Tag Archives: Productivity

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Use backward design for project planning

As we get ready to move into the summer months, have you thought about your goals and what you want to get accomplished? Before we know it, August will roll around and it will be time to gear up for another academic year. Whether you are planning a productive summer or just thinking about a large project, there are some specific steps you can take to make sure you have a plan to achieve your goals. In today’s post, I will share how the principles of backward design can be used to come up with a plan to get your work done.

Photo credit: Crispin Semmens

Without a concrete plan of action, you may struggle to complete your most significant work. 

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How to get your writing groove back

What makes you a writer? It isn’t some special skill or ability, but rather simply being someone who writes. I think students and even early career faculty often look at senior scholars assuming they have some experience or ability that makes them better writers. While experience and practice helps with writing, the biggest help is simply writing. Yet, even the best writers lose their way. In today’s post, I want to share a few tips about how to get your writing groove back.

I recently completed two major writing projects. Even after working on them for months, I had to do a lot of extra work (binge writing) to get them completed on time. Binge writing is terrible for many reasons, but the greatest issue may be how burned out it makes us.

After those projects were finished, I was completely burned out on writing.

Simply put, I’d lost my writing groove.  

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What I Like Most About Using a Standing Desk

As I discussed in my last post, there are many benefits to using a standing desk. I’ve been using my standing desk for the past six weeks. Honestly, I was skeptical about the standing desk fad (at least I thought it was a fad). I was eventually persuaded by the variety of benefits that I kept reading about standing desk. Although I’m quick to jump in on the latest tech idea (can’t wait for my Apple Watch), no one would mistake me as New Age or hip. I don’t meditate and I don’t do yoga. In my mind, that’s the category I put a standing desk. Having taken the plunge, I’m a convert now. In today’s post, I want to describe my personal setup and what I like most about using a standing desk.

The image above is of my standing desk in my campus office.

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Yes, You Can Work 40 Hours a Week as an Academic

Earlier this week, Trish Roberts-Miller published an essay in Inside Higher Ed on working 40 hours a week. She picks up on many of the same themes I’ve addressed here over the past few months including the problem with busyness and the necessity of a weekly schedule. While there will be weeks when a big project is due or an experiment needs more time, there is simply no reason for academics to work 50, 60, or 70 hours a week. I’m amazed at the number of people who feel the need to work this much or at least attempt to work this much. At various points in my career, I’ve certainly fallen into the trap of thinking I need to work this many hours. The reality? Yes, you can work 40 hours a week as an academic. And yes, you can be productive, successful, and get tenure while doing this.

Photo credit: Marcin Wichary

I typically make it a habit to not read the comments in online news stories. Yet, this time I did curious how people would respond to Roberts-Miller’s argument.  The following comment struck me.

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Be More Productive with a Weekly Schedule Template

As we get ready to start another academic year, I want to pull the curtain back and share how I plan my schedule each week. I may go through this exercise several times over the course of the year. I take time to think through my weekly schedule and how I want to allocate my time. I have found that I can be more productive with a weekly schedule template that allows flexibility, yet doesn’t force me to reinvent the wheel every week.

Setting a weekly schedule template can prove to be a powerful productivity tool.