“I really hate writing conclusions. I am writing something now and I am very tempted to write the following as my conclusion: I wrote, I argued, it has finished. You can stop reading now. Thank you.” — (via Bluesky January 2024) This is a very common sentiment. I have seen it numerous times on social […]
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How grading has ruined peer review
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · How grading ruined peer review “Academics should not be terrified of one another’s judgments, just as students should not be afraid of their teachers. … we need to imagine things as they might be otherwise; in this case, a world where evaluation of others isn’t part of the daily […]
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Making December less overwhelming
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Making December less overwhelming I’m publishing this at the beginning of December. It will be shared alongside the regular monthly review and planning prompts in my newsletter. The prompts talk more about reviewing and planning your writing. You can access those here. Planning December is different from other months […]
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Spotlight On: Imposter Syndrome
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Spotlight on Imposter syndrome I’ve noticed that there are a broader range of terms used to talk about feeling like an imposter these days. Whatever you call it — syndrome, complex, feelings, or something else — it is a real thing that stops you from doing the work that […]
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Why are you writing this book?
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Why are you writing this book? A book is a big project. Depending where you mark the beginning, book writing can take years. Not only is it hard to protect the time, given all your other commitments, but it can be hard to sustain momentum. Some of that is […]
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Survivor guilt & imposter syndrome: When you are one of the lucky few
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Survivor guilt & imposter syndrome: When you are one of the lucky few If there is one thing most of my clients, newsletter readers, and social media followers are familiar with, it’s gremlins shouting “Imposter!” at unhelpful moments. I use the term “gremlins” to personify the voices in your […]
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Resting when you can’t stop working completely
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Resting when you can’t stop working completely I seem to be having a lot of conversations about rest lately. It came up in Office Hours in the Academic Writing Studio. It’s come up in more than one Guide for the Journey session. If you are tired, you need to […]
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Beyond accountability: co-working as support
When I started A Meeting With Your Writing, co-working groups for academics were practically unheard of Shut Up and Write didn’t exist yet. The most popular “accountability group” for academic writers, The Academic Ladder, didn’t include co-working. There is now a proliferation of options, both specifically for academics, and more generally. It is common to describe […]
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Making Decisions: Applying for Funding
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Making Decisions: Applying for research funding Funding can often feel like an externally imposed mandate that has more to do with institutional underfunding than your own research needs. Conversely, if you do lab based research, securing funding may be fundamental to your ability to pursue an academic career at […]
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Making time blocking work for you
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Making time blocking work for you One of the strategies I encourage people to use when planning is time-blocking. It is what I am thinking of when I talk about boundaries as one of the principle elements of a good plan. Over the years I’ve realized that there are […]
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Spotlight On: Dystopia, Uncertainty & Disruption
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Spotlight On: Dystopia, Uncertainty & Disruption As I write (in the first half of 2023), there are a lot of conversations about how awful everything is right now. This is not new but perhaps the weight of it seems particularly heavy. Or maybe this is the point where we […]
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Tracking “streaks” to establish & maintain habits
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Tracking “streaks” to establish & maintain habits Note: Although I might provide some specific examples, what I say here applies to any habit you want to establish or maintain. That might be a work habit, like writing regularly. Or it might be self-care habits, like not working on weekends, […]
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