Tag Archives: PHD

Explaining myself

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Just over a year after retiring from my firm I attended the Annual Retired Partner Dinner. It was  my first as a retired partner. I walked into a place that I’d known so well for over 20 years but this time as a guest rather than a host. It felt quite strange. I was greeted by my former partners as a guest, no longer as a colleague. I was no longer an insider, this wasn’t my place anymore.

This was definitely a “What’s Next” moment.

I certainly hadn’t gone “cold turkey” on my old firm. I had been in contact with a number of people since but for those who I hadn’t seen there were the inevitable questions. What was I upto? What had I been doing?

Cefalu

Cefalu, Sicily

I talked about our  travels  and then there were questions about whether I was consulting on boards etc?

This is where all conversations seem to head. The assumption is very much that after a career in consulting that I’d continue but in my case I haven’t. For me the process of “What’s Next” was reaching the decision that consulting was not a key part of my post professional life.   Sure I have a couple of consulting roles, but really I had taken  the student route and I definitely feel most comfortable  with being described as such.

As the conversations over the evening continued, I said that while I’d loved my time in professional services that I was now really enjoying being out of it and being incognito. Continue reading →

So it’s been 6 months and where am I – my PhD

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Menotti’s Coffee Shop -Venice Beach, LA

I have just submitted my first milestone document in the PhD program at my University; a document that took many weeks (months actually) to prepare that I doubt will ever be be looked at!

The document is a compliance step, due 6 months into the program. It is the first of two important milestones along the way to moving from being provisionally accepted into the program as a PhD candidate.

My lodged (and I suspect now filed completely unread) document  included a

  • basic Research Proposal  (which has raised more questions with me than it has answered),
  •  Gantt Chart of how my PhD journey will look (my I have a lot to do),
  •  Data Management Plan (I can’t tell you how often the message of back up and safe storage has been rammed home. It’s a message I don’t need having nursed my laptop with a failing hard drive to the end of my Honours Program), and
  • minimum resources document (the minimum resources the Uni will provide – generally pretty good including unlimited fast internet access on campus, 24/7 IT support and I think the world’s only steam powered desktop – it’s still running Vista!).

The  process while procedural provided me with the opportunity to order my thoughts and get feedback from my supervisors. Continue reading →

Diary of a Slow Traveler – Conference trip to California

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This morning was our last coffee with our daughter before we depart for a quick trip to the USA.

I was successful in having the paper I wrote based on my Honours Thesis accepted into two conferences in California. I was so surprised as it never occurred to me that a paper based based on Honours Research would be accepted into a leading management conference. it made the time spent reformatting it whilst we were in Siracuse very worthwhile.

My desk - Siracuse, Sicily

My desk – Siracuse, Sicily

 

 

 

 

My research area was Small Family Wine Businesses, For some reason this was of interest to the organisers of 2 conferences and not just me, my long suffering supervisor and 2 very generous examiners! It gives me some hope that my PhD which I expect will extend this research may also be of interest to others.

In recent weeks the pressure has been on to get take my paper and convert its content into 2 short presentations. No easy feat I have to say and confirms one of my favourite quotes

I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead     
– Mark Twain

My original thesis was about 20,000 words and the conference submission reduced this to 8000 and now my 2 presentations Continue reading →

Time Pressure – The Clock is Ticking

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Old Town Hall & Astrological Clock - Prague

Old Town Hall & Astrological Clock – Prague

Since leaving my life as a professional I seem to have had time but not at the moment.

In the last couple of weeks I have felt the pressure of the clock. For the first time since I embarked on “What’s Next”, I have felt the constant pressure of the ticking of the clock.

I am about to hit my first progress report for my PhD with a half written proposal. It seemed such a long way off when I started this journey in early March. Then there is preparing papers to present at two conferences  in California in early August. The deadline for these is just days away.

Our short trip to California for these conferences looms large. We leave in 7 days. I feel far from the relaxed self that The Diary of a Slow Traveler has portrayed. Our recent travels have given us the opportunity to luxuriate in our travel plans, selecting accommodation and places to visit. Not this time! Bookings through a travel agent and all the restrictions that come with that. Time constraints necessitating just 2 weeks away and then being tied to conference locations which not unpleasant are far from what I’d describe as the life of a Slow Traveler.

Perhaps the most interesting has been the realization that in recent weeks I haven’t had time for my blog. Each time I have thought about a post, I’ve had the clock ticking in the background and the ever present feeling that I don’t have time for this. So annoying!

I feel quite guilty grabbing the 15 minutes to write this post – tick, tick, tick

 

Big Ben - London

Big Ben – London

 

 

 

 

A reflection

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Hardware Societe - Melbourne

Hardware Societe – Melbourne

I use the weekend coffee share post as my period of reflection. The opportunity to think back over my week. What better to do than over a coffee?

This week I have written more than a thousand words on my PhD Thesis proposal. It’s also been a week where I have found an opportunity to pursue an idea I have been musing over, about converting my own experiences in transitioning to retirement into something that might be useful for others facing the same daunting challenge.

It’s also been a week where I rediscovered the music of The Moody Blues, a band that had been a regular listen during my high school years. This might seem unimportant but as I’ve wrestled with my thesis proposal I’ve been frustrated about what music to listen too!

While making a serious start on my thesis proposal is important, it’s been the concept of converting my own experiences into something that others might find useful, as they plan their own transitions that has captured my imagination. Continue reading →