From October 29th for a period of two weeks, I participated in a boot camp writing experience facilitated by the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity. Each day of the 10 working days, we were expected to write for at least 30 minutes and post online indicating how much time we actually spent, how much we accomplished, and the challenges encountered.
Every book I have read about writing productivity indicates that the most writers write every day. I have struggled with disciplining myself to write daily, some weeks are better than others. This boot camp really helped me to realize the benefits of daily writing. Granted, some days I wrote just before midnight to make sure I had something to report. Accountability works!
Over that two week period, I managed to draft a manuscript article, writing a total of over 7000 words. I managed to take a break on one weekend (that was one of the requirements). I still need to learn to take a break at least one full day a week, I need to learn to keep a sabbath (not just a few hours on Sunday morning). I know my physical, emotional and spiritual health depends on learning to take a sabbath, to rest and rejuvenate.
This week I didn't do daily writing. I found myself getting off track, my attention was diverted by the so-called tyranny of the urgent. So now I find myself not having written anything in the past 4 days. Luckily, I have a writing retreat coming up this weekend, hosted by Temple University Writing Center where I can make up and hopefully also make progress. I had determined after the retreat this summer that I would find shorter retreats, boot camps and other writing help wherever I could, especially those close to home that are also affordable. Whatever I learn, I try to practice, and I share with faculty in my learning community, my doctoral students, and you all. I keep subjecting myself to these helps so that eventually, I will find what works best for my schedule, temperament and writing needs.
I challenge you to find what works for you that will enable increased productivity. Whether that is choosing one day a week as your writing & research day (many faculty do that), or finding just 30 minutes (or more) for daily writing (probably more achievable for doctoral students who are also working adults with families and other responsibilities), and/or even what we are attempting to do with my doctoral students - 'once-a-month' writing boot camps, find whatever works then stick with it.
All the best with your writing goals whether its for dissertation/thesis, journal articles, books, or leisure writing. If you have approaches to getting it done that have worked for you, kindly share.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
A Modest Report about Our Inaugural Writing Retreats
In the last few weeks, I have had the privilege (and disappointment) of reviewing my calender to see where all my time was going. Very little of it was going towards accomplishing my writing goals. The tyranny of the urgent was taking over most of my time.
So, I decided to re-evaluate where I was spending my time, and sought for more effective ways to accomplish all my goals - teaching, dissertation advising, conference presentations/preparation, and writing for publication. Somewhere within my weekly schedule, I also need to re-insert my physical fitness and wellness goals, and make sure I accomplish those too.
In my attempts to help myself, as well as my constituents - faculty and doctoral students - to meet our writing goals, I scheduled two writing retreats, or as one doctoral student dubbed them, boot camps.
The writing retreat for faculty was for just half a day, 9-12 on a Friday. Unfortunately, I scheduled it on a day when I needed to be away on fieldwork. However, the faculty tell me that it went very well, they wrote quietly for the three hours and then engaged in feedback about the process during lunch. Six faculty members who are part of my Faculty Learning Community attended this inaugural retreat. In my book, that was a great turnout! I am very encouraged and look forward to facilitating the next one, which will be one day long in December.
The doctoral candidates boot camp was one day long on a Saturday since all my students are working full time. Even though it had been advertised to all the local students from our program, only two showed up. Not a great turn out, but I am still very encouraged and will continue to offer such intensive writing times to support their dissertation completion goals.
So what did I learn from these inaugural retreats?
First of all, that it is important to have a goal for the retreat, one that can be accomplished within the time limits. Because accomplishing a set (small) goal contributes towards the overall goal, and more importantly, helps us to feel that we are making progress.
Secondly, that you don't need fancy facilities to make it work. The faculty write-in was in a colleagues house, students met on campus (thankfully it was a very quiet Saturday, allowing for focused time).
Thirdly, next time I offer the doctoral boot camp, I will include the option of participating via Skype or Adobe Connect. That way, those students who are not local, or who cannot otherwise come to campus, can find some other quiet distraction-free space in which to work, and enjoy the benefits of camaraderie.
And finally, accountability helps in goal accomplishment. Having to share what we hope to accomplish within a given time period, then reporting back and maybe even asking for feedback all work towards enabling us to accomplish our writing goals. I felt a certain gratification in saying these are the four items on my agenda at 9:00 in the morning, and reporting that I had accomplished those four items at 4pm that day (modest though each of them was).
What are the strategies that you employ to enable you to accomplish focused writing time?
So, I decided to re-evaluate where I was spending my time, and sought for more effective ways to accomplish all my goals - teaching, dissertation advising, conference presentations/preparation, and writing for publication. Somewhere within my weekly schedule, I also need to re-insert my physical fitness and wellness goals, and make sure I accomplish those too.
In my attempts to help myself, as well as my constituents - faculty and doctoral students - to meet our writing goals, I scheduled two writing retreats, or as one doctoral student dubbed them, boot camps.
The writing retreat for faculty was for just half a day, 9-12 on a Friday. Unfortunately, I scheduled it on a day when I needed to be away on fieldwork. However, the faculty tell me that it went very well, they wrote quietly for the three hours and then engaged in feedback about the process during lunch. Six faculty members who are part of my Faculty Learning Community attended this inaugural retreat. In my book, that was a great turnout! I am very encouraged and look forward to facilitating the next one, which will be one day long in December.
The doctoral candidates boot camp was one day long on a Saturday since all my students are working full time. Even though it had been advertised to all the local students from our program, only two showed up. Not a great turn out, but I am still very encouraged and will continue to offer such intensive writing times to support their dissertation completion goals.
So what did I learn from these inaugural retreats?
First of all, that it is important to have a goal for the retreat, one that can be accomplished within the time limits. Because accomplishing a set (small) goal contributes towards the overall goal, and more importantly, helps us to feel that we are making progress.
Secondly, that you don't need fancy facilities to make it work. The faculty write-in was in a colleagues house, students met on campus (thankfully it was a very quiet Saturday, allowing for focused time).
Thirdly, next time I offer the doctoral boot camp, I will include the option of participating via Skype or Adobe Connect. That way, those students who are not local, or who cannot otherwise come to campus, can find some other quiet distraction-free space in which to work, and enjoy the benefits of camaraderie.
And finally, accountability helps in goal accomplishment. Having to share what we hope to accomplish within a given time period, then reporting back and maybe even asking for feedback all work towards enabling us to accomplish our writing goals. I felt a certain gratification in saying these are the four items on my agenda at 9:00 in the morning, and reporting that I had accomplished those four items at 4pm that day (modest though each of them was).
What are the strategies that you employ to enable you to accomplish focused writing time?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)