I’m not sure when I learned that being indispensable was a bad career strategy or who I learned it from. I just know that I did learn it. If you are indispensable it is hard to take vacations and work reasonable hours. If you are indispensable then you cannot be promoted. (Think about it. Who would […]
Read More »When does Reading count as Writing?
In the intro to A Meeting With Your Writing I ask participants to list everything that comes to mind when they ask this question: “What does this writing project need to move forward?” I give them 30 – 60 seconds to write. Then I ask them to select the thing on that list that they […]
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What it means to make a contribution to knowledge
The primary purpose of academic publishing is to communicate with other scholars. This form of communication is rather formal. The bar for acceptance into the conversation is high. This conversation is asynchronous and takes place over very long time periods. What happens once you’ve published your article? By publishing your article in a scholarly journal […]
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When priorities and boundaries feel like cutting corners: Grading Edition
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · When priorities and boundaries feel like cutting corners In my Planning classes, I talk about the importance of defining your priorities and setting boundaries. An email from a client reminded me how hard that is in practice. This client was finding it hard to juggle her priorities as the […]
Read More »Making Writing Visible
One of the reasons people have trouble getting writing done is because if feels like “not work”. You know it’s real work and even the work that is going to be most valued when it comes to hiring, promotion, and whatnot. But even knowing that it feels like it’s not really work. You do it […]
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Thoughts on the emotional toll of grading.
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · The emotional toll of grading Marking student’s work is hard for many people. Emotionally hard. This example captures how that emotion affects your work process: Grading is a very unpleasant activity; even for those of us who enjoy coming to class and engaging our students in lively discussions about the […]
Read More »Do you think no one reads journal articles?
One of my clients came to me for help getting more writing done and out the door. In our initial meeting, one of the things that came up was that he felt like publishing his work was a bit like sending it out into the void. It felt almost pointless. I suspect he is not alone. […]
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Be an amateur.
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Be an amateur I’ve been thinking about the term amateur. I’m particularly drawn to the origin — “French, from Italian amatore from Latin amator lover”. I note that prior to the 19th century, usage is merely: “A person who is fond of something; a person who has a taste […]
Read More »Transitions in your work day
Occasionally my yoga teacher focuses on transitions. While the poses themselves are important, how we move from one pose to another is also worthy of attention. Academic work is complex. You do a lot of different things in a day. In addition to thinking about how you do the specific tasks — email, teaching, writing, […]
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Applying for promotion: Research Trajectory
While helping a client with her application for promotion, I was reminded of a conversation I had with a senior colleague when I applied for a promotion many years ago. “The promotion committee will be looking for a trajectory in your research.” I checked the guidelines for promotion from my client’s institution. Sure enough I […]
Read More »Attending to correspondence
I love serendipity. Shortly after I talked to a client about email in her relationship with research collaborators, this appeared in my TweetStream from a Romantic literature scholar I follow: “Attending to correspondence” sounds so much more pleasant than “answering e-mails,” so that’s what I’m gonna call it. #passthescones — tricia matthew (@triciamatthew) March 11, […]
Read More »How to make it easy for YOU
This post complements others about establishing a writing practice. I’ve been using my yoga practice as an analogy. One of the key questions I asked myself when establishing a home yoga practice was “How do I make this easy?”. Some of the elements of my answer: The smallest possible amount (10 minutes to start) No extra […]
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