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Snack Writing

Many, many people are struggling as the pandemic finishes its second complete year. We are out of mental space to cope with risk management, caring for loved ones, caring for equally burnt-out but less-well-equipped-to-manage students, processing and evaluating new information, changing school and day care statuses, and more. Our cognitive capacity is maxed out, and so are our schedules.

One of the first things to go under these circumstances tends to be our research time. Research really has no deadline, we still have time, we'll catch up after the pandemic, etc. It's so easy to put it off, especially since it requires such a high level of cognitive capacity to do it, and that level only goes up the longer we've been away from it. And for most of us, the amount of time and energy required to restart at this point seems insurmountable. When are we going to find 3 hours (or more!) to figure out where we were and what needs to happen next?!

This is part of the reason that I encourage my Twitter followers to try to touch their research projects in some form for just five minutes a day. Read an abstract (or a couple paragraphs). Edit a paragraph. Write a few lines on the back of an old exam and toss it in a designated folder. Dictate a couple sentences into your phone as you walk across campus to that boring committee meeting. Fragments of time are available, but the trick is to stay on top of the overarching research plan in the first place so you can jump in on these moments when they occur. 

 If you'd like to start with snack writing, I typically recommend starting with the last written things you have from the project: a fragmented draft, an old conference paper, a sketchy outline. Whatever you have is good enough. Trust me on this. Work your way through it in 5 min chunks. Set a timer on your phone and just do what you can. Remind yourself where you were, but be attentive to places where your thinking has evolved, and most importantly, write those things down. Start the process of recording and entrenching your new ideas in places where you can access them again.

When you CAN find a longer chunk of work time, say even half an hour or so, spend it doing key input tasks that lead to more material for snack writing. Expand to a detailed outline, even for a section or subsection. Make and organize your lit review notes so you can write a quick paragraph while waiting for that late office hours guest.  Comb sources for necessary data pieces and put them into your notes document so you can build them out into prose in your scraps of time. DON'T WASTE BIG BLOCKS ON WRITING unless it's extremely challenging writing (like theory chapters/sections) that you can't do in snippets.  

Adapting to snippet mode - snack writing, instead of bingeing - is a mental shift, but most people who try it find that it's worth it. 5 minutes a day adds up to an extra pomodoro of research time a week. Sometimes the 5 min you start with turns into getting on a roll and producing a whole page in 20 minutes. Most people find that keeping their subconscious minds connected to their research through regular contact produces more and different insights than they would otherwise have had. Even producing 50 words a day (roughly 2-3 sentences) means producing a full page of text a week. This strategy requires adapting to the idea that research is an ongoing process composed of many small actions, not something done only in large blocks of time. It make take a little time to make that adjustment, but it's worth it if you can sustain just those tiny little snacks on a regular basis.
New Workshop: Networking for Academics 
Just in time for spring conference season, I've got a new workshop for you: Networking for Academics! 60 minutes of practical strategies for online and in-person networking. Everything from how to juggle a plate and glass at once to where to stash your business cards, how to use LinkedIn and Twitter as an academic, and more. (As this is a new program, it may run longer than 60 minutes.) 

Registration for this and March's Me, You, and the Lit Review is open at https://leanne102.wixsite.com/leannecpowner (check tabs at top for class category)  

HOT SUMMER PREVIEW
Summerpalooza will be back in 2022! You can look forward to a full slate of free support programs - Summer Academic Working Groups, 12 Week Article Groups, and Learn R with Friends groups - plus the entire suite of my 60-90 minute $10 professional development workshops (and a few from guests!), a new FREE workshop series introducing cool new developments in qual & quant research methods (presenters needed!), and more! I'll also be offering the Book Development Workshop, the Book Writer's Workshop, and Advanced Academic Writing courses as well as my regular one-on-one offerings.  If you're interested in one-on-one, speak up sooner rather than later to get on the waiting list. Spaces will be very limited.
Writer's Boot Camp writing retreats return this year! Join us Feb 19, Mar 26, and /or Apr 16! We write from 9-3 Eastern on the pomodoro system. Lots of productivity mixed with snack recommendations, bad jokes, and lots of support and encouragement.  All dates are now available for registration. Boot Camp is free (select Pay in Person), but $5 donations from those who can afford it keep it free for all. Register at https://leanne102.wixsite.com/leannecpowner
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Copyright © 2022 Leanne C. Powner, PhD, All rights reserved.


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