I am in the midst of my final year (terrifying) and so this is the final December of my PhD. In November, I set out to write 50,000 words following the NaNoWriMo or AcWriMo challenge. I didn’t quite achieve that goal, but I hit some pretty major goals for myself and my PhD thesis, so I’m proud of that. I am not feeling very festive so I am planning on making the most of the world feeling a little quieter, and getting a lot of work done and preparation done for 2023.
I am working on developing a few new projects for myself, as well as expanding this space and reviving my other blog because I absolutely love writing but life just hasn’t had the conditions for it up until recently. But I created myself a new desk set up and my motivation has skyrocketed. I am excited to see what I can do this month and make plans.
I know I said I wasn’t feeling festive but I have got a lot of activities in the diary, spending time with family and friends. There’s a few dinner dates, and even a prizegiving ceremony because my university awarded me some funds for an archival research trip. Exciting! It will be great to spend time with the people I love the most, even if I am not Mrs Claus this year.
I am determined to submit my PhD on time because navigating the world of postdocs is a bin fire, and I need time to work on that. I have academic career plans, and they have significant deadlines and admin requirements. So here is what I am ambitiously planning for December 2022, the final December of my PhD:
Goals for December 2022:
- GOAL 1: Write journal article on cholinesterase (10,000 words, 0 written)
- GOAL 2: Write Brain Sciences Under The Swastika review (800 words, 0 written)
- GOAL 3: Write Humane Sciences review (800 words, 0 written)
- GOAL 4: Write Hidden Histories of the Dead review (800 words, 0 written)
- GOAL 5: Write Purdysburn Hospital blog article for Epidemic Belfast (2,500 words, 0 written)
- GOAL 6: Write origins of psychosurgery in the UK chapter (20,000 words, 0 written)
- GOAL 7: Write silent but there chapter (20,000 words, 0 written)
- GOAL 8: Plan remaining research work and archive requests
- GOAL 9: Create content plan for history blog
- GOAL 10: Create content plan for lifestyle blog
- GOAL 11: Write 16 blog posts – 8 for each website (0 out of 16 written)
- GOAL 12: Revise Cholinesterase chapter
- GOAL 13: Write funding application for podcast project
- GOAL 14: Write funding application for archive visit
- GOAL 15: Plan UPenn Visit
- GOAL 16: Plan London Visit
- GOAL 17: Organise Epidemic Belfast interviews and episodes, and update website
- GOAL 18: Organise other oral history interviews
- GOAL 19: Plan podcast launch and workload
- GOAL 20: Sort notes, documents and emails
December 2022 Updates:
04/12/2022: I didn’t start on the 1st of December as planned… so that gives you an idea of how the month has begun. However, I did just finish AcWriMo so I feel like I deserved a break before launching into another month of intense work. Today I listed my plans and I have put them here for a sense of accountability. I have a lot of things to action this month. Let’s get started.
The final December of my PhD goals…
Is anyone else feeling less festive than usual? Or not following their everyday rituals of slowing down to the point of hibernation? Let me know in the comments! We can cheer each other on through December and beyond.
