Old habits die hard
Which means, that despite everyone's helpful advice, I find myself too often just staring at my dissertation, trying to form that perfect sentence. Making a smooth transition from one topic to another. Making sure I avoid passive voice, colloquialisms, and run-ons. Before I know it, hours pass by with minimal progress.
SO - I made myself an on-screen reminder to stare me in the face as I work:
I think this little trick is gonna put me over the top.
Right now I'm listening to: Introducing Brad Mehldau, Brad Mehldau
Brad Mehldau is one of the most amazing jazz pianists I have ever heard. He mainly plays in trios along with a bassist and a drummer, and comparisons to Bill Evans follow, except the musical structure seems to differ quite a bit from many of the pieces that the Bill Evans Trio performed. It seems that there's less freedom for each and every member in Mehldau's trios to improvise, so most of the work showcases Mehldau's piano-playing skills. That's not to say that he's a self-centered, selfish musician, as one can easily appreciate the skill of his accompanists, only don't look to Brad Mehldau for the second coming of the Bill Evans Trio. Some of my favorite pieces of his are jazz adaptations of Radiohead's "Paranoid Android", "Exit Music (from a Film)", and "Everything in Its Right Place."
Recommended albums of his: Anything Goes, Live in Tokyo, and The Art of the Trio, Vol. 3: Songs.
SO - I made myself an on-screen reminder to stare me in the face as I work:
I think this little trick is gonna put me over the top.
*******
Right now I'm listening to: Introducing Brad Mehldau, Brad Mehldau
Brad Mehldau is one of the most amazing jazz pianists I have ever heard. He mainly plays in trios along with a bassist and a drummer, and comparisons to Bill Evans follow, except the musical structure seems to differ quite a bit from many of the pieces that the Bill Evans Trio performed. It seems that there's less freedom for each and every member in Mehldau's trios to improvise, so most of the work showcases Mehldau's piano-playing skills. That's not to say that he's a self-centered, selfish musician, as one can easily appreciate the skill of his accompanists, only don't look to Brad Mehldau for the second coming of the Bill Evans Trio. Some of my favorite pieces of his are jazz adaptations of Radiohead's "Paranoid Android", "Exit Music (from a Film)", and "Everything in Its Right Place."
Recommended albums of his: Anything Goes, Live in Tokyo, and The Art of the Trio, Vol. 3: Songs.
posted by Mikey at 10:37 PM
4 Comments:
My last comment in no way was meant to imply that you have to half-ass your writing. I merely wanted to convey that trucking through the bulk of the work (leaving time to go back and polish it up) is a viable option. For my part, procrastinator that I am, I constantly feel that as I do an assignment, I'm half-assing it; when the work has been evaluated, it usually has been graded quite kindly. The take-home exam that I did a few weeks ago is a perfect example... given ten days, I left the bulk of the writing until the last two days, spending the rest of the time "researching" my answers. As I began, I promised myself that I wouldn't pull yet another all-nighter in my spectacular career of academic all-nighters. But I fell into the same perfectionist slump, and I spent an entire day on one question (out of five). I spent the final 36 hours half-assing the other four questions, right up until my 5PM deadline thinking, "this isn't going to fool anyone... oh, who the hell cares anyway - no one sees these grades..." But I did fine... hell, I did well. Maybe it's because I work best under pressure.
Or maybe, just maybe, it doesn't really matter, and nobody even looks at the damn thing.
Long story, long. I love your self-reminder... the screencap was a nice touch. Just remember that your work is probably pretty good, even when you're not obsessing over the minutiae. Or it's not, but you might actually fool someone... and that's what makes it all worthwhile. =)
Yeah, I often wonder - I'm usually satisfied with the work I do under pressure; would my work be the same entity had I completed it ahead of the deadline? Who knows? It's an impossible question to answer, I just realize that this is the way I work. In some ways, it's not healthy, but I think it'd be even unhealthier to stress out over it. Life goes on.
Anyway, things have worked out well so far, quality-wise. Barb actually paid me a compliment regarding my writing. Second reader is Greg, though. Barb says he's quite the stickler, so we'll see...
Anyway, these all-nighters will be good in getting me ready to be on-call.
More good luck to you Mikey. Brad Mehldau is teh roxors!!!!1111
Duh-uuuude.
Thanks! Glad you're liking teh Brad Mehldau! :)
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