Hey Friends,

After five years of hard work, I successfully defended my PhD thesis this week. Friends and family congratulated me on passing my Viva (minor corrections still to do), and many, interestingly, followed up with a question; how did you find time to do it, while working full time, driving three hours a day, and being a busy Dad ? ... "You must be really clever?"

Well, let's dispel that myth right away. The answer is an unequivocal "No". I am the epitome of 'Meh' However, I did manage to find a system that worked for me, and stuck to it like a Dog with a bone.

How did I find the time to complete my studies?

Routine, focus, small consistent steps, and restricted digital distractions. For me, this meant getting up 1 1/2 hour earlier, while everyone else was in bed, and achieving small steps every day. My morning routine was simple. The night before, I wrote down small (very specific) tasks I wanted to achieve the next day. In the morning I got up, walked into my makeshift home office, closed the door, opened my laptop, and started working. A number of reasons why I think this worked for me:

1. Everything I needed was already on my desk (water bottle etc) so I didn't need to go into the kitchen, and risk becoming distracted.
2. I had no Digital distractions. My phone was on silent mode throughout the might, and did not come into the room with me, I was, therefore not tempted to just "quickly check if anyone had emailed me"
3. I switched the WIFI off the night before, and mostly stayed off while I worked. Again, no way for me to get digitally distracted.
4. I was unitasking (due to not being digitally distracted). I admitted to myself a long time, I simply cannot multitask. And nor should I. It is, perhaps, the number one killer of focus and ultimately productivity!
5. Most days I completed my small steps. This meant I never felt guilty if I didn't do anything else towards my studies during the rest of the day. Mental health is important!
6. I was able to make small progress everyday without taking any time away from my family.

Ultimately, I achieved what I did because of Grit.

I am always reminded of the quote from the book, interestingly, called "Grit" by Angela Duckworth.

Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and then a lifetime of deepening. - Angela Duckworth

This probably sums up my PhD journey. I found something I was interested in, spent five years developing my understanding, and now plan to spend a lifetime of deepening, and helping others. This mailing list and my blog are the first fruits of this next chapter of lifelong learning (make sure to read last weeks email for an interesting thought experiment on this topic).

Have a fantastic week

Chris

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Things I've found interesting this week

\\ One Article Cal Newports article on a 'Life of Focus' something I discovered late on my journey, but helped immensely over the last year.

\\ Two Article George R R Martin talks about how he found space to work on the next novel in his Game Of Thrones series "Winds of Winter".

\\ Three Article Carrying on from my thought experiment last week on Decentralised Lifelong Learning. In this article the author also suggests Uni's need to diversify revenue by opening their doors to new kinds of students and offering new models and modalities for learning.

Favourite Quote

A Man's station is only limited by his imagination - The Greatest Showman

The second quote from the Greatest Showman in a week! Can you tell I only saw the movie for the first time this week.

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