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A well-known motivational truism proclaims that the most dangerous time is when you\u2019ve reached a goal. This maxim may explain why many doctoral candidates experience post-dissertation doldrums. You\u2019ve been pushing so hard for so long. You\u2019ve been preoccupied with the intensity and innumerable details of the work itself. After graduation, you no longer have to spend every moment (other than eating and just a little sleep) on the dissertation. And you may have lost sight of why you embarked on this journey in the first place.<\/p>\n
So, you may suddenly ask yourself, \u201cNow what?\u201d.<\/p>\n
Most clients I\u2019ve helped in my dissertation editing and coaching practice experience this void. For a year or usually more, they say, they\u2019ve wished for nothing but to finish the thing. Now that they have, somehow, and with shock, they miss it\u2014and get the blues.<\/p>\n
If this sounds familiar and you want to avoid post-dissertation doldrums, try one of the strategies below. They can help you make the transition to what may approximate a normal life again and even resume your career.<\/span><\/p>\n Whether you decide on a big bash or a quiet dinner with some special people, take the time to celebrate. You deserve it! Others close to you, who may have lived through the experience, will want to celebrate with you. Let them. And enjoy it.<\/p>\n You deserve this, too! Your break can be a day, a few days, a week, a few weeks. Some new doctors go on long-postponed vacations with their families. Others catch up on the (excusably) neglected essentials: cleaning the house, the refrigerator, the car, your desk. Liberate the dining room table and floor from all the books, articles, note cards, and old takeout cartons. Visit relatives. Go get fast food you never eat. Lounge in the backyard hammock with a trashy novel.<\/p>\n A few more things, and pace yourself when thinking about the following suggestions.<\/p>\n Choose a few actions that make the most sense, depending on your career goals. If one of your goals with gaining a doctorate is promotion in your present company or institution, you won\u2019t need much time for job-hunting or resume \/ CV sprucing. But you may want to concentrate on your article. If your postdoc goal is establishing an online business, you\u2019ll want to devote more of your time to the steps that get it off the virtual ground.<\/p>\n Decide on the day or date you\u2019d like to resume serious business. Don\u2019t take too long or you may lose your momentum. The secret now is to remind yourself why you undertook the doctorate in the first place. Was it about striving for an ideal academic position, potential business, perfect office, particular clients or colleagues, or a certain level of compensation? Maybe a combination of these?<\/p>\n It may be useful to write a paragraph or two on what your perfect position will look like: type of institution or business, colleagues, clients (if applicable), schedule, activities you love, how you\u2019ll apply what you learned from the dissertation. This kind of journaling helps you refine your dream and make it more concrete.<\/p>\n Next, make a master list of what you need to do to reach that dream. Granted, this is another project, but now (I assume) you\u2019re practiced in dissecting the parts and marking them off.<\/p>\n I often support graduates who want to stay and advance in academia. A helpful and still timely book is Karen Kelsky\u2019s\u00a0The Professor Is In<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(US context).<\/em><\/p>\n Instead of mining the Internet for your literature reviews, mine it for universities and colleges you\u2019re interested in, both on-campus and virtual. Revise your resume or CV. You can draft introductory letters to prospective department chairs or administrators if that\u2019s appropriate the for the context you\u2019re in.<\/p>\n You could subscribe to the newsletters of associations in your field \u2014 they often have listings of job openings. Plan to attend several professional conferences, if you can; some have employment prospects sections and informal gatherings. These are great places to meet\u2019n greet, and get job leads.<\/p>\n Ask your supervisory team for leads too, and don\u2019t forget former lecturers or other colleagues arond you. Be proactive about meeting with them to discuss your research and career passions, and how much you\u2019ve\u00a0really\u00a0<\/em>learned from the dissertation. You could request letters of recommendation, if it\u2019s appropriate, from certain mentors and those who would know you and your work well enough.<\/p>\n Talk to current faculty members or employees at your desired institutions. Notify everyone else you know and tell them you\u2019re interested. Talk to colleagues who are teaching. As a start, consider part-time work on campus or online.<\/p>\n If consulting is your dream, that means you\u2019re looking to start your own business. Look at the websites of others in the field and contact them. If you approach them right and offer cross-referrals, they won\u2019t see you as competition. For example, I maintain contact with several other editors. We each specialise in different aspects of editing and send each other potential clients. Create your own website or hire an expert if you feel that is a wise investment. They can save you a lot of time and grief. Draft a letter or flyer describing your services and ask colleagues and friends for their feedback. Think carefully about your networks, and who you might send this letter to.<\/p>\n You\u2019re probably also thinking about the articles that might be lurking in your dissertation. Publication in scholarly journals and books is still the main road to academic advancement and can enhance your standing in other areas, too. You deserve recognition as well as additional benefits from all you\u2019ve invested.<\/p>\n Your supervision team may have already suggested where and how to publish, so make a plan for working on your articles. Sometimes, joining a writing group is beneficial. Michael Harris provides five advantages to\u00a0joining an academic writing group<\/a>. Paul J. Silva\u2019s book,\u00a0Write It Up<\/a><\/em>, is a good (and often entertaining) introductory book. I would also highly recommend the book by Wendy L. Belcher,\u00a0Write Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>There are also many blogs out there about academic writing, including the\u00a0Textbook and Academic Authors Association\u00a0<\/em>blog\u00a0Abstract<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and the\u00a0Patter<\/a>\u00a0blog (by Pat Thomson).<\/p>\n Writing up the dssertation can be all-consuming. For doctoral researchers at this stage, I advise them to make a \u2018Later List\u2019. It could be in a file or in your head. The list assuages your guilt about all the projects and events and chores you\u2019ve wanted to do (or should do) and know you won\u2019t get to for many months. The \u2018Later List\u2019 is a convenient compendium for getting all those nags out of your head.<\/p>\n Now, though, right after your dissertation is safely submitted, you may have the relative \u201cleisure\u201d and psychological space to peek at (or write down) your \u2018Later List\u2019. When you look at it, you\u2019ll easily see whether your priorities and desires have changed. Maybe you already gave away your old bread maker or woodworking table or no longer feel the need to write your memoir. Maybe new priorities have surfaced.<\/p>\n When Lucas, a client of mine who had just graduated, looked up from his literature review article files, he realised his three kids were suddenly teenagers. At the top of his \u2018Later List\u2019, he wrote, \u201cNow\u2014spend more time with them!\u201d. Other clients have resumed weekly dates with their families, poetry writing, crocheting, volunteering, camping, and aesthetic welding.<\/p>\n But, post-dissertation, guard against feeling you must conquer the whole \u2018Later List\u2019 in a frenzy of busyness. As you may already know, the sun always rises and to-do lists never end. We\u2019re also supposed to enjoy our activities (at least some of them). If you haven\u2019t already, add some purely fun things to your \u2018Later List\u2019 that you\u2019ve deprived yourself of for so long: a fancy lunch with a friend, poking around that new fake-quaint mall, cheering at drag races or drag contests, binging on four successive first-run movies at the cinema and munching nonstop from one of those dauntingly huge popcorn buckets.<\/p>\nCelebrate<\/h3>\n
Take a break<\/h3>\n
Sanity<\/h3>\n
Set a date and revisit your dream<\/h3>\n
Academic avenues<\/h3>\n
Consulting<\/h3>\n
Writing articles<\/h3>\n
Look at your \u201clater list\u201d<\/h3>\n
Reflecting<\/h3>\n