Head Space

Calm productivity for academics

No longer active

This site is now an archive of my previous work. I have moved all my ongoing writing to https://michael-rowe.github.io/home-michael/

Category: Productivity

  • Work that shouldn’t exist: What to do when your role is a workaround

    A lot of academic work seems to exist purely to compensate for broken institutional systems. When your primary function is forwarding emails, duplicating data, or routing queries, you’re not adding value—you’re revealing systemic dysfunction. Personal productivity strategies can’t fix organisational failures, and acknowledging these patterns is the essential first step.

  • 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.

  • How to break down academic tasks: Stop setting yourself impossible goals

    If you’re struggling with productivity, the problem might not be your motivation—it could be that you don’t know how to break down academic tasks effectively. Most academics create to-do lists filled with projects disguised as tasks, then wonder why they feel paralysed when it’s time to start work.

  • Storing task information together is a simple fix for workflow friction

    Academic work becomes frustrating when tasks and their required information live in separate places. This post suggests storing task information together with your tasks to eliminate friction, reduce procrastination, and create more sustainable workflows. Learn practical strategies for information co-location that transform scattered work sessions into focused, productive academic activities.

  • Annie Duke (2023) Quit

    Annie Duke’s “Quit” provides essential tools for academics who face intense pressure to persist despite diminishing returns. Her research-backed frameworks offer systematic approaches to complex decisions about research directions, career transitions, and resource allocation that typically rely on intuition or cultural pressure. The book’s combination of cognitive psychology research and practical application makes it particularly…

  • 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.

  • Deranged pleasure of email management

    There’s something deeply, almost embarrassingly pleasurable about declaring an entire day dedicated to email management. The unsubscribing, the brutal deletion, the methodical filing of correspondence that’s been lurking for months. It’s the kind of day where you roll up your sleeves and prepare to wrestle your inbox into submission.

  • The power of lowering your standards

    Rigid “every day” habits often fail due to psychological pressure. A more forgiving “daily-ish” approach paradoxically leads to better consistency. By lowering perfectionist standards in academic work—writing, email, reading, and planning—you create mental space for meaningful progress while being kinder to yourself.

  • 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.

  • Stop using email as a to do list

    Using your email inbox as a to do list seems convenient but creates a chaotic system where other people’s priorities dictate your workflow. Learn how to separate email communication from task management with a simple approach that helps academics regain control of their daily priorities.