When Your Systems Fail

December is a difficult for pretty much everyone working in education. It's not you! Several years ago I wrote about how to prioritize rest while also meeting your other commitments at this time of year. I've now added a new introduction. I hope this helps you think creatively about what you need to do when this December. There are more resources to help you with December and planning the first quarter of 2027, in my class: Planning Quarter 3. It includes live group coaching as part of an online course. To learn more and register: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk/plan-jan-feb-mar/For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

What is it like to live through restructuring in HE? I interviewed Janice Liedl 5 years on from Laurentian University’s swift and brutal experience. It feels a bit like what to save in a fire, but some things are worth saving.Janice Liedl is a historian who has lived through a brutal restructuring in her institution. Our conversation focuses on what you can control when so much is out of your control. It ended up being a discussion of the ways your values can guide your actions so you can work with your colleagues to protect as much of what you value about your academic work, the programmes you teach, and the unique mission of your institution in the face of consultants and their spreadsheets.I hope it helps you consider and prioritize what is most meaningful to you.Follow Janice on Bluesky here.Find Janice's blog here.For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

Lucie Matthews-Jones is a Victorian historian at Liverpool John Moores University and in this episode we discuss the power of creativity in teaching and how to support neurodivergent students and researchers. We also highlight the importance of knowing your own values, Lucie's experiences working in a teaching intensive institution, and why we need to talk about teaching in higher education more. For more on Lucie's Creative Teaching project, read her introductory article here: Making and Defining the Creative History ClassroomFind Lucie on Bluesky here.Or follow Lucie on LinkedIn here.The full edited transcript is attached, or you can read it on my website here.For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

A conversation with Anna O. Law, Professor of Political Science, Herbert Kurz Chair in Constitutional Rights at CUNY Brooklyn College, and the author of Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship which was published earlier this year by Oxford University Press. We discuss why it took 16 years to research and write the book, strategic decisions about research and publishing, the satisfactions of working at a public institution with a diverse student body, and even promoting your own book.Read the full transcript on my website here: Why it took 16 years to write a book with Anna O. LawAnna's book is available via Oxford University Press here: Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship: African Americans, Native Americans, and ImmigrantsAnna's website: https://www.annaolaw.com/Anna has written a blog post about why the 2nd book is much harder, including the care duties people have mid-career including eldercare and childcare.Read 'Why the SECOND book is so hard and what to do about it' here.The related posts that inspired the title of my podcast:Creating A Satisfying Academic Career - Part 1Creating A Satisfying Academic Career - Part 2And another related post from my blog: The Spectre of Professionalism: Field, discipline, interdisciplinaryFor more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

Sometimes you drop a ball. You feel awful about it. In this track, I talk about how to move forward. You are not incompetent or lazy. Everyone makes mistakes. Don't let it derail you. Do assess what happened, forgive yourself, fix what you can fix. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/when-your-systems-fail/For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

There are good reasons you have multiple writing projects on the go. However, too many active projects means progress is slow and you start to wonder if you can do this job at all. In this track, I explain why that is and what to do about it.  To download the free workbook, Finish More By Doing Less, subscribe to my newsletter and also get the Monthly Review email to help you acknowledge your progress and review your decisions about which projects to prioritize. For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

Planning is hard. It's especially hard when you have ADHD. In this episode, I talk to Christine Weddle, an ADHD coach, about how we think about planning, and what kinds of things work for folks with ADHD. Because we all have things we want to get done. Christine has some FREE daily planning pages you might find helpful: https://lightspiritcoaching.com/daily-guides/ To find out more about Jo’s Planning Classes: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk/plan-your-academic-writing-year/For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

In this episode, Jo talks with Emily Doucet about the process of creating a draft of your book, article, or whatever. Emily is a developmental editor and recently developed a course for scholarly writers to support the creation of an early draft of your manuscript. We talk about what a first draft needs; why thinking of it as a "shitty first draft" can be unhelpful; and what kinds of work might go into this stage of the process. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/writing-is-decision-making/For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

Of all the responsibilities you juggle as an academic, writing is perhaps the most frustrating. It’s very important to your career and your identify, but it’s also incredibly difficult to find time for, especially during teaching terms. I recommend establishing a regular writing practice.Listen to all the posts mentioned within this, via Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/jovanevery/sets/you-need-a-writing-practiceRead the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/writing-practice/For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

It is tempting to use the last week before teaching starts again for One Last Push on your writing projects, risking undoing all the resting and recharging you've also been doing over the summer. In this track, I discourage you from doing this and suggest what you can do instead.Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/end-of-summer-writing-panic/For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach