SFDs and Procrastination — Improving your writing practice — Book your places

I just read this *mid-procrastination* and wanted to share it before closing the browser tab, stopping the editing-while-writing, and resuming the crafting of my own SFD.

If you’d like to know what a SFD is, and when and why it’s useful, click below:

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/phd-thesis-writing-it-and-art-procrastination

http://engl210-picetti.wikispaces.umb.edu/file/view/Lamott_Bird+by+Bird.pdf

How are you finding your writing practice developing? Do you work better anonymously or in the trenches with fellow scribes?

If you’re not sure, our next and final writing club session of the Four Fridays Pilot is taking place tomorrow. We encourage you to give it a try.

Two further dates are now confirmed for Friday 15th and 29th September.

Please book your space using the doodle poll:

https://beta.doodle.com/poll/fbckx7dwg6mbqg4r 

 

Finding a working rhythm

We are midway through the ECR Writing Club Pilot and members are finding it worthwhile to carve out a dedicated space and time for academic writing every week among like-minded colleagues.

To this end, we have agreed to try and continue the collaborative sessions every Friday throughout Semester 1 and aim to develop further ideas to encourage a supportive research environment.

If you would like to get involved, please reserve a place using the doodle poll (see previous posts for the link).

What’s the experience like?

The view from the ECR Writing Club windows

The group aims to do 7 pomodoro sessions interspersed by 5 minute breaks usually with shared snacks. We take a longer break for lunch.

  • We begin at 9am by discussing our writing aims for the day, and start the first silent pomodoro session.
  • Week 1, we started using 25 minute pomodoros and changed gears to try 45 minute sessions post-lunch.
  • Week 2 we experimented again (longer 45 minute sessions in the morning, and 25 minute focused bursts in the afternoon), which seemed to work well, depending on the task you are trying to achieve.
  • Around 4pm we finish by discussing our day’s progress, reflecting on what worked and what we could improve.

***Finally, we appreciate having access to the coffee and tea machine during the short breaks and would like to thank Fiona Whitehurst and June at Newcastle University Business School and the Newcastle University Organisational Development Team at the Core for their tokens of support.

Thanks to the Organisational Development Team for the literal tokens of support

Academic sustenance – coffee and tea supplied by Newcastle University Business School

 

 

 

 

Personal reflections on our first gathering

Friday was our first get together of the ECR writing club and my first experience of participating in something like this.

Gathered in a nice room in The Core building we had a great view, comfortable chairs and everyone had brought along sustenance. There was access to a kitchen and coffee machine (you need 1p to use it!) in the breakout space just outside of the room. We began the day by sharing our writing goals, which interestingly all varied in content and scope. My own objective was to complete 50% of a conference presentation. In order to minimise distractions we all agreed to switch off phones and turn push notifications to silent. Then, guided by Laurence’s schedule of several Pomodoros, we were off.

I found the Pomodoro technique really effective. Intensive bursts of free writing peppered with short breaks seemed to provide the right balance between work/break I needed to motivate and sustain my productivity. Free from distraction and encouraged by the company of colleagues spurred us on. By the end of the day and to my great surprise I had realised my goal! Hooray! I could not have achieved the same outcome working alone at home, the library or back in the office. Whilst this in itself was valuable the other major benefit was spending time with peers and nurturing a sense of camaraderie. During the breaks I learned new things about everyone and for me this was the unexpected and wonderful bonus of the ECR writing club. I look forward to the next one and hopefully welcoming more newcomers to what I know will continue to be a very friendly and supportive peer group.

More details on the Summer Writing Club

As you know we will be trialling the ECR Writing Club over the next 4 Fridays. Here’s some more information about it:

 

Schedule: Fridays between 9am to 4pm (followed by a drink in town for those interested).

Venue: Room 2.23, The Core, Science Central

Goal of the club: to provide a supportive environment for ECRs to engage in writing away from their office

Outline of the day: long stretches of writing broken up by lunch and breaks. To help us structure the day, we will use the Pomodoro technique https://goo.gl/GJP1Xp

What to bring: your laptop and some snacks to share

 

Finally, here’s more information on academic writing clubs if you are not familiar with them: https://patthomson.net/2015/03/19/4033/

If you are interested in joining us, remember to book your place (see previous post).

Four Fridays: The Venue – Book your places

Hi Everyone

Thanks for sharing an interest in establishing a dedicated time and place for NUBS ECRs to progress their research writing.

Venue information: Room 2.23, The Core, Science Central

Adjacent to the silent work space is a break out room where refreshments can be consumed away from your writing area

To share the admin burden, we’ve set up a self-booking system using Doodle Poll so that you can reserve your space on the dates that you are able to attend

Please follow the link below:

https://doodle.com/poll/fbckx7dwg6mbqg4r

Please note that the room capacity is limited to 18

Even if you cannot make this Four Fridays pilot but are interested in being part of the writing club in future, please let us know in the comments section at the end of the Doodle Poll!

Thanks!