…he said, “you should ________________________________________ .”
I’ve thought a lot about what life will be like, post-PhD.
More cooking. Definitely replacing all my stale spices for fresh ones. More baking, too.
But it will most definitely not be “getting my life back.” It’s more like moving life forward. This is the new version: teach during the academic year, research during the summer. Ya; it looks a lot like my current life.
Will I still be writing? Yep. Volunteering with Rwandan NGOs? Yes, even more so. Still working with trauma and traumatized people? You bet.
I’m really looking forward to finishing, not because I will then do less work, but because I will be able to do more. Last January, my advisor guessed one of the issues I was/am having. He said something to the effect of “I’ll bet you’d just rather do the research work and the school stuff is getting in your way.” And part of me definitely feels this way.
On the other hand, this year of finishing will polish my skills, particularly writing up the research results and communicating them to peer professionals.
To that end, I’ll be presenting my results from July’s writing workshop at a local university, and at at least one professional conference. And those dates are coming up. (Yikes.)
Lots of writing to do: I’ll withdraw into my cave now.
Fed by Curiosity 
Love this post (already mentioned that b4 even reading it!) I want to do more research, too, not less. I also want to do less of that what I don’t enjoy but have to currently. I want to relearn carefreeness, relaxation, restfulness – things that are so elusive right now. I would love to travel to Rwanda with you and become better at appreciating life. Walk barefoot not on pavement but on earth.