No, you don't need to completely change your research focus
Sometimes the things happening in the world can make you feel like your scholarly work is irrelevant. (It's not, as I've explained in more detail in “Being an academic in dystopian times: Valuing your...
21 Apr 20234min
Being an academic in dystopian times: valuing your academic work
When terrible things are happening in the world, it can make it even harder to value the academic work you do. Your work is important. When things are bad, it may be even more important to keep doing ...
21 Apr 202317min
Emergency planning technique
If you are so overwhelmed you freeze, this is what you need. Some gentle guidance to take action.The text version of this track has a free download to use as a lock screen on your phone if that would ...
21 Apr 20232min
Planning for known unknowns
How do you plan when their *might* be a strike, or a flood, or illness? This kind of thing is often referred to as a "known unknown". You know it might happen but you don't know if or when. You can as...
21 Apr 20236min
Life is like a video game
An older post in which I use a video game analogy to illustrate what optimism might look like when things are dystopian or uncertain. Key point: "death" in a video game is more like "well, that didn't...
21 Apr 20233min
You don't have to decide what to do with your life
While it’s normal to imagine how any given decision might play out over your whole life or career, you only have to plan for a much shorter time horizon. This is my standard advice for anyone thinking...
21 Apr 20234min
Optimism in the face of uncertainty
In which I explain that optimism does not require ignoring the terrible things that are happening, nor a belief that a particular outcome is possible, despite the context. I encourage optimism.Read th...
21 Apr 20233min
Tracking “streaks” to establish & maintain habits
There are lots of apps out there that “gamify” habits. And one of the big pieces of gamification is recording streaks. This can seem like it fits well with advice to “write every day” but there are ma...
14 Apr 202311min
