1.    Take responsibility …the buck stops with you.

2.    Get organized and plan ahead. Think strategically.  Move beyond ‘knee jerk response’ to crises; Make goals and deadlines for yourself in the short-term (daily, weekly) and long-term (monthly, yearly, 5-year plan)

3.    Establish the following goals and associated deadlines for yourself as soon as you enter graduate school.  These  deadlines will initially be tentative and subject to change.
       - i.e. Dates by which you will:
            a.    establish a masters or dissertation committee
            b.    submit your masters or dissertation proposal to your committee
            c.    have practice comps
            d.    complete writtens/orals
            e.    submit grants (e.g. NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant)
            f.    complete drafts of publications/thesis chapters
            g.    submit papers for publication
            h.    defend your masters thesis or dissertation

4.    Flexibility: If you are flexible you don’t get bent out of shape; have the flexibility to re-group and change goals and deadlines as your research project evolves. Make sure to share your revised goals with your advisor.


5.    Don’t get distracted by the small stuff; pay attention to the bottom line – your self-imposed deadlines; your organizational chart; the objectives in your proposal.


6.    Have realistic expectations. Remind yourself that a dissertation or masters thesis is just one step in your career…Dissertation versus Life’s Work. Face the facts – you are going to have to focus –you CAN’T do EVERYTHING in your dissertation: Your masters or dissertation project needs to be:
            a.    an intellectual contribution to your field;
            b.    completed in no more than 2 (masters) or 5 (PhD) years, respectively; and
            c.    tractable in terms of time, resources, etc


7.    Be motivated by the pleasure of pursuing work that you enjoy and think of graduate school as a ‘step’ towards being able to pursue work that you enjoy as a career – getting your dream job; Move beyond trying to please your advisor or your committee.  Create
higher standards for yourself than your committee demands

8.    Have an agenda (however brief) for each meeting that you schedule with your advisor and your graduate committee.

9.    Don’t be hesitant to seek help from specialists (e.g. Stats Lab)

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