New thought!

OK, here we go, new idea.

I probably gave everyone the idea with my last post that I wasn't going to write for a while. But a new thought just struck me (I'm pulling an all-nighter, by the way), in the midst of frantically writing, because I let my mind stray for a moment and I ended up reading this great post on the blog rotten cupcakes.

Some words from it stuck with me, and I quote: "[the blog] is my way of keeping myself accountable".

I like that,  and want to try it out.

So for the next few [...months?] -  I'm going to dedicate this space to accounting for how the thesis work is going. It's mostly for me, I get so little feedback on my work that I think a "tracking device" would do me good. :) Best pat on the back I can give myself...

Aside from that, I'm already following most of the advice from said blog post (go read it, it's great!) - I'm finding my stride (which unfortunately seems to be working in the dead of night!) and "working when it happens".

So, for the record:

===TODAY'S (well, TONIGHT'S) THESIS WORK===

• Tonight's challenge: I have for the longest time been writing a long, complicated and cumbersome article about "What Canadian engineers and ergonomists say about their work". Paradoxically, the more I work on it, the longer and longer it grows, but I get further and further away from finishing. What to do?

• Trick of the evening: taking apart one horribly INFO-CHOKED and overambitious journal article which tries to contain everything and slimming it down into TWO articles which are a lot more focused (i.e. they aren't about EVERYTHING under the sun anymore, but just about two or three things. This means I can toss some of my analysis out and not have to turn it into text!). 
• Visible difference: The two articles are now about 1) "Problem ownership, Prioritization and Parallel Benefits" and 2) "Stakeholder influence". But I'm contemplating calling them Roger and Jessica. 
  
• Tonight's energy boost: A friend of mine sent an email saying that he intends to propose to his girl... and  wants my help... with the absolutely craziest and sweetest idea ever. He wants me to help him choreograph a 'courtship dance' to make the proposal memorable. (!!!!!) How maaaad is that? I love it! :) (Time will tell if this is a good idea or not... But I'm honoured to have been asked for help. Seriously.