Over the past few months, I’ve been building an online course called Calm Productivity, as part of my Head space project. It’s taken way longer than I’d hoped it would, and required a lot more work than I’d anticipated. But I’m very happy with the outcome and can’t wait to release it in a couple of weeks.
When I started my academic career, I scaled up my productivity simply by putting in more hours. I thought nothing of working at night and on weekends, and, if I’m honest, I thrived in that environment. But after getting married and having kids, I realised I had to make a choice; continue on a career trajectory that required more and more of my time, or figure out a way to keep doing the work I loved, without making sacrifices in other areas of my life.
This course is the culmination of almost a decade of tinkering with habits and routines that I believe have served me well. I think it’s reasonable to say that I’ve succeeded in crafting an academic career that’s sustainable, is as productive as I want it to be, and that gives me the space to do the work I find most meaningful and rewarding.
I’ve had very positive feedback from a few colleagues who have been through the course as beta testers, and I believe that it will have value for anyone taking it. But it will be especially valuable for any academic struggling with a workflow they find overwhelming and stressful. If you work nights and weekends just to keep up, or struggle to make progress on meaningful projects, or find that you never have time to write, you may want to check out the course overview.
I love being an academic, and feel privileged doing the work I do. I hope that this course plays a small part in creating a little head space for colleagues who may be struggling to find the joy, delight, and reward in being an academic.
The course goes live on the 24th of February, and will be discounted by 25% until the end of March 2023. Anyone signing up for the Head space newsletter before the 24th of February will qualify for a discount of 50% (valid until the end of March 2023).
