“I’m master of my universe.” This is a mantra that Kathleen P. King, author of more than 30 books, including 147 Practical Tips for Emerging Scholars and The Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology
, both practices and encourages fellow academics to use when deadlines or writing anxiety start to set in. Have a plan, set deadlines, and be flexible—be master of your universe. You are in control of the deadlines you set for yourself and how dedicated you are to your writing. However, she says, you also need to reflect on what your writing habits are, how you can improve them, and how you can leverage your strengths and preferences to be most productive.
The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: December 11, 2015
This week brings an early Christmas present in the form of so many great articles on academic and textbook writing!…
Featured Member Meggin McIntosh – Deliberate strategies to improve your productivity and sanity
Meggin McIntosh is a Professor and Director Emerita of the Excellence in Teaching Program at University of Nevada, Reno. In 1996 she founded Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., a company dedicated to providing productivity and organizational resources to faculty, individuals, and the private sector. With topics ranging from writing productivity and professional development to children’s and young adult literature, McIntosh is widely published with nearly 50 scholarly articles, two academic books, 29 curriculum publications, 14 instructional guides, textbook and scholarly book chapters, a teaching guide, and more than 1,500 blog and online articles.
Here McIntosh shares deliberate strategies to help improve your productivity and sanity.
The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: December 4, 2015
December is here! As much as I’m not a winter person, I do love the month of December—Christmas lights, cookies,…
Holiday strategies to honor your all-important academic project
The holidays can be wonderful times for reconnecting with family and friends, taking breathers from the daily-weekly-yearly chase of accomplishment, kindling or rekindling feelings of love, warmth, and generosity even to those who have published much more than you, and indulging in delectable seasonal goodies. But we academics often feel conflicted about how much time to “take off.” Maybe we’re feeling the pressure of having to participate in holiday events. Maybe we’re worried about being grilled by well-intentioned family or friends about the progress of our dissertation, article, or book. Maybe we’re very aware of the dangerous loss of momentum from our work. Maybe we just don’t like all those jolly gatherings.
Here, from clients who have suffered through such “maybes,” I suggest three holiday strategies you can apply, depending on the severity of your “maybes” and your fortitude. We don’t have to be at the mercy of the holidays!
How to build effective collaboration
As a graduate student or early career academic you likely have a packed schedule. Trying to get published can be a daunting task, especially when you feel you have to do it alone. But maybe you don’t have to. If you can find the right person or persons to collaborate with, say doctoral students Tracey S. Hodges and Katherine Landau Wright, you are less likely to be stressed, and more likely to be productive and on the path to publishing success. Hodges and Wright share the following advice for effective collaboration: