Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.

How do I find a dissertation coach?

Hello All,

Julie posted about finally finishing her dissertation with the help of a dissertation coach.  *Lightbulb*  Ah, the power of 12-step groups!  I would probably never have thought of that.  Thank you Julie for sharing your experience, strength and hope :)

I think a coach might really help me.  And, I'm desperate.  I will do whatever it takes and structure is helpful.

Can Julie or anyone else give me advice on how to find a good, reputable dissertation coach?

Thanks much,

Nan

Dissertation coach

Nan,
I posted this under your comment when I saw it the other day so you might have seen it already, but thought I'd add it here too. I found my person by just searching on the internet. I used Alison Miller and was very pleased with her. Her website is at http://www.lifeessentialscoaching.com/index.html. Most coaches offer a free consultation call so you can have a chance to talk with them to determine if they are the right person for you to work with. Some offer help with the actual writing process-for example, editing your work or helping with literature review. I talked to someone who did that first and she was much more expensive. I didn't think I needed help with that, only with time management and that is what Alison offered. So it is important to see what services they offer and talk to them to see if you think they are a good match. Good luck with finding the right person!

Finding a coach

I did some work with a coach around procrastination issues related to work and found it very helpful. She isn't a dissertation coach, but I think there are obvious parallels. If you Google "how to select a coach" or something like that, a lot of stuff comes up. Before I hired my coach, I read some things on-line about choosing a coach (I can't find them now, or I'd suggest them to you) that were quite helpful. I almost hired someone else first and had a free, introductory phone session with the person, but the truth was that I just didn't feel that good about that particular coach. After the initial phone session with the person I hired, my intuition was that it would work--she was very insightful, positive, experienced, and I felt that we clicked. I found her by Googling coach and procrastination and my city. However, given that most coaching seems to be done over the phone, I guess the location doesn't much matter. Good luck!

choosing a coach

I tried coaching once, and it was a total waste of time and money. I think it really depends on who you find. The person I hired was very nice, but completely ineffective (and rather unprofessional - more interested in being friends than coaching). I didn't try to find another coach - maybe I should have.

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Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.