Is your motivation tied to your emotional state? Tara uses Alastair Campbell's Winners to introduce OST (Objective - Strategy - Tactic) and explores its effectiveness for doctoral candidates.
Another great post Dr Brabazon. I really enjoyed your motivational discussion of tools for success in graduate school. I'm currently enjoying 'Peak' by Anders Ericsson, which discusses the elements in achieving peak performance. I think it would be highly relevant to your students and viewers. In addition to the OST principle for harnessing intrinsic motivation, I also like using the principles of David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD), which uses 'horizons of focus' to track large life-goals, and the projects that will move me towards those goals. Here is the typical GTD breakdown of the horizons of focus: 50,000 feet - Purpose (Career / Lifestyle) 40,000 feet - 3-5 Year Vision (Mission) 30,000 feet - 1-2 Year Goals / Directions (S.M.A.R.T.) 20,000 feet - Areas of Focus (Roles & Responsibility) 10,000 feet - Current Projects I use XMind (free mind-mapping software) to visualise and edit my mind map of goals and dependent projects. www.xmind.net I also use OmniFocus (not free sadly) for task management, as each project unfolds into a set of daily and weekly tasks which must be harmonised within my calendar. The Desktop and iPhone apps are very powerful once mastered. www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus yED is an invaluable flowchart tool for visualising any process, from biochemical pathway to a departmental org-chart. Its free, easy to use and produces publication quality diagrams. www.yworks.com/products/yed Evernote is my favourite tool for note taking and collecting learning resources, links, images, PDFs, sound files and video. There is a free account version, cloud storage, and sync with mobile devices, so notes can be with you at all times. evernote.com/?var=3 For leveraging software to aid in learning large amounts of facts (as required in medical school and many other post graduate areas), Anki utilises a well established algorithm for spaced repetition of facts (presented via flash card). It is free, requires some effort to learn, but provides an elegant implementation of spaced repetition software (SRS) in the learning process. ankisrs.net
Amazing, just amazing. You cannot imagine how helpful your vlog is! Especially to those of us, who are just embarking on this adventure. I'm so impressed, I intuitively started taking notes. Thank you for your great channel.
Hello Tara This is AMAZING! This helps a lot a lot! You can't imagine how it assists PhD candidates out there. The words you were told by your mom were moving and touching very much indeed! Believe it or not, I saved them in a word document! Every time you watch television or you take a nap, somebody in the United States, Mexico, Japan or Indonesia is not taking a break. They are still working! Wow! These words are actually my food of the day! Thanks for caring for students! Your videos have been my food these days! Keep it up please! Wish you the best of the best as always.
+Karwan Mustafa Right back at you, Karwan. She is an inspirational woman. But also really honest. It is really tough out there. I always want to be honest with you - and you can be honest with me :) But together we can make higher education - and the world really - better, kinder, brilliant but compassionate. We can do that together :) Txxx
Hi Tara, your series helped me decide to finally pursue my phd. Incredibly helpful, I love the infusion of humour and your communication style, and special appreciation for the flower crown :) The content is still so relevant and useful. All the best :)
Thank you Dr. Tara for such a strong vlog. At the end I got goosebumps. I hope to carry this strategy out. I'm so close to the end. And I want it to be done. And to be done well. Thanks
Hello Tara and thank you for giving such an awesome message to motivate and inspire. I am so thankful and particularly enjoyed the characteristics of succeeding/winning, you quoted from Alistair Campbell's recent book. I agree that having a group of positive and supported people around you will keeps one focused. It has been this way since I began last year. I am so grateful to have this opportunity to write this story with passion, creditability and with rigor into a thesis and eventually for the global community. The doctor status will be, if I may use a layman's terms, the cherry on the top. I endeavor to achieve excellence in telling the cultural story on behalf of a group of Aboriginal people with intellectual disabilities.Thank you for reaching out. Kind Regards, Vicki (Arabana woman - Scholar)
+Vicki Hodgson thank you so much Vicki - I found the characteristics of success really motivating too... Can I say - I also find you BEYOND inspirational :) What a project - what a goal. What a woman. Thank you for what you are doing. Thank you for being you xxx
2022 - still highly relevant....
Thank you.
Fantastic Tara, your videos have been a shining light for my PhD.. thank you for your work
Another great post Dr Brabazon. I really enjoyed your motivational discussion of tools for success in graduate school. I'm currently enjoying 'Peak' by Anders Ericsson, which discusses the elements in achieving peak performance. I think it would be highly relevant to your students and viewers.
In addition to the OST principle for harnessing intrinsic motivation, I also like using the principles of David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD), which uses 'horizons of focus' to track large life-goals, and the projects that will move me towards those goals. Here is the typical GTD breakdown of the horizons of focus:
50,000 feet - Purpose (Career / Lifestyle)
40,000 feet - 3-5 Year Vision (Mission)
30,000 feet - 1-2 Year Goals / Directions (S.M.A.R.T.)
20,000 feet - Areas of Focus (Roles & Responsibility)
10,000 feet - Current Projects
I use XMind (free mind-mapping software) to visualise and edit my mind map of goals and dependent projects. www.xmind.net
I also use OmniFocus (not free sadly) for task management, as each project unfolds into a set of daily and weekly tasks which must be harmonised within my calendar. The Desktop and iPhone apps are very powerful once mastered. www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus
yED is an invaluable flowchart tool for visualising any process, from biochemical pathway to a departmental org-chart. Its free, easy to use and produces publication quality diagrams. www.yworks.com/products/yed
Evernote is my favourite tool for note taking and collecting learning resources, links, images, PDFs, sound files and video. There is a free account version, cloud storage, and sync with mobile devices, so notes can be with you at all times. evernote.com/?var=3
For leveraging software to aid in learning large amounts of facts (as required in medical school and many other post graduate areas), Anki utilises a well established algorithm for spaced repetition of facts (presented via flash card). It is free, requires some effort to learn, but provides an elegant implementation of spaced repetition software (SRS) in the learning process. ankisrs.net
Amazing, just amazing. You cannot imagine how helpful your vlog is! Especially to those of us, who are just embarking on this adventure. I'm so impressed, I intuitively started taking notes. Thank you for your great channel.
Thanks so much, Peter. My pleasure to help in any way. Keep in touch :) Txxx
This is one of my favourite blogs of Tara
Hello Tara
This is AMAZING! This helps a lot a lot! You can't imagine how it assists PhD candidates out there. The words you were told by your mom were moving and touching very much indeed! Believe it or not, I saved them in a word document! Every time you watch television or you take a nap, somebody in the United States, Mexico, Japan or Indonesia is not taking a break. They are still working! Wow! These words are actually my food of the day! Thanks for caring for students! Your videos have been my food these days! Keep it up please! Wish you the best of the best as always.
+Karwan Mustafa Right back at you, Karwan. She is an inspirational woman. But also really honest. It is really tough out there. I always want to be honest with you - and you can be honest with me :) But together we can make higher education - and the world really - better, kinder, brilliant but compassionate. We can do that together :) Txxx
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
2024 thankyouuuso much, you are an angel
Hi HB - you've got this. We can do this together :) txxx
Thanks, it was additional story on motivation. The techniques are academic. Keep it up.
Dear Tara thank you. This is super helpful. Please do a vlog on staying focused and getting work done.
Hi Tara, your series helped me decide to finally pursue my phd.
Incredibly helpful, I love the infusion of humour and your communication style, and special appreciation for the flower crown :)
The content is still so relevant and useful. All the best :)
Thank you Tara. Perfect timing for me to find this earlier vlog. Thank you for building the bridges for us to cross. x
Thank you, Tara. I really needed this today, this week, this month.
Thank you Dr. Tara for such a strong vlog. At the end I got goosebumps. I hope to carry this strategy out. I'm so close to the end. And I want it to be done. And to be done well. Thanks
You have inspired me 😊 👌. Thank you!
Thank you Tara. Amazing as always.
Hello Tara and thank you for giving such an awesome message to motivate and inspire. I am so thankful and particularly enjoyed the characteristics of succeeding/winning, you quoted from Alistair Campbell's recent book. I agree that having a group of positive and supported people around you will keeps one focused. It has been this way since I began last year. I am so grateful to have this opportunity to write this story with passion, creditability and with rigor into a thesis and eventually for the global community. The doctor status will be, if I may use a layman's terms, the cherry on the top. I endeavor to achieve excellence in telling the cultural story on behalf of a group of Aboriginal people with intellectual disabilities.Thank you for reaching out. Kind Regards, Vicki (Arabana woman - Scholar)
+Vicki Hodgson thank you so much Vicki - I found the characteristics of success really motivating too... Can I say - I also find you BEYOND inspirational :) What a project - what a goal. What a woman. Thank you for what you are doing. Thank you for being you xxx