Those of you who have known me for a while know this, but I’ve had a bunch of new followers this year so it’s worth saying again. In addition to being a middle school reading teacher, I’m also a doctoral candidate. That means I’ve past my comprehensive exam and just need to write my dissertation and I’m done.

I met with my advisor last week, and we ironed out a timeline. So I’m planning on graduating in August of 2018. I tell you this for accountability purposes. Sometimes I’m so overwhelmed by imposter syndrome that I freeze and can’t do anything. I’ve decided that I can’t let that happen.

So I’m going to tell you my due dates as they come, and maybe you can send some encouragement my way.

First due date: October 31. By October 31, I have to have finished my Literature Review (Chapter 2) and my Methodology (Chapter 3) sections. I’m actually hopeful that I’ll be finished before this deadline, but I like having a little wiggle room.

To get this done (because I find having an action plan to be helpful in getting things done), I meet with my writing group twice a week for two hours. Sometimes we meet on the weekend as well. A two hour block works pretty well for me. It’s about all I can handle after a full day of work.

Here we go. I’m actually going to get this done.