One of the attractions of an academic career is the autonomy it affords. That means no one is going to give you permission. Or, perhaps more accurately, they already have.
Trusting your judgement is hard. You risk criticism. Disapproval. Perhaps even attack. Even though criticism is an inevitable part of academic life, many academics struggle with it.
Read More »Shortly after I wrote about dealing with your Inner Perfectionist, I read this piece, “Refinement vs Perfectionism” by Cairene MacDonald at Third Hand Works, addressing the same issue. Cairene generously allowed me to share her thoughts here. (The original is no longer available online.) Refinement serves the work. Refinement is that process of adding only what’s […]
Read More »Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Motivating yourself to finish the damned book Do you have a book project that’s been in progress for a long time? You are not alone. Over the years I’ve helped several mid to late career scholars who are weighted down by the unfinished projects they have lying around. Like […]
Read More »Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Creating A Satisfying Academic Career It is not an exaggeration to describe the current context in higher education as dystopian. Whether you are already employed in academia, permanently or precariously, or whether you are seeking academic employment, the situation is distressing. Is it possible to have a satisfying academic […]
Read More »Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Spotlight On: Burnout I published my first post with “burnout” in the title, “Burnout is real”, in 2022. We were just coming out of the most intense phase of the COVID pandemic disruptions. The term was familiar to people, but the idea that it might be a real diagnosable […]
Read More »This post is a different format than usual. Typically I write something and then record an audio version. However, when I invited Myriam Houssay-Holzschuch to share something about her experience of burnout, she preferred an interview. The text is an edited transcript of the interview. The audio has also been edited. Myriam and I talked […]
Read More »“I really hate writing conclusions. I am writing something now and I am very tempted to write the following as my conclusion: I wrote, I argued, it has finished. You can stop reading now. Thank you.” — (via Bluesky January 2024) This is a very common sentiment. I have seen it numerous times on social […]
Read More »Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Spotlight on Imposter syndrome I’ve noticed that there are a broader range of terms used to talk about feeling like an imposter these days. Whatever you call it — syndrome, complex, feelings, or something else — it is a real thing that stops you from doing the work that […]
Read More »Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Why are you writing this book? A book is a big project. Depending where you mark the beginning, book writing can take years. Not only is it hard to protect the time, given all your other commitments, but it can be hard to sustain momentum. Some of that is […]
Read More »Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Spotlight On: Dystopia, Uncertainty & Disruption As I write (in the first half of 2023), there are a lot of conversations about how awful everything is right now. This is not new but perhaps the weight of it seems particularly heavy. Or maybe this is the point where we […]
Read More »Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide | Who are you writing for? One thing that’s difficult about writing a book is its scope. There is a lot of material to organize. It’s too big to hold in your head. It’s hard to maintain your motivation when you won’t see a finished product for a long time. […]
Read More » Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · 10 years of A Meeting With Your Writing! The 2nd Monday in September is the 10th anniversary of the first session of A Meeting With Your Writing! When I started it in 2012, there was one session per week at 10 a.m. Eastern on Mondays. You had to […]
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