tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90242289389796835472012-01-19T16:06:21.695-06:00DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-63161988853145411872010-08-02T09:44:00.000-05:002010-08-02T09:44:12.137-05:00

From Today's Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/summer/summer8 I am often contacted by faculty members after a catastrophic professional event has occurred and they realize that their productivity isn’t going to meet their department’s expectations for promotion. The most common scenario is a professor who has received a negative third-year review because she fell into

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-50099341929265181362010-07-19T10:11:00.000-05:002010-07-19T10:11:12.874-05:00

From today's Inside Higher Education Last week’s column (Lower Your Standards) generated the most mail I’ve ever received! I’m guessing that the outpouring occurred because naming what’s underneath our resistance provides a sense of relief from the idea that we are the only ones who experience debilitating perfectionism. Knowing it is a common problem among academic writers helps to normalize

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-74634637027581349272010-07-12T09:36:00.001-05:002010-07-12T09:38:22.171-05:00

From Today's Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/summer/summer5 The middle of the summer has a way of throwing many writers into a panic. Even the most diligent academic writers who have formulated a summer plan, created support and accountability mechanisms, developed a relationship with their bodyguard, and are dedicated to daily writing, can feel the summer slipping

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-92146473295755762622010-06-21T09:16:00.000-05:002010-06-21T09:16:09.204-05:00

From today's Inside Higher Education This summer, I'm dedicated to walking alongside all of you who are tackling big writing projects, trying to establish new writing routines, and needing to experience explosive productivity. If you’ve been following this column so far, you have a clear summer plan that you’ve discussed with your mentors and you have created some form of writing support and

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-42651223784604880022010-06-15T23:07:00.000-05:002010-06-15T23:07:21.854-05:00

From 6/14/10 Inside Higher Education Last week I received lots of mail about ending post-summer regret. Many of you were able to make a summer plan without difficulty, but it was the development of a support system that left you confused. All the queries seemed to all boil down to three questions: 1) What types of writing groups exist? 2) How do I figure out which type of writing group is

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-68306066606941245252010-06-07T16:07:00.000-05:002010-06-07T16:07:01.480-05:00

From Today's Inside Higher Education Summer has finally arrived! Throughout the spring semester, I kept hearing from beleaguered faculty and graduate students who couldn’t wait for summer so they could "get some writing done." And yet, every August I hear from just as many folks lamenting about how another summer has passed by and, once again, they failed to make progress on their intellectual

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-53263847246330506252010-05-02T15:19:00.001-05:002010-05-02T15:19:55.953-05:00

It's hard to believe, but this is the last week of my semester and that means this is the last Monday Motivator of the 2009-2010 academic year. To finish out my series on Common Mistakes That New Faculty Make, I want to focus on Mistake #16: you have NO PLAN for your _______ (tenure track years, semester, summer, week, and/or day). ANNUAL REVIEW PANICThis week I've received lots of e-mail,

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-36272584551333138352010-04-26T11:29:00.000-05:002010-04-26T11:29:13.944-05:00

From Today's Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning15 The end of the semester must be near because nearly all the new faculty members I met last week were holding their breath, trying to keep their heads above water, and praying for the end of the semester! The feelings of exhaustion and frustration I heard repeatedly were both intense and predictable. As a

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-25074278047688219382010-04-19T09:31:00.000-05:002010-04-19T09:31:33.430-05:00

From Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning14 We've all heard repeatedly how important "mentoring" is to our professional success. But if you scratch the surface and ask people what exactly they mean by "mentoring," you will find a wide range of responses. Too many new faculty members I know imagine that they will have a single guru-like "mentor" who will

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-91284500857752658602010-04-14T13:36:00.001-05:002010-04-14T13:36:41.158-05:00

The Faculty Success Program  Summer Registration is Now Open!   Over the years, the two most frequently asked questions at the end of my workshops are: 1) "How can I find a community like the one I've experienced today?" and 2) "Can you be my mentor?" Unfortunately, I can't be everyone's mentor or create a energetic community of support on everyone's individual campus, but I have created a way

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-17221378272941286202010-04-12T09:30:00.001-05:002010-04-12T09:31:08.782-05:00

From today's Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning13 There is a whole lot of anger in the air lately! My inbox has been overflowing with messages from angry new faculty who are sick of departmental drama, tired of students’ hostility, and who are so filled with anger that they can’t focus on their research and writing. I'm not sure if all this pent-up

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-4877302650933647142010-04-05T08:52:00.000-05:002010-04-05T08:52:17.776-05:00

From today's Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning12 It's always perplexing to me that new faculty who describe themselves as physically, emotionally, and intellectually exhausted are often so resistant to trying a little delegation. I was recently at a large conference where I met lots of new faculty, most of whom told me how tired and frazzled they felt

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-71077258254711345042010-03-29T10:07:00.000-05:002010-03-29T10:07:59.454-05:00

From today's Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning11 Maybe it's just the rhythms of the semester, but many of you seem to be down in the dumps. I've been hearing from lots of people who are frustrated by cranky colleagues' comments, demoralized by rejected manuscripts and grant proposals, and tired of students' unending complaints. With so much negativity

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-87171062952736149292010-03-22T09:37:00.000-05:002010-03-22T09:37:12.893-05:00

From today's Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning10 Last week my e-mail was overflowing with messages from new faculty who are in the Spring Semester Funk: physically and mentally exhausted, annoyed with colleagues, can't stand to hear another talk, students working their last good nerve, and hopelessly behind on writing and research. While the Spring

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-11083859949505440002010-03-15T09:37:00.001-05:002010-03-15T09:38:36.301-05:00

From today's Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning9 My first tenure-track job was extraordinarily teaching intensive. I taught five courses per semester at a community college while also writing my dissertation. As difficult as that situation was for me, I was delighted to have a job devoted to teaching because at the very core of my being, I AM a teacher.

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-53995500676370141572010-03-08T09:32:00.001-06:002010-03-08T09:33:53.435-06:00

From today's Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning8 It’s hard to believe that it’s already the second week of March! I’m not sure why, but there's something particularly frantic about the middle of the spring semester. When I look around, I see frazzled and exhausted new faculty running from one meeting, event, and/or job talk to the next. Every

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-39602902515649253622010-03-01T09:05:00.000-06:002010-03-01T09:05:03.699-06:00

From Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning7 One of my favorite TV shows is called "Maxed Out." Each episode features a stressed-out couple who are in debt and have no idea how to climb out of it. Inevitably, their financial problems boil down to: 1) not knowing how much debt they have, 2) no clue where their money goes each month, and 3) a vague sense of

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-91431738741070984992010-02-22T10:54:00.000-06:002010-02-22T10:54:57.028-06:00

From this week's Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning6 Last week's column (Get Out There and Shake It!) definitely pressed some people’s "personal responsibility" buttons! I heard lots of immediate reactivity, but I also heard from people who decided to take new steps forward by setting up lunch dates, asking someone to read a manuscript, focusing their

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-4539563795968557362010-02-15T22:55:00.001-06:002010-02-15T22:57:16.999-06:00

From today's Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning5 This semester, I’m focusing on the most common mistakes that junior faculty members make. I learned last week that there are a whole lot of folks Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places! And that's OK, because the purpose of pointing out the most common errors is to become conscious of them, consider

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-55914813627268016482010-02-09T20:28:00.001-06:002010-02-09T20:29:27.665-06:00

From 2/8/10 Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning4 For the past three weeks, I've been focusing on the most common errors that tenure-track faculty make as they transition from graduate student to professor. The first three mistakes (A Semester Needs A Plan, Stop Talking, Start Walking and Balance is a Myth) generated passionate responses, so I want to

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-40691732773984023672010-02-01T10:16:00.000-06:002010-02-01T10:16:10.055-06:00

From today's Inside Higher Education: http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning3 Each week this semester, I am identifying some of the most common errors made by tenure-track faculty and suggesting strategies to either avoid or overcome them. I received lots of e-mail about last week’s column Stop Talking, Start Walking! Most people expressed some version of the same sentiment: I'm

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-9852391136550213102010-01-25T09:35:00.000-06:002010-01-25T09:35:39.153-06:00

From Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/winning/winning2 by Kerry Ann Rockquemore Last week I had coffee with a new faculty member (I’ll call her Cynthia) who works at a large research-intensive university. We have common research interests so I was excited to meet with her and talk about her current project. Cynthia arrived frazzled and late for our meeting, had dark

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-15105467596154498232010-01-18T10:31:00.004-06:002010-01-18T10:53:10.682-06:00

Inside Higher Education I don't know about you, but the spring semester has already taken off like a runaway freight train for most of the pre-tenure faculty I know. I keep hearing from people who feel overwhelmed by budget cuts, crazy class schedules, writing deadlines, department drama, and an endless stream of service requests. This semester, I will be writing a weekly column for stressed-out

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-38131346057196831942009-11-28T17:43:00.000-06:002009-11-28T17:43:14.540-06:00

This week is the last week of my semester and like most academics, the end of the semester is an incredibly busy and stressful time! My classes are coming to a close, my students are hysterical, my colleagues are cranky, and deadlines are looming. In short, it's crunch time! The End-of-Semester Crunch If you're already clear about your plan to get from this moment to the end of your semester:

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-50599631222730765592009-11-21T13:37:00.003-06:002009-11-21T13:50:11.998-06:00

This week contains two reasons to give thanks: 1) the Thanksgiving holiday, and 2) a few days off from classes, meetings, and campus activities! How will you spend your holiday break this week? Are you planning a writing binge or a writing break? Will it be a time of enjoyment spent with family and friends, or will it be a time where you are the sole inhabitant of your department floor, working

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-87319217427669037642009-11-13T11:58:00.004-06:002009-11-14T19:55:10.276-06:00

Several years ago, I met a young social scientist at a cocktail party here in Chicago. He had just finished his first semester on the tenure track, so I asked him if he was making time for academic writing. Like many new faculty, he told me that his first semester had flown by and he hadn't written a single word. I asked if he had ever tried daily writing and he looked at me as if I had suggested

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-82064435658323956152009-11-06T11:41:00.010-06:002009-11-07T23:10:45.015-06:00

I don't know about you, but I realized during my Sunday Meeting that I will be giving my last final exam 30 days from today! As we head into the late-semester sprint, I want to encourage all of us to pause, review our semester writing goals, and assess the probability of completing them in the next 30 days. If the probability is high that you will meet your goals, congratulations on your ability

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-85656170758263844152009-10-30T21:18:00.016-05:002009-11-07T23:11:32.216-06:00

Last week's Monday Motivator focused on taming your inner critic. Given the response, I'm going to stay with that topic for one more week. There are many different ways that perfectionism rears its ugly head and this week I want to discuss one of the most difficult: how our efforts to be the Super Professor can derail our progress towards promotion and tenure. LETTING GO OF SUPER-PROFESSOR

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-89465090775995067662009-10-24T20:43:00.002-05:002009-11-07T23:12:00.662-06:00

Throughout the first half of the semester, the Monday Motivators have focused on making time for academic writing. The vast majority of faculty I work with are held back by three very basic technical errors: 1) they don't have a daily writing routine, 2) they don't block out specific time in their calendar each day to write, and 3) even when they set aside time to write, they do everything BUT

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-58376984767115475752009-10-17T12:31:00.004-05:002009-11-07T23:12:54.529-06:00

This past week I found myself with that uniquely mid-semester sinking feeling: I'm behind, my office is a mess, I feel like I'll never finish everything I have to do, I can't even keep straight what I have to do, and I can't figure out where to start! I'm not sure how it happens, but in the middle of every semester, I experience this same sinking feeling and find myself paralyzed by it. This week

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-61697451215574663662009-10-17T12:30:00.004-05:002009-11-07T23:13:20.549-06:00

I'm not sure what was in the air on college campuses last week, but it seemed that no matter who I talked to (myself, my clients, or my colleagues) everyone was beating themselves up over all the work they have not completed this semester, how far behind they are in their writing, and how angry, frustrated, disappointed, and/or anxious they feel as a result.

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-27381128721959004672009-10-17T12:29:00.003-05:002009-11-07T23:14:03.598-06:00

Last week's Monday Motivator ("Just Say NO") touched a raw nerve for many of you. It's the most mail I've ever received on one topic! I assume that's because saying "no" taps into all three factors that block our research productivity (technical errors, external factors and psychological obstacles). But even more importantly, service overload is pervasive and can be debilitating for pre-tenure

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-45543545480307376562009-10-17T12:22:00.002-05:002009-11-07T23:14:46.438-06:00

One of the most frequent pieces of advice I received as a pre-tenure faculty member was "just say no." I always felt frustrated by this advice because (while well-intended) it is far easier said than done, especially for faculty of color. For under-represented faculty members, the reality is that you will receive a disproportionately high number of service requests and that additional service

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-89043567374368697172009-10-17T12:21:00.006-05:002010-02-27T23:31:10.485-06:00

Last week, I described the most common factors that negatively impact the productivity of new faculty: technical errors, external realities, and psychological obstacles. I'm glad they were useful to many of you as a way to evaluate your progress this semester and identify what's holding you back. This week I want to focus on dealing with some of the technical errors by suggesting a concrete

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-68035641324622925902009-10-17T12:19:00.003-05:002009-11-07T23:15:37.698-06:00

Today marks the fourth week of my semester, so it's an ideal time to stop and evaluate my progress. I encourage you to do the same this week by gently and lovingly asking yourself several important questions: How is my semester going so far? How much writing have I completed? Have I developed a daily writing routine? How am I progressing towards my semester goals? and How do I feel about my

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-14373884509667020952009-10-17T12:18:00.003-05:002009-11-07T23:16:52.552-06:00

In last week's Monday Motivator, I encouraged readers to consider blocking out 30-60 minutes every day for writing and suggested we treat our writing time with the same respect we would a meeting or a class. As always, those two seemingly simple suggestions resulted in my phone ringing off the hook and my inbox overflowing!

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-6246638048787042752009-10-17T12:17:00.002-05:002009-11-07T23:17:16.095-06:00

In last week's Monday Motivator I challenged each of you to take time to write down your semester goals and post them publicly. I was amazed by the goals posted in the discussion forum and inspired by the collective spirit of support and determination to achieve them. Rethinking Writing Time

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024228938979683547.post-2529235540692865592009-10-17T12:11:00.002-05:002009-11-07T23:17:35.035-06:00

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

DivaProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13364568158568869992noreply@blogger.com0