Creating a Satisfying Academic Career with Jo Van Every

Getting the ideas out of your head into a document can be done in many ways. If you find it difficult to do that by typing, have you considered dictation? I explain how that might help in this track. Referred to in this track:Joanna Penn - YouTube - https://youtu.be/ZGvhG4KYWRoRead the post: https://jovanevery.co.uk/focus-dictation/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: htt...

Sometimes as you are approaching the end of one project you start getting distracted by ideas for the next one. In this track I suggest that starting to work on the new project might help you finish the current one. I give some specific suggestions so you can figure out how to make that work for you. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/another-project-distracting/For more content like thi...

While working on one thing at a time may not work for you, having too many active writing projects isn't very effective either. In this track I talk about how the extra cognitive work of managing too many tasks affects you focus. I also suggest ways of limiting yourself to about 3 projects at a time. It's not easy. But it's definitely worth trying. Read the post here: https://jovane...

It is easier to focus on tasks you enjoy doing. It is easier to motivate yourself to do things that you (generally) enjoy doing. In this track I talk about how this can help you keep your writing projects moving. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/select-task-most-want-to-work-on/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter Take the F...

There is evidence that having a meditation practice can improve your ability to focus. I talk a bit about how that works and then go on to talk about how meditation is also a good metaphor for understanding the relationship between focus and distraction. Distraction is normal. The important thing is how you get back to focusing on the thing you want to focus on. Read the post here: https://jovanev...

The context in which you are writing makes a big difference to how well you can focus. Instead of waiting for ideal conditions, think about which tasks you could do in the context you are in that would move your project forward. When you are in a situation closer to your ideal, choose tasks that really need the kind of focus only possible in this situation. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.c...

How you are feeling physically and emotionally will affect your focus. Instead of trying to push through (and possibly making things worse), you can choose which writing tasks you do with that in mind. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/optimizing-focus-choose-the-task-to-suit-how-you-are-feeling/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/news...

Have you ever noticed that if you have a full day for writing you find it harder to focus? Time constraints can help with focus. In this track I talk a bit about how that works and different ways you can use it. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/time-and-focus/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter Take the FREE 15 Minute Writi...

A lot of advice about distraction focuses on the things you do when distracted. While sometimes those other possible activities act as a trigger, sometimes the trigger comes from somewhere else. In this post I talk more about the desire to be distracted and how you can use that knowledge to optimize your focus. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/focus-desire-distraction/For more content...

So much of the discussion of distraction focuses on things like social media. What if you are being distracted by your own project? This track discusses 3 examples that came up in A Meeting With Your Writing and strategies you can use in similar situations. You might also want to listen to Focus and the desire for distraction for further thoughts on how this happens. Read the post here: https://jo...

Originally written in 2015, this track looks at the common advice to focus on one thing at a time, and how that can sometimes backfire. Using an extended knitting analogy, I discuss how giving yourself permission to start something new before you've finished your current project might actually lead to more finished projects. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/one-thing-at-a-time/For...

Over the years I've written a lot about focus and distraction. This track introduces the collection of archive posts with some new thoughts on the value of identifying the problem before you try to implement solutions. I also say a bit about what you'll find in the other posts. I'll recording all of these posts and adding them to the playlist over the first couple of weeks of Octobe...

The purpose of planning is to enable you to take action, and to ensure that the things you take action on are the important things. The plan itself is a record of your decisions. Revisiting your plans regularly enables you to adjust to factors outside of your control to meet that bigger goal of taking action on important things. A planning practice helps you get better at planning. It helps you re...

Do you get caught up in worrying about whether the way you (or whoever just emailed you) signed their email is rude or a passive-aggressive statement that colours the whole email? This is not a great use of your time. This track covers some of the issues. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/email-sign-offs/Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/JoVanEveryFind my Facebook Page here: facebook.co...

Written in the spring of 2020, the rapid switch to remote working due to the Covid pandemic made some issues around email practices and boundaries much clearer. I talk about maintaining boundaries around work time, scheduling time to triage your email, not using your email inbox as a to do list, batching student queries, and communicating about not communicating. These basic principles can be used...

A companion to tracks about how to manage your own inbox, in this post I talk about how to write email in a way that makes it easier for your colleagues to deal with. From clear subject lines to well structured content, my hope is that by trying these tips, you might model how colleagues and students could better communicate with you. Read the post here: jovanevery.co.uk/not-contributing-to-other-...

In this track I talk about how thinking of email as a means of communication, rather than a task, can help you feel more in control of your workload. The text version of this track was first published in September 2011 and can be found at JoVanEvery.co.uk/dealing-with-email-is-not-a-taskOther posts in the series:• jovanevery.co.uk/collective-email-overwhelm/• jovanevery.co.uk/not-contributing-to-o...

The biggest contributor to stress is feeling out of control. Email is one area many people feel out of control. In this track I talk about shifting how you think about email as part of a strategy to regain that sense of control. A text version of this track was first published in June 2012 and edited in April 2017. This post was added to the Email Overwhelm series in 2021.You can find the text pos...

You want to do your share of peer review but the requests come in one at a time and need quick responses. In this track I discuss how big decisions about how many reviews you will do in a year and some general criteria for selecting the can make the specific decisions easier. If you are wondering whether you have time to do the review itself, you definitely don't have extra time to spend on m...

We often think about meetings in terms of the time they take, but they also take a lot of energy. In this post, I discuss ways of reducing the impact of meetings on the energy you have available for your other work. I also suggest some criteria you might use to make decisions about meetings easier. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/decision-making-meetingsFor more content like this, sig...

In this track I apply the principles discussed in Managing the energy you use to make decisions to planning. A habit of planning weekly concentrates much of the decision making so you have fewer decisions to make on the fly. Read the post here: jovanevery.co.uk/decision-making-planning-schedulingFor more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: jovanevery.co.uk/newsletterFollow me on...

It's easy to get overcommitted. In this track I talk about how to prevent things from getting worse so you can deliver on the commitments you've already made and reduce your overwhelm. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/overcommitted-declaring-a-moratorium/Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/JoVanEveryFind my Facebook Page here: facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoachJoin the Academ...

Decisions require energy. Habits, routines, and default responses reduce the energy you need to spend making decisions. This track explains the principles. Specific examples will be explained in separate tracks. I initially wrote this for members of the Academic Writing Studio in early 2021. I was prompted to publish it when I wrote Overcommitted? Declaring a moratorium, an example of using a defa...

When you struggle to find time for writing during the regular semester, you might tell yourself that you'll get to it in the summer. That can lead to wildly unreasonable plans for your summer writing and not enough attention to your need for rest. Read the post here: jovanevery.co.uk/write-all-the-things-is-not-a-summer-planFollow me on Twitter: twitter.com/JoVanEveryFind my Facebook Page her...

The Academic Writing Studio provides just enough structure and support to help you balance writing and rest during the summer with a community of like-minded scholars to help keep you on track. Join now! academicwritingstudio.co.ukRead the full post here: jovanevery.co.uk/why-join-the-studio-in-the-summerFollow me on Twitter: twitter.com/JoVanEveryFind my Facebook Page here: facebook.com/JoVEAcade...