Happy Holidays!

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Happy Holidays!

Don't Fill Your Suitcase with Books

When I was a graduate student, I often filled my suitcase with books and articles I was going to read over the Christmas holiday. There were times when I'm sure I brought home as many as 14 books. It limited what I could fit in my suitcase and it nearly broke my back. And, if I'm honest, the books and articles rarely (if ever) actually came out of the suitcase.

Don't get me wrong -- holidays can be a great time to get work done. I've written a book chapter on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day before. I've written an article during my summer vacation. I've spent Thanksgiving editing. You may recall that last month I penned a blog post titled Holidays Are For Writing, encouraging you to use the unscheduled time productively -- and holidays can be a great time to get some reading and writing done. But the operative word is "some."

The reality is that you also need a break between terms. If you're going back to school in January, you need to be fresh and rested to start the year right. If you work through all of the holiday season, that won't happen. I give you permission to marathon your favourite show. Stay in your PJs all day, curled up on the sofa, and enjoy some brain candy. You've earned it. And hopefully your mother will agree and maybe bring you a cup of tea and some cookies!

You need to take time to be with family and friends. It's important for your mental health. It's important for work-life balance. So make sure you do all of the festive things that you enjoy doing -- whether it's baking cookies, volunteering at your chosen charity, visiting family, or filling stockings for the less fortunate. Now is the time to make yourself a priority. Sure, you're in an intense relationship with your thesis now, but eventually you'll move on. You'll see other projects. One day, that thesis will just be a memory. You can't break up with yourself however! So treat yourself well.

And if you are feeling inspired to be productive in an academic way this holiday season, be realistic. Choose one book instead of 14. Bring home two articles instead of a binder full. Choose something reasonable to accomplish so that you can feel good about what you've done instead of setting yourself up for failure and letting that suitcase of books become thesis baggage (which quickly leads to self-loathing).

Happy holidays!

Just Open the Document!

Finding it hard to get motivated to write or edit? Checking Facebook again or organizing your boards on Pinterest will undoubtedly be more appealing. Perhaps you're avoiding your work because you don't know how to deal with it. You might be struggling to figure out what to say next or how to "fix" what you've done thus far. My advice: just open the document.

I've had a few non-urgent writing tasks hanging over me for several weeks now. (Ok. Two months, if I'm totally honest with you.) More urgent and impactful items have been prioritized ahead of them -- and that makes perfect sense when you think about your goals. But now that there's nothing more urgent or important to focus on, I knew it would be better to just get them done instead of having them weighing on my mind. Unfinished projects are a special kind of stress -- they expand to take up more mental space than they deserve.

Even though I knew I should complete them this week to clear the docket, so to speak, each morning I found myself doing other things, like filing. Why? Because one of the unfinished projects was a report that needed to be submitted to the funder and, despite my best efforts, I still wasn't happy with the wording. I initially put it aside so that I could think about the right approach, but then I never got back to it. If I didn't take action, I'd be a very productive procrastinator this week.

This morning, sitting at my desk, looking for "things to do," I said to myself, "Just open the document!" (Ok, maybe I yelled it inside my head, tagging an emphatic "Already!" at the end.)

Just open the document. It really was that simple. I opened it up and glanced at a few comments left in the margins, and before I knew it, I was done the editing task that had been causing me so much angst. I worked at it one section at a time, one comment at a time. It wasn't nearly as painful as I'd anticipated. Why? Because it wasn't nearly as big a task as it had grown to in my head.

So next time you find yourself avoiding your work -- whether it's writing or editing -- just open the document and see what happens. You might surprise yourself.

Try a New Location

Got writer's block? Just can't get motivated? Try working in a new location.

Generally, throughout university, I was able to write my papers and study from home, sometimes at a desk and sometimes at my kitchen table. There were times, however, when nothing I did could actually get me going in that environment. On these days, I joked that I needed to "institutionalize" myself by going to the library. The change of surroundings was often enough to help me get writing again or begin committing to memory the historical details of musical compositions.

Today, things haven't changed much. I still often write from home (following my writing ritual), but if I have a looming deadline or there's a hint of procrastination brewing, I'll go to my office to work on my personal research projects. I try to make it as enjoyable as possible, bringing along a French Vanilla from Tim Hortons or going out for lunch to break up the day. Being in a dedicated work environment helps me to be productive, eliminates any distractions that may exist (like laundry or other housekeeping tasks), and allows me to enjoy my free time when I return home after a productive writing session.

So, if you're having trouble powering through in your usual location, why not try something new? A new coffee shop, the local library, a friend's office, the cafe of your local museum -- there are lots of options!

Where's your favourite place to get work done?

Power Through

Are you avoiding reading or writing? Has procrastination taken over? Try a power hour.

I first heard about the "power hour" as a time management strategy and procrastination buster about a year ago. As I recall, it was described to me as a way of completing tasks that you really don't like. You commit to working on a particular task for one hour and at the end of the hour, you can choose whether you continue or not. And if you decide that you're done like dinner, it's a guilt free ending because you were hyper-productive for an hour. I thought this was a great approach for my most hated cleaning tasks (aka all of them).

I really hate cleaning – washing dishes, vacuuming, dusting. Consequently, I avoid it like the plague. The result of this procrastination is that I just end up with a bigger job to tackle – more dishes, more dust, more recyclables to struggle with. Then it becomes overwhelming, which makes it even more difficult for me to get started and I start feeling bad about the situation. To break the cycle, I commit to a power hour. I’ll clean as much as I can in a one hour period and when the hour is up, I’ll do other things I enjoy doing without feeling any guilt. But sometimes I find that I end up cleaning for several hours because once I start and see improvements, I become more motivated to continue. 

Of course, the power hour can be applied to other types of work, including your writing project. Here's one description of how it works.

You could do a power hour of reading, a power hour of planning (preparing an outline), a power hour of writing, a power hour of editing, a power hour of typing your bibliography in the appropriate citation style... you get the picture. You can do a power hour of anything. And then go about the rest of your day guilt-free.

So, if you're overwhelmed by your project or feeling guilty about your lack of progress, why not try committing to one power hour each day? You'll get something done that moves you closer to your goal and for the other 23 hours of the day, you can enjoy life without having to beat yourself up.

Have you done a power hour?

Ask Your Friends for Help

Let's face it, even the most productive and disciplined writers sometimes find it difficult to get motivated. Even I -- the person writing a blog to help you achieve your writing goals -- sometimes hit a wall.

Take Monday, November 2nd, for example. I'd been away for more than a week, I'd had a busy weekend, and the clocks had fallen back, making it dark very early in the evening. I arrived home from work around 3:30pm and was supposed to attend a writing session at 7pm. As it got darker and darker, my sofa got more and more comfortable. By 5:30, I knew that if I didn't get moving soon, I would be trapped in a sofa vortex and I wouldn't go at all.

So, I sent my friend and colleague a message asking if we could change the start time of the writing session. Lucky for me, she agreed that we could meet at 6pm instead of 7pm. I jumped off the sofa, grabbed my laptop, and headed immediately to the car. Soon installed at our writing session, we chatted a bit and wrote a bit and ate a few delicious cookies. Two hours later I had 3 pages of an article written.

It's important to know yourself -- to be able to recognize the signs that you're losing motivation -- and then take action to change things up.

And when motivation fails you, don't be afraid to ask your friends or colleagues for help.

Holidays Are For Writing

So you've got a writing deadline and you need to make some progress on it, but you're finding it difficult to carve out the necessary block of time to really get into it? Lucky for you, Wednesday is a holiday in most areas of Canada.

There's no question that you should take time to remember and to attend services in your community. But for the rest of the day, when classes are cancelled and many stores and offices are closed, you should write. (And if the stores aren't closed in your area, pretend they are!)

A holiday is a big gaping hole in your schedule. Your usual commitments aren't there. You can roll out of bed, stay in your PJs, make a cup of coffee, and get down to business. You can be wildly productive even if you dedicate only half of the day to your writing project (and the other half to a worthy endeavor, like watching a marathon of Suits).

So make the most of your holiday time -- remember and then write!

Coding Your Readings

I was recently asked by a student how to tackle a stack of readings. She was writing a term paper. She knew exactly what questions she had to answer in the essay and basically how the essay would be organized according to sections (thanks to a very detailed assignment description). She had all of her research gathered (articles, chapters, web resources) and I had advised her to print them all to read. But how should she read and take notes to quickly accomplish her task?

I suggested coding. I described a very basic approach that I thought would work. Since she already knew what questions she had to answer and the sections that would be in the paper, I suggested she assign each question/topic a letter (A, B, C) and then make a quick reference sheet that provided an overview of the coding (A = general history, B = business strategy, C = competitive advantage, etc). While reading, if she came upon anything that answered a particular question or fit in a certain section, she could highlight it and make note using the coding established. Then, when she actually went to write the various sections of her term paper, she could quickly scan her readings and pull out all of the pertinent information.

For some people, colour-coding helps here as well. The basic principle remains -- you assign a colour to a question, topic, or theme and then use that to help you pull together information. You can use different coloured highlighters, coloured pencils, or your favourite pens or fine-tip markers. Of course, if you have several different items coded, you have to be sure you have enough different colours in your chosen medium, since you can only use each colour once.

How do you keep track of what you're reading and how it relates to the topics you're researching?

Now is Not the Time to Save Trees

So, you're writing your thesis (or major research paper or dissertation). You've probably got a tonne of articles, book chapters, and other resources to read. Maybe you're trying to save money by reading them off your computer or iPad. Maybe you're trying to avoid "wasting" so much paper. Maybe you're trying to save your back because paper copies are heavy to carry... But really, you should just print them and get on with reading, analyzing, thinking, and writing.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm the first person to say that you should only print what you must, that you should use recycled paper, that you should print on both sides (shrinking the pages so that two can be printed on each side), that you shouldn't waste paper. I'm a big fan of the three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle). But this is one of those times when I say, "Print! Print it all!"

There's a practical reason for this: with a print copy, you can highlight important parts and make notes to yourself in the margins. You can colour-code and label. Now, I know many people will say that they can highlight and make notes on electronic copies -- and that is true -- but it's really not the same. Returning to the annotations in an electronic copy of an article can be quite clumsy and time-consuming. The benefit of the hard copy is that after you've done the reading, highlighting, and notating, you can then physically rearrange your sources for the writing process. You could pile them according to topic area, you could stack them in the order you intend to cite them, you could arrange them in any number of ways that suit the task at hand. And as you work through a stack for a particular section of your thesis, you can move them to a discard pile, which can be surprisingly motivating as you actually see your progress (with fewer and fewer articles left to reference).

There is something about the way that we physically interact with our readings and hand-write notes that helps with recall and thought processes. And it certainly can't hurt to give your eyes a rest from all of those glowing screens. Maybe I'm old school on this point, but I really do believe hard copy is better.

So take it from me: now is not the time to save trees. And if you feel guilty, then plant a tree or two when you're finished your thesis.

Writing Rituals

I have a confession to make. It is impossible for me to get any writing done in my office. There are distractions everywhere. Even with the door closed, I can see movement in the hallway. It breaks my concentration. I sit and stare more than I type. The phone rings. The temperature isn't right. Students want to chat. Colleagues pop by. Emails ping. Papers beg to be filed away. There can be no quick trips to the cafeteria to caffeinate because people I haven't seen in months seem to come out of the woodwork on writing days.

And so on writing days, I am most productive when I am home. I have a writing ritual. It developed during my PhD and has served me well. Sure, some say you should write everyday and perhaps that does work for some people. But for me, the blitz marathon writing session works. I'm in a hyper-focussed state. I'm productive. I get it done.

Writing for me is best done at a dining room table. I attribute this to the fact that as a kid, I sat at the dining room table with my sister and mother (a teacher) while we all did our "homework." At the same table, my father (an entrepreneur) balanced the books or prepared estimates related to his construction business. That's where I developed study habits and learned to focus on the task at hand. During my undergraduate degree, I installed myself at an aunt's dining room table when writing papers. She totally got it. And I admit to being a little lost in my master's degree when there was no dining room table at which to work (I lived in residence). Large tables in libraries served as substitutes.

The space is helpful. I spread out my materials around my laptop and still have room for a notepad to write ideas and reminders.

I also have a particular coffee that I drink when writing: Illy. It's delicious, but expensive. It's saved only for special occasions — like writing. I make a pot and a promise: I will begin writing before I start the second cup. It hasn't failed me yet.

And then I transform into a marathoner, writing for hours on end. I write from the outline in my head or notes scrawled on paper, and then revise and expand. I always print a copy when editing because I can more clearly see how to re-order arguments, sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

It's my writing process and it works for me. And so I feel very strongly that it's important to establish your own writing ritual -- something that works for you and makes the process more enjoyable.



* This blog was originally published on the Cape Breton University website in February 2014. 

Reward Yourself

A little reward can go a long way when you're trying to finish that thesis, major research paper, or dissertation. I believe very strongly that you should take the time to identify goals and milestones, as well as the rewards that go along with them. If you celebrate your accomplishments, you're more likely to have accomplishments.

The key to setting rewards is to be sure they match the task at hand. If you write one sentence, you probably haven't earned an Ice Road Truckers marathon. But if you've read a 20-page academic article filled with jargon, I'd say you deserve a coffee break with an episode of Scandal on Netflix.

For writing, I think it's useful to have rewards at several levels. For example, for every five pages written, you might enjoy a movie or a few chapters from a novel (or coffee or whatever else motivates you). For every chapter completed, you might treat yourself to lunch or supper at a favourite restaurant with a friend. And when you complete the draft, why not enjoy a spa day followed by dinner at your favourite Indian restaurant with a bottle of Wolf Blass Brown Label! (I know I certainly did when I submitted my dissertation for examination!)

These rewards can be used in the research or data collection stage as well. Set your tasks for the day, block the time to do them, and when you've completed them, enjoy the reward you've identified. Got a stack of articles to read for a literature review? Read an article, watch an episode of Community, read another article, watch an episode of Community, read yet another article...

You get the picture: reward yourself. But remember that you can't have the reward until you've reached the milestone!

Saying No

It can be very difficult to say no when someone asks you to do something. It could be a short contract for that favourite professor of yours, it could be a favour for someone you'll need for a job reference in the future, or it could be your friend who is searching for volunteers for an upcoming fundraiser. It's important to be realistic about whether you can take something on and to say no when the request will impact your writing schedule or have little benefit to you.

Before committing to anything, I always find it helpful to first ask a question. "When would you need it by?" Then I decide whether that would work for my schedule and respond accordingly. For example, I was contacted by the editors of a book to review a chapter on Saami music. Since they hadn't included a deadline in their email request, I immediately replied asking what their timeline was. It turned out that they expected a turn-around of two weeks. Since I had several other commitments during that period, I replied that I couldn't possibly provide a review until a date four weeks later. They agreed to my timeline and I booked time in my schedule to prepare the review by the deadline I had suggested. Of course, if they said they were firm on the two week turn-around, I would have suggested they contact someone else and I would not have agreed to do the review.

It's also important to consider whether the request is reasonable. Is it coming at the last minute or is the person contacting you early enough to allow you to find a way to work it into your schedule? Is it a relatively quick task that you can accomplish in a few hours, or are you likely to invest 40-50 hours of your precious time to complete it? Are you being asked to do it pro bono or will you be paid fairly for your work? I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't invest your time in worthy projects as a volunteer. I'm just saying you should know what you're getting into up front and make an informed decision.

You must also consider the true impact and benefit to you, your CV, and your future employment. There may be trade-offs and they may be worth it, but be sure you're realistic about it. For example, if you're a doctoral student and you're offered a course to teach part-way through a term because the professor teaching it has had a medical emergency, you need to think things through. It will result in a significant impact on the time you have available to complete your own research and writing goals (class time, office hours, prep time, marking, email exchanges with students, etc). However, if you are thinking about university teaching as a career, the course will look great on your CV, you'll have course evaluations to put into a dossier, you'll get to find out whether you really like teaching, and it may open the door to other teaching opportunities. The benefits may outweigh the impact to your research and writing schedule. In contrast, sitting at an info booth as a volunteer for four days during a conference may in fact have very little benefit for you, though you may feel good for having helped out and the organizers may have appreciated your work. Only you can decide whether that is worth the impact.

Again, I'm not saying that you shouldn't volunteer. Volunteers are critically important to society and volunteering is often the mark of a well-rounded individual in job searches. What I am saying is that you should do things that you love and are passionate about, and that will also have some benefit for you (such as feeling good about your contribution, having the opportunity to take on a leadership role, or learning a new skill). I'm also saying that you must be certain that you can fit whatever you commit to into your schedule and that it won't negatively impact your research and writing goals.

If you decide a request isn't reasonable, that it will negatively impact your own academic progress, or that it has little benefit to you, it's ok to say no. "I'm sorry, I'm not able to take on any additional commitments right now." If you know of someone who would genuinely be interested in the opportunity, you could also say, "You might want to check with so-and-so. She's been looking for a volunteer outlet recently."

It's true that saying no takes some practice. One strategy when asked to do something is to not respond immediately so that you don't feel like you're on the spot. My colleague who has lots of wisdom to share noted that she has started responding to requests by saying, "I'll have to check my schedule and get back to you." That takes the pressure off of having to answer right then and there. Instead, she really can take the time to check her schedule to see if she's free. It also buys time to think through the benefits and impacts of saying yes before making a decision. It's important with this strategy, however, to get back to the person as soon as possible with your decision -- don't use it as an avoidance tactic.

Finally, it's easier to say no if you already have a list of the types of activities you will not do or do not have time for. One of my colleagues calls this a "Not To Do List." It is a list of the types of things she is frequently asked to do that are of little benefit to her, don't align with her own volunteer priorities, or that she just doesn't like to do. For example, when I was a graduate student, I often would agree to write CD reviews for a quarterly publication of a music society. I did it because it would build my CD with something until I had legitimate publications based in my own research. I also did it to be involved in the society. Now, however, CD reviews are on my "Not To Do List." In the context of my CV, they offer very little benefit other than adding bulk. I am now a director for that society, so I am involved in other ways. Finally, I don't remember the last time I actually held a CD in my hands and, when you move as often as I have, they just become something else to lug around from one apartment or one province to the next. Now if I'm asked to review a CD, I say, "I'm sorry, I don't review CDs. Perhaps one of the graduate students in Memorial's ethnomusicology program would be interested?"

So what should be on your "Not To Do List"? Only you can know. Perhaps you won't add any new volunteer opportunities or you'll choose one cause (say, Multiple Sclerosis) and only volunteer in relation to that. You  might limit the types of volunteer activities you engage in (for example, if you feel really awkward selling tickets because you have no family in the area to force them upon). Maybe you feel like a book club would be "good for you" but you actually hate reading the books and going to discuss them -- just don't do it! The important thing here is to identify activities that you won't do and then actually write them down and post them somewhere near your schedule. That way, if you're asked to do something, like join yet another committee that will meet a lot and accomplish nothing, you can respond, "I'll have to check my schedule," and while you are checking your schedule, you can re-check your "Not To Do List."

Do you have a "Not To Do List"?

Getting a Handle on Time

How many times have you told yourself that you don't have time to write? To go to the gym? To read that novel for your book club? Like most people, you probably are busy and perhaps even over-committed. Because you're running around from school to work to extracurricular activities, while also trying to have a social life and manage your living space so that you don't end up on an episode of Hoarders, it can seem like there's no time left. The first step to getting a handle on time is a time audit.

The concept here is pretty simple: you map out all of your existing commitments (big and small) to identify space in your schedule for writing (or whatever other activities you need to do to accomplish a particular goal). If your main commitments are generally consistent from one week to the next, you can probably do this audit once a term or season. If, however, your commitments shift -- for example, if your work hours as a cashier at a retail store change every week or two -- then you'll want this to be more of a living document and update it more frequently.

You can download a blank schedule and complete it in paper form or you can open up a spreadsheet or document on your computer or tablet and create your own. The important thing is to be thorough when identifying and blocking activities and commitments. Include classes, work hours, exercise time, time for studying, time for commuting (especially if you take the bus or live a significant distance from school or work), time for meals, other personal time, recurring appointments or meetings, etc. In fact, if there is one television show that you absolutely must watch each week, add that in as well (just don't schedule in multiple shows per day or a show for every night of the week). And if you have responsibilities related to other people, such as taking mom to church or the kids to hockey, then you'll need to include those activities as well. Colour code if you like. When you're done, you'll have your own version of something like this:

Following this process, which really doesn't take a lot of time and is time well spent, you quickly see where your pockets of open time exist -- and hopefully you do have some. Some people will have more open time than others, of course, and open time will change as circumstances do. For example, if I had done this time audit in June, there would be much less white open time in my schedule: 5pm-9pm Sunday through Thursday would have been filled with course prep and teaching. So, when I said during the summer that I'd like to be swimming in the evenings, but I didn't have time, that was an accurate statement. Now that the fall has arrived and I'm not teaching, it is in fact a lie that I've been telling myself.

Pockets of open time identified, you now have the power to block off time for writing (or, for me, swimming). Even if it's just an hour or two that you can commit, it will get you started on your goal.

Now, some of you  undoubtedly are thinking, what if my time audit reveals no open time? I suppose that is possible (though in most cases I don't think it's probable). Nevertheless, if you do find that there is no white in your colourful time audit, you have some decisions to make. The only way to finish a major research paper, thesis, or dissertation is to actually commit some time to it. If you can't find a few hours a week, then you need to make time. This may mean taking a temporary leave from your volunteer activities, cutting back on work hours, asking family members or friends to take the kids to hockey, or spending one hour at the gym instead of two. Only you can decide what activities you'll compromise on to make time for writing. If I may, though, I would suggest that you attempt to maintain a healthy amount of sleep, time for prepping and cooking food (instead of turning to fast fixes), and some sort of physical activity, since these are important for general health and well-being.

One last point: once you've blocked writing time in your schedule, remember to defend it. Treat it as if it's your job or an appointment with a specialist -- don't be late and don't think you can just not show up without repercussions. And if someone asks you to do something, like volunteer for a very worthy cause, during your writing time, politely say no because you are already committed at that time.

Tasks Take Time

How long have you had that To Do list? Have you managed to scratch anything off it? Or does it just keep getting longer?

While it's true that making a list of the things you need to do is an important starting point when attempting to better manage your time to achieve your goals, most people miss the critical next step: blocking time in your schedule to actually do one of those tasks. Without a dedicated time for a task, especially if it is a significant one like conducting a literature search or transcribing an interview, it easily becomes something that floats from one day to the next, haunting you like a ghost. Should you call Ghostbusters? You could, but they wouldn't be much help.

Instead, try sitting down with your task list. Identify which tasks are quick and easy, and which ones will require more time or are likely to be more difficult. If anything can be accomplished immediately (make a hair appointment), then do it. For everything else, book time your schedule -- and be realistic about just how much time you need.

For example, I recently was discussing writing with a colleague who wanted to revise a paper for publication. In addition to addressing the reviewers' comments, she needed to transition her citation style from one (say, Chicago) to another (say, APA). Because she was unfamiliar with the new style required, and because online guides are often incomplete, she needed to obtain a paper or electronic copy of the complete citation style guide. Now, this may seem like a simple task, but weeks had passed and she still hadn't obtained it. I suggested that she book time in her schedule to either borrow or purchase the guide. The library option would probably take 15 minutes some day that she was on campus, while the purchase options could range from 5 minutes for an online vendor to 45 minutes if she went to the mall. If she committed the time in her schedule to "just do" the task, not only would she complete it (which brings its own sense of accomplishment), but she would also get rid of that ghost that was haunting her (at least temporarily).

You see, when we carry these incomplete tasks around with us, they take up mental space and they often result in feelings of guilt or inadequacy. But if you systematically tackle them, one at a time, you gain the upper hand, you gain control, and you feel better.

And when you do complete each task, remember to congratulate and reward yourself for a job well done.

A New Blog for Thesis Strategies

Recently, two graduate students I know organized a group here in Sydney called the Cape Breton Graduate Research Community (CBGRC). The idea emerged from a conversation we had about how difficult it can be to focus on writing once you've finished all of your course work. Any number of challenges may confront you, including general procrastination, a lack of motivation, or time management issues when part-time or full-time employment becomes necessary. It's also important to note that writing is often a solitary activity and just what goes into writing a major research paper, thesis, or dissertation often can't be understood unless you've been through the process. Consequently, family and friends may struggle to understand how best to support you through the process.

As we discussed these challenges and strategies for dealing with them, I mentioned that during my master's program at University of Alberta, a group of us met weekly at a coffee shop to discuss our work and vent about whatever needed venting. It brought a social element back to our work and established a support system. For many of us, though admittedly not all, it was an important source of motivation and helped us achieve our goals (we had a 75% success rate in our group of four). Perhaps a similar group would help graduate students in the area? Enter the CBGRC.

The CBGRC exists both as a virtual group on Facebook and as real, live social group that meets at the Cooperative Study Club on Monday nights. While the group has only met twice and hasn't fully decided how it will run, its founding members decided that once a month they would invite a guest speaker who could present on some relevant topic, such as breaking through writer's block or editing strategies. I was only too happy to accept the invitation to be the first speaker on the topic of time management, which is critical for success.

And so on Monday of this week, I brought to the CBGRC a list of the tips that I thought would be useful for time management. I also shared my personal electronic calendar with the members so they could see how I manage my time (colour-coded by priority areas). I also encouraged them to do a time audit to determine just how much time they have in their lives for writing once other responsibilities and commitments were accounted for (eating, sleeping, exercising, working, attending classes, etc). I invited them to create their own "Not To Do List" (shout out to JMcD) to help them say no to new projects or tasks that may encroach on their writing time. Hopefully, everyone took something useful from the session.

Having reflected on the presentation I gave, I've decided to establish this blog for the participants in the CBGRC and anyone else who is writing a major research paper, thesis, dissertation, or any other academic work. I hope to provide a few practical strategies based in my own experience and motivate the members to persevere when writing gets tough. And anyone with alternative or complementary strategies or personal experiences to share is invited to contribute them.

So, stay tuned for the first strategy next week in a blog titled "Tasks Take Time."