Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Mid-career blahs An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, “I’ve Got Tenure, How Depressing” (Kathryn D. Blanchard, 31 January 2012), highlights the fact that even getting a coveted tenure-track position doesn’t necessarily lead to the “happily ever after” ending. Since my provost gave me the news about my promotion, I […]
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Saying no, FOMO, and being strategic about research
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Saying no, FOMO, and being strategic about research I saw a short thread on Twitter reflecting on taking advice to say no a lot. Before starting my lectureship, my mentors told me very clearly to say no to as many things as possible (except unmissable opportunities). It has been […]
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Risking doing the work you find meaningful
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Risking doing the work you find meaningful A longstanding imaginary-friend-on-the-Internet, who now runs a very successful online business, once said that something I’d said to them years ago had been pivotal to their success. I had no idea what they were talking about. Apparently, back when we were both […]
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Hope works better than fear
The tension between the reality of now and your hopeful vision of the future creates forward momentum that helps you achieve your vision. There are good reasons to be fearful in general and in relation to your academic career. There are also reasons for hope. Those may be tiny glimmers right now. It is important to notice those glimmers and find ways to expand and multiply them. This is how change happens. Slowly. Collectively. Building on the positive to create new possibilities.
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Reconnecting with the desire to write
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Reconnecting with the desire to write I was talking with a client about writing and motivation recently. We started with “It’s really hard to write with a gun to your head.” which strikes me as a pretty widespread problem. Whether that metaphorical gun is the REF, the tenure process, […]
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Setting effective goals
My approach to planning is very process focused. I encourage you to make time to do the important work and to notice how your projects are moving forward. I do this because what I see happening when people set goals increases stress, leads to overwork, and doesn’t actually support their best work. Things like: negative self-talk […]
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Priorities or, why being a straight A student isn’t necessarily a good thing
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Why being a straight A student isn’t necessarily a good thing I bet you were a straight A student. You got lots of praise for being a straight A student. You’ve lived your life thinking being a straight A student is a good thing. It’s not. It encourages all […]
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Is “number of hours” the right measure?
Recently a client asked me to help her figure out how to work less. She is frustrated by long hours, working weekends, and so on. She figures at this stage of her career, she should be able to have a better balance. As we worked together, it became clear to me that the number of […]
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