Attention

As the new academic year has just started, I would like to write about attention. Where your attention goes is crucial because there goes also your energy.

Researchers usually have many things on their minds when September comes and many plans for the upcoming term. It might be that summer didn’t go fully according to plan with completing writing tasks and accomplishing data work. You might feel behind. If this is you, I would encourage you to pause and learn from it, so you can understand what needs to change next time. Then let go and move on to focus on what you can get done now. It’s sometimes easier said than done but you can’t do anything about the past.

When we focus too long on things that didn’t go well, we keep recycling non useful thoughts that keep us stuck.

Pause for a moment and define clearly your research tasks and find specific days/times when you will give them attention. Get your calendar and put them in. Then show up.

This will clear space and put you back on the path of completing your work rather than thinking back to what didn’t get done. Productivity for researchers is not steady – it naturally goes up and down. The key is to create a consistent routine that enables you to focus and empowers you.

Have a good start of the new academic year! If you need any support with setting a structure for the new term reach out.