March 30

Dissertation

Seems like I do pretty well on 2 out of 3 topics each day. That's not so bad. I spent 5 hours working on my dissertation. I holed up in a computer lab with one empty desk and worked as hard as I could. I was able to clarify my RQs, write out the lesson plans for the 6 week intervention (whew), and develop the framework for my scoring criteria. I also think I came up with a system for note taking while I read articles. Before I was taking notes on the article, writing them in a journal and adding them where I thought they fit on the actual paper. This caused my writing to sound like a string of short annotations/citations - ugh. Now I've made a simple table for each article that includes pertinent information in different cells (e.g., oral or written argument; key findings; citation; and notes that I think are important). Then I made a separate cell where I list the different sections of my paper I think will benefit from the particular article (e.g., Section IV persuasive writing - what we know about older students' persuasive writing). Finally - I way to organize my tangential thinking while I read!

Nutrition

I see that I eat better (and less) when I pack a lunch and snacks and get out of the house to work (plus I get more work done). I am really enjoying hummus on ww tortillas with cut up veggies and walnuts. Added some ham today and it was still good. Leftover organic pork chop and organic mashed potatoes from the night before with my favorite quinoa and edamame salad!

Movement.

Very little moving today. I carried around my gym clothes but did not make it to the gym. I did have acupuncture today and was able to relax. By the end of the day I could no longer focus on my writing and was getting a little overwhelmed about how I can get it finished in time to defend in May so I can do the study in the fall so I can graduate! Changing my travel plans helped (I was feeling like I was starting to get sick and I did not want to run myself down further). Now I have 3 extra days to write/keep the flow going!