Steve Tippins Ph.D. tells recent graduates to stop and do nothing after finishing their program. Celebrate first, then rest and reflect on who you've become before rushing into what's next. This pause lets the transformation sink in and helps you think clearly about your next move.
Once you've celebrated and you've thanked, don't do anything. Do nothing for a while. Allow this to sink in. Now, I'm not talking about do nothing for the next 17 years, but I'm also saying do not automatically go on to that to-do list you've built up. Relax a little. You're tired. Let that work through. But also, you're a different person than when you started this program. You're a different person than you were in the middle of the program when you started to accumulate. Oh yeah, there's some research I want to do, or I've got to go out and do this, and I got to volunteer for that.— and yes, there's gonna be things you can do, but take some time to understand who you are now. You're a scholar. You're a member of the community. You're a peer to your committee members. What is it you want to do now to move forward within your discipline? And when I say take time, I don't mean you're lazy at all, although rest is gonna be great. It's you're just assimilating, bringing together, synthesizing who you are now, letting all the parts come into be.
