Tips to help you address your delayed, skipped, or just not happening for you yet AcWriMo experience

I set the best intentions for Academic Writing Month (AcWriMo) this November…but life has gotten in the way. has this happened for you as well? Here are some tips to help you recover and get back on track with your writing habits.

twc, wellbeing, productivityNarelle LemonNovember 23, 2021AcWriMo, writing, academic emotions, academic care, academic wellbeing, academia, academic, PhD, phd lifeComment

Collaboration and the PhD experience (Part 3): Collaborating up, across and passing it on

In this third part to the series on collaboration and the PhD experience we focus on collaborating up, across and passing it on.

Collaboration and the PhD experience (Part 4): Mentorship and nurturing your supervisor relationship

Mentorship and nurturing your supervisor relationship are hot topics in the PhD journey. Part 4 of the Collaboration and the PhD experience series focuses on some reflective questions to support these relationships.

Rest as our companion to productivity: And who knew there are different types!

Rest and sleep. We know we need both. Some of us need more than others. And at different times we need more than at others. They are different, but what exactly are they and how can they help us?

Processing student evaluation feedback

In higher education student evaluations are a hotly contested space. So let’s have a look at an approach for processing that enables you to care for you at the same time.

Normalising risk taking and fear of failure

A recent tweet from a colleague reminded me of the fear of rejection and failure dialogue I had been recently having with myself. To be honest, I have many, but there had been one I’ll share with you in the post that had featured in my mind a little too much. Let’s unpack this in a way that may help you as well.

The care in requests

I love receiving email requests to collaborate, speak, or run workshops. I especially like emails, tweets and DMs that share an appreciation. I honestly love hearing from others, it brings me joy. I love ideas. I love being generous. But, there is an art to communication and showing care to those you are reaching out to. Here are my 9 flips that place care at the centre of the cold call or new connection with a busy person.

July is for connecting with your colleagues and peers

July is for connecting with your colleagues and peers. Download, print or set as your screen saver this guide to building positive relationships with your teams.

June is for Jolts of Joy

Welcome to June and daily reminders to self, intentions and ideas to bring some joy into your life.

Collaboration and the PhD experience (Part 2): Connecting to your why and job crafting

Connecting to your why is an important first step to working out how to achieve the goals that excite you. Let’s talk about how this may be possible with your PhD.

Supporting ourselves: Lessons from yoga for our writing

Like yoga, approaching writing and how one begins the process is important. Scaffolding the process is central, as to preparing for writing. Here are some questions I ask myself.

The invitation to peer review for a publication: 5 questions to help you with your yes...or no.

My friend, let’s call him Max, sent me a text. He’s a lecturer who is also undertaking his final 6 months of the Phd. He asked me “how do I respond to a request to be a reviewer for a journal?”. Let’s unpack some question sto help you answer this where self-care is present.

April as a month to value yourself

This month is all about valuing yourself. I’ve created a monthly calendar that lays out some daily inspiration via intentions, reminders to self, questions and things to leave in last week actions.

Stuck in the Suez Canal: Processing your writing blocks

The recent events of the container ship stuck in the Suez Canal has offered some great viewing, much dialogue, and some critical discussion points represented in memes for us over the past week. The event has also offered us a familiar metaphor for how we sometimes feel as PhD scholars, writers and researchers. Who is your tugboat?

Caring for ourselves and each other as we return to campus

Teaching 2021 is starting back again here in Australia. It will be a year and one week since I last taught in a room that is not my lounge or spare bedroom and on campus! I’m pretty excited actually. I love the energy in a room and the additional layer of social connection that is achievable away from screens. But, I know my excitement is not experienced by others.

Gaining a sense of control: Finding you again

It’s mid Feb and there are an enormous amount of lockdowns happening right now. Like many of us, the sense of control, or lack thereof is very much present. Let’s connect to our sphere of control for covid…and our academic work.

When there is no promotion shine, just deflation...

The feedback floats around in my mind, blurring together, I hear them but I don’t register them. But there is one louder comment that gets stronger and stronger in my mind, playing like a bad song I’ve heard in the foyer of a building that for some reason I remember and keep playing again and again in my mind: "On this occasion, we regret to inform you that your application for promotion, has been unsuccessful".