There are a lot of different ways to have an academic career. Your academic career is affected by both your own values and desires, and by forces beyond your control. Although a lot of academic career advice suggests that there is a clear path to success, there are lots of reasons you may not end […]
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Optimizing Focus: 3 elements to consider
Everyone struggles with focus. This is why I prompt participants in A Meeting With Your Writing to think about what they’d like to try that day to optimise their focus. In this rather long post, I set out the fundamental principles that underpin those prompts. There are lots of links to other posts, both here […]
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Juggling 101: Elements of a good plan
A good plan can reduce the stress and overwhelm that you experience when trying to juggle all your different responsibilities. This is why I have developed planning classes for members of the Academic Writing Studio. In this rather long post, I set out the fundamental principles that guide my planning classes. There are lots of […]
Read More »Hope works better than fear
I have cycled through a few tag lines in my attempt to succinctly capture what it is I do: “Love Your Academic Work” made way for “Transforming Academic Lives“. This latest iteration has the benefit of coming directly from something clients have said about working with me. An opinion piece about climate change reporting reminded me […]
Read More »Communication vs Validation: why are you publishing?
The primary purpose of publishing, even scholarly publishing, is communication. If you centre the communicative role of publishing, with a focus on the audience and the difference you would like your work to make for that audience, decisions about when and where to publish will change. This principle can also influence how you understand peer […]
Read More »You need a writing practice
Writing is central to your scholarly work and identity. And yet, you struggle to find time and motivation to do it. I argue that it is more effective to focus on the process of writing as a whole and establish an effective writing practice that enables you to pursue your curiosity, create knowledge, and communicate that knowledge through […]
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