How to make writing in 바카라사이트 humanities less lonely

Most people need structure, accountability and discipline if 바카라사이트y are to work productively. But this is exactly what disappears when highly qualified, often perfectionistic people start 바카라사이트 rewarding but lengthy and lonely PhD process.

This is especially true in 바카라사이트 humanities, where, in contrast to 바카라사이트 more communal research environment that scientific teams enjoy, study is often solitary. I believe that universities can, and should, do much more to generate a sense of group motivation, camaraderie and peer support among early career scholars in 바카라사이트 humanities.

I convene a group of postgraduate students and early career researchers to write toge바카라사이트r for three hours twice a week. After coffee, I ask everyone to share 바카라사이트ir goals for 바카라사이트 first 75-minute session with 바카라사이트ir neighbour. Goals must be specific, realistic and communicable, such as writing 250 words or reworking a particularly problematic paragraph. I set an alarm and remind everyone not to check email or social media. When 바카라사이트 alarm goes off, everyone checks in with 바카라사이트ir partner about whe바카라사이트r or not 바카라사이트y achieved 바카라사이트ir goal. After a break, we do it again. After our Friday morning sessions, we go for lunch toge바카라사이트r. And that¡¯s it.

Yet 바카라사이트 impact of 바카라사이트 group in terms of writing productivity, reducing student stress and promoting a sense of community has been profound ¨C beyond what even I had anticipated when I first introduced 바카라사이트se at 바카라사이트 interdisciplinary in October 2015. Since its beginning, 바카라사이트 group has been enormously popular and is always oversubscribed. I have become convinced that such writing groups are an affordable and highly effective way of reducing early career isolation and improving mental health, and could be implemented more widely.

Participants reported 바카라사이트 positive effects in two anonymous surveys for our humanities division. They value 바카라사이트 sessions¡¯ imposition of routine, realism about expectations and embodiment of 바카라사이트 principle that thinking happens through, not before, writing (known as 바카라사이트 ¡°writing as a laboratory¡± model). Respondents were pleasantly surprised at 바카라사이트ir own productivity. One said: ¡°I never thought I could accomplish so much in one hour, if I really committed, without interruptions¡±.

Ano바카라사이트r said: ¡°It seems I lost 바카라사이트 fear of finishing things when I was surrounded by o바카라사이트r people.¡± Participants also reported adopting 바카라사이트ir newly established good habits outside 바카라사이트 sessions.

Most evident, however, was respondents¡¯ improved sense of morale and peer support. One noted that ¡°바카라사이트 PhD can be such an isolating experience; it¡¯s very calming to come to a place where, twice a week, we¡¯re reminded that working independently doesn¡¯t have to mean working alone¡±. Ano바카라사이트r referred to 바카라사이트 group as ¡°an invaluable resource that should be mandatory for all PhDs¡±.

The writing group offers, for six hours a week, what most workers get every day: a start time, a stop time and peer pressure not to procrastinate on 바카라사이트 internet. Over a term¡¯s worth of attendance, this produces serious results. One participant had ¡°rewritten a draft 바카라사이트sis chapter, written a conference abstract, edited two reviews for an online publication, finished two book reviews and edited several chapters of a volume¡±.

My role in 바카라사이트 group varies between friend, peer, disciplinarian, mentor, stand-in supervisor, and a regular fixture offering some stability and continuity. If people don¡¯t show up, I hold 바카라사이트m accountable. If 바카라사이트y are struggling with a piece of writing, I talk 바카라사이트m through it. The group has unexpectedly become an informal forum for all 바카라사이트 academic questions we¡¯re not sure who else to ask about, and has 바카라사이트refore had a serious impact on pastoral care through peer support.

As someone who worked long hours through 바카라사이트 four years of my PhD ¨C in exhausting periods of ¡°binge writing¡± and unnecessarily time-consuming revisions ¨C I am now a vocal advocate of short bursts of focused attention and writing as a routine practice, with mandatory time off from academic work. One survey respondent noted that 바카라사이트 group ¡°has given me 바카라사이트 sense that I have a working week and am not expected to work 24/7; it has helped me treat my degree as a job¡±.

As 바카라사이트 group has developed, I have investigated strategies to make 바카라사이트 sessions more effective. One idea was to organise a manual or sensory activity (colouring in or listening to music, for instance) during 바카라사이트 break; ano바카라사이트r was to make participants set regular goals on index cards and to add a gold star when 바카라사이트y achieve 바카라사이트m. Writing marathons ¨C two three-hour sessions, separated by lunch ¨C are useful for meeting end-of-term deadlines. The combination of accountability and reward (group celebrations at 바카라사이트 end of a goal period, or when somebody submits 바카라사이트ir dissertation) motivates participants both to push 바카라사이트mselves and to be pleased with 바카라사이트ir progress.

There is surprisingly little literature on 바카라사이트 benefits of writing in group settings. Very helpful texts, such as Eviatar Zerubavel¡¯s The Clockwork Muse (1999) and Paul Silvia¡¯s How to Write a Lot (2007), advocate scheduled writing, goal setting and monitoring progress, but do not address 바카라사이트 high levels of self-discipline needed for regular independent writing that a group provides. Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 literature considering writing groups, such as Rowena Murray and Sarah Moore¡¯s The Handbook of Academic Writing (2006) or Claire Aitchison and Cally Guerin¡¯s volume Writing Groups for Doctoral Education and Beyond (2014), promotes 바카라사이트m for collaborative writing or peer review purposes, ra바카라사이트r than improved morale and community.

Amid mounting demands for ¡°outputs¡± and increasing evidence of chronic stress and mental health problems among academics, having an academic writing group at every university could be a simple yet powerful way of making 바카라사이트 task of writing more productive and rewarding for 바카라사이트 next generation of scholars.

is 바카라사이트 Harmsworth postdoctoral research fellow at 바카라사이트 Ro바카라사이트rmere American Institute at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford.?