academiblog

Why procrastinate when you can perendinate?

2009-04-20T10:32:00.004-04:00

Wordsmith's newsletter, "A Word a Day," brings us a word that academics need to know.

perendinate

PRONUNCIATION:
(puh-REN-di-nayt)
MEANING:
verb tr. : To put off until the day after tomorrow.
verb intr.: To stay at a college for an extended time.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin perendinare (to defer until the day after tomorrow), from perendie (on the day after tomorrow), from die (day).

NOTES:
The word procrastinate is from Latin cras (tomorrow). So when you procrastinate, literally speaking, you are putting something off till tomorrow. Mark Twain once said, "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow." In other words, why procrastinate when you can perendinate?

USAGE:
"In Peterhouse the Master and Fellows might now allow a stranger to perendinate for more than a fortnight unless they were certified of his moral character and of his ability and willingness to do the College some notable service."
Thomas Alfred Walker; Peterhouse; Hutchinson & Co.; 1906.

In addition, Wordsmith's "Thought for Today" has a nice thought for writers:

In their youth both Herder and Schiller intended to study as surgeons, but Destiny said: "No, there are deeper wounds than those of the body, -- heal the deeper!" and they wrote. -Jean Paul Richter, writer (1763-1825)

Quieting negative voices -- hints from stand-up comedy

2009-04-15T19:43:00.008-04:00

A blog post recording by Beth Lapides, the "High Priestess of Alternative Comedy" gives some hints as to how you can quiet negative voices and keep on writing (although in her podcast she was actually talking about how to quiet the negative voices when you're onstage doing stand-up comedy). Here is what I gleaned -- you can see how it applies to writing.

Remind yourself of your motivation for writing the piece -- what was the point in the beginning?
Engage with the audience -- try to talk directly (in your mind) to the people who will be reading your work
Re-connect with the core thread of your argument -- write it out to remind yourself if necessary
Figure out your "take" or point of view -- what is your unique angle?
Become clear about your "entry point" into the material. Where does your part of the story begin?

I don't know if your writing will make 'em laugh, but at least you can keep on writing and ignore those negative voices.

You can think poorly of yourself, but don't tell a man

2009-04-10T11:59:00.002-04:00

This posting from the Tomorrow's Professor listserv, sent out by Rick Reis, summarizes a study on how males perceive females' tendency to admit weakness. Women: forewarned is forarmed. Sigh.

_________________

The posting below looks at the impact of communication styles on male and female students in engineering team projects although the results have implications for all gender-mixed work groups . The article is by Joanna Wolfe and Elizabeth Powell and is from theJournal of Engineering Education Selects "Research in Practice" section of ASEE Prism, March 2009. © Copyright 2009, American Society for Engineering Education, reprinted with permission, 1818 N Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036-2479, Web: www.asee.org

Rick Reis
reis@stanford.edu
UP NEXT: Testing and Grading

Tomorrow's Teaching and Learning

-------------------------------------------- 615 words ------------------------------------------

He Said, She Said: Gender-Typical Speech Can Sour Teamwork.

A central question in engineering education is why women, despite comparatively good grades, leave engineering programs at higher rates than men. Team projects are often proposed as a solution to this attrition problem on the assumption that women will respond positively to the social interaction and cooperation that such projects promote. Unfortunately, there is some reason to suspect that team projects might accelerate rather than halt attrition: Women frequently report negative team experiences that make them question their place in the discipline.

While previous research has looked at some of the major problems women encounter on teams, our study focuses on perceptions of small, everyday exchanges in order to understand how basic assumptions about what is considered "normal" influence women's team experiences. We chose to focus on everyday exchanges because we believe that individuals may have more opportunity and ability to influence small-scale interactions than they do larger and more visible expressions of prejudice. If women could make small-scale changes to their daily interactions, they may be in a better position to confront larger systemic biases in engineering culture.

We surveyed 522 undergraduates, both in engineering and other disciplines, about their perceptions of six short transcripts showing student team interactions. Each transcript showed a member of a team complaining about some minor aspect of the project or class. We focused on complaints because these are common interactions, open to interpretation, and in our culture, often associated with women. Half of the transcripts showed complaints that exhibit masculine communication styles (e.g., self-promotion, direct criticism), and half showed more feminine styles (e.g., self-belittlement, indirect criticism). In addition, we created two versions of the survey in which the genders in the transcripts were flipped: Thus, half of the surveys used the name "John" with the first transcript, while the other half used "Jessica." This manipulation allowed us to see if the gender of the speaker rather than the actual words spoken influenced respondents' perceptions.

Our findings show that engineering males were more likely than other groups to draw negative conclusions about speakers who engaged in self-belittlement by admitting to difficulties or mistakes - particularly with technological issues. These men were more likely than others to perceive such speakers as incapable, whiny, and insecure. This impatience with speakers who admitted vulnerabilities extended to cases in which the self-belittlement appeared to be strategic - such as conceding one's own weaknesses in order to help a teammate "save face" or using an "I-statement" to soften criticism. This trend was most pronounced among students majoring in mechanical and computer engineering and least present in bioengineering and industrial engineering, the latter two being disciplines with comparatively high levels of female enrollment.

The good news in our findings is that while male engineering students were less tolerant than others of female-typical speech styles, they were just as intolerant when the speaker was male as when the speaker was female. Changing the gender of a name associated with a particular speech act did not influence how it was perceived. Thus, this study suggests that women have some control over perceptions: Something as simple as curbing tendencies to admit weaknesses can benefit them.

We also found that while engineering men stood out in their perceptions of certain female-typical behavior, other groups found the more male-typical behavior troublesome. Across the board, survey respondents seemed most bothered by speech acts that showed aggressive self-promotion.

Based on this research, engineering educators might coach female students to avoid self-belittling discourse and teach all students to avoid aggressive displays of self-promotion. Such coaching might not only help women and other "at risk" groups fit into an engineering community but might also improve the interpersonal skills of all engineering students.

-----
Joanna Wolfe is an associate professor of English at the University of Louisville. Elizabeth Powell is assistant professor of English at the University of Tennessee at Martin. This article is adapted from "Biases in interpersonal communication: How engineering students perceive gender-typical speech acts in teamwork" in the January 2008 Journal of Engineering Education.

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10 Steps for Growing a Backbone

2009-03-18T22:32:00.004-04:00

This is the continuation of my March 18 newsletter. If you're not a subscriber, sign up now! (Go here to see the first part of this article.)

Here are suggestions culled from How to Grow a Backbone by Susan Marshall, along with examples that I’ve inserted to help you relate it to the academic environment.

Observe and assess your environment. Know the lay of the land.
1. If you’re a graduate student, take an active role in finding out what it takes to get your degree. Talk to more experienced students and to all the professors that have time for you, in order to develop a cognitive map. What is the power structure in your department? Who will be most supportive of you? What professor has a reputation as a good advisor? Don’t wait for others to share this kind of information with you, and don’t assume you know it all. Wendy Carter’s Ta-Da software (see right hand column) is excellent for giving new students a mental map of the dissertation process.
2. Professors: find out exactly what it takes in order to get tenure, understand how decisions get made in your department, who are the people in power and what are their typical behaviors in meetings, and how this compares to what occurs at other schools like yours.

Observe others and yourself. Listen carefully to the language that others use, and work on making your own as specific as possible. Watch body language for hints of what’s really going on. Be aware that the nastiest people are often the most spineless. They know that it works in the short run to go with the low blow, and that it makes them look good, at least to other spineless people.

Take notes. I love that Marshall included this, because I’m an obsessive note taker myself. I believe in the power of the written word in sharpening your thoughts and helping you clarify and remember what matters. Here are examples of where taking notes could make a difference.
1. You meet with your advisor, who mentions three changes s/he’d like to see in your chapter. You take notes and write her/him a brief email afterwards, thanking him/her for the meeting and summarizing those suggestions, asking her/him to let you know if you didn’t understand them correctly. This is helpful later when your advisor asks you why you made those ridiculous changes.
2. You’re in a boring departmental meeting when two colleagues suddenly go at it with each other. Everyone is emotional. You write down your observations and read your notes later to help you assess what happened. You keep these notes as a record, when others have played the telephone game and changed the truth. This will help you keep yourself level and be more aware of what’s happening in your environment.

Mind map. As many of you know, I love mind mapping as way to organize content that you are trying to write about. But it also works well as you navigate through the thornier or more complex issues in life. As Marshall points out, “it helps to empty out what’s crammed into your cranium,” to “enhance the information you want to keep after you’ve sorted and organized it,” (p. 86), and to allow “for unhampered and undisciplined free association of thought, with the assurance that by writing everything down, you can go back to sort, categorize, and make sense of what you produced” (p. 88).
1. Use mind mapping to plan what you want to accomplish in the next month or three-month period. When you’re done, you can then list and rank your priorities.
2. Make a mind map of your 5-year career plan.

Become clear on decisions you need to make, and then make them. This can be scary because choosing one step in favor of another always carries some risk. Learn to deal with the anxiety that this brings. In the long run you’ll find that making a decision feels better than not making one. Be aware that your day is filled with decisions, big and small. Often the small ones determine the trajectory of your day. (“Should I play this computer game or write during this free half hour?”) And keep in mind that in some cases there is no right or wrong decision. There is just the necessity of making a decision. So flip a coin and move on.

Extract unimportant thoughts or issues from your priority list. “Have a purpose for your thinking. Any information that doesn’t work toward your purpose is, at least for the moment, extraneous” (p. 93) Once you’ve separated these issues out, throw them out, either physically or mentally.

Advance with a purpose in mind. Always ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” When you meet with your advisor or a mentor for a specific purpose, make sure that the goal of the meeting is met. Come prepared with specific questions and make sure they get answered.

Seek out people who are functioning successfully, who get the results that you would like to get. Role models will influence you and inspire you.

Ask purposeful, targeted, direct questions in a respectful way.
1. In a job interview, don’t just worry about what they think of you. Ask about things that matter to you, such as, “How do people in this department settle differences?” Don’t accept facile answers; probe or re-ask your question when needed.
2. Ask your advisor, “Could you be more specific about what you don’t like about this chapter?”
3. Ask the departmental chair, “Could you put that in writing?”
4. Ask yourself questions, too. Some examples are “What am I afraid of?” and “What do I want?”

Don’t succumb to intimidation techniques from others. This includes “killer phrases," such as “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Marshall goes into detail about this, and I recommend that you read her book if you are dealing with people who cope by using intimidation.

And one more note: Academic leaders, such as department chairs, DGSs, and deans, should be motivated to create an environment that fosters backbone in everyone. I say this because backboneless environments cause “ideas to be lost, thoughts to go unspoken, frustrations to pile up, and consensus building to become a core competency” (p. 25). That doesn’t sound like a very good place to work or attend university, does it?

I’ve written and talked about the harshness of the academic environment before (see “How Academia Messes With Your Mind (and what to do about it)” – you can still get the MP3.) Therefore it’s the ideal place to practice backbone-building skills. I’m sure your backbone will be put to the test any day now – try one of these suggestions and let me know how it goes!

How many of you can relate to this dissertation writer?

2009-03-15T19:41:00.002-04:00

Every once in a while I come across someone who describes the agony of dissertation writing so well, that I ask for permission to use their words. I know that when other academic writers read what others are going through, it helps them feel that they are not alone, and makes it a little easier for them to tackle their writing.

I received an email today with just such a well-written description of the dissertation-writing struggle. In this case, the writer is also the mother of a young child. Here are her words, with permission.

But really I'm not sure HOW to make my argument make sense and I have TOO MANY tacks to take in making my argument. I know no one has written what I plan to write in just the way I'm thinking about it--so there I feel okay. I think what holds me back really is the fear of the enormity of the thing. Each time I have written a paper in the past it has taken such incredible spiritual, emotional, psychological, mental/intellectual, and physical energy out of me. The feeling while I'm in it (in the writing) is good--there's such an energy flow; such a rush of energy--but because it is so exhausting and because I know it takes enormous commitment in the moments of the writing--for the whole project too--I fear going in there. And it feels like a "going in there" kind of thing. It's a cave of some sort but with intellectual comforts, none of which exist outside of this cave. So the going in is a singular experience and resurfacing is hard; decompression is near impossible. In fact, when I'm in the middle of a writing project, it's all I can think about and I wake up early rushing to thought, to type; I wake up with thought. And then my daughter needs her hair brushed and a push out the door for school, and then . . . Often it takes days and days of writing and scouring the research as I write, to finally and suddenly wake up with THE idea, THE argument. I wake up one morning in the middle of all the writing days and I feel like screaming: I'VE GOT IT! I have THE seminal argument. And I do "have it." And I'm proud, etc. But this entire process is absolutely exhausting and I just can't seem to muster up the strength and resilience to "go in" again--not for this article and not for the diss, an arena in which we can only afford for me to dwindle in for one more year.

I definitely want to finish this diss. Definitely. But, right now, I think my bigger battle is fighting off this mental, emotional, physical (e.g., like I just can't get to the typing of dissertation material but can type emails, surf for academic software, and other inane, un-related computer activities), demonic enemy. I need to see myself with a sword hacking away at the evil two-faced specter always with guard up. I have been cowering--and relying too heavily on--the safety of the cover of darkness for fear of exposure to the bright light of the dissertation.

Interview with a productive professor

2009-03-10T17:13:00.002-04:00

This interview with a well-respected, productive professor of information and process management illustrates that the principles of writing and research that we suggest at Academic Ladder apply to academics at all levels. To top it all off, Professor M. Lynne Markus seems like a nice person. I like how she forgives herself for the days that she's not as productive as she'd like to be, and the flexibility with which she adapts to changing circumstances.

A sample (fun?) writing microschedule

2009-03-03T13:16:00.007-05:00

You might like to experiment with how to schedule your writing sessions within each day (that's why I called it a "microschedule"). I always recommend relatively shorter sessions, alternating with breaks if you want to write more. Of course, you will need to read and research also at some point. For many, it works to research later in the day, since this more passive activity is easier for most than is writing. But reading sessions could also be scheduled alternately with writing sessions.

A current client was trying to figure this out, plus struggling with anxiety and resulting writer's block. We had her free writing where she wrote about her fears and confusion about the work, then we had her moving into very short "focused writing" sessions. Here is how she scheduled her sessions recently:

1. 8-min block freewriting
2. 18-min focused writing
3. 15-min background research
4. 18-min focused writing
5. 15-min background research
7. 8-min freewriting/reflection

She did this all before noon, felt she had accomplished a lot, and even ended with the comment, "This was fun!" How often do you feel that way about the writing process?

Here is what she added:

I find it works quite well for me because it provides different, equally legitimate opportunities for different kinds of activities (and associated anxieties/gratifications that balance each other out to some extent), all related to the project. In a way, the research is almost like a reward for me, because I like looking things up and learning them. I'd be surprised if this isn't also true for lots of other blocked writers. I guess the trick is to give it some defined boundaries, like we give other treats and like we give the anxiety-inducing activities. I then find that, having done a bit of research, I have a couple of extra things to add to my notes or to my focused writing pages, and that is gratifying.

Play around with your writing scheduling. Using a timer, as always, is key. Maybe at some point you'll find it fun. But you'll probably accept "not so bad."

Here's what I've been saying...

2009-01-29T19:26:00.001-05:00

Here's a word cloud of my blog, courtesy of wordle:

Boost your creativity by asking questions

2008-11-07T16:08:00.006-05:00

What is creativity?

It involves seeing a problem in a new light.

What are some ways to see a problem in a new light?

Ask yourself questions about the problem or the underlying issues.

When you're working on a long-term writing project, it's not uncommon to feel stuck in a rut. You can feel like your argument is stale and that you're not offering anything new. At that point, it may be helpful to try posing questions to yourself that jolt you out of that rut.

What got me started thinking about this was an article I was reading called "The Role of Socratic Questioning in Thinking, Teaching, & Learning". The authors point out that thinking comes from questions: "Questions define tasks, express problems and delineate issues. Answers on the other hand, often signal a full stop in thought. Only when an answer generates a further question does thought continue its life as such." As they point out, "The art of Socratic questioning is important for the critical thinker because the art of questioning is important to excellence of thought."

See the article for some extraordinarily useful hints that will help you apply the Socratic questioning method to your writing. For example:

Respond to all answers with a further question (that calls upon the respondent to develop his/her thinking in a fuller and deeper way)
Seek to understand–where possible–the ultimate foundations for what is said or believed and follow the implications of those foundations through further questions
Treat all assertions as a connecting point to further thoughts
Treat all thoughts as in need of development

I think this paragraph from the article mentioned above says it best (I added bold font and divided the question types with bullet points for clarity):

Deep questions drive our thought underneath the surface of things, force us to deal with complexity.
Questions of purpose force us to define our task.
Questions of information force us to look at our sources of information as well as at the quality of our information.
Questions of interpretation force us to examine how we are organizing or giving meaning to information and to consider alternative ways of giving meaning.
Questions of assumption force us to examine what we are taking for granted.
Questions of implication force us to follow out where our thinking is going.
Questions of point of view force us to examine our point of view and to consider other relevant points of view.
Questions of relevance force us to discriminate what does and what does not bear on a question.
Questions of accuracy force us to evaluate and test for truth and correctness. Questions of precision force us to give details and be specific.
Questions of consistency force us to examine our thinking for contradictions.
Questions of logic force us to consider how we are putting the whole of our thought together, to make sure that it all adds up and makes sense within a reasonable system of some kind.

The next time your writing is going around in circles, or you feel that what you're saying is trite or just not creative enough, get Socratic with yourself.

A few important streets on the road to tenure

2008-10-04T19:43:00.004-04:00

Creating a tenure file is a daunting task, which is made more overwhelming if you're not prepared. Here is a thread (shared here with permission) from the listserv of one of my faculty coaching groups, between two professors who have each had their tenure approved by their respective departments this month. (Hurray for Profs J and L!)

Prof J:

Here's my advice for those who still have a few years left before tenure. It is all obvious stuff but somehow it escaped me:

Buy a large three ring binder (or possibly three binders). Buy some divider tabs. Optional: buy a bunch of sheet protector thingies that are meant to be put into a three ring binder (they are punched with three holes).
Divide the notebook into three main sections: teaching, research/publication, service (using the tabs).
Get a hold of the published document identifying the criteria for tenure. Hopefully they will provide more specific criteria for each of the three main criteria. Subdivide each of the three sections according to these sub-criteria.
In the time you have left, make sure that whatever you do is somehow related to those sub-criteria. And make sure you have the right mix of these things as well. You'll probably need some guidance from someone who knows something about the tenure process to tell you what the right mix of things is. That person may or may not be your chair.
Make sure you have documentation for everything that you do. Put the documentation in the appropriate section in the notebook.
There will always be ambiguity about whether you have met the criteria for tenure. But at least you will be in a position to say: "you said I needed to do A, see tab 1 for documentation that I did A", "You said I needed to do B, see tab 2 for documentation that I did B."

Prof L:

I ended up relying on electronic docs in the end.

I like the standing magazine stands. They sell the cardboard ones at Ikea. Just slap a label on and shove your stuff in there and then put them on the bookshelf.

Prof J:

I like the idea of storing everything electronically--you just need to have a scanner and remember to back-up your files.

In the end, the mechanism isn't nearly as important as attending to criteria for tenure and then filing your supporting documents in a system that mirrors those criteria.

Hiring online coaches

2008-09-09T20:25:00.005-04:00

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Academic Ladder LLC is currently seeking one or more part-time academic coaches for its expanding 28-day online coaching program, the Academic Writing Club. The program is designed to advise, guide and support graduate students and professors as they learn techniques for becoming daily writers.

We are seeking a warm, articulate individual who has had experience coaching or supervising, or who has worked in higher education. The ideal candidate will someone who

communicates well in writing
can create a positive and encouraging environment in their online groups
is knowledgeable about academia and the challenges of long-term writing projects
will take a collaborative and flexible approach to working with the Academic Writing Club team

Academic Ladder LLC is a company whose mission is to help academics reach their career goals and lead a well-balanced life.

This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about working with academics and coaching, to work with a diverse team of creative individuals, and be part of a growing company.

Duties include

Serve as an online coach for one or more groups comprised of 8-14 graduate students or professors. Review participants' progress logs, provide online guidance, advice and support several times a week to each participant regarding the development of their writing routines.
Encourage online group interaction and peer support. Suggest resources and references.
If accepted, you will be expected to participate in Academic Ladder’s coach training by telephone, before the start of the program and as needed during the course of the program. There is no fee to undergo training; however, you will also be expected to commit to at least 3 months of part-time work as a Writing Club coach following training.

Compensation

You will be paid $18 per member per 28-day session, with the option to work with up to 100 members at a time eventually. In addition, you will have the option to offer individual or group telephone coaching to members, for which you will be paid our standard coaching rate.

To apply

Send a copy of your current resume along with a one-page cover letter describing your qualifications as a coach, your prior experiences working in higher education, and the reasons you would like to work as an Academic Writing Club coach. Email to: Jayne@AcademicLadder.com

If you are selected for consideration, we will be in touch via email within 14 days of receipt to arrange for the next step in the process.

Thank you in advance for your interest.

Know of anyone else who would be interested in this opportunity? Please feel free to forward this announcement to your friends or colleagues.

An example of a concept map

2008-09-09T16:54:00.004-04:00

Here is an excellent example of a concept map that a Writing Club member sent me recently, and which I'm including with her permission. You can click on the picture to see an enlarged version. Here's (some of) what she had to say about it:

I'm finding this a very easy way to visualize my grounded theory...
I used a very simple program called Inspiration - you can get a free trial at Inspiration.com. The program is designed for kids, so it's very easy. I purchased the software for making flow charts for a different project, but now that I have it I use it for all sorts of things.

She has removed any identifying information. But I think this visual gives you a good idea of how using visual techniques can clarify and yes, inspire.

An organizing schema for organizing

2008-08-06T12:00:00.002-04:00

A Writing Club member who was feeling disorganized this week, came up with a nice way to start dealing with this problem. In response to one of the questions on the progress log ("What are your specific goals for tomorrow?"), she made the following list.

Here is my organization strategy for putting that mountain of papers in its place:
Step 1: (Create the categories) Create paper folders based on subject/topic (eg: stat notes; emotion articles; pilot analysis; chapter feedback etc)

Step 2: (Start filing) Start filing papers into the folder created above.

Step 3: (Revise categories) Go through papers that have not found a home and see if you want to create more subfolders or combine some.

Step 4: ( Containerize): Now when all papers have found a home, based on sub folders, if any are too large- house them all in a box/ file holder, with sub-categorizations if it helps.

Step 5: (Create a reference): List all folders and boxes and stick it where you can see it. This way next time you find a paper lying around you know where to throw it.

Step 6 (Create flexibility): Have a folder where you can throw active stuff to be filed later. DO not allow it to overflow.

Step 7- Enjoy the fruits of your labor !

Maybe a variation of this schema can be useful for your piles of paper.

Do you have time to think?

2008-07-29T16:26:00.002-04:00

If you race around all day like a chicken with your head cut off, running from one task to another without time to think, you may be paying a price, according to some experts. This article from BBC news looks at how setting aside time to think can help you feel better and be more productive. Some food for thought as you start contemplating the upcoming semester. Just don't think about eating chicken!

Death by tenure track

2008-07-13T19:45:00.004-04:00

A 45- year old Japanese chief engineer working for Toyota had worked "nights and weekends and often traveled abroad" for six months. When he died of heart failure, a local Japanese government agency ruled that his death had been caused by overwork, reports an article today in the Washington Post. Apparently death caused by working too much has become so common in Japan that they have a word for it -- karoshi.

The thing is, this description -- working nights and weekends and often traveling abroad -- reminded me of so many of the professors I talk to. Could it be that academia is quietly killing tenure-track professors?

I've never heard of any statistics that indicate that academics go to an early grave. I do see a lot of people, especially pre-tenure, who suffer from what are probably stress-induced illnesses.

Perhaps there is no increased incidence of karoshi in academia because the tenure track has an ending. Your body says, "Hang in there; there is hope; this will end." Or maybe the relative break that the summer semesters provide allows the body to recover.

Either way, the fact that it is generally accepted in Japan that overwork can kill you provides a cautionary tale. Work too much, for too long, at your own peril. Learn how to balance your life, so karoshi won't get you.

Procrastination is...

2008-07-04T15:24:00.001-04:00

Procrastinate (and recognize yourself) by watching this fantastic animation.

What's your crap quotient?

2008-07-03T12:45:00.004-04:00

I just got off the phone with a wise and experienced tenured professor client who I'm coaching. She recounted some advice that one of her mentors had given her long ago. This person had been an extremely prolific writer with many publications.

She said, "Your crap quotient is too low."

What did she mean by this? One way to look at it is this: If every article you send out is accepted for publication, it probably means that you could have sent out more. In order to learn how to write better, you need to write more. In order to improve your research and writing, you need feedback. Even article rejections help you learn. You might find out what kind of article is or isn't appropriate for that journal. You might get suggestions from reviewers, that as much as you hate them, are helpful for improving the article.

If you're holding on to your work until it's perfect, then you're not publishing as much as you might, and you're probably holding yourself back in other ways. Because creative ideas come from regular writing, there's a good chance that you're not as creative, along with not being as productive as you might have been.

I find that many of the professors I work with have a much lower opinion of their own work than everyone else does. If you're the kind of person that tends to be too self-critical, consider releasing more of your work into the world as soon as possible. You'll find out sooner whether you're on the right path or not, you'll improve your work, and you'll be freed up to write some high-quality work.

Do you hold on to your work too long, fearing that it's crap? Take this wise professor's advice, and increase your crap quotient.

"ABD" -- what does it really mean?

2008-06-22T11:53:00.003-04:00

I thought I knew what the definition of ABD was. It was exactly the same as defined here in Carnegie Mellon's University Doctoral Candidate Policies for All But Dissertation (ABD):

After the completion of all formal degree requirements other than the completion of and approval of the doctoral dissertation and the public final examination, doctoral candidates shall be regarded as All But Dissertation(ABD).

I have, though, occasionally run into the term ABD being used as a somewhat disparaging designation for one who fulfills the formal degree requirements of the Ph.D. but never finishes the dissertation, and then quits the program. Most recently, I saw it in What They Didn't Teach You in Graduate School: 199 Helpful Hints for Success in Your Academic Career, by Paul Gray and David E. Drew.

Number 9 of their helpful hints is one that I strongly agree with: "Remember that a Ph.D. is primarily an indication of survivorship." They go on to say, "You stuck with it until it was done, unlike the ABDs (All But Dissertation), people who complete all the other requirements but bail out before they finish their dissertations."

In hint number 12, in which they remind the reader that "You must have the Ph.D. in hand before you can move up the academic ladder," they say "ABD's may be much abler and more brilliant than you but they didn't possess the stamina (or the circumstances) to finish the degree. In our judgment, being an ABD is the end of the academic line."

My guess is that the authors, as professors, have had to give such stern advice to their own students who were wavering about finishing the dissertation.

My only quibble is with their terminology. What do you think is the correct use of the term "ABD?" Should it refer only to people who have "bailed" on the degree? Or does it refer to those who are in the process of writing the dissertation, having fulfilled all other requirements?

The psychological mine fields of grad school

2008-06-18T17:39:00.004-04:00

You must establish a firm psychological stance early in your graduate career to keep from being buffeted by the many demands that will be made on your time. If you don't watch out, the pressures of course work, teaching, language requirements and who knows what else will push you around like a large, docile molecule in Brownian motion.

That quote is from an excellent list of tips for graduate students, entitled "Some Modest Advice for Graduate Students," by Yale professor Stephen C. Stearns. I particularly like the section called "Psychological Problems are the Biggest Barrier." As a psychologist, I see all the time that the grad students I coach are plenty smart enough to do the job. What impedes their progress are the psychological mine fields that are in their path. I suggest reading this article if you have been running into these mines.

Anti-Procrastination Tips

2008-06-16T15:15:00.003-04:00

An Academic Writing Club member recently posted these anti-procrastination techniques on the message board.

Here are the tips I try to use to get myself to work:

1) WARM UP ROUTINE -- Instead of starting with email, news sites, or any of the other things that I find lead to hours of procrastination ... I try to have a "prep time" for writing as warm up:

I put on the same mix cd each time I write (mental cue)
Open the diss chapter (NOTHING ELSE except EndNote -- Close email and web browser)
Then clean off my desk
Warm up my coffee
Set the kitchen timer for the min. amount of time I want to write
Finally -- And this may sound quite odd, I light a prayer candle (I use the Virgin of Guadalupe, because I have deemed her patron saint of anthropologists, given the role she played in colonization and the Catholic church's stance on indigenous Mexicans). Although I am not really religious -- I say a little prayer (a mantra would be good to) to just write something, regardless of whether or not it is good. Then I write.

I find if I get the ball rolling with this routine, it really helps me to actually write.

2) WHY AM I PROCRASTINATING? At the same time, since Friday was a complete loss, I am trying to be more mindful of what I am feeling (or rather, what precisely I am anxious about) when I am avoiding work. If I allow myself to be aware of what I am feeling, I find I can combat it more easily.

3) REWARD CHART See Gina's newsletter this month I give myself points for writing before a certain time, writing a second session, writing a certain length of time. Also, because my problem is too much time, too few outside responsibilities, and isolation from virtually ALL of society -- I give myself points for doing other things, too .... Racking up the points makes me feel good and then I give myself weekly rewards for getting certain levels of points.

4) JUST 10 MINUTES Jayne [Writing Club coach] has a good point about just 10 min ... I find when I completely miss a day the next day is less productive, too. If at least sit down for 15 min, I do better. Likewise, I also will procrastinate until midnight ... and whatever time I spend then isn't as productive, and still makes me feel guilty for wasting the day when I could have done 30 min in the am & had a great day.

5) DRESS FOR WORK Sometimes I find it helps me if I get out of my pajamas, shower, and put on the type of clothes I would wear to campus for a talk or to teach. It gives me the mindset of "going to work" as a professional.
6) BOOK COVER MOCK UP In my case, the goal for my dissertation is to then publish it as my first book ... I made a little mock up of the "book cover" just in Word with clip art -- Printed that out and have it hanging above my desk. A friend of mine who is a screen writer, prints and frames the title page of his scripts before he begins working -- A visual reminder of the end product to get beyond the tedium. I try and take the time to look at the book cover & visualize being at the point where I'll have that friggin book in hand with my name on the cover!

I don't know if any of this will help ...or if sound like a nut case ... but those are my little mind tricks ...when I use them (!), they make a difference.

Shame about being a mother and an academic

2008-06-14T20:37:00.005-04:00

A recent pseudonymous article in The Chronicle of Higher Education brings to light a theme that I've heard from academic mothers in the Writing Club. They struggle with a feeling of shame, starting in graduate school, when they have to "admit" that they are parents. This feeling of shame is not necessarily brought on by the particular person or situation that they are dealing with at the moment, but by the attitude that they feel is rampant in academia, towards any non-scholarly activity in academia. For example, one person wrote, "I once APOLOGIZED to my advisor (when I had my first child) for being a mom in academia."

This gets back to the theme I've been writing about lately; that of finding balance in academia. If the appropriate amount of balance existed, then it should be possible for half of the human race to participate equally in academia while raising a family. While not feeling ashamed.

Balanced Life Chart

2008-06-13T14:14:00.003-04:00

The latest issue of my newsletter, entitled "Get a Life! A Chart for Living a Balanced Life(Even if You're an Academic)" just came out on Wednesday. In it, I wrote about the fact that academics feel that they're never good enough and that there's always someone better than them. Both of these factors, among others, lead to a guilt-caused imbalance in their lives.

To help academics deal get rid of the lack of balance in their lives, I created (along with the help of one of my brilliant clients), a Balanced Life Chart. An astute reader just wrote me to point out that because the Balanced Life chart download was a PDF document, she couldn't type on it. So I've created a download of the Balanced Life Chart as a Word download. You can find it here.

Image by Kim Carney

Reproduced with permission

Making endless decisions -- that's why writing is so hard!

2008-05-13T20:45:00.002-04:00

From the Washington Post today:

Having to make too many choices can affect one's ability to stay focused, finish work and do complex mental tasks, finds a study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Almost 400 people took part in seven experiments in which some were asked to make choices or rate various products. The more choices individuals had to make and the more time they spent deciding, the worse they fared on later tasks, regardless of the complexity of the choices.

That's what makes writing so difficult. Every word you write, every turn of phrase, every decision to add or omit content -- they all involve decisions. Deciding whether to expand on a point or whether you've done enough explaining can leave you feeling as though you've run a marathon.

This makes it clear why binge writing is so bad for you. It literally drains you of brain power, so that the next day, and the day after that, you feel ill when you consider sitting down to write.

Just writing this has exhausted me. I think I'll go lie down (see my post on sleeping).

And you thought writer's block was bad...

2008-05-13T12:00:00.003-04:00

Check out this "Rhymes with Orange" cartoon. Writers aren't the only ones who get blocked.

Maybe you need a nap

2008-05-11T20:09:00.002-04:00

"Forgoing sleep is like borrowing from a loan shark. Sure you get that extra hours right now to cover for your overly-optimistic estimation, but at what price? The shark will be back and if you can’t pay, he’ll break your creativity, morale, and good-mannered nature as virtue twigs."

This quote, from a post called "Sleep deprivation is not a badge of honor,"by David Heinemeier at 37signals, really caught my attention. Like overwork, some people seem to be proud of how little sleep they get. Yet, as he points out, you pay for the extra time that you eke out by sleeping less. Reduced creativity is clearly one price you pay.

I'm particularly sensitive to this as someone who needs a lot of sleep, and whose husband doesn't.

This NY Times article reviews recent research on the role that sleeping plays in the formation of new memories and in the consolidation of recent learning.

As a matter of fact, this recent study shows that a 90 minute short nap can speed up the process of learning a new task and remembering it long term.

So don't make the mistake of thinking that the extra hours of the day gained by sleeping less are really doing you any good. Better to get adequate sleep, and then approach the tasks that require your creativity and memory capacities with a well-prepared brain.