Accountability: The Secret Sauce of Success
While there are numerous definitions of “accountability” most explanations point to one’s willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions. Other explanations reference the words blame, victim, liability, and answerability. While there is some truth in these heavily emotive words, simply put, being accountable is doing what you say you will do: staying true to your word by following through on your commitments and (here’s the bull’s eye) showing up. In it’s purest form, accountability is made up of an obligation + an action + a specified other person. Showing up for the specified other person is the crux of true accountability. It’s more than just getting the job done, it’s about having a dedicated individual care about whether you’re achieving your goals. The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) did a study on accountability and found that you have a 65% chance of completing a goal if…
5 Common Thesis Crises and How to Overcome Them
Writing a research project, thesis or dissertation is a colossal task. However, it can be accomplished if one exercises discipline and hones their organizational skills. I strongly advise my student clients to categorise and collate all aspects of their research from the beginning of their project; leaving sufficient time for vital complementary responsibilities such as formatting, proofreading, and editing. Even the best-laid plans can veer off course. Few students get through the year without at least one or two significant hiccups and some end up facing a personal or professional crisis whilst working towards the looming submission deadline. In my experience, as an academic performance coach, I’ve navigated these crises alongside my students. I’ve seen some major, and in some instances, multiple, obstacles overcome by students. What’s the secret? Tenacity. That saying, “When times get tough, the tough get going,” has never been more true than when I’ve worked with…
The Benefits of Quality Coaching
You don’t know what you don’t know. Coaching in the athletic arena was first documented in the mid-1800s, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that coaching as a profession, outside of sports, emerged. For many, the notion of engaging with a coach is still a foreign concept. Why on earth would you pay a stranger to tell you what to do? Which brings us back to: you don’t know what you don’t know. Once you’ve experienced quality coaching in an area of your life that is truly meaningful for example, work, relationships or academia, your life, and I do not say this lightly, will never be the same again – for the better. If you are feeling stuck, anxious, fearful, not sure what to do next you would benefit from quality coaching. Having someone think through the options with you to illuminate thinking, resources, and actions that were hidden before…
Essentialism Explained
“If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.” This is just one example of many of the a-ha moments triggered whilst reading Greg McKeown’s book, Essentialism: The Discipline of Pursuing Less. This blog aims to serve as a summary of the book – not an original article proposing an opinion thereof. Greg believes that our society is consumed with wanting more and that’s why we consistently take on additional things. How many of these statements ring true for you? How often have you responded yes to a request without really thinking about it? How often have you signed up for something and then resented it? How often have you said yes simply to please? How often have you said yes simply to avoid trouble? Greg recognises that we face an unholy alliance between social media, smartphones, and consumerism. He suggests that “it’s not all bad, but certain forces that…
The Smart Way to Choose your Thesis Topic
When you begin your studies with a postgrad degree, remember that you are committed to produce and pass a thesis or dissertation before you graduate. Choosing the all-important thesis topic may well be the very first challenge you encounter at this stage of the programme. What is a thesis topic? A thesis is an idea or theory that is expressed as a statement, a contention for which evidence is gathered and discussed logically. However, at its core, the thesis is nothing more than a simple question that requires a long-detailed answer. Aim for relevant research instead of groundbreaking Many students start out with lofty ideals of writing a groundbreaking paper that will get recognized as a published piece in an academic journal. But the clock ticks loudly, and too much time spent thinking up “the next best thing”, simply for the sake of it being ‘the next best thing’ can…
Sitting is the new Smoking. Read more about why your brain needs you to move more and eat better.
When we take up exercise and eat healthier, we are often driven by improving our bodies: losing the extra kilos, or improving flexibility. We hardly think about the beneficial effects of physical activity and what we eat on our brains – and I don’t mean only for mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Regular cardio exercise (30 minutes 3-4 times a week) along with the incorporation of memory boosting food will not only elevate your mood but will, essentially, make you smarter. Your brain likes you to move it, move it Researchers have found that regular aerobic exercise, the kind that gets your heart and sweat glands pumping, appears to boost an area of the brain called the hippocampus (responsible for verbal memory and learning). And if you’re wondering if resistance training has the same effect, the answer is no. Exercise helps memory and thinking through both direct…
5 Hard Truths about Achieving a Work-Life Balance in the Silly Season
With the office Christmas party invitations flooding in, and end of year meetups filling up your calendar, not to mention that Woolies Christmas mince pies are already getting shelf space – you’re right in feeling that the silly season is fast approaching. But before you find yourself spinning, take a moment to reflect and prepare to attain a sufficient and sustainable balance in all the areas of your life, so that you can still be productive and have fun amidst the goings-on of the season. One thing is for sure, you are going to have to adjust your schedule. Pretending that your rigid work-study-life programme is still valid through December is probably the biggest mistake you can make. Don’t allow tiredness, burn out and loss of energy to deplete your self-esteem and confidence levels over this demanding time of year. Because there is no energy in the pit of low…
Understanding Self-Determination and What Keeps You Motivated
Recall any goal that you set for yourself in the past which you then went on to achieve. I’m willing to bet that if you think about that time in your life, you’ll remember how determined you felt. You knew that it was up to you to make the changes necessary to achieve your goal and you pig-headedly believed you could and would do it. And then you did. Psychologists call this ability to motivate yourself to make significant changes in your life self-determination. Are you ready for change? Read more about the phases of change here. What Motivates Us? We are motivated intrinsically and extrinsically. Intrinsic motivation means we do things because we want to, it makes us happy and satisfies us on a deeper level. No external reward necessary. Extrinsic, or external motivation, is the age-old carrot or stick. We do things because we feel we…
The Roadmap to Writing your Thesis
Most students are quite overwhelmed at the idea that they are tasked to write a hundred or more pages for the thesis or dissertation component for their course. And many do not know where to start. What should the chapter outlines be? What kind of content should be on those chapters? This article is intended to provide you with a simple, yet practical roadmap to getting your thesis document started. The bullet points below should serve as a strong guideline and give you a solid start but bear in mind that there is a lot more to it than that. It is imperative that right from the beginning you understand your institution’s technical requirements for the actual thesis document: title page layout, margins, font, line spacing, tables and figures descriptions, format of front page, format of table of contents and any other technical aspects that you need to know. Spend…
Mind over matter. A Healthy Mindset is a Driver for Success.
What if I told you your mindset is holding you back? The way you view what you do, and the outcome of your effort will immediately reveal whether your predominant mindset is fixed, or one of growth. Are you only results-driven, seeing anything but total success as the acceptable end result? Does a major setback seem like the end of the road? Do you believe that if you were meant for the task (thesis writing) it should come easier? Have you thought about quitting because it’s just too hard? Then there’s a strong case to be made that you’re stuck in a fixed mindset. It’s not a good place to be, and in many ways, it’s a flavour of self-sabotage that happens on an unconscious level. We are all susceptible. And we all succumb to the fixed mindset at times. The Fixed Mindset The fixed mindset is obsessed with performance.…