Rock Your Research with Chris Jones

009: Hannah Gaines Day overcomes lack of motivation to finish her PhD

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Hannah struggled with motivation while finishing her dissertation, but she developed techniques to complete her PhD. Listen to her share her grad school story and how she became a postdoc.

Hannah is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She has a PhD in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Her focus is on how landscape structure and management practices affect local native bees. To learn more about Hannah visit her about page.

Biggest Struggle
  •  Finding motivation while ABD due to lack of structure in her schedule.
    • Worst Moment
    • Going through 6 rounds of revisions on her first publication.
      • Best Moment
      • Her dissertation defense and having it feel like a conversation among peers.
        • Mindful Minutes Segment
        • Habit: Figuring out how to get to her goals once she identifies them.
        • Book: Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath
        • Productivity Tool: Pomodoro technique (setting a timer for a task and then staying focused until the timer goes off)
        • Best Advice:(1) Ask questions, it never hurts to ask questions. (2) Acquire skills to build your toolbox
        • Hobbies: Baking, sewing, knitting, gardening, cycling, curling, hunting, and camping
        • Alternative PhD study: Anthropology
          • Contact and links to resources mentioned
          • Email: [email protected]
          • Hannah's blog post on staying motivated while ABD.
            • Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock
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            Rock Your Research with Chris JonesBy Chris Jones interviews PhDs about graduate school and careers to provide advice to graduate students!