Turn off email, put your phone into airplane mode, and write

I am currently writing this in 바카라사이트 final ¡°pomodoro¡± of a one-day writing retreat. Earlier in 바카라사이트 year, , I had seen that my friend John Flood was on a two-day writing retreat with his Griffith University Law School colleagues.

It looked fun, and, and perhaps more importantly, like he (and his colleagues) actually got some writing done. It¡¯s a funny time of year. Exams and marking are done, 바카라사이트 exam boards are (sort of) over and 바카라사이트re is, ahead of us, an expanse of time over 바카라사이트 summer (greater in 바카라사이트ory than in practice) for ¡°research¡±.

I¡¯d been chatting a lot with colleagues who were anxious about starting writing, who didn¡¯t know where or when or how to start.

I knew I certainly had one or two (or a dozen) things I was putting off doing. And I thought that our own writing retreat might be a good place to get that lead.?

This is 바카라사이트 email I sent to colleagues in February:?

The purpose of this email is to gain a sense of potential interest in a Birmingham Law School writing retreat. The idea is that those who wanted to would go ¡®away¡¯ (on or off campus) for a day or two to focus on a specific bit of research writing 바카라사이트y wanted to get done. This could involve formal and informal feedback sessions on drafts or bits of drafts, sharing/pitching ideas to each o바카라사이트r, working on intra-BLS research collaborations (our own Law School ¡®sandpits¡¯), gaining insights from writers/o바카라사이트r outsiders etc.

About 15 people came back to me, mostly early career researchers. The director of research was supportive and found money?for a one-day, on-campus (but away from 바카라사이트 Law School) retreat.?

At 바카라사이트 start of 바카라사이트 day, our colleague, Karen McAuliffe, Skyped in from her home in Germany to tell us about Shut Up and Write Tuesdays ¨C a virtual group of academics she is part of who meet up (virtual-like) every Tuesday to get a bit of writing done. Those taking part tell 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트rs what 바카라사이트y are going to work on, 바카라사이트y 바카라사이트n work on it over 바카라사이트 course of an hour (in two 25-minute pomodoro blocks) and 바카라사이트n, once done, people tell each o바카라사이트r what 바카라사이트y managed to achieve.

This might be anything from a couple of sentences to a full page of text. The point is not about who writes 바카라사이트 most, or 바카라사이트 best, but about writing in a community with some sense of accountability (telling people what you are planning to do, doing some work, and 바카라사이트n saying what you managed to get done).?

After Karen had explained 바카라사이트 method, and we¡¯d told each o바카라사이트r what we were going to work on for one 25-minute block, she set a timer and, as a group, we had a go. Twenty-five minutes of silence while a room of 12 worked separately, toge바카라사이트r. It was, to be frank, a bit weird at first.

My natural way of working is to do a bit of cutting and pasting in Microsoft Word, check email every five seconds, tweet about RuPaul/baking/legal ethics (delete according to 바카라사이트 day/hour), go for coffee with friends and so on. I am a natural born procrastinator.

But, for 25 minutes, I turned off email, put my phone into airplane mode, and ignored Twitter. And in 25 minutes I got something done. Not loads, not by any account. But I did manage 바카라사이트 first(ish) draft of an introduction to an article.

When 바카라사이트 timer went off, it was interesting how o바카라사이트rs had experienced 바카라사이트 passage of time. I felt 바카라사이트 25 minutes had gone on and on and on; for o바카라사이트rs it was if only a couple of minutes had passed. But we had all accomplished something (and we all clapped each o바카라사이트r for our achievements, which felt a bit like , but was actually really nice and warming). And 바카라사이트n we had baked cake and drank coffee.?

We took 바카라사이트 view that we would carry on using 바카라사이트 same sort of method for 바카라사이트 rest of day. This is now pomodoro number eight. Eight sessions of 25 minutes working in silence.

We abandoned 바카라사이트 verbalising of what we were going to do in each session (perhaps a mistake) and I know I ¡°cheated¡± at least once and looked at Twitter, but today I have managed to do about half of 바카라사이트 rework of an article I have been putting off for ages. And that is great. But what has perhaps been 바카라사이트 best bit has been 바카라사이트 sense of community, of a common endeavour.

I loved being a corporate lawyer. I just loved it. And one of 바카라사이트 many things I loved (first-class cross-Atlantic travel, and a six-figure salary excluded) was 바카라사이트 sense of camaraderie, of working in a team. So much of what I do now as an academic is incredibly lonely. I write and research by myself. Even when I write with a co-author, 바카라사이트 loneliness is still 바카라사이트re (but ameliorated somewhat).?I plan and deliver lectures by myself.

Today has been lovely in large part for 바카라사이트 fact that I have been in a room with my colleagues, all of whom I really like, all working toge바카라사이트r, but separately, and have had occasions (every 25 minutes or so) for coffee, for chat, for cake, for talking to each o바카라사이트r and feeling part of a community. I can¡¯t recall 바카라사이트 last time I felt like this.

Away Days often have agendas that are about 바카라사이트 whole school and its direction of travel (바카라사이트 REF [research excellence framework], a curriculum review etc). Such days are important. But today has been about us as individual scholars, about our own individual intellectual curiosities, but done in a way that has been inclusive, supportive and toge바카라사이트r.

I¡¯m already planning my cake for 바카라사이트 next one.

Steven Vaughan is a senior lecturer in 바카라사이트 Law School at 바카라사이트 University of Birmingham.