Categories
quick thought

Two Questions

They’ve been rattling around in my head these last few days.

I used the first one at a workshop last week, after reading it an article of questions that coaches use to get the best from people. I used it because I like the language of it, but in musing on it, I think there is a second question that has to come after it.

The first question is “what excites you?” For me, it’s playing games, of all kinds – board games, card games, dice games, role-playing games, computer games. I should probably qualify that: playing games with people for all but computer and video games (I like playing video games by myself).

I used this question just as a springboard to get people talking, and only afterwards did I think that there is a question which has to come after this one, at some point, maybe not immediately, but it is there and it is necessary. The second question is “what do you need to do to get more of what excites you?

And that’s hard… But it’s what I’m thinking about at the moment.

Thanks for reading – if these questions resonate with you, please comment!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

Categories
quick thought

What’s your secret ingredient?

(from my slush pile of half-baked thoughts; a short post while I work on my next book!)

I was watching a food show and they talked about the secret ingredient in Big Macs. I didn’t have a Big Mac until I was in my thirties, and I have maybe two a year. They’re not the greatest burger ever but they have something about them. But the secret ingredient aspect is odd when you think about it. The secret ingredient in Big Macs (or in any recipe) can’t really be secret – if it was, it couldn’t be sold. It has to be something that other people could use – it is only kept quiet to keep a monopoly on something. If you or I knew all of the ingredients in a Big Mac (which must be listed somewhere) then we could recreate it.

This got me thinking about the secret ingredients of people. What is the thing that you do that lets you do what you do well? Is it really a secret – or is it something that it might be really good to tell other people about? Can it be replicated, and if it could, would you be obligated to tell people?

Like I said in the bracket at the top – it’s a half-baked thought, but there is a thought there! What do you think? What’s your secret ingredient?

Thanks for reading!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

Categories
quick thought

Book 2 Progress

Another short post today (on Monday I was at a KESS Grad School, today I’m not home most of the day with some belated birthday celebrations!), and I just wanted to give a quick update on my next book, which is coming along quite nicely.

While I have procrastinated for a very long time on writing a second book, it seems like all of that thinking time has paid off big dividends in terms of being able to write the damn thing. When I sit down with my goals in front of me, it seems almost easy to get the words out. About a third of the chapters are being reworked from existing material that I have, and the rest I am working from outlines that I created before Christmas. I’m getting between 1500 and 3000 words written per day, so at this rate I’m looking at a first draft being finished around the first week of February.

I’ll print it and leave it alone for a week then – which will no doubt drive me crazy – before beginning the task of editing. I’m using Pressbooks to typeset it in, so the text should look good if nothing else! I’ll have to start thinking seriously about a cover soon – I have a few options in front of me – and all in all, it feels like I am on track to publish by Easter.

Oh, and the working title is still “Frequently Asked Questions About The PhD Viva“!

Thanks for reading!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

Categories
quick thought

Meanwhile, over on the Viva Survivors Podcast

Hello! I’m away at the moment working on a local Grad School as part of the KESS programme, so I’m not here to write anything.

(how is this being written…? Isn’t technology wonderful!)

So what really happened is I was preparing to go away and thought “Oh noes! I didn’t prepare a post for while I was away!”

So today I’m just crosslinking to the Viva Survivors Podcast, where there is a brand new episode up now, featuring Dr Helen Kara. It was really good fun talking to Helen, and she has some great advice to share with PhD candidates – and for postgraduate researchers in general. There’s also a recent post from me talking about the goals of the podcast for the next year, and on 26th January there’ll be another new episode, so look out for that.

That’s all for today, another short post on Wednesday, but hopefully something more substantial on Friday.

Thanks for reading!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)