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Hybrid Pedagogy’s Jesse Stommel and our very own Charlotte Frost rethink academic life and writing productivity in this on-going series of hints, tips and hacks.
VALUE ACADEMIC FRIENDSHIPS. Your academic friends are the ones who will most understand when your book pitches are rejected or job interviews go wrong. Having good friends in academia is worth just as much as tenure. There will always be departmental politics and though it’s sad to admit, you’ll also have times when you turn your critical eyes on yourself and feel inadequate. Having people who understand both the essence of your research AND the lifestyle you lead as an academic is what will help you through some of the more difficult times. You can share everything about what is working and what isn’t, in terms of career progression, but you can also have a laugh over the sillier parts of being in academia and keep yourself grounded in an environment that can really mess with your head. Of course academia can feel like a small world at the best of times, perhaps you need a bit of perspective.
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