This is post #3 in my miniseries on organizing for research (in case you missed them, here's post #1 & #2). I don't know about you, but it took nearly 10 years of being in higher education for me to develop a digital filing system that actually works for me. A combination of things (the … Continue reading Organizing Your Files for Research
academia
Spring 2022 Goals
Don't you just love a good goals post? Right now most folks in my feed are either "my only 2022 goal is to survive" OR "I'm going to do all the things!" This post is...somewhere in the middle. It's not in my nature to go from thing to thing without a plan, and, on the … Continue reading Spring 2022 Goals
On Pointless Writing
I didn't know what to blog about this week until I was looking through my screenshots and found this legit gem: Screenshot of Miriam Posner's tweet reading: "Writing is so annoying when you have to have 'an argument' or at least 'something to say' and you can't just 'vibe.'" As you know if you've been … Continue reading On Pointless Writing
Rest
Fall Break is almost here at my institution. For most of us this means a three day weekend. Because I teach on a Tues/Thurs schedule it means a four day weekend for me. My question is: do you rest on these occasions? Academics in particular, but also many of us I suspect, don't actually take … Continue reading Rest
Celebrate Your Wins
This will be a short post today because my hubby and I are heading out of town for the weekend in 15 minutes. Before we go, I wanted to encourage you all to find some way to celebrate your wins. This is rather common advice in productivity and academic circles, but it strikes me that … Continue reading Celebrate Your Wins
Teaching Tip Tuesday: Get Into the Weeds
I can't tell you the number of times I've had students send me unsolicited emails thanking me for explaining what a scholarly article actually is. For years, they tell me, their instructors have demanded scholarly sources, but never explained to them what makes a source scholarly or not. I not only explain what a scholarly … Continue reading Teaching Tip Tuesday: Get Into the Weeds
Do You Plan an Ideal Week?
How's it going? My second week back was somewhat uneventful, but a few colleagues have had covid positive students pop up. The uni has said to proceed with class as scheduled while the department of health does "contact tracing." What could go wrong with that plan? I am celebrating some personal good news today...my chapter … Continue reading Do You Plan an Ideal Week?
Grief in Academia
cw: miscarriage, grief You may have noticed a slight gap between my last post and this one. I was not certain I should write this post. Contrary to what my robust digital footprint might suggest, I am not one to post a lot of intensely personal information online. But it felt weird to simply resume … Continue reading Grief in Academia
Am I an Early or Mid-Career Academic?
The other day I was scrolling through Twitter when I saw this tweet asking, "Am I early-career or mid-career? A Memoir." And, man, I felt that. I am arguably early-career, having only had full-time employment in higher ed for the past 2.5 years. On the other hand, I've been teaching college classes since 2009. My … Continue reading Am I an Early or Mid-Career Academic?
What You REALLY Need to Be Productive
(Nerd Alert!) I happen to love academic productivity advice, but a lot of it is CRAP-tastic for early career academics. At best it glosses over the real systemic issues facing EC academics; at worst it is insulting. I personally find it oddly comforting to listen to podcasts about paper planners and read posts about finding … Continue reading What You REALLY Need to Be Productive
Tawnya Azar 