Meet Hari Palaiyanur, newly minted Ph.D, NBA fanatic, and eater of vegetables. Hari used iDoneThis to motivate him to make progress on his dissertation every day, until he had his degree in hand.
BIO
I was born in India and have grown up in the US for most of my life. At some point in college, I became addicted to basketball. I’ve lived in the Bay Area since graduating college and am planning to move to the East Coast this summer.
Age: 27
Location: Berkeley, CA
Contact: LinkedIn
How do you use iDoneThis?
I keep a log of the work I do during the day and occasionally track exercise. It has been really helpful for maintaining motivation because everything that gets accomplished today is something that doesn’t have to be done tomorrow, even if it’s something small and boring.
How’s your Ph.D dissertation coming?
It’s now (as in last week) done! It was the largest project I had ever undertaken and it seemed so daunting at the beginning. I did a bit of planning to figure out all the material I wanted to put in it and (slowly) wrote the sections and chapters over 5 months. I used iDoneThis mostly as a motivational tool to make sure I did something everyday.
Who’s your pick to win the NBA Finals this year?
Of course I get asked this during one of the most wide open years in the NBA! In my dream scenario, it would be the Dallas Mavericks. But I think Miami is the most likely to win.
Why did you start eating more vegetables over the years?
Because I realized that ‘variety is the spice of life’ is not something people say only to make themselves sound wise. Although, that’s probably part of it. And that’s why I said it.