You got into this profession because you think it is important. You have important contributions to make. It’s a demanding job. It can be difficult to juggle your myriad responsibilities and to keep your focus on what’s really important in the face of the immediate demands.
That’s where I can help you survive and thrive in academia.
Guide for the Journey coaching
A Guide for the Journey is a long-term coaching programme to help you make, or adapt to significant changes to the way you work. If you have a sense of what your priorities are and want support to figure out practices that will help keep you on track, and deal with stuff that comes up, A Guide for the Journey is the service for you.
The programme consists of fortnightly 45 minute coaching calls with me. You can also email me between calls to ask for reassurance or advice as you go about your daily work and life. We work together for a minimum of 6 months so you have an opportunity to fine tune the strategies that will be most helpful and establish new habits. This initial commitment will take you through at least one transition between semesters (or between a busy teaching semester and the long summer break).
Although I’m based in the UK, I offer my services remotely so it doesn’t really matter where you are located, as long as we can make the time zone thing work.
It costs £1440 for 6 months. You can either pay upfront, or in 6 monthly instalments of £240
After 6 months, we review your situation and you can decide whether you want to continue or not.
Your first step is to book a free consultation to assess whether this service will meet your needs.
The benefits of a Guide for the Journey
Change is difficult. You have autonomy (even if it’s constrained). You have choices (albeit not always the ones you’d like). You also have established ways of doing things and stories you are used to telling about how things are. Change throws up a lot of emotional reactions. The people around you are also affected by the changes you are making and you will need to address at least some of their reactions.
I hold onto the big picture of what’s important to you and what you are trying to achieve in the medium to long term while we focus on the part of the path that’s right in front of you.
I do not have a magic wand to make it all easy, but working with me will smooth the process.
What went well over the last couple of weeks? What isn’t going well? What unexpected thing do you need to deal with?
- You’ll get clarity on what you want to do more quickly.
- I’ll help you assess the risks and decide on a course of action you are comfortable with.
- You’ll have support to stick with your decisions and new habits until they feel more comfortable.
- I’ll help you decide whether to push through, adjust, or abandon a course of action.
- I’ll help you deal with the unexpected.
- I’ll help you reframe situations and tell new stories.
Furthermore, you have me to vent to, even if there is nothing you can do about an awful situation. You can freak out, cry, boast, or express any other emotion. You are allowed to feel what you feel. I won’t let you wallow unproductively in that emotion, but I won’t make you push it down either. I also reassure, encourage, and commiserate.
I know you have mentors, colleagues, friends, and maybe even a partner who could help you with some of these things. Working with me complements those relationships. It may even make those relationships better because they can meet other needs you have without this stuff getting in the way.
My approach is ADHD friendly.
What might prompt you to do this?
Here are some of things that have prompted former clients in case that helps you decide:
- Wanting to make good use of sabbatical or study leave
- Needing or wanting to finish a book or other major project
- Getting a research grant or a significantly bigger grant
- Taking on a leadership role (which you may call a major administrative role).
- Returning to work after maternity leave
- Struggling with requirements for tenure/confirmation/contract renewal.
- Needing to publish more to get a promotion or be competitive for a different job.
- Wanting a better work-life balance.
- Getting a diagnosis that makes you want or need to change how you work. (e.g. ADHD, autism, or a chronic illness).
Other practicalities
I use Zoom conference calls, so the costs of connecting are minimised. I am willing to discuss reasonable accommodations for deaf clients or others who find phone/video conversations difficult.
I record our conversations for your future reference and so you can focus on the conversation itself. You can download the recording and save it to listen to later. I do not keep copies of the recordings after sending them to you.
A full membership of my Academic Writing Studio is included. This means you can attend my weekly online writing group: A Meeting With Your Writing, if the times fit with your schedule. You can also use the asynchronous resources available on the member website.
Reaching out for some support is the first step.
I offer a free 30-minute initial consultation to help you decide what kind of help is right for you.
Availability is limited. Since 2021, I’ve accepted 6 or 7 new clients per year. Many continue after the initial 12 sessions. The average number of sessions per client (since 2019) is 27.
I have not had to advertise for new clients for several years. If you think coaching with me would benefit you, book a free consultation. I might magically have a place opening up and, if not, knowing more about your situation will enable me to make a better recommendation of someone else.
If I have unfilled places and no recent enquires, I will announce it first to members of the Academic Writing Studio and then to my newsletter list.
If you’ve read this far, it’s probably worth booking a free consultation. We can work out if the support I offer through the Academic Writing Studio would meet some of your needs, perhaps while waiting for a coaching place.
