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Is Time Your Enemy? Conquer Time with an "Unschedule"!

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:32:00 +0000

Time can be your friend or your enemy. For many academics, it is a merciless tyrant. Academia can provide the luxury of not having to punch a clock. Unfortunately, this luxury makes it easy to allow that all-important project (usually writing, hereafter referred to as the Project) to slide, as you fill in your day with the humdrum and the emergencies.

The Enemy You Don't Know CAN Hurt You

In Procrastination: Why You Do It; What to Do About It by Jane Burka and Lenor Yuen, the authors suggest that procrastinators (which I'm convinced means most of us) have a strange relationship with time. They engage in "wishful thinking" -- they believe that they can magically pull and stretch time to meet their needs. They act as if time is not finite and limited.

So if time perpetually controls you, it may be because you don't understand it. You either think that:

Small tasks will be endless (so you put off doing them)

Big tasks will just take an hour or two (so you don't leave enough time for them.)

As a matter of fact, academics tend to overestimate how much time they have actually spent on their most important task, writing.

Another reason time controls you, according to Burka and Yuen, is that you have no idea how much time you're already spending on tasks such as commuting, shopping, cooking or emailing. Therefore it's a mystery how much free time is available for the difficult yet easy-to-put-off tasks, such as writing.

Or maybe you've voluntarily overscheduled yourself due to your "endlessly-expanding" view of time. Little by little you've used up your free time.

On the other end of the continuum are people with a lot of discretionary time. Some academics decide that they will spend all their free time on vacation working on their dissertation or publication. Graduate students take time off of teaching to write, and professors take sabbaticals or even unpaid time just to get writing time. Then all that unscheduled time increases their anxiety and makes them even less efficient!

The Unschedule

How can you tame time?

Enter the "Unschedule." The Unschedule is a time management tool developed by Neil Fiore, the author of The Now Habit.

For your convenience, I have created an Unschedule in PDF format that you can download from this link: http://www.tinyurl.com/Unschedule

Here are the rules to make the Unschedule work for you:

Use a pencil (my rule) to allow changes
Write down everything you must do in the coming week, NOT including your Project. Include everything; meals, sleep, commuting, appointments, and classes
Estimate when and how long each will take and mark it in your Unschedule on the hours you most likely will do each activity
Include recreation, leisure and social activities (crucial!)
Look at your Unschedule at this point to become aware of How much unscheduled time is actually available
What's missing from your life – do you have enough time for fun, socializing, and just decompressing?
As the week progresses, each time that you work on your Project for at least 30 minutes (Fiore insists on 30, but in our Writing Club we preach that 15 is enough, and that's been proven true, time and time again by our members), mark it in your Unschedule. Remember, you don't mark it in ahead of time. It works best if you can highlight those time blocks in color. You can then total the amount of time spent working towards your goal at the end of each day and week.

Why Fill In the Time Blocks AFTER You Work on Your Project?

This accomplishes several things:

You avoid being disappointed in yourself (as you may have in the past because you scheduled so much Project time and then let yourself down by not accomplishing the work.)
If you have a rebellious streak, you will not having anything to rebel against, since you haven't filled in the times you MUST work ahead of time
You will feel good about what you HAVE done as opposed to bad about what you haven't done
You will be reminded to reward yourself by switching to a more enjoyable activity
You will more easily be able to track how much you have actually worked on your project each week, as opposed to how much time you wished you would work on your project.
You will prove to yourself that small blocks of time DO add up, and are worth doing.
You can look for patterns – e.g., discover your best work times or days

If working with a schedule hasn't worked for you, if you recognize that you have a distorted relationship with time, or if you're just a garden-variety academic procrastinator, then the Unschedule may be for you. Try it!

And if you'd like more writing tips and the support that you deserve, join us in The Academic Writing Club.

Visit us right now, check out what we have to offer, and sign up -- don't let another deadline slip by! http://www.academicwritingclub.com

What is your WORD for 2010?

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:34:00 +0000

I don't know about you, but 2009 was a very tough year for me. I'm glad to kiss it goodbye and welcome the New Year/New Decade.

In that spirit, here's a post from Jayne London, my Associate Coach and the Manager of the Academic Writing Club. This letter was sent to members of the Writing Club, but I thought I'd make it available to all.

Happy New Year! Wow --- 2010! It's time to turn a new page on a new decade. This is an opportunity that won't come along again for another 10 years. Imagine back to 2000 and what you thought you would be doing 10 years later.

I hope you can acknowledge all your accomplishments from the past 10 years and enjoy that feeling in the days to come.

There will be many opportunities for you in this new decade. Are you ready for them?

For this upcoming year, a simple but powerful suggestion was offered by a graduate student in the Writing Club. She calls it ONE LITTLE WORD TO LIVE WITH.

She wrote: "About this time last year, a friend of mine challenged me (and others) to choose a word to “live with” for the coming year (2009). She got the idea from a scrapbooking website (http://onelittleword.typepad.com/). As a middle-aged, dissertating woman with lots of life distractions, I have no time nor energy for scrapbooking, but decided I could choose a word, put it on my desk, and think of ways to let that word inspire me – much easier than writing New Year’s resolutions that I wouldn’t keep! My word for 2009 was HOPE. I found lots of ways to live in hope, and the reminder was helpful during some very difficult struggles – with my dissertation, my committee, my health, and some difficult losses."
==================

My “word” for 2010 will be "SMILE." (I love feeling that positive surge of energy and happiness when I smile. I love to smile, and want to more of it, and make others smile as well.)

I challenge you to think of a word, keep it near you each day, and see if it makes a difference for you in 2010. Please post your WORD on the Message Board so we can know what you're focusing on during this new year.

Here are some ideas that came from my fellow coaches:
CREATE PATIENCE ORGANIZE RELEVANCE

Happy New Year!

Jayne

And I wish all of you a Happy New Year, too. I think my word will be REBIRTH.

If you're not in the Writing Club, please post your WORD here. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Waiting for your dissertation advisor's feedback

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:14:00 +0000

I like to ask people who sign up for the "Dissertation Writer's Toolkit" what the biggest challenge is in writing their dissertation. Here is what one wise responder wrote:

Feedback. Writing something, say a chapter, and getting feedback from the supervisor on it. Somehow it always goes on the 'to do' pile ....and you wait and wait. I found it was much more helpful to agree to a deadline, and push push push (in a nice way) to have my supervisor look at it. It doesn't work long distance; you have to be right under their noses and booked on an airplane and out again 10 weeks later. Somehow the whole thing will be done, written, corrected and finished in that time. Worked for me.

Sometimes students are just too 'in awe' of their supervisors to expect action, and politely sit back and wait for the feedback. I have friends who waited 6 months for chapters to be returned. I waited too long, too (I was 20,000 km away), then I just got fed up, shipped the kids off to Grandma and got on a plane.

I'm very much in agreement with this writer. Professors are human; they sometimes need deadlines, they often operate in "overwhelm mode." So especially if you are writing your dissertation long-distance, consider the airplane and grandma method that is recommended here.

A New Year's Toast (that fits my life)

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:59:00 +0000

This is from Louis Schmier, professor and philosophizer extraordinaire. He describes how he will toast the new year. (To read his whole blog post, go here.)

"I'll pour a quiet glass of champagne then or on 2010 January's first day and lift it to this coming year's surprises, to all the coming unawares, to the inevitable reshuffling of the deck, to the complexity of it all, to what I cannot now know, to what I cannot now guess, to what I have no clue, to what I cannot now control, to what I cannot now guarantee, to the out-of-the-blue bolt of lightning, to the unpredicted, to the unexpected, to the unfamiliar, to the without warning, to the out of nowhere, to the unforeseen, to never stepping into either the same river or class, to all the twists and turns in life's road that will keep me from falling asleep at the wheel, to the unplanned interruptions that like an earthquake will shake me from the doldrums of routine, to the as yet unknown challenges that will keep me from atrophying, and to the unanticipated adventures that will keep me questing for truer answers."

Later in his post, he goes on to say:

"But, as M. Scott Peck had once said, our shining moments are more likely to occur when we are deeply shaken from our smug comfort and complacency. After all, what else but "new" can teach me lessons from the rich experiences of everyday life, pose alternatives thoughts and feelings and actions, alter courses, transform hopelessness into hopeful, disbelief into belief, resignation into expectation, an ugly "ugh" into a beautiful "wow, "blah into spirited, unhappiness into bliss, dream into real, plod into dance, "no" into a "yes," numbness into aware, pessimism into optimism, and callousness into love? What else would keep me better focused on and moving towards my vision, as well as working my way there? What else would offer me a tool to avert being hypnotized into sleep walking into class and teaching in my sleep? What else would stimulate my mind, heart, and soul? What else would keep every fiber of my being on full alert? What else would rouse my curiosity? What else would fuel my imagination and creativity? What else would give me the chance to sow, blossom, and ripen? What else would give me an opening to become a better person? What other occasions would be as exciting, adventurous, enriching, satisfying, meaningful, and significant?"

So, will you raise your glass with me? Here's to the wondrous blessings of discomforting serendipity in the coming New Year! See you and talk to you all in 2010! May you each be joyful and blessed in the inevitable coming unknowns of the New Year!!"

In case you follow the writing plan from the previous post...

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:44:00 +0000

In case you decide to follow the options in the writing plan in my previous post, I wanted to remind you that we now have gift certificates to the Academic Writing Club. Ask for membership to the Club as a holiday gift, and get something you really need, for a change. The Club will help you implement your writing plan on a daily basis.

Or maybe some nice dissertation advisor or department chair will realize that the Academic Writing Club will increase their graduation rate and decrease time to degree, and give all the graduate students a gift. Well, I can dream, can't I?

The Academic Writing Club Gift Certificate!
Give the gift of peace of mind . . .

Now you can give (or ask those who love you to give you) a gift certificate to the Academic Writing Club. You can give 1, 4, or 12 sessions, each consisting of 4 weeks of membership in the Academic Writing Club.

To learn more, go to (or tell your loved ones to go to): http://writinggift.notlong.com

Or print out and give this hint page (a pdf) to someone who loves you!

Write or Rest During Your Break? Here’s a Plan!

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:08:00 +0000

Aaah – The holiday break. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time to sail away to an exotic location*, or more likely to collapse and then visit relatives.

But many academics are torn about whether and how much to write during the holidays. On the one hand, they’re exhausted from the semester, and need a rest. They want to spend time with family and friends. Yet they know that the holiday break may be the best time to get some writing done.

As usual, I’m talking about the long-term writing projects that must be done in order to advance your career – either finishing your dissertation or writing articles/books towards tenure or promotion. These are the projects that get pushed to the back burner because their completion really only matters to you.

Write or Rest -- How about a Compromise?

Which should you do during your break -- write or rest? Well, here’s a compromise plan (with a 9-step or 10-step option) that has worked for many people.

Give yourself some time off. There’s no point in being unrealistic and deciding to force yourself to work when you’re exhausted, unless you have a grant proposal deadline or something of the sort. The reason for not forcing yourself is that no matter what you decide to do, you probably won’t do it, and then you won’t fully enjoy your time off because of the guilt.
Decide several days ahead of time on which day you’re going to start writing, and put that in your calendar. You can also decide which days you will and won’t work and write those days down. By doing this, you will be more likely to bypass the repeating “I’ll start tomorrow” syndrome.
While you’re at it, if you can stand this degree of regimentation, write down what time you’re going to write each day. In general, especially if you’re staying with family or friends, first thing in the morning works the best, for two reasons. First, you’re more likely to actually do it, before other interesting distractions come your way. Two, you won’t spend all day dreading and avoiding the writing time that is waiting for you. For some people, there is a third reason – you may work best in the morning. If only that were true for me.
Decide how much time to spend writing each day. This is the biggie -- it will determine your success in following through on the entire plan. Note: When I discuss writing in this context, I’m referring only to writing, editing, revising, or in some cases, statistical analysis. I’m not referring to time spent reading and researching. Those are necessary tasks, but people do not tend to avoid them as they do the actual writing. Hence this plan.

Before I suggest what to do in this step, I’d like to explain why this is so important.

If you’re like some people who have long days of vacation ahead of them and who want to accomplish a lot, you will eagerly say to yourself, “I’ll have all day, so I’ll plan on 3 solid hours of writing in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon.” Here’s what happens to the majority of these people:

They spend miserable days staring at their computer, with long “warm-ups” of checking emails, reading their favorite political bloggers, or looking up Britney Spears’ latest weight, followed by anxious staring at a blank page, followed by a break involving checking emails, writing emails, and playing computer Scrabble (yes, that’s my latest – there’s an app for that).

They can’t believe at the end of a long day how little they actually wrote, if anything. After a couple of days of this, they give up on writing during their break. This is not a conscious decision, but one that is made by default, gradually, as they find a “good reason” each day that they can’t work that day.

They do not enjoy their holiday break at all, because they know at the bottom of their heart that they are making a big mistake by not writing. At the end of the break they are completely guilt-ridden, panicked and mortified that they have accomplished nothing.

How do you avoid this terrible fate when carrying out your own writing plan? There are two options here, and which option you follow depends mostly on how much writing you need to get done.

Option 1: Follow this option if you have a busy holiday schedule, don’t have a looming deadline, or probably wouldn’t tend to write at all over the holidays without this plan. It also works well if you’ve been blocked.

Option 2: Follow this option if you either must write a fair amount (based on deadlines, such as grant proposals, book editors demands, or demanding dissertation advisors) or you are the rare bird that can write for more than an hour a day when you don’t have a deadline hanging over your head.

Option 1: Steps
Decide the previous day what you will specifically be working on. I’m assuming that you’ve done any reading or research that is needed in order to write the next day. If you haven’t been writing for a while, you might need to get your document ready and open.
The previous day would also be a good time to find a timer, either at home or on the Internet.
Eliminate all possible distractions or the chance of interruptions (e.g. email program off, sign on door, letting your family know that you won’t be available for the next 15 minutes).
Do NOT set a goal of number of pages written, or how much of one section you will finish. Your only goal is to write for a certain number of minutes.
Set your timer for 15 minutes.
Start writing, (or editing and revising, if you’re in that stage of the project). When the timer goes off, STOP.
For many of you, that is all that you will have time for that day. That’s fine. You did more than you would have without this process, and you may have more reading to do to prepare for your next writing session.
Make sure you write down what to start on tomorrow.
If you feel like working a little more, set the timer for a 10 minute break, then repeat steps 1) through 8).

Option 2: Steps
Steps 1) through 4) follow steps for Option 1 above.
Step 5) Set your timer for any amount of time up to 45 minutes.
Steps 6) through 9) are the same as for Option 1.
Step 10) Because you have a looming deadline, you will probably spend more time writing. Always take as refreshing a break as you can – walk, dance, make a snowman. Then after 10-15 minutes you can go back to your writing. Repeat this as often as you can throughout the day. Ideally, you can do 2 or 3 productive writing sessions, then do some reading and preparing for your next writing session, then go off and enjoy your day.
The aim for both of these options is to:

Have a reasonable, doable, time-oriented writing goal that you won’t put off because it fills you with dread.
Allow you to accomplish something during the winter break.
Allow you guilt-free time each day to enjoy with family and friends, or to take a long nap.
Enjoy your time off!

I hope that with this simple plan, you’ll be able to actually do what seems impossible: get some writing done AND relax, rest, recreate, rejuvenate, and enjoy the break!

Warmly,
Gina

* Digital painting, "Anna Near Naples," by Gina Hiatt © 2009.

How to Shut Off the Overly Busy Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:54:00 +0000

When you try to write, do you find that your mind races -- jumps from thought to thought and you just can't seem to settle down and write productively? Well, you're certainly not alone -- my mind simply won't rest.

Our wonderful Writing Club Coach, Rene, has some great ideas for those of us who have an overly busy mind. I think you'll enjoy her tips for how to regain your focus and be more productive with your writing.

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to Shut off the Overly Busy Mind
by Rene Hadjigeorgalis, Academic Writing Club Coach
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you ever been in a situation where you just could not shut your brain off? This is our tendency to not let it go mentally and to insist on analyzing and re-analyzing something until we have done it to death.

The busy mind is not a good thing. Continuously and obsessively thinking about something to no end doesn't get us our solution. Just like our body, our brain needs rest to function well and to figure out the answers we are looking for. But, you say, I go to sleep and I keep on thinking about it (whatever it is)? Yes, you do, because the busy mind is persistent. It will forge on while you are driving, while you are exercising, while you sleep even! And of course it is alive and well when you are trying to write. How to turn it off? Where's the switch?

The key to quieting the busy mind is to recognize that the brain has a mind of its own (no pun intended). It will keep on thinking and thinking and ignore your inner pleas to at least think about something else! To derail the busy mind, you need to engage the brain in some other thinking activity. Here are some suggestions:

1. Free write This is particularly helpful if you are having trouble concentrating because your brain is stuck on some other issue.

Okay, persistent little brain, here are your 15 minutes. Just write and write without stopping about whatever the issue at hand is. Make a list of what you need to do to deal with the issue. Tell your brain in this writing that you will not forget about the issue, that you are working on it, that there is a solution, but for the next 30 minutes you need to work on something else and then you will come back to think about it. Writing about it gets it out of your brain and onto paper so that your brain can think about something else.

2. Read an entertaining/engrossing book. This is particularly helpful when you retire at night and can't stop thinking about something. Now, to make yourself sleepy you are supposed to read something not so entertaining, but this doesn't work if you have psycho-brain going. Mr. Thinker Brain is just going to get bored with the text and start thinking about the problem again.

By engaging the brain in another interesting activity you distract it from the thinking chain.

3. Play some Sudoku or other kind of thinking game. Personally, I have never gotten the hang of Soduku, but I find it very engrossing and hard to think about anything else while I am playing it. Crossword puzzles and word searches work well also.

4. Do some concentration exercises. Here is my favorite. Pick up a book and a nice sized paragraph and count the number of words in the paragraph without using your finger to follow along. Easy peezy lemon squeezy you say. Ha! Try it and see if you don't have to really concentrate to not lose count.

5. Meditate This is a great practice to cultivate, but meditation won't work for you in your hour of need if you have not already practiced it. Start today, start small (1 minute, 2 minutes). Or take a yoga class and learn there (see below). Meditation is something you definitely want in your toolbox when you are hit with the busy mind.

6. Practice breathing deeply in and out for 5 minutes Set a timer. I have found that when my brain is really in overdrive, 5 minutes doesn't do it, but it is almost impossible not to calm down your mind and body if you continue to take long, slow breaths for 5-10 minutes. 7. Take a yoga class This is also an activity that requires your concentration. I find that it is easy to continue on with the busy mind during a spinning class, but less so in yoga where, quite frankly, you will just fall over. An evening hatha yoga class of about 90 minutes can really do wonders to clear your mind and improve your sleep.

8. If stress is what you are feeling rather than an overactive mind, get some vigorous exercise -- very long walk, run, biking, swimming. It will tire you out and provide a release for all that energy.

What tips or tricks do you use to calm your busy mind?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If your overly busy mind makes writing a challenge, we have just the answer for you! The Academic Writing Club provides the structure, guidance, accountability, coaching feedback and interactivity with peers that you need in order to write productively.

With the Club you will discover how much more you can get done, and how much less painful writing can be when you have the right support.

In addition to the online program, you will get extra tips on how to become a more productive writer and how to maximize your time in the Club, in our free teleclass, "Six Strategies for Successful Academic Writing."

All this, plus our free telephone group coaching Q & A session, will help you jump start and continue your productive writing throughout the year. (You will receive recordings of both teleclasses in downloadable MP3 format). Just the teleclass and very popular telephone group are worth the Writing Club fee!

Check out the Writing Club at: http://www.academicwritingclub.com/

or to join right away go to:
http://www.academicwritingclub.com/#joinnow

Learn how to run regressions and ANOVAs in SPSS GLM accurately and efficiently

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:37:00 +0000

I am no statistics expert, but I'm frequently asked if Academic Ladder can help with statistical problems. The best I can do is refer you to specialists who know what they're doing. I believe that The Analysis Factor, a web site that specializes in helping people with the statistical aspect of their research, has a lot to offer.

Here is an announcement that I just received from Karen Grace-Martin, the owner of The Analysis Factor. For those of you struggling with running regressions and ANOVAS in SPSS GLM accurately, I suggest you check it out.

Here is the registration page for those who just want to sign up: Learn how to run regressions and ANOVAs in SPSS GLM accurately and efficiently.

Imagine understanding your statistical software well enough to just write the program, choose the menu options you need, get the right output, and be able to read it easily. Think of the time and frustration it would save!

I am inviting you to my Running Regressions and ANOVA in SPSS GLM Workshop, which starts November 3. If you use SPSS for regressions or ANOVAs in your research, this 3 hour workshop (plus 1 hour Q&A) will help you get to that place.

I've decided to try out something new in the second Question & Answer session, which meets on December 15th. Send me your data and one research question, and in 10-15 minutes I'll show you how to run the appropriate analysis through the GLM or regression. You'll see me analyze it using menus and syntax, I'll explain why each option is appropriate in this analysis, and we'll go over the results and what they mean. Then I'll send you the syntax program, for you to use or edit.

I was already offering this second bonus as a Question and Answer Session, but I thought we'd try this out. I've been thinking about how great of a learning tool consulting is—there's nothing like seeing the statistical analysis in terms of your own, real data.

An additional benefit is it exposes you to other kinds of models and data. It's when you see a variety of models that you really start to get this stuff. You'll see how similar the methods are, even when the topics aren't. So you'll know what to look for.

I'm limiting this bonus session to the first 10 people who register so everyone who wants to send data can participate. There are only 3 spots left to receive this bonus.

On top of that, the Early Registration discount ends tomorrow, October 21, at midnight eastern. It's $30 off the full price.

So if you're intererested, I suggest you register now: http://theanalysisinstitute.com/workshops/SPSS-GLM/index.html

And if you're not sure if it's for you, just give me a call. 607-539-3216. I'll be here all day today and I'm happy to help you figure out if it meets your needs.

Happy analyzing,
Karen

The Analysis Factor

I hope this is of help to some of my readers and clients!

Warmly,
Gina

Just Say No to Negativity

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:03:00 +0000

As shared in my last newsletter, the tendency to think negatively about yourself is common among academics.

If you're unable to stop your negative self-thoughts, then you will be hampered in your ability to write.

And so I just had to share this article with you, compliments of our very own Writing Club Coach Rene.

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just Say No to Negativity (Part I)
by Rene Hadjigeorgalis, Academic Writing Club Coach
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'd like to address the idea of positivity, how you may resist being positive, what negative self-talk can do to you (without even realizing it), and how you can teach yourself to be more positive.

First of all, let me say that with the exception of a few people who just light up the room when they smile, most of us have to make a concerted effort to be positive. For some reason, the human condition is such, particularly in academia, that it defaults to negativity and catastrophic thinking. "I will never get this paper done." "I will not be prepared for classes." "Everyone will think I am an idiot at the conference." "I am not cut out for academia." "I will never get tenure." "I am a time waster and procrastinator." "I have nothing to offer in my field." And my personal
favorite - "There is too much to do and I will never get it done." We tell ourselves this and anyone around us who is willing to listen.

Why do we tend to focus on the negative rather than the positive and why do we beat ourselves up so?

One theory is that we derive some benefit from all the negative talk - or we perceive that we do. Perhaps we think that if we chastise ourselves we will work harder and be more productive. My college roommate used to have a saying posted up above her desk, "Fear is motivation." Well, yes, if you are being chased by a saber-toothed tiger, but does it really help us achieve our day-to-day goals? If you think negativity is helping you in some way, you will resist replacing it with positivity.

So how do you stay positive and deflect those negative thought tendencies? You create a positivity habit. Unless you were a particularly negative child, negativity is something that you learned and adopted into a habit. Being positive is also a habit. You want to replace the bad habit (being negative) with the good habit (being positive). Here are 7 tips and strategies:

1. *Be aware of the negative urge.*

This requires a lot of mindfulness, which, if you are a negative person, is also a challenge. At first, you may not notice the negative urge until you have already said the comment (to yourself or to someone else). Well, better late than never. Once you notice that, however, you will
naturally start to notice the urge to be negative before the thought is completed in your brain. Then you just stop yourself and think of a positive statement to replace your negative comment. If you can't think of a positive comment, just stop yourself from finishing the negative thought.

Remember what your mother said - if you can't say something nice [to yourself or anyone else] don't say anything at all.

2. *Use realistic positive statements to replace the negative statements.*

If you replace the negative statements with positive statements you do not believe, you will get nowhere. The negative comments have a hold over you because you truly have come to believe them. So, the positive statement has to be something that you also think is fairly plausible. For example, you probably wouldn't want to replace the negative statement, "I am not cut out for academia," with the positive statement, "I am a Nobel Prize Laureate and any university on the planet would be humbled and grateful to have me bless them with my presence on their faculty." If you really believe this, you probably didn't have a negativity problem to begin with.

A more realistic statement might be, "I completed a Ph.D. (this already puts you in an elite and small group), I am a dedicated professional, I enjoy research and writing, I write well and I have good ideas. Academia is the perfect job for me." If that is too long-winded for you try the simpler, "If somebody else can do it, so can I."

3. *Create a positivity cheat sheet.*

Start the day off by reviewing your strengths and talents. Make a list of all of your qualities -- up to 100. Keep going until you get to 100. Write down everything -- such as "I am good at grammar." "I am funny." "I have a good sense of humor." "I can write well." "I am smart." "I am savvy." "I make a mean quiche lorraine." etc. Take a look at this list every day before you start your day and whenever you are doubting your abilities.

4. *Make a list of all of your accomplishments.*

Another very good exercise to reinforce the positive is to make a list of all of your accomplishments. Include everything. If you went through a difficult personal situation and pulled through, add that too. This is another list to look at when you think you are not good enough or working hard enough.

Keep these lists handy and look at them when you falter and you will be well on your way to building a positive habit.

5. *Fake it.*

This may sound cynical but I have found that if you actually pretend that you are in a fantastic mood you can put yourself in that mood. And once you are in that mood, it is hard to be negative. Try smiling at yourself in the mirror in the morning. Contrast this with stumbling to the bathroom, looking at yourself in the mirror, noticing the bags and telling yourself how tired you are.

6. *Put up a sign.*

Forming a positivity habit is different than forming other habits, because you can't just pick a time to be positive during the day and then check that off your list of things to do. Being positive is something you need to incorporate into your overall outlook and how you approach life in general. So put up a reminder or multiple reminders. Draw funny pictures on them and write catchy sayings. Or just tack up a post-it note at the very least that says "Stay positive." You can actually forget to be positive (just like you can forget to call for a dentist appointment).

7. *Convince yourself that the negativity is not helping you and is actually hurting you.*

None of these tips and strategies will do you any good if you truly believe deep down that the negative self-talk is helping you. This will require some reflection. Do you really think that if you beat yourself up, you will do better? Where is the negative self-talk coming from? Is there some fear attached to letting go of the negativity?

What tips or tricks do you use to say no to the negative and work with a positive attitude? Please share any ideas you may have by posting your comments here on the blog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you tired of struggling through your own negative selftalk? Would you like the support of a community to help turn that negativity off?

The Academic Writing Club provides the structure, guidance, accountability, coaching feedback and interactivity with peers that you need in order to write productively.

With the Club you will discover how much more you can get done, and how much less painful writing can be when you have the right support.

In addition to the online program, you will get extra tips on how to become a more productive writer and how to maximize your time in the Club, in our free teleclass, "Six Strategies for Successful Academic Writing."

All this, plus our free telephone group coaching Q & A session, will help you jump start and continue your productive writing throughout the year. (You will receive recordings of both teleclasses in downloadable MP3 format). Just the teleclass and very popular telephone group are worth the Writing Club fee!

Check out the Writing Club at: http://www.academicwritingclub.com/
or to join right away go to:http://www.academicwritingclub.com/#joinnow

Tips for Encouraging Student Participation in Classroom Discussions

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Check out Faculty Focus' new free report on encouraging those silent students to stop staring at the clock and actually participate in classroom discussions.

You'll need to sign up for their email newsletter, which I think is something that any faculty member would want to do, anyway.

Forming the Daily Writing Habit

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:30:00 +0000

Are you in the habit of writing daily?

In our experience of working with over 1700 people in the Academic Writing Club over a number of years - writing daily is the one habit that is most likely to ensure your success
in completing your writing projects. Daily writing also increases creativity and makes you enjoy the writing more (or in many cases, hate it less).

Habits, at least good ones, aren't created overnight. It takes time and persistence to create a new habit.

Read on for some tips to forming a daily writing habit, compliments of our very own Academic Writing Club Coach, Rene Hadjigeorgalis.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forming the Daily Writing Habit
by Rene Hadjigeorgalis, Academic Writing Club Coach
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Start small.

Habit formation is most effective when you start small and build up over time. Most habits that we have were formed gradually over time - we didn't even realize that we were establishing them in the first place.

For example, at one point in time, I was a heavy coffee drinker. But I didn't wake up one day and start downing 5 cups of coffee a day. In fact, the first time I drank coffee I didn't even like it. Yuck! But I was in college and trying to get the hang of the whole cramming thing, so coffee I drank. Before I knew it, and quite unconsciously, I was drinking coffee every day and several times a day.

How does this apply to writing? When trying to establish a long-term daily writing habit, it is helpful to think of your first foray into this new territory as simply your establishment stage. In the beginning, it is most helpful to focus on establishing the habit than getting lots and lots of writing done. This is one reason for the advice to do brief daily sessions. Once you have established the habit, you can build up your time per session, or the number of sessions from there.

Okay, you say, but this coach really needs a reality check. There is some writing that must get done NOW, so how can I limit myself to a brief daily session?

Here is where compartmentalization comes in - divide your time between your habit-establishing (HE) brief daily session and the must-get-done urgent writing. Do your HE writing every day, first thing out of the chute, and limit it to 15 minutes. The rest of the day is then free for all of the flaming, hair-on-fire writing that you need to do.

Ideally, over time, there will be less of these last minute marathon writing sessions as you develop a daily writing habit.

2. Do your HE writing at the same time each day.

There are two reasons to do this. It is always easier to establish a habit if you do it at the same time every day. I personally prefer mornings, but I have also done well doing my writing right before I go to bed. There is danger in that, though, since the desire to put on pajamas and
collapse into bed may overcome the best of writing intentions in the evening. This is not to say that you cannot write on the fly, sometimes in the morning and sometimes at night - but recognize that it will be more challenging to establish a daily habit this way.

3. Set up a ritual and triggers.

It is helpful to set up rituals and triggers when you are trying to establish a habit. Going back to my coffee example, I always had to have a cup of coffee when I sat down to write. This was my trigger - an event which I always associated in my mind with drinking coffee. If you do morning or evening writing, establishing a ritual/routine around your writing can also be helpful.

In my morning ritual, I wake up, empty the dishwasher, fix a cup of tea, and sit down to write. The tea is my trigger because it is the only time of day that I drink it and I have associated it with writing. Writing is also part of my morning ritual - over time, not writing in the morning has become akin to not brushing my teeth. Yuck!

4. Only form one new habit at a time.

The more new habits you try to form at a time, the more dispersed your focus will be. It is hard work to form a habit, and you will be most successful if you focus on just one new habit at a time.
5. Commit to your one new writing habit.

But I am committed, you say. I put my money where my mouth is and I signed up for the Academic Writing Club. While that is a great first step, the gym membership industry would find fault with this logic. Writing daily is something that you need to commit to with no excuses and no matter what.

It doesn't matter if you are tired, busy, have dust bunnies to kill, need to paint your ceiling, have visitors, need to caulk the bathtub, or just can't concentrate because you believe your faculty colleagues are really aliens from the planet Zortex in disguise. Remember - this is only 15 minutes of your time during this habit establishment phase. Even if you just open the laptop, stare zombie-like at your manuscript, and add a period, you will be making great progress in establishing the habit of writing.

6. Give yourself 28 days.

It is a lot harder to establish a habit, particularly one that might cause you some distress or discomfort in the beginning, if you think you are doing it for life. However, you do need to give yourself a reasonable timeframe of daily writing to lay down the habit.

I find that 28 days is a good marker. When times get tough, just remind yourself that you are only doing this for 28 days and it is only taking 15 minutes a day out of your schedule. If that is too daunting, go week by week. I will do this for 7 days, then 7 days more, etc.

The idea is to remove the negotiation from your brain. You have made the commitment, so you don't need to make any internal arguments with your hippocampus about whether or not you will write today. It has already been decided.

7. Document your progress.

The Academic Writing Club is a great place to do that. Just log in and let us know how your HE writing is going. Another idea is to use a journal (paper or online) where you begin each post with the day number, i.e., DAY 17: xxx. You can write anything here or you can just record that you
did it. When you document make sure you give yourself some kudos for each day that you follow your habit. If you use the Academic Writing Club, you can even get kudos from the other participants.

In the end, habits are not easily formed, but once established they are not easily broken. Try some of these tips and see how they work for you.

"Clarity" -- great insights from a Writing Club member.

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:09:00 +0000

Today, I found out that my book needs to be done for my third-year/mid-career review, 11 months from now. “As close to being done as possible” is an option there in the wings, but if I want to take my place in this department, it needs to be done and to represent the very, very best work I can do. THEN the senior faculty put a jaw-dropping amount of time and intellectual engagement and discussion and writing into critiquing what I’ve given them (my book, as best I can conceive it), and THEN I write a better book.

This knowledge, while terrifying, has brought with it an amazing amount of clarity:

My book needs me. It needs my heart and mind and time. It literally will not exist without me. And I want more than anything for it to exist.
This is not a game. I can play games on myself all the live-long day, but not with the writing, not with the book. I have worked long and hard for this, given many years, garnered the investments of many brilliant people. It’s not time to toy with this; it’s not a spinning top for me to scuttle along the floor.
I need a plan. I need a reasoned and reasonable plan. Builders don’t show up with their tools and “see what happens.” I need to see it, like rolling out a blue-print — to see how I will get from my dissertation to my powerful book. This is not an open-ended, ad-hoc process.
I have to trust myself. This is the only way I can keep moving forward. Enough with the second-guessing and fretting and re-wording every last word. The one and only way to push through the static is to trust myself.
What wants me can’t claim me. There is no limit on what others want of me, or what I want of and for myself. But my resources are limited. I cannot allow my own or other people’s desires to claim me, because I have this important work to do. Right now this work seems private, but it will make me who I want to be.
Other people need to see my work. Regardless of whether I have real misgivings or if I just cannot manage my calendar, the work still needs exposure. This is not strategic, but substantive. Every time I share my work, it gets better. And it needs and deserves to get better.
To everything there is a season. This year is the season for this book to come into bloom. I have to take care of it, I have to nurture and cultivate it, but its nature is to bloom, and this is its season.

Okay guys. I put this out here, and it’s a risk because I believe it all — deeply — but I also know I need support. Even to remember it, I need support. Thank God I signed up for the long haul.

The First Annual "Inspirational Quotes for Writers Contest!"

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:59:00 +0000

I'd like to thank my readers for the great response we received on the quotes that we shared in our last newsletter. Many of you told us how much you enjoyed the quotes, and how they inspired you to get writing. A few of you even shared you printed them off to post on your wall. And one amazing reader wrote me from Ireland to tell me she had created a poster of the quotes, which she was happy to share with others. You might like to have a copy yourself, so just click here to get your own copy of this lovely, inspiring poster.

This strong response got us to thinking… wouldn’t it be great to create a huge list of inspirational quotes for writing? If the few quotes we shared with you made such a difference to so many, then a bigger list of them would provide that much more inspiration and motivation to keep on writing.

So I hereby announce the first annual (well, we'll see if there's ever a second one) "Inspirational Quotes for Writers Contest!"

In order to enter, all you have to do is share with us your favorite quotes that really inspire you and you will be entered into a draw for a Flip Ultra Video Camera. This cool little pocket camcorder records video ‘on the go’, and is easy to use and super easy to upload/share videos.

(Click to learn more about the Flip Ultra)

In order to share these quotes with as many people as possible, and so you can see them all 'live' along the way, we have setup a new Facebook Page for Academic Ladder. You must be signed up for Facebook to enter.

All you need to do to enter the contest is go to www.academicladder.com/facebook become a Fan of the Academic Ladder page, and post your favorite quotes on the wall for all to see.

Note that this is not my personal page -- many of you have friended me, but for this contest you need to become a fan of our new page, www.academicladder.com/facebook.

The winner will be drawn randomly from all who enter the contest, which closes 9:00 PM Eastern Time, Friday, September 25th. You can post up to five quotes to be entered into the draw, we ask of course that you post 5 different quotes… duplicate quotes won’t be counted. This would give you five chances to win.

So become a fan of our new page and share those kind of quotes that make you feel like you really can keep writing and accomplish something, or the kind of quote that lets you know that other writers have suffered just like you, or any other quote that offers comfort, motivation and inspiration to writers.

I don’t know about you but I’m really looking forward to creating our big list of quotes; and you might be looking forward to owning a Flip Ultra Video Camera. I know I wish I had one!
Again, to enter the contest, go to www.academicladder.com/facebook.

See you on the Academic Ladder Facebook Page!

Why procrastinate when you can perendinate?

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:32:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:43:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:59:00 +0000

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.

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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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https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/tomorrows-professor
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10 Steps for Growing a Backbone

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:32:00 +0000

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?

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:41:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:13:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:16:00 +0000

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...

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:26:00 +0000

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

Boost your creativity by asking questions

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:08:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:43:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Hiatt, Ph.D.) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:25:00 +0000

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.