======= Date Modified 27 27 2009 16:27:47 =======
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Hi Guys,

I just received this message from a friend of mine:

Extracts from The seven habits of highly successful PhD students

Researchers who know and make use of these seven secrets get through their doctorate more quickly, and just as importantly are happier, according to the Staff Development and Training Unit, Flinders University, Australia.
1. Care and maintenance of your supervisors

Meet regularly with your supervisors (even if they think it is not that necessary.)
Discuss and negotiate your progress regularly.
Understand your different styles. If your supervisor keeps wanting you to follow up new leads and you are happy to, and you are five years into your study, it is time to get some outside perspective and guidance.
If it is not working out, do something about it. Don’t just think it will get better or that you can do it on your own.
2. Write and show as you go: this is show and tell, not hide and seek

Always write and show as you go. If you are reading an not writing, after about 3 or 4 weeks you will forget what you have read
Writing and showing your work forces you to stay on track and refine your thinking.
Writing is helpful because at the end you can’t hand in your head full of lots of good ideas.
Set deadlines for your writing and handing in. People generally don’t write because of issues of perfectionism, so avoid this with deadlines.
Generally it is a good idea to write journal articles (on your exact thesis topic), as you go.
Practice writing with your peers: this can be very effective.
Some web pages that support thesis writing:
http://www.findaphd.com/students/life3.asp

Remember that your College Graduate School will also have specific help on how to write a PhD thesis available.
3. Be realistic: it’s not a Nobel Prize

When you are doing a PhD you are learning how to do a PhD, you are not expected to know this in advance.
Original work does not mean a cure for cancer. In reality it means one small step in advancing existing knowledge.
Do not go off on tangents in the hope of answering ‘The question’, stay focused.
You have a cast iron guarantee right now that your thesis will not, cannot, and probably should not, be perfect.
Separate yourself from your PhD. It’s a bunch of thoughts on a piece of paper, it’s not you.