that each day I complete a certain amount of work. I reward myself with breaks once I have completed a days work. I move onto another task if I hit a wall with my current focus. I like to break my day up so that I can clear my mind for half an hour or so and get some fresh air and re-gather my thoughts to increase my productivity. I like to plan everything out so I know what I need to complete and by when.
Everyone works differently, and I used to brag about how I work better under pressure, but at this particular time, I don't think I am willing to chance my project, or my health for that matter with this approach. I am going to try to avoid anxiety and stress at all costs! Everyone also has different ways of dealing with, or avoiding stress and anxiety so please share your ways of dealing with these two feelings in the comments section!
Thank you, and I hope that you are all enjoying a weekend that is as stress and anxiety-free as possible.
I hope you do great on your project. I get really stressed out...more than a little reminder. Sometimes I need other people to tell me that it's going to be okay because my mind starts to list off all the horrible things that can go wrong and keeps spiraling.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand where you are coming from! I find that I get quiet stressed out when I am doing something which is completely new to me. I was certain that the first chapter I wrote for my thesis was terrible and did stress slightly over that, but my supervisor loved it which was a huge relief to me. I find that when I have doubts about my performance (particularly at work) or uni work it is only when I am re-assured by someone else that everything is going well that I stop being so hard on myself. I try to be rational in times of stress, but sometimes its very hard to be in that frame of mind and see things clearly so it's always nice when someone else tells me to stop being so silly!
ReplyDeleteYour supervisor is right: a little bit of anxiety is good for you, but when it keeps you awake for nights on end fretting about how much you still have to do, even though you know you're doing as much as humanly possible ... well, I wish I knew the answer about how to cope with that one. I got through my MEd with Berocca and added strong coffee towards the end for good measure, but I'm sure there must have been a better way.
ReplyDeleteAhem. You started a blog and I wasn't informed ?! :P
ReplyDeleteWonderful to be reading your thoughts and getting little snippets of your life.
I also agree with your supervisor - a bit of anxiety is good, because that often drives our motivation. I think the key is to find a balance between being psyched up to do a really good job and being too hard on yourself. I'm trying to do that with both my writing and my half marathon training - perhaps more so with the latter! I don't know, I wish I had the answer for you - all I know is I find it easier to get things done when I'm excited about them (ie the anxiety is more excitement), and they make me feel good while I'm doing them. It's not work unless you wish you were doing something else, as they say :)
Don't be like me and look back on your Honours year wishing that things had been different. Just do your very best - when you do that, you'll never have regrets.
xx