Stay ConnectedThe podcast for academic womxn who want to write and publish more while rejecting the culture of overwork in academia.
Cathy Mazak, PhD, helps you create the career (and life) you want by centering your writing. Kick guilt and overwhelm to the curb and amplify your voice to make a real impact on your field–without breaking down or burning out.
Copyright: © Cathy Mazak
Why is it acceptable in our academic cultures to go to conferences, but less so to attend writing retreats? I'm diving in to the (evidence-based) benefits of retreats and how you can find one that works for you.
Writing retreats might be viewed by some institutions as a vacation more than an important work activity, but that just isn't true! Retreats are shown to have measurable positive effects on your writing and your career. That's a win-win for everyone.
In this episode of The Academic Woman Amplified I'm going deep on writing retreats to help you see the very real return on your investment. I'll walk you through the evidence-based positive outcomes, give you tips on what to look for in a retreat, and share ideas for every level of retreat, from professional to DIY.
Research on Benefits of Writing RetreatsWriting retreats are good for your writing and provide ongoing benefits, and there is research to back this up.
A 2016 integrative review on academic writing retreats by Kornhaver, Cross, Betihavas, and Bridgman found that increased publication outputs was a measurable outcome of academic writing retreats. Five themes were linked to this outcome:
1. Protected time and space. Time apart from distractions helps with focus and reflection on writing, and not just at the retreat itself. Participating in a retreat helps participants legitimize the time needed and prioritize it as an important activity on their return to campus.
What we do on our retreats: Make sure that your needs are taken care of so you don't have to devote time to things like planning meals, housekeeping, or caregiving.
2. Community of practice. A supportive cohort and social interaction provided by a writing retreat helps participants write more. Discussing ideas and common roadblocks with your peers adds tremendous value.
What we do on our retreats: We provide structured times for co-writing, goal-setting and time for community and support.
3. Development of Academic Writing Competence. Another key aspect of academic writing retreats linked to increased writing output was the development of academic writing competence. Focused time to practice, and learning from other attendees or presentors adds to competence. Everyone learns differently, and exposing ourselves to new avenues of learning is priceless.
What we do on our retreats: At our last retreat, we had presentations and feedback from periodicals editors, as well as time provided for peer review and feedback.
4. Intra-personal benefits. My favorite intra-personal benefit that Kornhaver et al. found was "increased self-awareness." The studies showed retreat participants learned barriers and enablers to increased writing output during their interactions with other retreat participants.
What we do on our retreats: We include relaxed, peer interaction and downtime as part of our retreat structure. We also provide peer mentoring and review.
"When you get academic women together across fields, mentoring happens."
5. Organizational Investment. Not surprisingly, the review found that writing retreat participants experienced longer lasting benefits when they had support from their institutions. When your institution supports you by allowing you the time to attend a retreat, or even funding your attendance, it creates a positive cycle of support and mutual benefit.
What we do on our retreats: We help with goal-setting to maximize outcomes for you and your institution, and each attendee gets a one-on-one session with one of our coaches. If you need tips for how to approach professional development funding requests with your institution, be sure to listen in to Episode 7: Securing Professional Development Funding.
The main outcome of this evidence-based research is this: increased publication outputs are a measurable outcome of academic writing retreats. That sounds good!
"The bottom line is that you want to publish more."
For another take on the benefits of retreats, see the research of Dr. Rowena Murray. She researches academic writing retreats using a social processes approach. She discusses the common purposes that writing retreats share in her book: Writing in Social Spaces: A Social Processes Approach to Academic Writing. She lists a number of essential purposes that writing retreats share, including increasing and improving outputs for research assessment or promotion.
What to Look for In a Retreat1. Professionally Run Retreats.
The retreat I have coming up in July 2020 is a professionally run retreat. We provide lodging for a week, most meals, group activities, coaching, co-writing, goal setting, and one-on-one sessions. Retreats like this one give you all of the evidence-based positive outcomes discussed in the research linked above.
Cost: $4000-$4500
"Making investment into writing will have the biggest payoff in terms of our career."
2. Low Cost DIY Retreats.
If a professionally run retreat isn't going to work for you, consider creating a retreat experience for yourself. Be sure it still has all the essential elements to look for in a retreat.
3. No (or very little) Cost DIY Retreats.
If you truly can't get away, consider a working-hours-only retreat. Even in this pared down version, be sure to still include your 3 essential elements.
I hope you'll come away from this episode with a lot to think about, and some good ideas for how to include some kind of writing retreat in your writing goals this year. Read on for more information about our upcoming retreat.
Puerto Rico July 2020 RetreatIf you've decided that the lasting benefits to your writing practice and the payoff for your career are worth investing in a professionally run retreat, consider joining me in Puerto Rico this summer!
The retreat price of $4000 includes 7 days, 6 nights in a boutique hotel in Old San Juan, steps from the beach, in a culturally rich and vibrant neighborhood. Group coaching, peer mentoring, co-writing and a one-on-one coaching session for each participant are part of your program.
If this sounds like a good fit for you, be sure to click here to join before 2/15/20, when the price will rise to $4500. We have 6 spaces left as of the recording of this podcast. Keep in mind that this will be our last "stand-alone" retreat… future retreats will be included in the membership for my Amplify program.
Get in on future retreats by joining Amplify, my program that helps academic women go up for tenure with confidence. Click here for more information and to apply.
Connect with me:This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode20.
Writing is a practice that we probably all need to practice more. But it can be hard to get the ball rolling. I'm sharing 6 strategies to build momentum, so you can ride out the rough writing days and not let them stop you in your tracks.
Momentum infuses writing with energy and helps your writing practice take on a life of its own. When you've created some writing momentum, you reduce guilt and overwhelm (writing's two biggest enemies) because you feel like you're on task and in charge. In this podcast episode I'm sharing six strategies to help you jump start a writing practice that has been on pause, or breathe new life into one that has begun to feel like a chore.
Six Strategies for Creating Writing Momentum
Strategy #1: Small, Consistent SessionsIt would be awesome to have big, clear chunks of time for writing. But usually, we don't. If you're waiting for those times to magically appear, your writing practice may have stalled out.
To get it going again, aim for short, consistent sessions every day. Use your "tiger time"; those times when you are most energized, focused and ready to work. {Not sure what Tiger Time is or how to find out when yours is? Listen to Episode 2: Why You Don't Have to Write Everyday (and What to do Instead)}
"Just one hour in the zone moves the needle more on your writing than 3 hours where you have to force yourself to concentrate."
Strategy #2: Create Cycles of Positivity Around Your WritingSometimes your difficulty in creating consistent routines isn't so much about you, but about your to-do lists. A big mistake that academics often make is creating a to-do list that looks like this:
And then they feel bad all the time because those tasks are always sitting there—for months and months—on their to-do list. This creates negative feelings around writing. Here's how to fix this problem and create positive feelings about your writing to-dos.
Think about the big tasks as projects. For each project (write article, finish book chapter, submit grant proposal) you need to create a list of all the tasks that it's going to take to finish it. When you plan your writing sessions, pull from this list of broken-down tasks, and be sure you choose tasks that you have time to actually finish.
Strategy #3: Create Writing RewardsGiving yourself rewards for accomplishing your writing goals increases those positive feelings. You want to be excited about writing, looking forward to your tiger time, not dreading it. So once your writing task list is full of goals that are small enough that you can both measure them and accomplish them realistically in the time that you have, be sure to set up some rewards. I use two kinds of rewards.
When planning for a sprint, be sure to:
Many things in life are more fun with friends, writing included. A writing group is a great way to build writing momentum, because you can feed off of each other's progress. Writing groups can be in-person or virtual. For an in-person group, try to find a weekly meeting time that works for everyone.
Some groups commit to reading and critiquing each others work, which is great! But simply meeting to co-write is a great way to go about it too. If you just want to get the collective energy and community of writing in a group without reading each other's work, that's great. Any fellow writers can be part of a group like this, not just those in your field.
Strategy #6: Go on A Writing RetreatTo really breathe some life into your writing practice and create writing momentum, consider going on a writing retreat. Your writing needs love, focus, and care to achieve momentum and become a regular part of your academic life (instead of something that keeps falling to the bottom of your to-do list). A writing retreat invests in your writing, it's a great way to focus on and nurture your writing practice—one that will have continued benefits even after the retreat is over.
You'll find that even after you return from a retreat, the investment of time, money, and focused energy will continue to energize your practice and build momentum.
If you are listening to this episode in real time, there are still a small number of spots open for my 2020 academic writing retreat here in Puerto Rico. Our beachside retreat includes co-writing, coaching, and a one-on-one writing session, not to mention delicious food and beautiful accommodations. Check out the details here before we are full!
Connect with me:This episode was first published at https://cathymazak.com/writingmomentum.
Academic culture makes us believe that the "traditional" path through academia is the "normal" path, and a "non-traditional" path is often code for "less-than". Don't believe it! Your path is valuable.
Today I want to talk about disrupting this idea of the "traditional" path in academia.
So many of the women I talk to during the application process for Amplify and Elevate (our programs for pre-and post-tenure women on the tenure track) lead by saying that they haven't taken the "traditional path" through academia. Here are some reasons:
These experiences don't fit the mold of what the racist patriarchal culture of academia wants us to believe is "normal" for a career path. But your path is a legitimate path. YOU get to shape it, to decide what steps are important, to decide when and how you accomplish each milestone you choose for yourself.
To keep making strides in shifting the culture of academia, we need to disrupt this idea of the traditional path. Here are 3 ways we can do it.
1. Change the Words We UseWhen we use the term "non-traditional" we are legitimizing the idea of a "traditional" path. Let's come up with new ways to describe the paths we're on: disruptive, intersectional, successful, whole!
2. Set Our Own MilestonesIn both Amplify and Elevate, we work on creating a milestone map that reflects the milestones that YOU want for your career. If you are working towards your milestones, you will satisfy your university's requirements for tenure and promotion. And if this isn't the case, then you are at the wrong institution. Make your path yours. Own it. You will be more successful for it.
3. Embrace Your Path and Know Your AssetsWhen you create your tenure and promotion documents, embrace your path formerly known as non-traditional. Play it up. Because your particular set of experiences is an asset to your university. Help them understand in your dossier how and why that's true.
The content in this episode was inspired by the 35 women I spoke with in depth through a workshop I did for post-tenure women. Conversations with these academic women also became the beginnings of my Elevate program, a program designed to help post-tenure women get clear on what the next steps in their career should be, and supporting them to get there.
Elevate is a 6-month long intensive program limited to 10 women. Through one-on-one coaching, group coaching and support, this program helps you figure out YOUR next career milestone and how to get there. The next session of Elevate starts in February 2020, so click here to begin the application process and see if you are a good fit for this program.
If you are a pre-tenure woman on the tenure track who is ready to invest in going up for tenure with confidence, my Amplify program may be right for you. In this year-long program we dig in to what's holding you back and how putting writing at the center will lead to a calmer, more focused, pre-tenure experience. Admission is rolling, so click here to apply now.
Connect with me:This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode18.
As writers, we know the words we use matter. But what about the words we don't use? The way we frame our thoughts matters. So what are some words I avoid using as a writing coach?
In doing a little reflecting on what makes me different as a writing coach, and what my philosophy is about, I had a light bulb moment. Sometimes, what you don't say (and why) defines your attitudes and actions as much as what you do say. So, on this episode of The Academic Woman Amplified I'm sharing 5 words that I avoid in relation to writing, and which words I choose instead.
Word #1: BootcampThis word is the opposite of what I try to espouse for a writing practice and a culture of academia. It brings to mind struggle, physical endurance and even pain. I believe we need to move away from this kind of emphasis on struggle in our writing lives.
"In the culture of academia we spend way too much time glorifying struggle, glorifying busy, glorifying overwork."
Instead: RetreatThis word still implies an intense experience, and a writing retreat is focused and isolated from our daily lives. But instead of struggle, it emphasizes intentionality, gentleness and calm.
Word #2: BalanceThis is a tempting word, isn't it? It sounds like something we all want. In reality, it implies that all the areas of our lives fall on two sides of an equal plane, and that it's possible to simply bring them to equilibrium. But our lives aren't that simplistic, and our whole, authentic selves don't fit on a see-saw. And if you finally do reach a spot that feels "balanced", it feels like a failure when something inevitably tips that scale.
Instead: ManagementI prefer to look at this process as management; taking the whole of our lives into consideration and making decisions grounded in our values, and what matters most right now.
Word #3: AccountabilityThis word is hard to avoid, it's used a lot in writing circles. But I find this word disempowering. It suggests that you need an outside force to make decisions for you and your writing, and I just don't believe that.
Instead: CommunityWhat we do need is community. When you are in the presence of people who share your values and 'get' you and your work, accountability as a taskmaster falls to the wayside. (I am still in favor of positive reinforcement for yourself--bring on the sticker charts and celebrations!)
"Community solves the accountability problem."
Word #4: ProductivityDon't get me wrong, I am in favor of producing more work; helping you write and publish more is my main goal. But, I am not in favor of the lock-step, one-size-fits-all, mass production that this word always makes me think of. We are not machines, we don't do cookie cutter work, and I am not about tricks or hacks to squeeze more and more out of you.
Instead: CreationWhen we write, we create. Bringing new ideas into the world is what we do. And while we want to be prolific, we also want to be innovative. The word creation is self-affirming and powerful.
Word #5: Self-CareNow, I don't want to get rid of this word altogether. As a matter of fact, I think taking care of ourselves is of top priority. But this particular word has been twisted to make us think of bubble baths and candles, things that are a luxury rather than a necessity.
In reality, self-care should encompass a whole range of absolutely necessary activities that help us maintain our careers and ourselves as whole human beings.
Instead: Self-maintenanceMaintenance is not optional. It's something that must be kept up on to keep functioning. It is not selfish to take care of yourself, or to make your own career a priority.
Work With Us in the New Year!There are 2 ways to work with us that will deepen your community, enhance your creativity, and help you manage your life and career effectively.
Are you pre-tenure? Ready to live academia differently (so it feels more like inspiration and less like hazing?) The Amplify: Faculty Writing Accelerator is open for enrollment! If you're ready to invest in going up for tenure with confidence, apply now to see if this year-long program is right for you. We'll dig in to what's holding you back and how putting writing at the center will lead to a more focused, calm, pre-tenure experience. Fill out this short application and book your ten-minute Tenure Ten call to find out if Amplify is right for you!
Are you post-tenure? If you've gotten tenure and now you're feeling like, "Wait--it was supposed to get easier!" then we invite you to check out our 6-month post-tenure program, Elevate: Up-level Your Post-tenure Career.
During this program you will:
Sound good? This program is limited to 10 people and we start February 1. Apply for Elevate today!
Connect with me:This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/17.
While January 1st can be seen as an arbitrary date, New Year's feels like a clean slate. And because I believe that successful writing is all about how it feels, I would love for you to create some resolutions to help you start this year off on the right foot.
A resolution is different than a goal, and very different than a plan. It is something that we resolve to do (and that usually takes deep resolve to keep doing). I suggest choosing something that you want to become a habit for you. Something that will make your life better.
You may also want to choose an overarching theme for your year, a big desire you have that will be your focus for the year. Be sure that your theme informs your decisions about how to structure the rest of your time, and that you tackle resolutions incrementally.
To Make Your Resolution Stick, Make it IncrementalDon't try to make a huge, radical change all at once and expect it to stick; that's how resolutions fail. Instead, plan to implement your resolution in "incremental upgrades" (as my business coach Cailen Asher calls them). These are small adjustments, micro-changes-- not sweeping changes--that get you closer to the life and career you want. You implement one and make sure it sticks before you implement another.
"Create a New Year's resolution that can be completed in incremental upgrades."
Here's an example:
I resolve to put writing at the center of my career.
Incremental upgrades I can make to step towards this resolution:
Remember, you do one of these upgrades at a time--not everything at once! If you create a life-changing resolution--but one that can be implemented in small upgrades--you will be creating a resolution that sticks and that has a real effect on your year, and your life!
Choose a Theme for the YearWhen planning for your year, consider choosing a theme. What is your main focus this year? Are you trying to write a book? Purge your pipeline of almost-done projects? Pursue an administrative role?
Choose one aspect of your career that you will focus on, and make that your theme. A theme helps you make decisions about what to take on and how to structure all the moving parts of your career.
Remember my analogy of the mixing board: you can't have the volume of every track at 100. If some things are turned up, others must be turned down to make the best music (and life!). Choosing a theme will help you balance and avoid overwhelm while staying focused on what's really important.
"What is the most important thing for you this year?"
Consider Career Development in 2020If you want to put writing at the center, up-level as an academic professional, or get more support for the tenure process, consider one of these 3 ways to work with me in 2020:
This program helps you get a firm hold on your writing practice and move your pipeline from clogged and unorganized to clear and smooth. We start in May to get you on track for summer writing. While you're waiting for enrollment to open, be sure to grab my free PDF "10 Ways to Make Time to Write" here.
This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode16.
Need a gift for the academic woman in your life, or ideas for what to put on your own wish list?
In this episode of The Academic Woman Amplified, I'm sharing 5 of the books you should gift yourself or someone else to make this the best year yet for your professional life.
The Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy by Maggie Berg and Barbara K. SeeberClick here for a copy of The Slow Professor.
Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon AcuffGet a copy of Playing Big here.
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport"When we get lost in the shallows...our energy is not going to the most useful place."
The Positioning and Making of Female Professors: Pushing Career Advancement Open (Palgrave Studies in Gender and Education) edited by Rowena Murray and Denise MifsudGet a copy of The Positioning and Making of Female Professors: Pushing Career Advancement Open here.
This episode marks the end of my first podcasting "semester" of 15 episodes to match the 15 week semester model. I will be back after a break with a spring semester of 15 more episodes, and a summer session after that.
I wish you a Happy New Year filled with growth and purpose. If you are making writing and professional development a priority in the coming year, be sure to check out https://www.cathymazak.com/ for all kind of resources and programs for pre-tenure and tenured academic women.
Connect with me:This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode15.
The culture in academia sets us up to see breaks as a time to catch up or get ahead. But should you spend break time writing? My answer as a writing coach might surprise you.
As the semester reaches a crescendo, tasks pile up and it seems like there's just not enough time to do it all. It gets very tempting to push things into break time. After all, you don't have teaching tasks during break, so that's the perfect time to finish those annoying tasks, right? Wrong. Break time should be just that, a break!
My First Suggestion for BreakTake a break! Seriously, if there is any way at all that you can do it, I urge you to completely disconnect from academia over your break. You need that restorative pause in order to come back with a fresh, energized brain that is ready to think creatively. So if you can, take your whole break off. If you feel like you just have to get something done, consider following my 3 week framework.
"Disconnecting from your work is vital to not burning out."
My 3 Week Framework for BreakIf you feel like you have to get something done over break, don't make it those undesirable, annoying tasks that you didn't want to deal with during the semester. Follow this plan and come back rested and with something accomplished that moves the needle for you.
If you can, disconnect and choose deliberate rest for the whole break. If you can't do the whole break, take 3-7 days at an absolute minimum! Be sure to PLAN for rest and put up solid boundaries around this time. Remember, this is good for you and it's good for your work.
"Taking those rests leads to better work. It's not taking away time that you could be working, it's investing in your work to take a break."
Interested in more community-based ways to improve your writing? Want to go up for tenure with confidence and without overwhelm? Consider applying for my writing accelerator program, Amplify. The program is a small cohort of tenure-track women encouraging and learning from each other, with my support and writing advice. Learn more here.
Connect with me:This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode14.
When you're in a season of overwhelm you might feel like all you're doing is putting out fires, and nothing is getting accomplished. On this episode I'm sharing how to work through the overwhelm and move the needle forward.
Are you at a point in your semester where overwhelm is taking over? If you are having trouble figuring out where to put your energy, distinguishing between what is important and what is urgent, or you can't seem to decide what to focus on, you might be struggling with overwhelm. I've got some advice and practical ideas for cutting through the distractions and staying on track.
Combating General OverwhelmWhen you're feeling like nothing is getting done and you can't focus, it's important to set yourself up to make progress where you can. Here are some simple ways to do that.
1. Do a brain dump. Find a place that is easy to access and write down All The Things. Put everything on this list that is bumping around in your brain and stressing you out. I recommend making the list somewhere that is easily accessible when you need to add to it, like the notes app on your phone or Trello.
2. Pick 3 things each day to get done. At the end of each day, peruse your master list of to-do's from the brain dump and pick just 3 things that can reasonably get done the next day. Be sure that you are picking small manageable tasks (grade 5 papers, read an article for review, etc.) and not projects (do all the grading, write an article, etc.).
"Checking 100% of the things off the list is actually not the goal."
Writing Through the OverwhelmYour writing is often one of the first things to suffer when you are in overwhelm. Getting realistic and paring back is the best way to keep your practice going. Here's how.
We are looking for coachable, dedicated, pre-tenure women on the tenure-track who are open to our vision of an academic experience free from guilt and overwhelm to join my Amplify program. If you are interested in support and professional development and would flourish as part of a deeply connected community, click here for more information.
Connect with me:
This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode13.
So often our (lack of) writing makes us feel guilty and overwhelmed. Why is that? What can you do to change it up by changing the way you think about your writing and how it fits into your academic career?
Guilt is the biggest killer of writing productivity for academic women. In this episode we are learning how to cultivate a positive relationship with writing by fighting back against the guilt. I'm giving you concrete ways to shift your mindset, move writing up on the priority list, and show your writing a little love.
Why Do We Feel Guilty?Academic women often share with me a sense of guilt around their writing process. No one wants to do something out of a sense of guilt. The first step to eliminating those negative feelings is to drill down to some of the reasons we feel guilty in the first place.
"You deserve to spend that time invested in your own self-development and your own career development."
How to Combat Guilt and Align Everything to Your WritingSo what can we do to fight back against those feelings of guilt? How can you move writing up the list of your priorities to the spot it deserves without getting burned out? I have some ideas for you. (If you haven't listened to episode 6 yet, head here for my thoughts on what it means to put writing at the center of your career)
"If you center your writing, everything else falls into place."
Your Next Step to Combat Writing GuiltIf you're ready to fight the culture of guilt and overwork, grow your writing proficiency, and go up for tenure with confidence, click here to apply for my Amplify: Faculty Writing Accelerator program. We'll walk you through the application process to see if you are a good fit for our year-long, small cohort program.
Connect with me:This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode12.
Sometimes it feels like writing and teaching are at odds in our academic lives, but they're not! There are ways to level out your teaching tasks, create more room for all your responsibilities, and give yourself a more comfortable semester experience.
When you are in the throes of the busiest times of your semester, you may feel overwhelmed, like you can't possibly keep balancing all the different plates you have in the air. You might be behind on grading, swamped with prep, and doing more hand-holding for students who are also feeling the crunch.
On episode 10, I talked about how to approach these times in the semester and still keep your writing in your plans. On this episode, I'm talking about teaching; survival tips to manage your teaching right now, and ideas for creating more space in the future.
Creating Breathing Room in Your Teaching Right NowHere are some ways to manage teaching to give you a little space to breath. Remember that tweaking things to make them doable at this stage in the semester is ok and understandable.
"A lot of times we feel like we need to be the end-all and be-all experts, and we don't."
Creating Time Savings in Teaching in AdvanceWhen you get ready to start planning your teaching for next semester, or for the next time you'll be teaching a particular class, remember what this busy time of the semester was like. Reflect in advance on where your focus will be in a given period, and do future-you a favor by implementing some of these ideas:
"You can't do everything at level ten out of ten all the time."
My Amplify program is now open for enrollment! If you're looking for help and support to organize your academic life while keeping up a productive pipeline of writing and publishing, and providing high quality educational instruction to your students, this could be the place for you. For more information and to apply for Amplify: Faculty Writing Accelerator, click here.
Connect with me:This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode11.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
