Specious Barrier Number 2 to Writing

According to Paul Silvia in his book How to Write a Lot, the second most specious barrier to writing is ” ‘I need to do some more analyses first,’ aka ! I need to read a few more articles.’ ” (p. 18).

I’ve often fallen into this trap.  There are SO MANY things out there that I just NEED to read before I can get writing…  Well, before I know it, I’ve done tons of reading but lost track of what the hell I was going to write about.  Finding articles for an academic is like surfing the web: a few interesting articles in a bibliography leads you to a few more which lead to a few more and so on.

I’ve been following Silvia’s advice by sitting down with a word count goal everyday.  This month, it’s 300 words a day, everyday.  By getting my own ideas on paper, or at least trying to, I see where I need to do extra reading to support or bolster my argument, I realize where my own ideas are fuzzy and where I need to clarify them, often in response to other people’s  work, and so on.  This kind of focussed reading helps with efficiency and productivity.

An unexpected consequence of this type of reading and writing process is that it generates many more ideas than just reading.  As each new interesting idea or concept comes to me, I open the file with future projects and write a quick note and maybe a citation.  But then I leave it there and return to the project at hand.  Currently, I’m writing one essay, but much of my reading has given me insights into another idea that I’ll be developing into another article soon–I’ve been writing down my ideas and keeping bibliography, so when I finally get to that project, I expect it won’t take too long to finish.

Finally, I think it important to say that every academic should take part in the conversation of his discipline.  We all have something to say, and to simply keep up with the current literature is not the same thing as joining in.  Writing everyday is the way to join that conversation and make your voice heard.

The down side of multi-tasking

One of the great things about the academic life is its flexibility.  With the exception of class times, I have really don’t have to be on campus a lot since I teach at a large institutions.  (That’s probably not the case at a college, but I don’t know.)  I do spend a fair amount of time in the office, though I’m never shy about leaving to go pick up the kids from school in the afternoon, or skipping out at noon to have lunch with them in the cafeteria.  But, of course, the piper has to be paid, and that usually means taking papers home to grade, articles or proofs to work on over the weekends, and so on.

The other day I was at home and trying to get some papers graded for the next day’s class.  This was in the early evening, after dinner, and my kids wanted me to read them a book.  I asked them to play quietly for a bit so that I could finish, but it was distracting for me and not satisfying for them.

I’ve been thinking more and more about “multi-tasking” lately.  I’ve found that the more dispersed my energy, the less satisfying are the tasks I’m doing.  Sometimes it’s not just about getting things done, even getting them done well, but getting them done in such a way that you know you’ve done a good job and put yourself into the effort.  When I was grading papers that night, I was not giving myself to my students as I should have.  I was cheating them because I was not paying close attention to what I was grading.  I was also cheating my kids, because even when I took a break from grading, I was still distracted by it.

So I’ve been trying to do less multi-tasking and do a better job on focussing: when I’m with my kids, I need to be a dad and not worry about what I need to do for work.  When I’m grading papers, that’s my focus.  I’ll still enjoy the flexibility of the schedule, I’ll just put a little more rigidity into the task at hand.

Specious Barrier Number 1 to Writing

I’ve mentioned Paul Silvia’s book in this blog before here.  In the second chapter, he lists four specious barriers to writing–excuses that are really straw men for poor productivity.

The first one is “I can’t find the time to write” (p. 11).  Of course you can’t, you have to allocate time to writing.  I think that this is one of the hardest things to do, but everyone who is successful in writing says that it is a MUST.  Recently in Writers’ Digest, one author lists the best advice he ever got was “Butt in chair.”

For me, it’s hard to break into the habit, but easy to fall out of.  This  summer, for example, I was teaching two classes, enjoying time with the kids at the pool, and working on three DIY projects around the house.  Yet as busy as I was, I was in the habit of writing at least 500 words per weekday.  I finished an article in 10 weeks (which was subsequently accepted).  But after the second summer session, I went on vacation with my family and never got back in the habit of working every morning.  So in 10 weeks I finished an article, and the 10 weeks after vacation I wrote less than 1,000 words total!

I’ve rearranged my personal schedule so as to allocate time for writing, and I’m back on track.  It’s just like exercise–I feel so much better when I do it, I can’t figure out why I ever stop.  For me, at least, the secret is to write everyday and damn the torpedoes!

(I wanted to add a cute “butt in chair” graphic to this post, but if you do a quick Google image search, you’ll see why I opted to leave it out.)

Up-front investment-grading

We recently had midterm grades due for some of our students.  For me, it’s not a big deal to get these grades in, but for some people it is.

There are two very efficient ways of keeping track of grades.  One is to use a spreadsheet like Excel.  The other is to use the online grade book provided by on-line software, like Blackboard or Desire2Learn (which is what we use at my institution).  Of course, for these to be efficient, you have to know how to use them.  Tools are only as effective as the person using them.

The learning curve to use these tools is not steep.  In maybe 3-4 hours total, you can have good mastery of most things that you need.  Some of my colleagues spend that much time each semester for each class figuring final grades!  (I’m in the humanities; math is not our strong point.)  When I point out that it’s so much easier and quicker to use a speadsheet or the online system, my colleagues respond that “it takes too long to learn.”   Even when I tell them that it only takes the equivalent of figuring grades for ONE class to learn the system, they resist.  I don’t get it.

Because there are advantages and disadvantages to both,  I switch back and forth from Excel to the on line grade book; it just depends on the semester.  I like posting grades on line because not only does the program keep an updated final grade based on items already entered, but students can see the grades they’ve got on each test and homework assignment.  On the downside, sometimes you’re locked in to a grading scheme when using the online version; you can’t tailor it to exactly how you want the grades to be calculated (you either have to have everything weighted, or be a percentage, or everything is based on points–but not a combination of those schemes).  Excel does give you a lot more flexibility on that front, but it is not available to students 24/7 (as they say).  You have to decide what’s best given your circumstances and needs.

A very funny site…

A student passed this on to me because he thought it matched my sense of humor.  These desperational posters provide a much needed reality check for today’s preterpositively reinforced students.  A little taste:

Enjoy!

www.despair.com

The Craft of Research

I picked up the The Craft of Research (Booth, Colomb and Williams.  Chicago UP, st ed. 1995, 3rd ed. 2008) when I was a freshly minted assistant professor the first year of my first tenure track position.  It was  a lifeline!  I hadn’t been having too much success with placing the articles I had been writing–that’s overstating the case: I had no success at all.  My grad program’s strong point was not professional development nor developing writing skills.  The approach was sink or swim.  I managed to tread water through grad school, but I realized that I’d have to do better than that to get tenure.

After reading this book, I went back over an article I had been working on and rethought what I was doing.  I had some good things to say, but those good things got lost because I wasn’t making a strong case.  After following the guidelines laid out in COR, I started having a great deal more success in placing articles, but I also had a great sense of satisfaction that I was clarifying my own thoughts and ideas for myself, too.

I’ve been preaching the merits of this book’s approach to graduate students and undergraduates alike.  I still go back over the principles when I get in abind with something that I’m writing.  A very useful addition to any active scholar’s library.

Students, cell phones and me

There was a good article in the Chronicle of Higher Education a few months ago. Among other things, it addressed how students communicate with faculty. The author griped about a student calling him on his (the professor’s) cell phone!

I’m not a big fan of cell phones.  My wife and I recently bought into a plan with my brother and his wife–one of those “four-lines-for-$75/month” plans.  At first it was nice–calling whoever I wanted whenever I wanted.  But it got old.  Quickly.  Now my wife calls everyday as she’s leaving her school, but just to tell me she’s leaving and will be home in ten minutes.  Well, I love her, but that is an unneeded interruption.

And that’s the big problem with cell phones–the unneeded interruption.   Like any tool, they have their purpose, but like any tool, they can be abused.

I forbid students to have their cell phones on, or even out on their desks, during class.  There are very few things that can’t wait for 50 minutes.  If a student is expecting an important call (somebody’s wife, sister, partner or whatever) may go into labor at any minute, I ask them to sit by the door, put the phone on vibrate, and handle any call discreetly and politely.  It’s not too much to ask.

My wife and I have come up with a system, too.  When I’m working on something and don’t want to be interrupted by a cell phone call, I set it to vibrate; I don’t answer calls, though I can tell they’re coming in.  If it’s an emergency and my wife REALLY needs to talk to me, she calls, hangs up and calls right back.  I answer the second time.  Thank goodness, we’ve never had an emergency that required interruption, but just in case, it’s good to have a plan!

Quadrant III-The Quadrant of Deception?

In last Friday’s post I showed Covey’s quadrants and labels and how academic activities typically fit into the scheme.  Quadrant III can be controversial, however, because not all service work is unimportant.  Here’s why.

“Service” is the category that matters least in tenure and promotion cases.   As long as one is a “good citizen,” that usually is sufficient.  In fact, some department chairs discourage junior faculty from getting into too much service and try to protect them from it.  When one is up for tenure, this is probably a good strategy.

However, institutional tenure is one thing, and “real tenure” is quite another.  A few month ago, Gene C. Fant wrote a column in the Chronicle called “Real Tenure is Portable.” He considers real tenure to be different from institutional tenure.  The latter only guarantees you a job as long as your institution is financially sound (and in this day and age, that’s no sure thing).  Real tenure, he explains, is what makes you attractive to other institutions.  According to Fant, real tenure is based either on research or on administrative skill.

Research as the path to upperward academic mobility is well known, but the job security provided by administrative skill is not as well understood.  Or, maybe it is understood but undervalued.  This leads us to the link with Quadrant III.  Service activities after tenure can really be deceptive: they take up a lot of time, but they don’t really produce anything.  Nevertheless, judiciously selecting service activities, having a coherent plan and executing around that plan can lead to more experience, more responsibility, and ultimately better job security.

Well chosen service actitivities can be  Quadrant II activities–they are done not in order for quick returns, but for long-term gains.

Covey’s Time Quadrants and Academic Life

Quadrant I Important urgent Most teaching activities (Quadrant of necessity)	Quadrant II Important, not urgent Most research activities (Quadrant of quality)
Quadrant III Urgent, not important Most service activities (Quadrant of deception)	Quadrant IV Not important, not urgent “Time killers” (Quadrant of waste)

Covey’s Quadrants Applied to the Academic Life

Stephen Covey has devised a method of classifying tasks into one of four quadrants.    The upper quadrants represent important things, the lower two, unimportant things.  The quadrants to the left are urgent (that is, time sensitive) things, and the things to the right are non-urgent (they have no deadline).

When I went to a “How-to-get-tenure” presentation about ten years ago, the speaker applied this thinking to the academic life.

The most productive time is in Quadrant II; those activities are generally the most important although they are not usually the most urgent (unless you’re working under a publication deadline, for instance).  Because these activities aren’t time sensitive, they’re easiest to put off; that’s a fatal mistake, because many of the rewards in academia are generated by work done in the second quadrant.  Again, as I’ve stated in other posts, it’s so important to schedule time to write.  When it becomes a quadrant II habit, productivity increases and is constant.

I also argue for putting some teaching activities into the second quadrant.  A lot of materials that I gather or write are not needed for my next class or even for a class that I’m teaching that semester, but can be for a class I’ll be teaching in the future.  I recommend that a couple of hours every month be devoted to this quadrant II teaching preparation.

Nevertheless, most teaching activities are time sensitive, and thus are “urgent.”  Papers have to be graded, lectures written by a determined date, and classes planned.

Though it seems that there’s never enough time, there is if priorities are established and stuck to.  But, the priorities have to be in the upper two quadrants.  To allocate time to important things, take time away from the unimportant things, especially Quadrant IV things-it ain’t called the Quadrant of Waste for nothin’.

Quadrant I Important urgent Most teaching activities	Quadrant II Important, not urgent Most research activities
Quadrant III Urgent, not important Most service activities	Quadrant IV Not important, not urgent “Time killers”

Covey’s Quadrants Applied to the Academic Life

Time for cooking

Amid the hustle and bustle of the academic life, sometimes it’s hard to remember to make time to enjoy the good things–especially food.  I received as a gift a subscription to Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, and it’s a great little cooking magazine.  There’s something in it for everyone–fancy recipes with some exotic ingredients, and standby comfort food with tips on how to make the prep easier and quicker.  In addition, there are shopping lists if you want to try to make a week’s worth of dinners, recipes for one, and tips on how to freeze dishes so that you can whip up a great homemade meal right out of the freezer.  If you like to cook but don’t thing you have time, or if you’re feeling guilty about eating too much take out or frozen meals, check this out!  You can subscribe here, or find it on Amazon or Ebay.