This is a very personal reflection. I did not know Mary well, nor have I been in contact with her in over 20 years. Our relationship was always a professional one. Hearing of her death has brought back good memories. Small things that remind me of the influence she had on my intellectual and career […]
Read More »The Spectre of Professionalism
As I was writing about how your office is organized, I realized that many of us are haunted by the Spectre of Professionalism. Luckily I have a cartoonist on speed-dial. This Spectre might haunt your office set-up, your writing style, your manner of dress, your interactions with students, your interactions with colleagues, your decisions about […]
Read More »Do you recognize this gremlin?
I’ve noticed this little fella hanging around lately. I’m not sure that they’re hanging around more. I think maybe I’m noticing them more. I think what happens is that someone suggests a way of approaching something that I’m stuck on and it makes visible a whole set of rules I thought I needed to follow […]
Read More »A lot can happen in 10 years
A new start. Ten years ago today, on January 7, 2003, I arrived in Ottawa with a suitcase and my ruby iMac with the intention to find a job so that I could move my whole family here. I had been living in the UK since September 1988, having initially gone as an undergraduate exchange […]
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Letting go of unfinished projects
Every once in a while my knitter friends have a friendly contest for finishing UFOs (UnFinished Objects, a.k.a WIPs or Works in Progress). Sometimes there is a prize for finishing the oldest UFO in one’s possession. Do you have UFOs on your desk or in your files? conference papers you meant to turn into articles […]
Read More »Does your office inspire your best work?
During a coaching session a client mentioned how much she loved teaching. She looked forward to being in the classroom. Colour was really important to her. She brought a tool box full of coloured markers and other supplies that she used to teach in an interactive way that involved lots of visual work and colour. […]
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The experiment was successful
Back in August I decided to try an experiment. I would run a virtual writing group. I contacted a couple of people to see what they thought. They were enthusiastic. I figured out a structure, decided on a time, picked a price out of the air, and started promoting it. This experiment was A Meeting […]
Read More »How do you work best?
Do you need to talk through your ideas with other people? Or, do you need time to really think things over without distraction? Does physical activity, like walking or running, stimulate your thinking? Does creative activity not directly related to your work, like painting or quilting, stimulate your thinking? Do you work better in the […]
Read More »Perfectionism
I want to alert you to an excellent series of articles at Inside Higher Education, where Kerry Ann Rockquemore has been writing about academic perfectionism. Many times people get confused because they think that perfectionism is really just a form of striving, being goal-oriented, having ambition, being driven and/or having high expectations for your career. […]
Read More »Does it feel like this term might be getting away from you?
It is now mid-November. For those in the Northern Hemisphere this is so far from the beginning of the autumn term that you’ve completely lost the energy from the newness of it but not quite close enough to the end to feel like it is almost over. Are you starting to worry that you aren’t […]
Read More »What if unexpected events are normal?
My friend and colleague Julie Clarenbach posted this on Facebook the other day: Sometimes I have this idea that if we can just get beyond THIS crisis everything will settle down and go back to “normal.” But there’s always something. I think Shit Happening may BE “normal.” She’s right. There will always be something. Maybe […]
Read More »What is writing?
Does “writing every day” incl. grant proposals or mental maps of research trajectories? @tanyagolashboza @professorisin @jovanevery #acwri — Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) October 4, 2012 Have you ever thought this or something like it? Have you sat down to “write” and then get frustrated that you didn’t really spend that time writing? Or look back […]
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