Tag Archive for: motivation

Radical Candor

/1 Comment/in /by

Scylla and Charibdis for academic leadership:

Why successful academics need breaks to be able to communicate with radical candor.

Read more

Follow your energy

/0 Comments/in , /by
Have you ever relied on to-do lists in an attempt to work effectively? Most academics have experimented with a wide variety of to-do lists, nifty apps, or old fashioned paper and pencil notes. Besides that, almost all have lists that they keep in the back of their minds.

If you are like most academics, you have probably experienced the frustration of a to-do list that is growing longer rather than shorter as time passes. And if you are like me, this tempts you to work even harder, ignoring your tense shoulders and tired brain.  Read more

Is your persistence helping you?

/1 Comment/in , , /by

In our first talk, many academics warn me that they are rather autonomous. Intractable and self-willed, a.k.a. notoriously headstrong. They are not beside the point. Also HR managers, career advisors at universities, my coaching colleagues in other industries often wonder out loud whether my academic clients aren’t difficult to coach.   Read more

Successful but unhappy academic: what is wrong with you?

/0 Comments/in , , /by

I get it: you are smart. You got a PhD. You landed a tenure track position or even tenure — although you suspect that was due to luck more than intellectual merit. Anyway, from the outside your life look perfectly successful. You have a wonderful partner, your children are doing great, and your academic career is well underway towards professorship. How come your life does not feel so fabulous on the inside? Why do you feel so lonely? Why do you feel different and not understood?  Read more

Why academics need to laze around

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Let’s face it. As exciting as science can be, sometimes it is just tedious, boring, taxing. When you are plodding through your data, drudging over a pile of exams, or pegging away at your PhD, it is difficult to feel that enthusiastic flow. You are working hard, draining your energy, feeling low. Naturally, you do not want to be in that space of negative energy. So you look for an escape. Read more

How to start working softly in science in 4 steps

/2 Comments/in , , /by

With a harassed look Mireille stows some papers in her bag that she is going to grade tonight. A smile fleets across her face: “Did I tell you I am pregnant?” She has just started a temporary teaching position, where she is to do a big introductory course and a somewhat smaller advanced bachelor intensive. She is also planning to write her NWO VENI grant application in the same period, hoping she can create a job following her maternity leave. How can she keep calm and preserve the mental space she needs for developing her new proposal?

Read more

When science is just not completely rational

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Doing research means to break new ground. Try new things, experiment and fail 99 times before at the 100th iteration something exciting happens. Endlessly reading complex literature on a topic, studies of a method, only to conclude that no-one actually knows the exact answer to your question. So you carry on, pioneering. “To boldly go…” and all that.

Read more

How to survive your PhD

/0 Comments/in /by

When you just started on a PhD project, where do you begin? A daunting task ahead, which questions to ask, what people to turn to, which techniques to master?

Read more

A Taoist tip for doing research

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Sometimes when you are trying to focus on a research puzzle, or when you open up a document to write that methods section you have been avoiding for a while, you may notice your mind flittering everywhere in stead of concentrating at the task you sat down to do. This constantly happened to Chris* as he was finishing his thesis. So he came to me and asked: “How can I create more focus and improve my motivation in this final thesis stage?”

Read more

Preparing for the Fall semester

/0 Comments/in , /by

This Fall I will be teaching no less than 3 multiple day masterclasses for PhD candidates at the Erasmus Graduate School for Social Sciences and Humanities. This challenge takes me to all stages of a PhD project. The first course is for beginning PhD candidates:

Read more