Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · 2 questions to help you avoid burnout During the early stages of the Covid pandemic, I recommended what I thought were probably temporary emergency measures. Not even a year into the pandemic I was asking “Are things getting worse? Or is dystopia the new normal?” In the face of […]
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Making Decisions about your writing
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Making decisions about writing This is a belated addition to the Making Decisions series that begins with Managing the energy you use to make decisions, published in August 2021. You might want to read the introductory post first. You can also find links to other posts in the series […]
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Spotlight On: Saying No
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Spotlight On: Saying No Have you ever been told “You need to get better at saying no?” Or maybe the ubiquity of that kind of advice means you’ve told yourself that before anyone else had to. It might be true. We could all get better at that. But […]
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Saying No: Do you suggest an alternate?
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Saying no: Do you suggest an alternate? One issue that comes up reasonably frequently in relation to saying no, especially for research related things, is whether or not you should suggest someone else. There are 2 sides to this question. Would the person asking you welcome your suggestions? Would […]
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Spotlight On: Meaningfulness Matters
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Meaningfulness Matters: A Spotlight I have been supporting academics with research and writing in some way since 2005. It took several years for my business to evolve into what it is today, but one thing that has remained consistent is my belief that focusing on what matters to you […]
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Do you have to finish your grading before you can write?
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Do you have to finish the grading before you can write? It’s already difficult to keep writing while you are teaching and doing all the other things that need to be done in the main part of the academic year. You probably look forward to the end of teaching […]
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Are meetings really a waste of time?
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 · Are meetings really a waste of time? […]
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No, you don’t need to completely change your research focus
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · No, you don’t need to completely change your research focus This post was written in the early stages of the Covid pandemic. One of the issues that had come up in both Office Hours (a group coaching session for members of the Academic Writing Studio) and in the Establishing […]
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Emotional labour is real work
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. As I watch all the academic Twitter conversations about transitioning to remote teaching […]
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Prioritising meaningful work when you are feeling overwhelmed and powerless
This is a follow up to the post about being an academic in dystopian times in which I encouraged you to : “Double down on the work that is meaningful to you. What makes your teaching meaningful to you? What makes your research meaningful to you? What makes your writing and publishing meaningful to you? How […]
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Lies you’ve been told about loving your work
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Lies you’ve been told about loving your work Your employer exploits the fact that you love your work (or aspects of it) to avoid addressing serious workload pressures, to avoid the cost of appropriate staffing levels, to justifying paying you less, and to avoid addressing the mental health issues […]
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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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