Real Academics Blog

 Dear Real Academics, I don't know about you, but this time of year is rather wearing for me. In academic-land we have about two weeks left in the semester, and everyone seems weighed down by assignments, exams, meetings, grading, paperwork, and...just...everything... I was reminded by one of my students today about the value of taking time to rest. He shared a picture of a beautiful beach on the San Diego coast (La Jolla) he was able to visit during a conference trip. Though this is not the exact picture, this picture reminds me of the one he shared: It may seem counterintuitive to rest during one of the busiest times of the semester, but rest can be rejuvenating and actually help increase productivity. How can you rest, dear Real Academic? Here are some ideas to get you started: Take a walk (without any technology) and look up at the sky and breathe in fresh air. If you are near mountains or the ocean or any nature (yes, even a patch of grass!), GO and look out at the scenery. Go

Dear Real Academics, Dr. Garza and I are transitioning out of Las Vegas, Nevada. We'll be moving our way to a totally different climate and side of the United States.  Dr. Garza will be starting a position as faculty at Florida International University in tropical Miami, Florida in Fall 2022 (though working remotely out of Texas while we wait for our house in the Miami area to be ready).  I am leaving my tenured position at UNLV to focus on my passion to help other academics with their writing and productivity. This includes building more content for Real Academics. With that said, we wanted to honor the time we've lived in Las Vegas and the many surprising things this city offered us in the seven years we have lived here. We also wanted to give a shout out to the amazingly wonderful people we've met in Las Vegas. From everyone at Green Valley Baptist Church in Henderson, Nevada who have become or family (I'm getting emotional just writing this)...to our lovely students

 Dear Real Academics, Today is National Pet Day (April 11). For those of you who have furry (or non-furry) friends, take a moment to appreciate your pet(s) past or current - yes, let's remember our friends who are no longer with us! I certainly appreciate my pet, Rocky. He is a 20 lb. rescue dog with a small build but a big heart. Here is a recent picture I have of him on my cell phone (one of MANY): Rocky was enjoying a "pup cup" (i.e., whipped cream in a cup) at Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers that day. This is the reason for the cream on his lips. You can follow Rocky on his Instagram channel here . So, in honor of Rocky and all pets past and present...here are some pros to owning a pet related to...you guessed it!....productivity. (1) They know your routine and will hold you accountable if you don't keep it. I had a colleague who told the story of writing every morning and then taking her dog out to walk. One week, her family was in town and she did n

Dear Real Academics, In the recent months I've been thinking quite a lot about the idea of control: How I try to control situations, things, or others; how people try to control situations, things, or others; how control ultimately kills the individual soul and creativity. The type of control I'm thinking of here is not positive. There is arguably a place for positive control such as "controlling" things like bad habits or  time, for example. Though here I would argue people cannot really control things like habits or time but rather can only manage or regulate them. I would also argue that control is almost always 100% related to fear. With that said, my productivity does not thrive when I become controlling. When I'm controlling I tend to do the following: Worry, stress, micromanage, become pessimistic. When a place becomes controlling I see the following unfold: Worry, stress, micromanagement, pessimism. Yes, the same. All negative. All not conducive to produc