Episode 8 - 7 proven strategies to carve out time for an academic writing course

In today’s episode we’ll continue our mini-series on making time to take a writing course with part 2 out of 3 parts in total. Even if you aren’t planning on taking an academic writing course or program such as the Researchers’ Writing Academy right now, the strategies I’m sharing today are so universal, they will help you carve out time for other things too. Maybe you struggle to find time to write? Whatever you want to carve out time for, you’re in the right place.

In the last episode, I introduced you to a technique to look a bit deeper into why you may be procrastinating on investing in your writing.

Today, I want to share 7 proven and actionable strategies that have helped other researchers just like you to make time to invest in taking an academic writing course.

I know, I know, it feels like you really don’t have a minute to spare to do anything else but the work you already have on your plate. If you don’t feel like you have enough time to take a writing program, then you’re not alone. It’s in fact the most common reason researchers give us for why they aren’t enrolling in the Researchers’ Writing Academy, our online academic writing program.

BUT without investing time, you won’t learn the skill of writing a compelling paper that stands a chance to get published in a top-tier journal. And without investing time, you won’t learn a new writing process that will make writing a paper so fast that you can submit your paper in 8 weeks or less after analysing your data.

Here’s what I’ll be talking about in this episode:
(02:45) No time to join a program?
(08:50) Strategy #1: Be clear on your priorities
(11:21) Strategy #2: Time blocking
(14:15) Strategy #3: Decrease frequency of regular meetings
(17:01) Strategy #4: Reduce your email load
(25:47) Strategy #5: Stop or strictly limit using social media and set personal boundaries
(28:54) Strategy #6: Time and energy tracking
(31:54) Strategy #7: Say “no” more!
(36:50) Listener question: How do I start tackling a drawer full of half-finished manuscripts?

Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD
Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera

Want to dive deeper? We have a free training on how to write clear, concise, and compelling papers from start to finish using a structured and time-efficient writing process. Head over to researcherswritingpodcast.com/free to save your spot now!