Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · This is *not* your new year, new start The beginning of the calendar year is accompanied by a lot of cultural pressure to reflect on the year just ended and make some big decisions about the year ahead. Reflection and planning are both practices I encourage. However, if you […]
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Planning as Practice
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Planning as a practice The purpose of planning is to enable you to take action. Making a plan helps you prioritize the things you want and need to do, so that what you take action on includes the things that are important. Planning also helps you ensure that time […]
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Spotlight On: Email Overwhelm
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Spotlight On: Email Overwhelm. One issue that seems to affect your ability to find and protect time for writing is email. You may disagree on details. Not every suggestion will work for you. But I hope you find something in here that you can try to make your situation […]
Read More »![A flatlay photo of a white desk surface displaying a few items. A black rope noticeboard with walnut frame reads: "Things to do: 1. own today. 2. [empty space] 3. [empty space]. A pair of bright neon turquoise wired headphones, a laptop, turquoise notebook, black coffee in white mug and grey cable knit jumper sleeve decorate the image edges.](https://jovanevery.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/emma-matthews-digital-content-production-p6g6S_kXkFc-unsplash-900x600.jpg)
Motivation and accomplishment in your writing practice
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Motivation & accomplishment in your writing practice Given how hard it is for most academics to find time to work on their writing, and how difficult it is to know how long some stages of the process will take, I advocate establishing a regular writing practice and trusting […]
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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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How do you think about meetings when you are planning your day/week/month?
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · How do you think about meetings when you are planning your day/week/month? When you are planning your week (or your day or your month) and you look over what’s already in your calendar what is your reaction to scheduled meetings? When someone contacts you to organize a meeting, how […]
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Projects vs Workloads
I really need to share this post by Helen Kara with you. She makes some excellent points that fit very well with my approach to planning. And she made me realise something: There is a big difference between project planning and workload planning. What I focus on here most of the time is workload planning, […]
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Autonomy in pandemic conditions
This post was originally written during a time when many universities and workplaces had shifted to remote work in response to the COVID pandemic. Although circumstances have now changed for many people, much of what I say in this post still applies. Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Autonomy in pandemic conditions One of the […]
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Do you have too many active writing projects?
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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The importance of your vision.
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · 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 […]
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Unpacking “busy”: the importance of being proactive instead of reactive
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Unpacking Busy: the importance of being proactive vs reactive In a conversation with a long-term client recently I had an Aha! moment. Every one of my clients is busy. Working with me, doesn’t necessarily make you less busy. Working with me can make you feel less stressed and make […]
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Before you can say no …
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Before you can say no It’s all well and good for people to tell you “You need to get better at saying no” but there are lots of good reasons that saying no is difficult. Even the people giving you that advice aren’t very good at hearing no, when […]
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