The Relationship Between Rest And Writing

First, let me make an argument for why you, as an academic writer, are creating. You might think of people who create as artists who paint things or poets who write poems. But as a professor, you are also a creator. You create curriculum, lesson plans, and lectures. You create knowledge, bright, unique knowledge through your research. 

A common misconception is that to create more things, we need to spend more time writing and publishing. However, the time spent creating and restoring must be equal in order to be sustainable. The more you restore, the more capacity you have to create. 

Work Restoration in Your Summer Plans

Thinking that you will spend eight hours a day writing is unrealistic. This practice is unsustainable, even in the summer when you aren’t teaching. Binge writing will inevitably lead to a breakdown. Instead, you need to schedule restoration time into your summer writing schedule.

Figure out what deliberate rest looks like for you. What are things that restore you? Remember, resting time is not meant for household tasks or doctor appointments that have been on your to-do list for months. I encourage you to sit and list activities that allow your mind and body to rest.

Create More Sustainability In Your Writing & Publishing

Developing a sustainable writing process is the key to breaking a binge-and-bust writing cycle. That starts by improving your relationship with writing throughout the entire year. Integrate writing into your everyday work life instead of relying on the summer to get through your backlogged publication pipeline. Your days add up to your career, so it is crucial to put writing centrally into our work activities Monday through Friday.

Developing a sustainable writing process, learning how to clear your publication pipeline, and prioritizing career goals are all part of the Navigate program. So if you are in academia and struggle with a binge-and-bust writing cycle, sign up for the Navigate waitlist!

“A lot of people in academia are operating on a binge and bust cycle with their academic writing. What that means is that they are saving up all of their writing and trying to get it done over the summer – binging on it – and then of course, what happens is it leads to a bust which means that you’re stressed out and you break down because you’re too tired.”

“You need to build lengthy times for restoration into your summer writing plans. I don’t mean take a week off after finishing grades to paint your bedroom or go to all those doctors appointments you have put off. You have to take actual time off so that means that you have to answer the question: What are the things that restore you?”

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

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CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION:

1. Our 12-week Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap® program helps tenure-track womxn and nonbinary professors to publish their backlog of papers so that their voice can have the impact they know is possible. Get on the waitlist 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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