yes, i know the feeling. :) tonnes of work to be done but u have only a few minutes at ur disposal? planning to graduate with your friends who are doing their phd full time? when u're doing it part time, u're gonna need these things first ..
1. tawakkal
pray and learn to rely on Allah swt. don't rely on your intelligence or hardwork because it's gonna be too much. when ibnu sina did his research on medicine, he did it alone, for about 5 years and published a journal on his findings. a university from the western civilization found the journal and studied it. how long do u think it took them? 400 years. yeah, 400 years. why? because ibnu sina relied on Allah but the westerners relied on their IQ and hardwork. so, make the right choice inshaaAllah. :)
2. imperfection coolness
u have to let go of perfection. i know it's not as good or not as perfect as u want it to be .. but u gotta let it go. remember the pareto principle. 20% of effort results to 80% of outcome. so now, u gotta be cool with imperfection. dont get me wrong. u can always improve things bit by bit later on.
3. purpose
u have to be clear with your purpose. for everything that u do, u gotta ask yourself. ..
do i really need this?
for instance, if u need to do an interview, and the author suggests 70 candidates. then ask yourself, do i really need 70 people? is there another alternative with lesser people? if u can find another literature that shows 40 people will give the same accuracy, which one is better?
inshaaAllah, for everything that u do, the scope or how much work can be in four layers (remember NICE)
Need - what u really really need
Impact - what brings the most impact
Case - what u should consider in different cases
Extra - what u add to 'polish' ur research.
REMEMBER, finish all that u really 'need' to do before progressing to the impact, case and extra.
for instance, u wanna do the experimentation. figure out exactly what u really need. i've seen students spending a lot of time because they wanted the experiment to look grand. if u're a part time student, u should reassess the needs. only do what u need to do. when all of that is finished, look at things that can bring the most impact to ur research. then, if u hv more time, emphasize on different cases and finally, polish it with the extra things that can make it shine.
why do it this way?
okay.. let's say u have to write 3 chapters and u have 2 months ..
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
so, u started writing the 2nd chapter and u spend a lot of time polishing it .. u add up a lot of extra etc. what will happen? ur overall progress will look this way ...
CHAPTER 1 - ??
CHAPTER 2 - Need, Impact, Extra, Extra, Extra, Extra ..
CHAPTER 3 - ??
if the 2 months are up, can u submit ur work? definitely not! it's far from complete. chapter 1 and 3 are untouched with zero progress.
however, let's say u do it in layers, focusing on the Need, Impact, Case and Extra.
first cycle
CHAPTER 1 - Need
CHAPTER 2 - Need
CHAPTER 3 - Need
second cycle
CHAPTER 1 - Need
CHAPTER 2 - Need, Impact
CHAPTER 3 - Need
and suddenly u're out of time. can u submit ur work now? YES! although they're not perfect. u can still submit them inshaaAllah.
so, remember.. define your purpose in layers .. Need Impact Case Extra.
only do what u REALLY need first before going to the other layers.
hope it helps :)
thank! for sharing this.
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