Anna Clemens and I have been following each other on Twitter for a while. She provides editing and grant writing support for scientists and asked me if I could write something about reviewing the year for her blog. This is what I wrote.

Review your scientific writing year (2019)

Because her people are mainly scientists, I wrote this imagining a more typical scientific writing process, involving co-authored papers and higher output. The bigger goals I started with are relevant to everyone.

Keep your bigger goals in mind.

Academic evaluation cycles tend to be long and for good reason. If you are still a few years from your next promotion, you’ll evaluate your accomplishments a lot differently than if you need certain things on your CV for a promotion review next year.

• What is your vision for your career? What is your next achievable career goal? How far out is that?
• Where does research and writing fit in relation to teaching, service, and so on?
• What foundational elements will make it easier for you to achieve the output targets that will be expected of you? Have you put some of those foundational pieces in place this year?
• What is the most important next piece in laying a solid foundation for the next stage of your research career?