Stupid monkey. Stop taunting me.
I am, of course, referring to manuscripts left over from my thesis, oh so long ago.
Despite my best efforts (okay not best, but at the very least okay efforts) I can't seem to motivate myself to return to those yet-to-be-published-PhD-manuscripts.
The work is good and at least one manuscript is so incredibly close to being submitted.
Every time I sit down to start the process, it turns out the house needs cleaning, oh I should really go and do that lab work, yeah wasn't there a blog I meant to write?, I should really shovel the driveway...
You name the excuse and I've whored myself to it.
Enough is enough. So before New Year's Eve arrives and everyone goes into a spiral towards Resolutions, I shall attempt to kick the monkey first.
Plus at coffee last week LookAlike said she'd kick my ass if I didn't get on this already.
So to get the monkey off my back, I propose to:
1. Find and organize the old data files.
2. Look over the R script sent to me by the R Wizard in my former lab, currently a PhD student who I fondly call, Westgrid.
3. Run a grid search on my data, to find "the meaning of the universe".
4. Run a simulation to test how age structure affects "the meaning of the universe."
5. Rewrite the main text to include the new numbers and adjust the interpretation.
6. Rewrite the SupMat to reflect the updated analysis.
7. Make the appropriate figures and tables with the new information.
8. Send the polished manuscript to Aspergers and GeneralSolutionGuru, my former PhD supervisors.
9. Revise. (I know this will happen because GeneralSolutionGuru always has revisions.)
10. Submit the FNP.
11. Have a good stiff drink from a bottle of Jack Daniels.
That felt good.
I've given myself a January 31st deadline to submit the manuscript to the former PhD supervisors.
Watch me kick that monkey. Kick, kick...no not that part of my ego...wait I'm sorry Mr. Monkey...ahhhh.....
9 comments:
good plan! do not give in to excuses any more - I will keep my fingers crossed for you.
now you posted the plan out in your blog you are accountable to do it :-)
good luck and stay motivated :-)
loskova:
Yep, I'm accountable now and thanks for your good wishes. I shall keep you posted. At the side of the blog is the list of things to do and as they are completed, I will cross them off!
I would suddenly need to clean my parent's ceiling fan blades (even the side facing the ceiling) to avoid writing-up.
I so relate to all of this. I am SO close to defending my dissertation it's sad. Thank you.
great plan!
I finally submitted a paper based on the last bit of publishable data from my PhD (which was finished in the early 1990s) just before Christmas, and it felt FANTASTIC!
Hey D -
This is what I picture when I think of your monkey:
http://jimintonic.com/archives/fg.evil.monkey.jpg
Gotta love Family Guy (the evil monkey lives in Chris's closet).
Happy 2009,
A
ACG,
LOL!!!
I feel your pain of trying to submit (even though I haven't finished my PhD yet) I'm trying to write up a paper from over 2 years ago.
Not to be a total drag but you picture is of an ape not a monkey. (sorry I'm annal about that)
Yeah I know it wasn't a monkey. But damn it's a funny pic.
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