Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Do you struggle with planning? The Anti-Planner is the brain-child of Dani Donovan, an artist who’s been working on support materials for ADHD and other neurodivergent types for a while. It’s designed principally for people with ADHD, but it seems to be useful regardless of what brain type you […]
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Email, ChatGPT & the myth of efficiency
Ernesto Priego is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Human-Computer Interaction Design at City, University of London. This piece was written originally as a Bluesky thread and therefore reflects the constraints of such a medium. If you’ve followed me on the other platform [Twitter, now X] over the years you may (or not) know […]
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Beyond accountability: co-working as support
When I started A Meeting With Your Writing, co-working groups for academics were practically unheard of Shut Up and Write didn’t exist yet. The most popular “accountability group” for academic writers, The Academic Ladder, didn’t include co-working. There is now a proliferation of options, both specifically for academics, and more generally. It is common to describe […]
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Making time blocking work for you
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Making time blocking work for you One of the strategies I encourage people to use when planning is time-blocking. It is what I am thinking of when I talk about boundaries as one of the principle elements of a good plan. Over the years I’ve realized that there are […]
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Tracking “streaks” to establish & maintain habits
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Tracking “streaks” to establish & maintain habits Note: Although I might provide some specific examples, what I say here applies to any habit you want to establish or maintain. That might be a work habit, like writing regularly. Or it might be self-care habits, like not working on weekends, […]
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Do you struggle to write for long periods of time?
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Do you struggle to write for long enough? One of the members of the Academic Writing Studio asked about writing stamina in a recent Office Hours, the regular group-coaching session I host for members there. You know, I have this ideal self that wakes up every day and writes […]
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Two questions to help you avoid burnout
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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What is Real Writing anyway?
At the beginning of every planning class in the Academic Writing Studio, I ask participants a set of questions about what they did in the previous period. We focus on writing, and I ask questions about how much time they protected, what they worked on, and how those projects advanced. I do this in the monthly […]
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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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This is *not* your new year, new start
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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Spotlight On: Grading Season
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Spotlight On: Grading Season Grading is one of those things that many academics struggle to find meaningful or enjoyable, but is required by your employer. Grading is often constrained by policies you have little influence over and deadlines you don’t control. My work is focused on helping academics find […]
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