Happy Doc Student Podcast Heather Frederick, PhD

In this episode I welcome back Dai Manuel to chat about the "2% Solution" for self-care. We discuss the importance of dedicating 30 minutes daily to personal wellness through movement, meditation, and positive input.  Emphasis is placed on the power of small, consistent actions in self-improvement and mental health, while cautioning against the time lost to screen usage. The conversation also touches on the value of intuition and how stillness can help in decision-making and self-awareness.
Highlights:
Overview of the "2% Solution" for self-care.The importance of a non-negotiable 30-minute block for self-care.Breaking down the 30 minutes: 15 minutes of purposeful movement, 5 minutes of mindful meditation, and 10 minutes of positive input.The significance of the inputs we give to our brain and their long-term effects.Tapping into intuition and its benefits for mental health.Dai Manuel's take on changing inputs for different life outputs.How small steps can lead to larger changes in life.The trap of screen time and its impact on our well-being.Encouragement for listeners to start making positive changes in their routines - it is an investment in yourself and YOU ARE WORTH IT!
Get Dai's book here: https://amzn.to/3RgJ3SU
Support the showSupport this free content: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1547113/supporters/new
Get The Happy Doc Student Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578333732
Other resources at: http://Expandyourhappy.com
Treat me to a green tea: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/expandyourhappy

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#115 Catie is the founder and head editor of CS Phares, a company dedicated to helping academics turn their research into engaging content. 
Highlights:
1.    Engaging writing is valuable currency!
2.    Story telling is having a renaissance – it is a way to engage your audience so that your ideas can get out there (everyone loves a story)
3.    Academics aren’t taught how to use storytelling to present their research (straight facts are not memorable)
4.    If you are struggling with making your ideas clear to your reader, talk about it (record yourself or talk to someone who isn’t an expert in your area and have a chat with them)
5.    Answer, in one sentence: What are you saying? 
6.    Answer, in one sentence: Why say this at all?
7.    Answer, in one sentence: What is the danger if no one ever says this? 
8.    Catie’s download will help your writing FLOW via LINKS (get it ASAP: https://www.csphares.com/)


Connect with Catie
https://www.linkedin.com/in/catiesphares/
https://www.facebook.com/catie.phares/
FREE DOWNLOAD: https://www.csphares.com/
Support the showSupport this free content: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1547113/supporters/new
Get The Happy Doc Student Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578333732
Other resources at: http://Expandyourhappy.com
Treat me to a green tea: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/expandyourhappy

Want to make my day? Rate, review, subscribe & share with someone you love.

#114 with Lauren Saunders, PhD.
Lauren is the Vice President of Editing and Research for Dissertation Editor, where she previously served as an editor and managing editor.
Highlights: 
·      Publishing your dissertation as a book and/or article(s) is a worthwhile endeavor - get your work out there (don’t kid yourself that people, beyond grad students, are going to read your dissertation as is).
·      The dissertation is a very specific genre – if you need help writing this way, get it!
·      Check out Lauren and Allen Roda’s book: PhDone - A Professional Dissertation Editor's Guide to Writing Your Doctoral Thesis and Earning Your PhD : https://amzn.to/3Z72W0T
·      Take a break (but not too long!) so you can get perspective before you reformat your dissertation as a publication.
·      A book can reach a broad, general audience and is an opportunity to put in all the personal reasons you picked your topic and other things that “don’t fit” in a typical dissertation – take this as an opportunity to find your voice.
·      Articles typically go to academic journals (for ideas on where to submit yours, check out your reference section).
·      Working with your chair/advisor/other committee member as a second author can be a great way to be mentored on how to publish in scholarly journals.
·      Talk to your network – get their advice and capitalize on their connections. 
·      Rejections give you important information! Don’t be disappointed, just like the revisions you made on your dissertation, they will make your published work better.
·      Be aware of players out there not working in your best interest – make sure they are taking time to do a legitimate peer-review and be cautious of pay-to-publish situations (unless it is due to open access reasons).
·      Last and not least, make sure you are living your life WHILE you are in graduate school.  
Connect with Lauren
@drlaurensaunders (Instagram & TikTok)
Lauren Saunders (LinkedIn)
 Get the book, PhDone: https://amzn.to/3Z72W0T
Learn more about Dissertation Editor: https://www.dissertation-editor.com/
Support the showSupport this free content: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1547113/supporters/new
Get The Happy Doc Student Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578333732
Other resources at: http://Expandyourhappy.com
Treat me to a green tea: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/expandyourhappy

Want to make my day? Rate, review, subscribe & share with someone you love.

#113 with Vinnie Stergin 
Vinnie is a musician, artist & educator. Over the past 20 years he has taught, coached & inspired hundreds of students from all walks of life to explore their creativity and experience the transformative power of music and specifically “The Mindful Ukulele Method”
Highlights:
·      Playing music and practicing mindfulness allows for a deep experience that taps into the mind-body connection.
·      Music and mindfulness can help you gain a new perspective for dealing with chronic stress.
·      The learning of a new skill (playing the Ukulele) combined with creating new mindfulness habits create new spaces where lasting change can happen (are you game?).
·      The ukulele is an inexpensive instrument and easy to play – what do you have to lose? Sign up for Vinnie’s free 4-part course: https://happydoc.mindfulukulelemethod.com
·      Shout out to The Tarbox Ramblers (who got me through my doctoral program) -  check them out here: https://www.tarboxramblers.com/band
·      There is value in using music and creativity as portals to insights you just won’t have if you don’t allow yourself SPACE to reflect.
·      Have you considered making music as part of your self-care practice? 
·      Learning an instrument might just be the antidote to burnout – give yourself a break and have more fun!
·      Stop taking yourself and life so seriously – exercise your funny bone with a ukulele.
“I’ve always been very curious about people, nature and life and love to experiment, explore. I’m a constant work in progress, and love that.” – Vinnie Stergin


Connect with Vinnie
INSTAGRAM: @sterginmusic
FACEBOOK: @vinzenzstergin
TIKTOK: @stergin
BANDCAMP: https://stergin.bandcamp.com/
Shiny Brain Crayons (current band): https://youtu.be/RoFhHznaULA
A free 4-part mini course of the Mindful Ukulele Method: https://happydoc.mindfulukulelemethod.com


Support the showSupport this free content: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1547113/supporters/new
Get The Happy Doc Student Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578333732
Other resources at: http://Expandyourhappy.com
Treat me to a green tea: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/expandyourhappy

Want to make my day? Rate, review, subscribe & share with someone you love.

In episode #112, I invite back Dr. Paul Shaw .Paul is a professional musician, who earned his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Humanities and Culture and a certification in Creative Writing.  His new book: The Women’s Music Movement: Music as Feminist Praxis 1973-1980, was published in 2023 by Brill Publishing.
Our previous conversation is here: #37 The Paul Shaw Story: From Jazz Musician to PhD (Part 1)
Highlights:
1.    Community is essential for this journey – but what that community looks like may change based on your stage (taking courses versus writing your dissertation/doctoral project).
2.    Quality is more important than quantity when it comes to a supportive network.
3.    There is great value in both supporting someone and being supported during this journey (helping others remember their WHY and letting others have your back and remind you of your WHY is no small thing).
4.    Consider attending your graduation and enjoy the ceremony of completing this massive goal. 
5.    Join (or start) a writing group in addition to your cohort community.
6.    Writing is often a thorn in many doctoral students’ sides – What if you began your program with the frame of mind that improving your writing is one of the major tasks of a doctoral program?
7.    Make friends with the revision process – it is only through multiple revisions that you learn how to create new information. 
8.    Tap into your inner curiosity because doctoral-level writing goes beyond book report-type writing (it must demonstrate to your faculty you can think at a higher level).
9.    Trust the feedback you get from your faculty - their goal is to help you complete your degree.
10. Address feedback in a comprehensive way; at this level, revisions go beyond just making a few changes here and there (they can be massive and a change in one place may require a change in a place somewhere else). 
11. Think about what’s coming, not only so you can plan, but so that you can connect the dots and see the big picture. 
12. Get and stay organized - electronically for sure (and hard copies – if this fits with your personality/preferences).
13. If you are struggling, are you doing everything online in front of a blue screen? Consider printing out seminal articles and writing in the margins and/or taking notes in a journal (there is something to be said for the brain/hand connection).
14.  Keep your default setting on DISCOVERY!
 Dr. Kelly Olson Feedback Podcast: #18 How to Feel Good About Feedback with Dr. Kelly Stewart
Connect with Paul
FB and IG: Paul A. Shaw III 
Website: https://www.Paulshawmusic.com
Get his book here: https://amzn.to/454iIM5

Book Paul references in this podcast: A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker & Nancy Sommers: https://amzn.to/3OURh1V
Support the showSupport this free content: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1547113/supporters/new
Get The Happy Doc Student Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578333732
Other resources at: http://Expandyourhappy.com
Treat me to a green tea: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/expandyourhappy

Want to make my day? Rate, review, subscribe & share with someone you love.

On episode 111, I welcome Swami Nityananda. As Dr. Juniper Ellis, she is Professor of English at Loyola University Maryland. As Swami, she is the spiritual teacher and spiritual leader at Awake Yoga Meditation, a meditation community located physically in Baltimore that reaches listeners in many geographical areas.
Highlights: 
1.    Each human has a natural connectedness – to find yours, ask yourself where do you feel alive, at peace, calm?
2.    It is simple to connect to your natural state of peace and calm, if you will pause long enough to remember (it is always with you…and you already know).
3.    Connect with this pure energy first thing in the morning by setting an intention “I am….” (can you take a moment to do this before you look at your phone?) 
4.    Tapping into this way of being will give you access to your intuition and help you navigate your day in a joyful way – step-by-step, choice-by-choice. Moment-by-moment.
5.    This really is simple – yes, just a few minutes will make a difference!
6.    Taking a few minutes in the morning and after work is a huge investment in your well-being (and whatever time you spend connecting with yourself you will get back in spades).
7.    When life gets challenging, these simple practices will allow you to “shake off” stress like a duck shakes off drops of water and give you the opportunity to respond (rather than react).
8.    When you take a few minutes to refresh and reset you improve every aspect of your life because you have access to your best self.
9.    Use technology in a way that helps you connect with your intention (and if they aren’t helping you, choose to use them in a different way); some ideas: sleep with your phone in another room, silence it, put it face side down, pick a screen saver that will remind you to breathe, write a positive message on your bathroom mirror, use a mindfulness bell app, etc. More ideas here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1547113/11832398
10. Pick a daily intention that will assist you move through your day – pick a word (calm, clarity, peace) and breath into this word. 
11. We have the ability to create positive new pathways in our brain – things like picking an intention and focusing on that each day, simple yoga poses, taking deep breaths, will change your nervous system.
12. Use YouTube to search for tools that will help you find methods that resonate with you (personally, I love Yoga with Adriene). 
13. Trust. Trust yourself, your brilliance, the light within you, your own awareness and ENJOY giving yourself the gift of connection to the version of your best self.  
Connect with Swami
Website: https://www.Awakeyogameditation.org
IG: @swami_nityananda_giri
IG: @awakeyogameditation
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/awakeyogameditation
TikTok: @swami_nityananda_giri
FB: https://www.facebook.com/awakeyogameditationcenter/
Get her book,  Awake: The Yoga
Support the showSupport this free content: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1547113/supporters/new
Get The Happy Doc Student Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578333732
Other resources at: http://Expandyourhappy.com
Treat me to a green tea: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/expandyourhappy

Want to make my day? Rate, review, subscribe & share with someone you love.