A Letter From Your September Self

In this final episode of the summer writing series I remind you what September 2023 could look like if you take control of your writing practice, shift your mindset, and learn how to sustainably manage your time. 

Tune in to hear my challenge I assign to each and every one of you. Let’s plan a productive summer!

Breaking the Cycle

My wish for you is to imagine what September could be like compared to what September has been like before. Normally you set really high expectations for the things you are going to finish over the summer and none of them get done. Now it’s September 1st and you’re already exhausted. So you are forced to start the semester already behind.

The goal of this series is to encourage you to shift your mindset and break the binge and bust writing cycle.

Achieving Sustainable Writing Practices

Navigate is for professors who want to stop the binge and bust writing cycle. You will be investing in your writing and publication practice so that it becomes sustainable and so that you break unproductive writing habits. You don’t have to feel like you’re behind all the time. In 12 weeks we train you and teach you on how to clear your publication pipeline while aligning with your academic mission statement. 

“Imagine what you normally feel like at the end of August – exhausted and dreadful of the new semester. You know you’re already behind. Now imagine the three other adjectives in this letter from my September-self that I read at the beginning. My adjectives were restful, calm and productive. What would those three be for you? How can you switch? How can you imagine some kind of different experience over the summer?”

“I want to help you stop feeling like you are behind in writing. That’s why I did this summer writing series and that’s why I created our Navigate program which is enrolling now to start on May 15.”

We’ve opened the waitlist for our next cohort of Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap®. Check out the program details and start your application process here. 

SEPTEMBER LETTER 

September 1, 2023

Dear me, 

I’m just writing to thank you for the choices you made this summer. You said that you wanted your summer to feel restful, calm, yet productive, and you accomplished all of those things. 

First, you embraced restful. Unlike in past summers, you realize that lots and lots of deliberate rest is what it takes to refill your tank. You read books just for fun, you got away from your everyday routine. And you were very careful with your sleep habits. Those afternoon naps were awesome. Because of this, today, I am looking at the new semester with hope and excitement instead of exhaustion and dread. 

Second, you embraced calm, you planned your days ahead of time to have lots of space, you broke the pattern of expecting that you would write six to eight hours per day and created a calm rhythm of one or two hours of writing a few times per week. Surprisingly, you actually got more done than you had previous summers, resting, resetting expectations really paid off in this sense of calm. 

Finally, you were able to be productive, even while creating a restful and calm summer you invested in developing your writing and publishing practice. Not only did that mean, you submitted those two projects that were your goal, it also means that you created new ways of writing and publishing that are sustainable. You made clarifying choices about your career and the way you manage your time. You are headed into the academic year with a clear vision of what you want for yourself and the spaciousness in your schedule to make it happen.

All in all, you did it. You finally have the summer you’ve been craving. And it means that now in early September, you are truly ready for the semester to begin. Big hugs your September self.

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION:

1. Our 12-week Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap® program helps tenure-track womxn and nonbinary professors with a disruptive perspective on their field to publish their backlog of papers so that their voice can have the impact they know is possible. Apply here!
2. Cathy’s book, Making Time to Write: How to Resist the Patriarchy and Take Control of Your Academic Career Through Writing is available in print! Learn how to build your career around your writing practice while shattering the myths of writing every day, accountability, and motivation, doing mindset work that’s going to reshape your writing, and changing academic culture one womxn and nonbinary professor at a time. Get your print copy today or order it for a friend here!
3. Want to train with us for free on your campus? Now you can when you recommend our Scholar’s Voice Faculty Retreats to a decision-maker on your campus! Download the brochure with the retreat curriculum and both in-person and online retreat options here.

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