Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · The frustrations of peer review: Why is it taking so long? This is part of a short series addressing the frustration with how long peer review takes. Other posts in this series include How you, as a peer reviewer, can contribute to a better process and The Role of Journal […]
Read More »Developing a Practice
Your academic life is more than a string of articles published, classes taught, and meetings attended. You write because this is how you articulate and develop your ideas. You publish to communicate those ideas to others. Posts in this category help you develop the practices you need to do the work you love well without burning out or compromising your values.
You Need a Writing Practice is a good place to start to investigate the Writing subcategory.
Juggling 101: Elements of a good plan is a good place to start investigating the Planning subcategory.
Time Management isn’t primarily a technical problem
First published in the Careers Cafe at University Affairs. Republished with permission. Everyone struggles with time management. Everyone. If it were just a matter of accurately estimating how long things would take and then allocating time to do those tasks, it wouldn’t be such a big problem. Perhaps you would be able to make a rational argument […]
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A story from… A Meeting With Your Writing
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · A Story from A Meeting With Your Writing If you’re a long-time member or someone new researching how you can add some accountability to your writing goals, here is a story from A Meeting With Your Writing – my weekly series of virtual writing groups to help you learn […]
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Writing is NOT a reward for getting your grading done
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Writing is not a reward for getting your grading done Grading is dispiriting at the best of times. There is too much of it to do, to a very tight deadline. And despite the occasional brilliant paper or clear demonstration that students are getting it, there are too many […]
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The frustrations of being a dedicated teacher.
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · The frustrations of being a dedicated teacher You are a dedicated teacher. You want your students to learn. When you take that ethical obligation seriously, and work hard to make it possible for students to learn and do well, it can be frustrating when students seem not to make […]
Read More »When your writing project needs to be left alone
Sometimes what your project needs to move forward is to be left alone so the ideas can mull, ferment, or percolate in the back of your mind. This stage will feel painful, unproductive, and like you are procrastinating. Strategies for the mulling phase Physical work is a good option. Our brains work better when we are […]
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The dangers of counting words
A lot of people count words as a way of measuring their writing progress. Although there are stages of the writing process where this is helpful, there are also points in the process where counting words could actually be damaging. What you measure, affects your process If you measure the number of words, you are going […]
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One thing at a time?
This post is part of a series on Optimizing Focus. Finding it hard to focus is normal. Self-flagellation does not work to improve your focus. Furthermore it takes time and energy that takes you away from your writing; it is another distraction. I firmly believe that you can approach your work compassionately rather than violently. […]
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It’s not too late to adjust your plans
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · It’s not too late to adjust your plans As I write this I am thinking of one person who has shared her feeling that she’s overcommitted this term, and didn’t manage to get any rest over the break, and is Never Doing This Again. I’m writing it to everyone […]
Read More »The 15-minute practice, 1 year later
I’ve been preaching the value of establishing a regular writing practice. If you are writing regularly, you will produce journal articles, books, and whatever else you need to produce. Establishing a regular practice is hard, but research shows that as little as 15 minutes per day can be effective. You can find 15 minutes. I’ve […]
Read More »Slack: the key to successful plans
Note: This post is not about the messaging app. It’s about slack as in not tightening the rope too much, leaving a buffer or white-space, etc. During late December and early January the number of posts in my Facebook feed about planning grew considerably. And then there were the inevitable cries of frustration that something […]
Read More »Have you come down with something?
Universities bring together people from a wide range of places, each with their own strains of common viruses, and put them in close quarters. Students are perhaps not eating as well as they should, sleeping as much as they need, and partying a bit too much. You letting your own basic self-care practices slide in […]
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