Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Are meetings really a waste of time? One of the core practices of my work with clients, and my engagement with academics on social media, is to remind you to notice what they’ve done. I wrote about this practice several years ago: You get a lot done. I send […]
Read More »Audio Version Available
A category for all posts that have an audio recording of the text available in podcast format. Most blog posts will have the Soundcloud player embedded into the post, or will have a link to the Soundcloud track.
Writing & research in the summer of the pandemic
One of the issues that has come up in the Academic Writing Studio is the relationship between motivation to write and finding the writing you need to do meaningful. This is not a new problem but the current crisis may have brought it to the fore. You may already struggle to prioritize writing or treat […]
Read More »Time perception and how long things actually take
Another issue that came up in Office Hours recently was this feeling that things that should take 15 minutes are taking 3 hours, or just a general feeling that you aren’t really accomplishing anything. (Office Hours is a group coaching session I do with members of the Academic Writing Studio. We talk about what’s going […]
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The case for getting dressed for work
I’ve been working from home for over 10 years now and the question of pyjamas versus getting dressed properly is a pretty standard one amongst the work at home crowd. Academics often work at home at least some of the time. At least, those in the humanities and social sciences whose research does not involve […]
Read More »Emotional labour is real work
As I watch all the academic twitter conversations about transitioning to remote teaching and generally figuring out how we live and work in pandemic conditions, I see a lot of people being surprised at how tired they are. Emotional labour is a big part of why. It is easy to dismiss emotional work. This kind […]
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Transitioning to summer
Note: I wrote this just before the pandemic situation started to impact academic workloads in the UK, US, and Canada. I am re-publishing it now as a reminder that things would already have been in transition at this time of year. For more on the specific impacts of the pandemic response on academic life… …head […]
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Thoughts on academic freedom, scholarly publishing, and mundane practices
This post is something I initially wrote for my newsletter. I had come across something that I wanted to write about even though I didn’t have a neat conclusion or lesson. I value freedom and autonomy. I know freedom and autonomy are important factors for many people who choose an academic career. I also value […]
Read More »Are you taking breaks?
Fatigue impairs cognitive function. In the planning classes I run in the Academic Writing Studio, I talk about the importance of sleep and rest. I suggest things like taking a break away from your desk to each lunch and/or do some kind of movement activity. I talk about doing stretches or something between activities. […]
Read More »How to feel like you are moving forward
I’ve had a few conversations with clients and colleagues that reminded me that your gremlins might have some very weird rules. “I feel like I’ve been working really hard but I haven’t ticked anything off my to do list.” “I have been working really hard and I have nothing to show for it.” These statements […]
Read More »Prioritising meaningful work when you are feeling overwhelmed and powerless
This is a follow up to the post about being an academic in dystopian times in which I encouraged you to : “Double down on the work that is meaningful to you. What makes your teaching meaningful to you? What makes your research meaningful to you? What makes your writing and publishing meaningful to you? How […]
Read More »Being an academic in dystopian times, reprise
I wrote a couple of posts about how you keep going while the world descends into fascism in the wake of the 2016 US election, and then again after I can’t even remember which horrific white supremacist incident in the US in 2017. I stand by what I said then and recommend you read those […]
Read More »The importance of your vision
One reason I started doing what I’m doing is that I could see all of these brilliant, interesting people not really enjoying their academic jobs. For various reasons you were discouraged, frustrated, or just plain overworked. As I’ve worked with clients I have noticed that one of the key elements in shifting that negative stuff […]
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