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Planning Your Academic Writing Year

  • Do you want to work more reasonable hours but aren’t sure how to do that given the demands?
  • Do you feel like planning is useless because there is always something you need to respond to that throws off your plans?
  • Are you particularly frustrated about how this is affecting your writing?
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Stress isn’t caused primarily by overwork, though that certainly doesn’t help. The main contributor to stress is lack of control.

In theory, the autonomy you have as an academic gives you control over how and when you do your work. In practice, the quantity of work, the culture of your department and institution, and the policy context make it difficult to assert that control.

Planning helps you regain some control over your workload and your time!

I offer a suite of planning classes to help you write throughout the year. It will be helpful if you are frustrated by a feast or famine approach to writing, and want to imagine what a more consistent writing practice might look like for you.

Planning Your Academic Writing Year

Friday 2 June 2023 | 10am Eastern/3pm UK/your timezone

Planning July, August, September
16 June 2023
your time zone

Planning October, November, December
22 September 2023
your time zone

Planning January, February, March
15 December 2023
your time zone

Planning April, May, June
22 March 2024
your time zone

£25 per class OR £100 for all 5

These classes are based on some key principles:

  • The time available for writing varies in quality and quantity, depending on where you are in the cycle of the year.
  • Your writing project requires different types of work to move forward.
  • You can’t do everything. You have to prioritise & set boundaries.

We’ll be focusing on a full year starting on 1 July. You might adjust that date depending on your personal circumstances.

    The idea is to start and end your year with writing.

    Planning Your Academic Writing Year will help you:

    • Set annual goals based on a reasonable estimate of the time available.
    • Plan to keep your projects moving throughout the year.
    • Anticipate challenges and plan for them.

    The longer the time horizon, the harder it is to predict what will happen and plan for it. You need flexibility to adjust your plans if opportunities arise, or circumstances change.

    Each quarterly class will help you:

    • Acknowledge your wins from the previous quarter.
    • Anticipate challenges in the next 3 months and plan for them.
    • Adjust your goals based on a reasonable estimate of the time available.
    • Revisit your progress towards working reasonable hours.

    Here’s what a past participant had to say:

    I enjoyed this workshop sooooo much – thank you! I took so much confidence, hope and optimism from attending. I loved the practical advice on how to structure time (including some personal feedback and ideas for resources). And I liked the community aspect and opportunity for a joint moan, but also it helped me to realise that I’m not the only one who feels things are difficult.

    – R

    The purpose of a plan is to inspire action.

    Planning Your Academic Writing Year will provide a clearer sense of what might be reasonable at different points in the year. You’ll also develop some criteria for making decisions about how to structure your time and work, and how to respond to things that come up as the year progresses. 

    You can’t control everything. Opportunities will arise that you had not anticipated. Things will go badly no matter how hard you try to prevent them. Purchasing the whole suite of classes means you have an opportunity to revisit regularly and make adjustments. 

    Unfortunately, I can’t entirely eliminate your frustration. There are structural limits on your scope of control. The choices you have may not be the choices you want. 

    But you can reduce your frustration, and optimise your control.

    Planning Your Academic Writing Year

    Friday 2 June 2023
    10am Eastern/3pm UK/your timezone

    How it works

    Each class is built around a 2-hour live session via Zoom.

    • A guided reflection to identify priorities & challenges
    • Coaching support to help you figure out the tricky bits

    There’s also preparatory material including: 

    • Prompts to help you review your progress towards you annual plan compassionately
    • Journaling prompts for observing your situation
    • Questions to help you gather information that will inform your personal plan

    The live session focuses on writing time. It will be recorded and transcribed, then added to the class page in the week following the session so you can make more detailed notes, or revisit the class if things really go off the rails later.

    There are additional reflection prompts and downloadable worksheets to help you avoid overworking so you get enough rest :

    • Decide how to limit your average weekly working hours.
    • Make a plan for taking your annual leave.
    • Plan how much time you need to schedule for all your teaching related activities.

    If you purchase the full suite, you will have access to the annual class and the current quarterly class for the entire year. If you only purchase Planning Your Academic writing Year, you will have access until the end of September. Single quarterly classes will be available until the end of the quarter you are planning.

    Not sure?

    Annual planning can feel pointless. The longer the time horizon the more unknowns, and the more likely it is for things to go awry. 

    Planning Your Academic Writing Year will provide a framework that will help you plan your semesters, your months, and your weeks as you go through the year.

    The quarterly classes will help you think about the shape of each part of the year, and adjust your plans in the light of new information. Realizing you were being overambitious with your plans is new information.

    Taking a class provides a structure to help you do reflection and planning. At this time of year, you don’t have the kind of general peer pressure that’s around in January. Being part of a group who are also starting their year now, and having some structure to guide you can really help you make big decisions.

    Here’s what a past participant had to say:

    To me, it was a way to face my planning discomfort by being open to finding something I could use right away despite ‘incomplete’ preparation. I eventually noticed perfectionism was damaging my planning attempt. While listening, I found support in what the participants shared and got concrete ideas to try out with a NICER approach. I found the “You are not late” reminder very timely, kind and supportive. It was also an opportunity to reflect on what I’ve learned and how my habits have changed for the better since I discovered the Academic Writing Studio.

    – B

    No obligation!

    If you buy one class, you can upgrade to the bundle later at no extra cost.

    What are you waiting for? Join us!

    Register Now

    Planning Your Academic Writing Year

    £25

    Yearly Planning Package

    £100