THE GOAL: Complete MFA program + thesis project by May 2017
BENEFITS:
- Increased professional opportunities for career (i.e. teaching)
- Strengthened quality of portfolio (which might lead to more opportunities)
- Acquiring new skills and contacts in my industry
- Opportunity to explore a new topic and/or mode of production
- The joy of creating!
- Sense of accomplishment and completion
OBSTACLES
- Lack of time and poor boundaries with current job
- Balancing multiple medium-sized projects consecutively
- Indecisiveness on thesis project theme and mode
- Perfectionism and discomfort with the critique process
- Distance from my advisors and current students
- Administrative red tape
- Not getting distracted by other time-intensive but otherwise attractive opportunities
SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED
- Time management and multi-tasking
- Technical skills (specifics depend on project mode)
- Topic specific research (area depends on thesis topic)
- Creativity + sense of adventure
- Decision making (on thesis topic)
PEOPLE AND GROUPS TO WORK WITH
- Thesis advisors (TBD)
- Andrew or someone local as third thesis advisor?
- Program Director
- Broken Planetarium community for feedback
- Northwest Documentary?
PLAN OF ACTION
July
- Negotiate less time and better support at work
August
- Settle administrative red tape
- Determine thesis project topic and medium
- Determine any other outstanding requirements for degree
September
- Approach and secure advisors
- Begin production
- Identify any other collaborators/crew to help execute project
October
- In person meeting with advisors
December
- Complete first draft of thesis
January
- In person meeting with thesis advisors
February
- Present second draft of thesis to advisors
March
- Apply for graduation
April
- Submit thesis paper
May
- Thesis defense
DEADLINE: MAY 2017
RS: I would be lying if I said I was 100% confident that this is the most practical or sensible goal for me at the moment, but it seems that I might as well explore whether or not this is a viable and rewarding option. I've been thinking about it a lot over the past several years and haven't been able to come to any resolution, so I don't think I am going to get any more clear on that without actually attempting it. At this point, I'd rather try and fail than not attempt it because I am afraid it would be too overwhelming. I want to set this goal while also giving myself permission to readjust if it no longer serves me. I am probably still more in the fact-finding stage to know exactly how much work to complete the project and there is a part of me that is hesitant to commitment without knowing what I'm signing up for. It likely won't be my #1 priority in the next year, but I am choosing to be optimistic (but hopefully not naive) to think I can carve an adequate amount of time for it without it draining the rest of my life.
RS: I would be lying if I said I was 100% confident that this is the most practical or sensible goal for me at the moment, but it seems that I might as well explore whether or not this is a viable and rewarding option. I've been thinking about it a lot over the past several years and haven't been able to come to any resolution, so I don't think I am going to get any more clear on that without actually attempting it. At this point, I'd rather try and fail than not attempt it because I am afraid it would be too overwhelming. I want to set this goal while also giving myself permission to readjust if it no longer serves me. I am probably still more in the fact-finding stage to know exactly how much work to complete the project and there is a part of me that is hesitant to commitment without knowing what I'm signing up for. It likely won't be my #1 priority in the next year, but I am choosing to be optimistic (but hopefully not naive) to think I can carve an adequate amount of time for it without it draining the rest of my life.
Laura, Interesting that you decided to go for the MFA! You sounded unsure about it on Monday, so I'm wondering what changed. Those Benefits do look terrific, so I can see the pull. And, it's a relatively short amount of time to jump into gear, work extra hard, and get a degree. So, you are really close. When you look at this plan, do you feel your energy lift and rev up or do you feel it drag or get tired? If there are draggy tired responses, can you pinpoint what those pertain to? (You may have already done that, and those are the Obstacles.) The reason I am asking is because of the ambivalence you expressed in your bio and on Monday about whether you wanted this degree or not. As a fellow ambivalent person, who also likes to consider things from all angles, and who also like to follow impulses/dreams/urges, I am wondering how certain you feel about it now, or if you are still having doubts. Sometimes the 'energy test' is a helpful tool for me, so I thought I'd ask you about it too.
ReplyDeleteReading this now, I'm wondering, is your thesis a film or a paper?
Two of your Obstacles are about boundaries: amount of time/overtime given to work and boundaries over distractable interests. Is that something maybe we could help you think with and brainstorm? Do you know how to negotiate less time and better support at work? Are you planning to keep your job technically fulltime? When you do the math, can you see how to manage the hours of these two things?
I love how you listed the calendar in the Plan of Action. Nice organizational feature. It's very clearly laid out and presented and looks Realistic and Attainable (and all the other qualities of SMART too).
:-)
Liz
1. Who can help you get more comfortable with the critique process?
ReplyDelete2. What specific skills will you gain by completing your thesis?
3. How will you choose a thesis topic?
4. Same question for you that I had for Justin: are the benefits enough to keep you inspired and productive when your thesis work gets stuck or frustrating? If not, can you think of some additional motivating life benefits?
5. Documentarians in town who might be good resources: Vanessa Renwick and Jodi Darby.
I really like Liz's energy questions. And I'm also curious if you felt like you resolved your ambivalence? If so, please tell me how. I think you described feeling pretty happy with your current job and side projects. Does the possibility of increased opportunities, etc feel like enough of a concrete benefit to take time away from those? How do you feel when you imagine how you will balance your time while working on your thesis?
ReplyDeleteHi Laura!
ReplyDeleteWhen we were all talking and out for drinks Monday night, I remember you were thinking of doing a documentary for your thesis that centered on young women deciding whether or not to become nuns. You commented that you were not able to find anyone willing to speak so you were most likely looking for another topic. What drew you to that topic? You listed that you might be thinking of doing a NW Documentary, what interests you here that would light enough passion to carry you through the thesis process as well? Are there people or communities that you have met through your job at Live Wire that you want to delve deeper in?
In your post you mentioned possibly getting a third advisor here in Portland. I think that is an excellent idea. As impersonal a thesis process may seem, it can become incredibly personal and I think it's important to have a local person to help you balance that.
I noticed in your post that you have a very clearly laid out plan. I am wondering about emotional supports you might think about planning. When are you going to have some time that is not thesis or work time? When you write about needing better boundaries at work, one thing you mentioned Monday night was that you appreciated the balance both producing and editing brought you as they were polar opposites. What is going to bring you sanity as you add in doing a thesis?
Something that really helped me when I wrote my first thesis was very strict boundaries. The only time I worked on typing my actual thesis was from detailed bullet-points so I didn't have to analyze data and type at the same time. I was in a master of arts in teaching program so my students were my inspiration of why I believed so strongly in my topic. As weird as this sounds, I blasted The Lion King soundtrack always when I was typing because my students loved it and it helped me focus that this work was important because I was doing it for them. The end goal was big enough that the smaller stuff along the way didn't bug me as much.
Take Care,
Samantha
I'm impressed with your monthly plan of action.
ReplyDeleteThe whole concept of grad school for future gain (and month-by-month plans of action) is something I have a hard time relating to, it's not my skillset! I can totally relate to the joy of creating. I feel very unqualified to offer any suggestions on this.
Reading the other comments, I'm also curious what changed if anything, for you to go from uncommitted to committed.
Hi Justin,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have set yourself up for success. As you mentioned in class, it sounds like you are still quite unsure if completing this goal is the right move for you. I don't think that you would be satisfied with your efforts in finishing you urban studies thesis unless you are more confident in your desire to do so.
Perhaps getting started and talking to other academics will inspire you and validate your decision. I was also hoping that you might elaborate a little on the specifics of the red tape so as to create a plan of action to settle this obstacle.
- k
"At this point, I'd rather try and fail than not attempt it because I am afraid it would be too overwhelming."
ReplyDeleteI think there's a larger question here, Laura. What are you really passionate about? Would getting your masters help you do THAT?
Remember the principle of sunk costs: any resources you've spent in the past don't matter for the future. Only do something if it gets you where you want to be. Not sure your benefits, as written, are compelling enough to justify doing this.