An update on the Head space project

Six months after launching the Head space project, I’ve made a few changes to the website redesign and pricing structure, and wanted to share a few plans for the future.

I launched Head space a little over 6 months ago, with five courses that I thought were core to academic work, and the idea that I’d give it a while to see if it’s worth carrying on. And I think it definitely is. During the summer break I spent time reflecting on the project, trying to figure out how best to move forward. This post describes the choices I’ve made, changes I’ve implemented, and how I plan to build on the foundation that’s been laid.

Change in course pricing

First of all, I’ve always struggled with the idea of selling these courses. On the one hand, I’ve spent more than 10 years thinking about academic productivity, and put many, many hours into organising those thoughts into the courses and website, which I know have been useful for participants (“life-changing”, according to one).

On the other hand, I’ve received feedback that the courses were too expensive for most people, and in particular, those who would benefit most from them. Early career academics, postgraduate students, and those who don’t work at elite institutions (which provide enormous levels of support and training), simply couldn’t justify the cost, which sucked.

Effective immediately, all the Calm Productivity courses now cost £10 each. This is about what it costs to buy 3 cups of coffee in the UK (or two Col’Cacchio pizzas in South Africa). This is not a limited-time discount; this is the new standard price. I hope that this enables more people to take the courses, while providing enough incentive for me to keep building the project.

If you’ve already bought any of the courses, I can see how this may not sit well with you. Which is why, even if you bought the courses with a discount, you’ll have free access to any two of the new courses that I’m working on. These new courses will be on generative AI for academics, postgraduate supervision, assessment design and feedback, teaching large classes, and more. I’ll send out a separate message to everyone who has bought a course, with details on how this will work.

Removal of aggregate course

When I decided that I was going to create more courses, I realised that the admin necessary to keep multiple versions of the content aligned would be too time-consuming, so I’ve removed the complete Calm Productivity course (i.e. the collection of each separate course into a single course) from the store. Anyone who’s bought the complete course will always have access, but new courses will only be available separately, and it’s no longer possible to buy a collection of them all.

Website redesign

And finally, I’ve (mostly) finished a redesign of the website, including a move to a new theme and what I hope is a more visually appealing aesthetic. I’ve tried to reduce the amount of content on the various landing pages, as well as highlighting the most relevant parts of each, to make it easier to identify what the programme is about, and how it may benefit academics. This simplification of content and structure is most evident on the new page for courses.

There’s a lot more work to be done and I have plans for other changes I’d like to make, including an update to the look and feel of the lessons. I also want to create more short videos for each lesson, demonstrating the practical applications of the strategies, and simplify the content across them all.