Head Space

Calm productivity for academics

Category: Refining Practice

  • Clearing email backlog: A systematic strategy when returning from leave

    Clearing email backlog after extended absence doesn’t have to derail your return to productive academic work—with the right systematic approach, you can regain control of your inbox and establish better communication habits.

  • [Note] Attending to emails

    “My inbox isn’t a place for leisurely reading. When I open my email it’s with purpose. If I want to catch up on my newsletters and blogs I follow, I can flop down on the couch, open my RSS reader, and enjoy them when I’m not also trying to work.” – Herman Martinus.

  • [Note] Start before you’re ready

    “Waiting for the right time is seductive. Our mind tricks us into thinking that waiting is actually doing something… Waiting rarely makes things easier. Most of the time, waiting makes things harder. The right time is now.” – Shane Parrish

  • [Note] Curiosity is a compass

    “There’s a kind of excited curiosity that’s both the engine and the rudder of great work. It will not only drive you, but if you let it have its way, will also show you what to work on. What are you excessively curious about — curious to a degree that would bore most other people?”…

  • [Note] When a draft is completed, the job of writing can begin

    “When students complete a first draft, they consider the job of writing done – and their teachers too often agree. When professional writers complete a first draft, they usually feel that they are at the start of the writing process. When a draft is completed, the job of writing can begin.” – Donald Murray

  • Walking meetings: A simple shift for busy academics

    Steve Jobs famously conducted important business discussions whilst walking around Apple’s campus, noting that that movement changes how we think. For busy academics struggling to find time for exercise and meaningful work, walking meetings offer an elegant solution that addresses multiple challenges simultaneously.

  • Avoid information overload with an effective knowledge cycle

    A systematic knowledge cycle helps academics transform information overload into meaningful scholarly output. The process involves purposeful capture, regular processing, deliberate connection-making, and consistent creation. Rather than processing everything perfectly, this approach converts selected information into valuable insights through intentional research, note-taking, and writing practices that compound over time.

  • Academic stand-up meetings

    Academic stand-up meetings, borrowed from software development, offer a practical solution to meeting overload in universities. Participants stand and briefly answer three specific questions about progress, current work, and blocking obstacles. These focused sessions typically last 15 minutes maximum, creating valuable time and mental space for deeper meaningful academic work.

  • Build an academic prompt library for AI using templates for common tasks

    Learn how to create and maintain an academic prompt library to streamline your administrative tasks. This practical guide shows you how to start a personal collection of pre-written, tested prompts that reduce cognitive overhead and create space for meaningful work, helping you develop sustainable systems for academic productivity.

  • [Note] Academics speak only to each other

    “Researchers, scientists, academicians marshal their facts to a higher standard, but with their neglect of the emotive power of language they often speak only to each other, their parochial words dropping like sand on a private desert.” – Sol Stein

  • Designing learning spaces for deeper student thinking

    Moving beyond equating teaching with telling, this post explores how academics can design learning spaces that encourage active thinking. Learn practical strategies for creating environments where students engage deeply with ideas, transforming passive listening into active learning while making your teaching more sustainable and fulfilling.

  • I am not my h-index: Rethinking scholarly impact metrics

    Academic metrics like the h-index can drive unhealthy behaviours and distance us from our core purpose as scholars. While these traditional academic metrics provide comfortable validation, creating meaningful impact often requires looking beyond citation counts to measure how our work benefits real people outside academia.