Putting the training together for the coin (aka proposal development)

It's pre-sunrise in the little college town I call home and I'm trying to get some writing done before the SO and dogs wake up. After all, every blog, listserv, and website I frequent tells me that I should make a point to write for at least 30 minutes EVERY DAY. Besides, this whole work-life balance thing is precarious stuff.

But I digress.

I'm in the final semester of coursework (Already?!? More like finally!) and one of the classes I'm taking is on proposal development - namely working on a NRSA proposal to secure funding for my dissertation research. For those that have the immense pleasure of not having to worry about such things, suffice it to say that the funding struggle is real and has just gotten realer. 

The nice thing, though, is that I'm now getting a chance to pull together all the seemingly divergent bits of training I've collected over the last couple of years and really see how it all fits together to serve a common purpose. Plus points - in my insatiable need for feedback from my peers and departmental faculty, I'm getting a chance to practice articulating my research interests and put my ideas out in a strategic positioning/branding way. 

It has been surprisingly validating to not just talk about the vagueries of my ideas, methods, and research interests, but to have it click for people what I mean when I talk about doing research around social justices issues in health. 

That plus all the content development I'm working on for the new(ish) job has noticeably helped me grease the writing wheels to the point where I'm getting pretty good at putting words on a page efficiently. Good thing, too, because I've got years of practicing that exact thing ahead of me...