Real Academics Blog

Dear Real Academics, In my line of work quantity and quality are important.  As a professor, I am expected to publish a lot and publish with quality. I won't go into what "a lot" or "quality" means here. Regardless, there is an expectation for both categories. I suspect in most lines of work quantity and quality are important.  For example, the neighborhood I currently live in is under major development. Started in 2007, this community is expected to be a 15 year project with up to 15,000 new homes developed, though I suspect they'll go longer given the 2008 economic crash and the current pandemic.  At this moment, some of you know the housing market is insane in terms of demand. In the evenings, when my husband and I walk our dog, we see the quickness of house foundations and pipes being laid, house frames which seem to appear from one day to the next, and finishing touches (roofs, walls, etc.) that seem slapped on overnight. Despite this quickness, the hou...

Dear Real Academics, This is the age-old question in our often-hectic way of living. What is the secret to life balance?   I don't know about you, but the idea of trying to achieve life balance stresses me out. I think about ways to do it, try, and still end up stressed out and feeling guilty for not accomplishing what I think life balance should look like. Very recently, I encountered a video on this topic that helped me understand more about life balance. The video is from the Rachel Cruz Show at Ramsey Solutions. Rachel interviews Christy Wright on her upcoming book Take Back Your Time: The Guilt-Free Guide to Life Balance . You can watch the 18-minute interview by clicking on the link at the end of this blog post if you so choose.  Here I highlight some of the ideas: (1) Life balance does not mean doing everything for an equal amount of time. In other words, it's not about compartmentalizing 50% of my day to work and 50% to family. Instead, life balance is about doin...

Dear Real Academics, Have you watched Hamilton, the broadway production? At the time of this blog post, a video version of Hamilton is currently on Disney Plus...for just 7.99/month (and you can cancel anytime), you can watch the play with the writer and creator, Lin Manuel-Miranda (the writer) playing the lead role. And no, Disney Plus is not sponsoring this post! I ask if you've seen the production because Hamilton includes a strongly woven theme of writing. Here, I don't intend to critically unpack this theme (or give away spoilers if you have not viewed it), but simply to encourage you to watch this breathtaking (in my opinion) production. And if you've already watched it, watch it again, paying attention to the thematic role of writing so beautifully interwoven throughout the play. With that said, allow me to muse on the question: "Is all writing a narrative"? As I watched Hamilton for the third time (in awe... and certainly not my last time), I concluded tha...

Dear Real Academics, There's a pattern among productivity strategists: If you want results, track your progress. Whether I'm watching a video or reading about financial planning, nutritional well-being, exercise programs, writing productivity, or self management in general, all programs that WORK have some element of what I default to calling "logging". I default to this term because of my experience with logging with writing (more on that below). Logging is tracking your progress.  I know, I know...it sounds dull and mundane and boring and hard to remember to do. It may even sound rigid, but here's the news: It is powerful. Why? This is a good question. For this post, I will not get into any facts or figures or empirical data to prove to you that tracking your progress is powerful when it comes to making progress.  But, reflect on your own experience. When have you made real progress on any goal you had that required change/effort/difficulty? What did it look lik...

Dear Real Academics, For those of you even remotely contemplating starting a business, consider a lovely book titled, "Mind Your Business: A Workbook to Grow you Creative Passion Into a Full-Time Gig" by Ilana Griffo.  Written by a graphic designer who has started several of her own businesses, the book is both fun and interactive. Ilana's personality literally pops through the pages through her fun graphics and writing as she thoughtfully challenges and inspires her readers to work through phases of starting a business. The book is both practical and inspirational. Real and gritty. Fun and creative. And the graphics are...well...really cool!  I highly recommend this book for any creatives out there thinking about monetizing (and, yes, this is not a BAD thing) the gifts they've been given to share with the world. (paid link) I am still working through the book. I've read the whole thing, but I'm still thinking things through as I write in the workbook. Lit...