Dissertation Update
Discussing horseback riding is easy, riding a horse is hard
When I was growing up, my sisters had a horse named Loot that lived on my cousin’s farm. Best I could tell, he was a good horse. Medium height, normal-to-over weight, slow-to-average speed. But, honestly, I was never very interested in horseback riding.
Yet, despite my ambivalence, over the years I learned plenty about horses through hearsay, family banter, and the occasional trip to the farm. Thus, I can talk relatively intelligently about horses, even though I am woefully unprepared to mount an American Quarter Horse and take it for a ride.
It turns out that writing a dissertation is rather like riding a horse.
I am skilled at talking about writing my dissertation. I am less skilled at actually writing it. I am familiar with the process. I understand the lingo. I have chosen an interesting topic. I have done a respectable amount of preliminary research. I know what needs to be done. Etc.
But when it comes to arranging words on a page in a sensible, productive manner, I have little to show for all my blathering. It’s not that I have been slacking across the board; I have had a very busy year non-academically. But with the smell of fall in the air and a new school year upon us, it is high time that I whip this project into shape.
So, here’s the plan. Occasionally, I will post updates on this blog to help hold myself accountable. knowing that I have publicly committed to track my progress on this site will help me gauge my progress and keep me on pace.
Future posts will be more substantive than this one, hitting on topics like social innovation, open source community building, reflective practice, and creative abrasion.
Now, I have to get back to work.
Giddyup, Dusty. It’s time to ride.
