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Use research projects to build academic skills
Design small research projects, structured around the features of deliberate practice, to help build academic skills.
Set up your environment to make it harder to work from home
What would you do if you couldn’t work from home? One of the biggest benefits of being an academic is that you can work anywhere, any time. And one of the biggest problems with being an academic, is that you end up working everywhere, all the time. But imagine getting home in the evening and…
Strategy drives outcomes
If you want your productivity output to change, then your habits, routines, and workflow need to change. Strategy drives outcomes.
Work-life balance can fuel innovation
The academic myth promotes an imbalanced life consumed by work. However, discipline in life breeds creativity in work. Structured lives allow academics the mental space for innovation. The key is a work-life balance that cultivates a well-rested mind, ready for meaningful academic contributions.
You must read a lot, and write a lot
Read extensively and write regularly to become a better academic writer. Consuming diverse content builds skills, while consistent practice makes the writing process more intuitive. Developing these habits can help you produce high-quality work more efficiently and with less stress.
Excellent work is mundane
What looks like excellent work from the outside is simply a commitment to small, iterative improvements in practice over time.
Use small routines to build good habits
Building good habits when you’re short on time means that you reduce the scope of what you want to do, but stick to the schedule. James Clear (2018). Atomic Habits. Building a habit means that you integrate the activity into your daily routine, even if you can’t do the activity at the scale you’d like.…
Acknowledge your non-writing time
You should acknowledge your non-writing time as well as your writing time. You may feel like you should be writing more, but when you block out all the time when you literally can’t write (i.e. during meetings, teaching, and so on), it can help to set more realistic writing goals.
Don’t rely on willpower
Make decisions today that your future self will thank you for. Too often, we struggle to summon the willpower to do what we know we should. Don’t rely on willpower alone.
James Clear (2020) Atomic Habits
Atomic Habits explores how tiny changes can lead to remarkable personal transformations. Using a four-step method—cue, craving, response, and reward—Clear shows how to design productive habits and eliminate negative ones. This book offers academics practical tools for sustaining progress in high-stakes, fast-paced environments.
Paul Silvia (2018) How to write a lot
How to Write a Lot by Paul J. Silvia is a practical guide for academics struggling to boost their writing productivity. Silvia emphasizes disciplined scheduling, self-monitoring, and overcoming perfectionism to make writing a consistent part of one’s routine. His strategies empower scholars to publish more without compromising personal time.