Real Academics Blog

Dear Real Academics, Are you feeling anxious? Or have you felt anxious recently? My bet is you would most likely answer "yes" to at least one of these questions if you have done any of the following activities in the last couple of days: watched the news, engaged in social media, checked emails, talked to another human being about world events, engaged in academic writing (yes, writing anxiety is a real thing). For today's post, I wanted to provide you with some ways to help deal with anxiety, however big or small.  Disclaimer: I am not a professional counselor or medical doctor.  I did, however, find a helpful video by Dr. Olivia Remes from Cambridge University that reminds me of some research I have read regarding academic writing anxiety.  You can watch her 15-minute TedTalk video and/or learn more about her by clicking on the links at the end of this blog post. Here, I summarize some main ideas from the video: First, anxiety is very real and lots of people unfortunat...

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...

Dear Real Academics, At certain times of the year -- particularly the beginning, middle, and end of semesters -- I start feeling anxious about all the large and many small projects ahead of me. Large things could be dissertations, manuscripts, grants, large assignments to grade... Smaller things could be a seemingly endless "to do" list such as scheduling meetings, attending meetings, answering emails, setting up classes for the next term, and/or learning new systems.  If you are not an academic by profession, you may still relate to some of the above types of tasks. Everyone may also have long-term goals related to health (e.g., eating healthier), finances (e.g., getting out of debt), or other (e.g., figuring out life changes).  Whatever your large project and/or many tasks, one way to NOT feel overwhelmed is to break things down into small steps.  This is by no means a new idea. Perhaps you've heard the staying, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single s...

Dear Real Academics, In the last year, have you stopped to ask yourself this question: Am I finding meaning in my work?  If you have, you are not alone. Did you know that at present (Summer 2021), up to 41% of workers across the globe are considering quitting or changing professions?  Economists are calling this phenomenon the "Great Resignation" and the reasons for this trend are many. You can read more about this phenomenon and reasons by following these links (but before you do, I encourage you to finish reading this blog post): The Great Resignation - BBC Millions of Workers are Saying I Quit - NPR  If you are asking yourself this question, consider the following. The ideas crafted below are inspired from reading an article linked at the end of this blog post by Ken Coleman, a nationally syndicated radio host, #1 national bestselling author, and career coach. (1) What does a fulfilled life mean for you? Ken explains that a fulfilled life is "...about being the person...

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...