Hey you!
Everyone needs to hit the reset button every once in a while.
Unfortunately, Hurricane Maria hit it for me.
That’s why I disappeared from this blog for six weeks. But rather than dwell on how horrible it was (is) to live through a complete infrastructure breakdown, I thought I’d take the opportunity to reset.
I’ll start by (re)introducing myself. I’m Cathy Mazak, full professor, mom of three (10, 7, & 2), and it’s my passion to mentor brilliant academics (yes, I’m talking to YOU) to publish more. After 15+ years in academia, I started this blog to help you develop your writing, your focus, your balance so you can have the career (and life) you want.
I started coaching because I realized that everyone I talked to in academia feels like they’re being pulled in ten directions at once. You need to write. You need to publish. You need to focus. But you also need to be YOU. (What happened to you, anyway?)
You need to publish. You need to focus. But you also need to be YOU. Click To TweetI want you to know that you’re not alone. Everyone in academia has felt this way (even if they’d never admit it). Let me assure you: There is a way to do academia without losing your mind (and yourself!). That’s what this blog is about.
Most academics feel that if they could just get their publishing under control, they could finally come up for air. After all, if you could get those couple of articles written off your dissertation, or finish that almost-done article finally, you would have the confidence to face the job market. Tenure review. That blinking cursor.
I don’t believe that academia should be soul-sucking. I don’t want you to publish more just to publish more. I want you to publish more because I believe that your unique, once-ever-on-earth perspective on your field must be heard. I want to show you a way to do this without sacrificing everything that makes you YOU. Without working until you collapse. Without being crippled by guilt about all the writing you think you should be doing.
If I can show you how to write more while cultivating–dare I say it?–joy in your work, and passion for your field, and the excitement created by all the neurons firing over why you got into this gig anyway, then we can change academia into a better place for everybody to thrive.
In this blog, I’m tackling all that stuff they never taught you in grad school.
All the things I learned baptism-by-fire style: I’m breaking them down for you, step-by-step (don’t tell Reviewer #2!). How to write for publication? How to balance your career with your real actual life? How to manage the ten gazillion things on your to-do list with focus and determination? Yep. That’s what I’m teaching here.
If that sounds interesting to you, you are in the right place. Take a deep breath. I got you. If you’re still reading, YAY! I’m so happy that you’re here, and so glad that we connected.
I want to share a few ways that I can help you survive academia without losing your mind.
If you haven’t joined my Facebook group (called I should be writing! Cute, right?), click here to request to join. I go live once a week to answer questions, offer encouragement, and teach the skills you need to handle this academic life.
I also LOVE to do free webinars (although webinars are going to be difficult for me for the next few months until the internet is back for real). If you’d like to see one, you can find “Create a writing system that works for you” and it’s handouts as a free preview in my Webinar Library here (just scroll down to the “course curriculum” section and hit the orange “preview” button).
In addition to all those free things, I also run the Virtual Writer’s Retreat about three times per year, my signature course called The Academic Woman’s Writing Roadmap, one-on-one academic coaching packages, and live events like the Academic Writing Retreat.
Still here? You’re awesome! I can’t wait for you to tell me all about what you need to write and publish more. Leave me a comment!
