Increase productivity by killing the Internet!

There’s a new crop of tools that helps you focus by lashing yourself to the mast, i.e. forcibly keeping yourself away from the Internet (or the most seductive parts of it) for a set amount of time.  I haven’t thought through that metaphor completely, but I have thoroughly considered the awesomeness of these products.  Do you have another that you’ve heard of or that’s worked for you?  Please let me know!

• Leechblock works with Firefox.  You can block certain websites that you designate during certain times.  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/leechblock/
• Freedom locks you out of the internet altogether for up to 8 hours (you set the time). http://macfreedom.com/   It’s $10 but there’s a free trial.  It’s now available for both Mac & PC.
• Antisocial locks you out of social media sites like Facebook for up to 8 hours (again you set the time). http://anti-social.cc/  It’s $15 and is currently only available for Mac.

Imposter?

Academics know the imposter syndrom all too well: It’s that sneaking suspicion (or certainty) that you don’t deserve your success.  It strikes fear into the hearts of graduate students and jr faculty alike.  It keeps us from showing our work to anyone.  It makes it difficult to hear criticism, and even harder to hear praise.  It makes it impossible to enjoy our successes. 

An article in the March/April publication of Scientific American Mind explores the imposter syndrom and offers these suggestions:

• learn to ascribe your successes to your own abilities
• disrupt imposter self-talk and replace it with self-talk about your deserved success
• seek psychotherapy

This is not a terribly helpful list, in my opinion, but the argued links between the imposter syndrome and low self-esteem & depression may give one pause and lead to seeking professional help.

• Recommended reading: The Imposter Phenomenon: Overcoming the Fear that Haunts Your Success by P. R. Clance

Procrastination: You’re not the only one

Academics, who work for long periods in a self-directed fashion, may be especially prone to putting things off…

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/10/11/101011crbo_books_surowiecki?currentPage=all#ixzz14cgyIfTU

An informal study confirms: Writing improves your writing

Those who wrote frequently were rated as better writers.  Simple as that.   Several studies now confirm that the simple act of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) in a disciplined, habitual way can improve not just the quantity but QUALITY of your writing.  So make it a habit.  Start with 15 minutes a day work yourself up to a serious writing habit.

Freedom from the Internet

Stop Your Search Engines

A new application (only available for Macs) offers a form of “self-binding” to keep yourself from succumbing to the siren song of the Internet.

Developed by a graduate student (no surprise there), the app, called Freedom, blocks your Internet access for up to eight hours at a stretch.

A low tech version of this strategy is to find a coffee shop without internet access, if such a thing exists anymore, or print out what you’re working on — on real paper — and head somewhere without your computer!  Just a few hours.  You’ll be amazed by how much you can get done.

The stick, not the carrot

Many of us reward our accomplishments with little treats — a night out with friends after a paper is finished.

Some of us also use those rewards to motivate the work in the first place — I will take the night off if I can finish 500 words.

But few of us consciously use punishments to get things done.  Sure, we all have that looming cloud of shame to punish idleness – that cloud is just as likely to make you avoid work as it is to motivate you to get cracking.  But have you ever tried putting your money where your mouth is in an intentional way when it comes to accomplishing your academic goals?

The Chronicle of Higher Ed shares this story of those who’ve done just that.

The Chronicle mentions these tools:

• http://www.stickk.com/
• International Academic Writing Month (November)
• Old fashioned writing groups (See: Building a Supportive, Effective Research Support Group in 5 Easy Steps)

Remember why you’re in the game

Stop Trying To Get Tenure and Start Trying To Enjoy Yourself
By Gary W. Lewandowski Jr.

Congratulations! You have a tenure-track position. Now what? Seriously, how are you going to make the transition from tenure-track to tenured? What is the best way to spend your time? How much emphasis should you put on teaching? What are the scholarship expectations? Where should you publish? Do you need to be first author? Should you continue working with your graduate advisor? Should you stick to safe avenues of inquiry or take chances with new ideas? How many committees should you sit on? How many campus initiatives should you join? What, if anything, can you turn down? What is the relative value of teaching, scholarship, and service?

[read the rest of the article here]

Tolerance for courageous sucking

Merlin Mann wrote a great post the other day on his blog 43 Folders:

http://www.43folders.com/2008/12/01/courageous-sucking

In a nutshell: he reminds us that nobody’s great at new endeavors.  We only get better through doing.  And a lot of that early doing is going to produce stuff that sucks a little.  That’s okay.

As applied to academia, I think it’s always good to remind ourselves that first drafts are supposed to need work.  They’re supposed to suck a little.  The point of a first draft is to get the ideas out of our heads and on to the paper.  So quit pre-editing, and get writing.  Be courageous.  NO ONE is looking over your shoulder and judging (just yet).  I promise.

What is your mission?

Getting clear on your personal values (one might even say mission) forces you to really think about your life and what is important to you.  Writing a personal mission statement gives you the opportunity to clarify and express your deep values and aspirations.  Integrating this personal mission statement into your monthly or yearly planning allows you to organize your life around what’s most important.

Mission Statement Resources:
• www.franklincovey.com/fc/library_and_resources/mission_statement_builder

• www.nightingale.com/

• http://www.decisionbooks.com/pdf/missionstatement.pdf

Don’t wait for inspiration

“We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.” -Frank Tibolt

Keeping this quote in mind, I often encourage my clients to set a daily writing goal (e.g. 1/2 hour) and then commit to putting in the time whether they’re inspired or not.  Most days, you’ll just be plugging away; you may write something useful, or just clean up a few paragraphs of a draft. And that’s not a bad use of time.  But occasionally, you’ll come up with something inspired!  And won’t that be nice?