When I was on the tenure-track, I spent the month of August frantically uploading articles to Blackboard, maneuvering to get better classroom assignments for the courses I taught, and trying to wrap up my summer writing projects. The writing goals I had set at the beginning of the summer now seemed like a list of
There’s a lot of productivity advice out there, even on this blog. Much of it focuses on thinking about different ways to “manage” or “maximize” your time – to do as much as you can with limited resources. Productivity is, of course, a type of production, and as such being productive means having greater output.
Signposting is important – it gives your reader a map of sorts so they know where you intend to take your argument. I’m a strong proponent of the argument that in nonfiction writing, you have little reason to surprise your reader. I’ve made this point before on the blog. A well-structured manuscript should guide
Short story: I had a colleague in a workshop who offered generous feedback on my work. At the end of each workshop, they’d hand me a draft with all sorts of comments, questions, suggestions, and recommendations for future reading. There would also be grammar corrections throughout the document. For some reason, this copyediting infuriated me.
It seems like reaching “inbox zero” is the holy grail for busy people. We are in a never-ending battle with our inbox, and no matter how hard we try, we feel powerless to control the flow of messages sent to us. Part of our dilemma concerning email is that when we manage our email
In the last post, we talked about the emotions you might feel when reading over reviewer’s comments and how to get organized to start revising. In this post, I’ll discuss how to start revising, from developing a plan to beginning to write. There are several questions you should consider before beginning work on your article revisions.
A revise and resubmit is no joke. It may be the piece of writing that begets the most procrastination and anxiety. I think this is because you are not writing just for yourself and an imagined audience, but rather for a real audience of readers who just offered you a critique that was at times
Beginning a new writing project can be simultaneously exciting and disheartening. There is plenty to look forward to – sinking your teeth into a new body of literature, making new discoveries, and entering a different intellectual conversation. There are also so many things you must plan, so much research to conduct, so many outlines and
Imagine this: you’re diligently working on a draft of a manuscript when you reach a section that would benefit from a bit more research. Perhaps you need to cite a few more authors to support your point, or you just need some background literature to provide additional context. You go to find the
I am currently working with multiple clients through my service The Productivity Pipeline. In this post, I am going to give you concrete examples of what that coaching work looks like, what my clients are learning, and the benefits they have received. My work with my clients is confidential. Therefore, this description is not
The harsh truth about academia is that once you finish graduate school, there is really no formalized system of professional development. You can seek out support from individual mentors, and you may be lucky enough to land at an institution that offers a pro-seminar of some sorts for incoming faculty. There might even be some
People assume a writing schedule should include one or the other – either a quantifiable measure (such as time spent or words written) or a qualitative goal (introduction complete, reading completed for literature review). You are either going to enter “write 30 minutes” or “finish introduction” in your planner. The problem with using a single
Productivity coaching is a type of one-on-one work with writers to develop systems of accountability in writing. I work with you to set realistic writing goals and give you the tools to achieve those goals. When we work together, your writing will become routine rather than haphazard and inconsistent. Your writing sessions will be more rewarding
When you sit down to make a writing schedule, it’s natural to feel some resistance towards developing a plan and ultimately, a system that will get you started writing and keep you writing. Generally, there are five objections that writers express – none of which are mutually exclusive. These myths about creating a writing schedule
In my time working as an academic editor, I’ve noticed a pattern. Clients repeatedly submit their work to me well after our mutually agreed upon deadline. Or, they contact me for an initial consultation with only days to spare before they have to submit their writing for publication. As a result, they incur rush fees,
Trying to please everyone may be holding you back from productive writing. Raise your hand if you’ve ever been in the following situation. You are in your office working, with the door closed. Suddenly, someone knocks on your door. You answer it to a student who has dropped by to discuss their grade. You remind
Today’s blog post is taken from my newsletter. I rarely duplicate content, but I think this message bears repeating! Most if not all of the readers of this blog are probably feeling despair, fear, anger, anguish, vulnerability, and who knows what else in the aftermath of a bitter election that exposed a deeply divided
Fridays have a way of sneaking up on us. As much as we all look forward to the end of the work week and the weekend, we’ve also all had that moment where we look up from our desk, realize it’s late afternoon on a Friday, and ask ourselves “what the hell did I
During my conversation with Grace Yukich that I posted a few weeks ago, we discussed the different type of goals she sets for her writing, and how those goals might vary based on the other commitments she is juggling. Our conversation resonated with me, because I know from my work with clients – and
I’m so excited to begin a new series on the blog! Behind the Words is an interview series with academic writers. One of my frustrations with academic writing as a practice has always been that as much as we give advice to writers, and lament about the writing process (then complain about the poor
In an earlier post, I discussed how academic writers often end up giving short thrift to the revision process – at their own peril, I might add. Today I’m going to focus on why academic writers are hesitant to revise. Our frustration with the revision process doesn’t only happen after the first draft. It
There is a lot of advice in the blogosphere about how to overcome resistance to writing. Much of that advice comes in the form of “get something down on paper, and the revising will come later” or “editing is easier than writing.” Revising is treated as an afterthought or, alternatively, as a process that
I picked up The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande planning to read it for insights into working with my time management clients. What I found upon reading, however, is much to think about for academic writing and editing. In a nutshell, Gawande argues in this book that checklists are one way we make sense
A few weeks ago I conducted an informal Twitter poll asking if writers wrote every day. While most said no, a significant number of respondents said they wished that they did. When I speak to clients about writing, they express the same desire but declare that they don’t write daily because they don’t have enough time. Maintaining a
It seems that on many occasions, people use their stress as a bragging right. Rather than simply acknowledging their stress, they display it as something to be admired or even emulated. Stress seems to afford a certain type of status. Colleagues, mentors, and friends expect that we “ought” to be stressed. And I use
It’s hard to convince yourself that it’s time to send your manuscript out. Beyond the checklist of making sure you’ve done all the tasks associated with your writing, there is the matter of “feeling” as if you’re done. This feeling can be elusive. You’ll always think there is one more sentence you can rewrite,
We are about 5 weeks into the academic summer (apologies if you’re on the quarter/trimester system – you’re summer is just starting). I’m sure many of you started the summer relieved to be done, and excited to start on your writing projects. I’m a big fan of constantly revisiting the goals you set for
You are most certainly under pressure to send things out. You’re aware of your deadlines, you know the consequences of not completing your manuscript, yet you still find reasons to avoid the work. Why? Procrastination is rarely a simple case of laziness. Instead, there is most likely a range of emotions you are feeling
I recently read a blog post on paper versus digital to-do lists. There were quite a few useful suggestions in the article itself and in the comments concerning the benefits of different paper planners, apps, and so forth. I for one love a good to-do list. There is one by my computer every day
Writing an introduction well is one of the most important skills an academic writer can have. Most academic readers have a limited amount of time to consume a wealth of information. In order to make it through vast amounts of literature, they skim. This matters to you as an academic writer because you must write
Do you feel excited about having time to write this summer, yet nervous that you won’t reach your goals? In my almost 2 years of working with clients as an editor, I’ve noticed one thing time and time again. Academic writers have great ideas; and when they have the opportunity to put those ideas to paper,
Last week when I talked about creating a summer writing plan, I stated that you should ask yourself how long each writing/researching task would take. Well, estimating how long it will take you to complete any particular portion of a project is easier said than done. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible! By looking
Writing plans are essential if you hope to complete projects without pulling your hair out. Yet, when I ask academic writers about their writing plans, I usually hear something along the lines of “finish this manuscript before the deadline.” While that’s an important goal, it certainly isn’t a plan. A writing plan requires much more
