Real Academics Blog

Dear Real Academics, We hope the semester is winding down for you in a positive way. Please read on for some news and an application challenge below. I promise you won't be disappointed if you read through to the end! ☺ CONGRATULATIONS As I look at our calendars, I see finals and then graduation (and for us, moving out of state -- eek!). For those graduating and/or graduating students, congratulations! For those finishing the semester, congratulations as well! For those not in traditional academia, congrats on making it half way through the year! GRATITUDE I also see that we've been putting out blog posts fairly consistently each week for one year. Our first post was back in May of 2021. And to sound totally cliche simply because I don't know how else to say it, time really does fly.  With that said, we are taking a PAUSE.  First, the PAUSE is to thank you for being part of Real Academics and for your readership and engagement. It means more than you know. PRODUCTIVITY Seco...

Dear Real Academics, Do you value rest? Real rest? And by rest, I don't necessarily mean sleeping.  In An Unhurried Life: Following Jesus' Rhythms of Work and Rest,  Alan Fadling challenges readers to reorient their understanding of rest. Though the book is written for church leaders (and I am certainly not one!), I am finding many of its points extremely helpful, including the following ideas with mini-challenges for you to consider: (1) Rest may function as a precursor to work, and it is arguably necessary for creativity.  I've read enough books about writing processes and talked to enough people much more creative than myself who would agree. Their most creative work comes  after rest. But, here, I must reorient my language. Rest came  before their most creative work. I challenge you to reorient your mindset on the timing of rest in relation to work: What would it mean to think about resting as a critical precursor to work: I NEED to rest so I can be energiz...