This post was originally written in February 2021 as a follow up to Planning Your Winter Semester and was shared in the Academic Writing Studio. It has been edited and divided into a series of shorter posts for ease of reading. The general principles—habits, routines, and default responses—are explained in the first post in the […]
Read More »Finding Your Way: Academic life as a journey
One of the great attractions of an academic career is the level of autonomy and freedom that you have. Some possible paths are clearly marked. Others are less obvious. Roadblocks are a frequent problem. Regardless of your stage of career, posts in this section help you identify the signposts and make decisions.
Overcommitted? Declaring a moratorium
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Overcommitted? Declaring a moratorium It’s easy to get overcommitted. In addition to all the things you have to do, there are a lot of things you would like to do. You don’t want to manage your workload by dropping everything that makes your work meaningful. In fact, I encourage […]
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Starting your academic writing year in mid-summer
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Starting your academic year in mid-summer When do academics celebrate the new year? This is a serious question for those of us who live in the northern hemisphere, where the beginning of the calendar year in January is more like the middle of the academic year. It seems like […]
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Managing your energy.
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Managing your energy The academic year varies in intensity. The typical structure of an academic year has 2 teaching semesters, or 3 teaching terms with shorter breaks between them and then a long break in the summer. Everyone involved needs time to recover and recharge, and to integrate knowledge. […]
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The value of intellectual engagement
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Valuing Intellectual Engagement Burnout and stress are not just about the quantity of work you have to do. Lack of control and a sense of meaninglessness are major contributors to burnout. It has become very clear that your difficulty managing your workload is not a personal failing. You are […]
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Juggling, jigsaws, and navigating by the stars: making reasonable plans
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Juggling, jigsaws, and navigating by the stars I’ve written before about juggling as a metaphor for planning out your workload. Consider all of the things you want and need to do, at work and outside of work, as the box of things a juggler could be juggling. Identify […]
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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 »Prioritising non-academic audiences during the pandemic
One of the issues that has come up in both Office Hours (a group coaching session for members of the Academic Writing Studio that I’m holding weekly at the moment) and in the Establishing a Writing Practice class is: the relationship between motivation to write and finding the writing you need to do meaningful. I’ve […]
Read More »Shifting priorities within your research during the pandemic
One of the issues that has come up in both Office Hours (a group coaching session for members of the Academic Writing Studio that I’m holding weekly at the moment) and in the Establishing a Writing Practice class is the relationship between motivation to write and finding the writing you need to do meaningful. I’ve […]
Read More »No, you don’t need to completely change your research focus
One of the issues that has come up in both Office Hours (a group coaching session for members of the Academic Writing Studio that I’m holding weekly at the moment) and in the Establishing a Writing Practice class, is the relationship between motivation to write and finding the writing you need to do meaningful. I’ve […]
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Not contributing to other people’s email overwhelm
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Not contributing to other people’s email overwhelm As a companion piece to Managing email when you’ve rapidly switched to remote working, I thought I’d also share some tips to make email more effective as a means of communication. Modelling good email practices does create change. If other people find your […]
Read More »Reviewing your writing accomplishments
Anna Clemens and I have been following each other on Twitter for a while. She provides editing and grant writing support for scientists and asked me if I could write something about reviewing the year for her blog. This is what I wrote. Review your scientific writing year (2019) Because her people are mainly scientists, […]
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