New Year, New Writing Habits

Earlier this month, I attended my discipline's annual meetings in San Francisco. As is often the case, many people (from new graduate students through the most senior faculty) approached me to confess their various writing sins. I have no power to grant absolution, nor am I even remotely interested in assigning penance, yet I found myself hearing one confession after another. I was struck by the two themes that I heard over and over again: 1) I feel stuck, I'm not writing, the summer flew by and nothing got done and, 2) I feel angry, guilty, ashamed, frustrated, afraid and/or depressed about my lack of productivity. In contrast, I had the great pleasure of meeting with a group of new faculty who took one of my workshops last year and who have established a daily writing routine, joined writing groups, connected with communities of support, and finished their articles, chapters, dissertations, and books. They were energetic, engaged, empowered, and confidently moving forward in their academic careers. The difference was so striking that I've decided to once again focus this Fall's Monday Motivators on encouraging you to pro-actively make time for your academic writing, identify your resistance, and complete your research projects. The beginning of the year is filled with fresh starts, so this week let's just let go of all the bad feelings associated with what you have NOT done in the past. Guilt, disappointment, and frustration aren't useful in moving forward this year, so forgive yourself and move on. Instead, let's put that energy towards making a fresh start by acknowledging that academic writing is slow and time consuming, setting achievable writing goals for the semester, and pro-actively blocking out time for writing in your daily schedule.   The Weekly Challenge This week, I challenge each of you to: Go through your calendar for the entire semester and mark out 30-60 minutes each day (Monday through Friday) for your daily writing Write down your research and writing goals for the semester Stop and do a quick reality check by asking yourself: are these goals realistic for ONE semester? Print your goals and hang them in your main workspace or post them in the discussion forum Map the work that will be required to meet your goals onto your calendar While this sounds simple, I struggled with this challenge because it brought out all of my resistance! But I did it anyway, and my goals are posted above my computer AND on the discussion forum in the Fall Semester Writing Goals thread. If you need more direct support, consider joining me for the first New Faculty Success Tele-Workshop of the semester: Every Semester Needs A Plan: How to Create the Support, Community, and Strategic Plan You Need to be Successful in the 2009-2010 Academic Year on September 1st, from 7:00 - 8:30pm (CST).

I hope this week brings you a fresh start for the new academic year, clarity about your writing goals, and a new spirit of confidence to move forward! Peace & Productivity, Kerry Ann Rockquemore, PhD Associate Professor African American Studies and Sociology University of Illinois at Chicago KerryAnn@NewFacultySuccess.com