Do you experience daily challenges in Academia?
Are you looking for ways to overcome these and consider them from a fresh perspective? The below article will look at how to turn some of your struggles into positive aspects of your work life.
Consider new perspectives
Whatever challenges in academia you might be experiencing, these can be seen as ways to develop your work and career. For example, attending lots of conferences can be a great way to network, establish new collaborations and develop your career further down the line. Teaching could take up a lot of your time, but it can be rewarding to see your students succeed. You may have to travel internationally but this could broaden your horizons and spark new ideas for your research. Ask yourself the following questions:
Which professional area am I struggling with? What benefit could I gain from this experience?
Practice, practice and practice
Think of your next task as practice. Take all the opportunities you can, to improve your skills and to do even better than you did last time. If you need to speak at a conference, think about this as another opportunity to practice confident public speaking. If you need to go to a large academic networking event, consider this a practice to polish your networking skills. Do you need to speak to other high-profile researchers in your field and share your research findings? Try to focus on what you can do better than last time, and what you can improve. When you focus on perfection, you set yourself up for self-doubt and worry.
Commit to regular reflection
How do you envisage your professional life as an academic? How do you know when you are successful? How do you want to make a difference? Most of us would agree that reflection is a good idea. However, very few people devote time for regular reflection. You could block out at least 30 minutes in your diary on a weekly basis and treat it like an important meeting. Many people find journaling most beneficial because it helps them to crystallise their thoughts. You could draw mind maps or even use bullet points if you like.
Become more productive
Do you struggle with procrastination from time to time? Have you ever tried the 4 D’s model (do, delegate, defer, delete)? Work challenges often come up because we do not prioritise well. The above model will help with your decision-making and keeping on top of what needs to be tackled first. Set aside a few minutes and draw yourself a two-by-two matrix. Put the following in each corner: do, delegate, defer, delete. Once you have identified at least 3 items for each box, it is time to act. Start with the actions in the ‘Do’ column. Once these are complete, move on to the next category. As an example, you may decide to phone your research collaborator, instead of sending a lengthy e-mail. If you planned to complete some markings this week, you may decide to move this to next week (if you can still meet internal deadlines). Instead of agreeing to run a workshop next week, you might decide to delegate this to a colleague.
Plan each day
At the end of each day, take a few minutes to make a plan for your next day. Grab a pen and a piece of paper and create two columns: one for the morning and one for the afternoon. List the tasks you would like to complete as well as how much time you would expect these to take. Human nature is to underestimate how long tasks would take. Build in some extra time to avoid making impossible plans. You will save mental energy the following day because you will be able to get started straight away. Your brain will be going through your planned tasks while you sleep and it may churn out surprising solutions to problems. Your problem-solving will improve. You will feel more motivated in the morning to jump in.
Find a mentor
If you have had a great mentor before, you most probably know how much individual mentoring can develop your work skills. Your mentor needs to be skilled at building rapport with you, listening to you carefully, challenging you gently (if needed) and sharing some helpful guidance with you. You will see that there are boundless ways of finding mentors. Many UK universities offer mentoring to employees to help them achieve their aspirations. It is wise to enquire about one-to-one mentoring support which you could access through your university. If your mentor is a more senior member of staff, they could give you tips on how to handle work challenges and share with you their hard-earned experience.
Mentoring does not necessarily need to be formal. Make sure that you recognise any informal mentoring you might already be receiving and benefitting from (without calling it mentoring). Instead of trying to find a mentor you do not know, take advantage of the help you already have at your fingertips. Mentoring can work miracles if you commit to making changes. When you share your challenges and worries verbally, you can often start seeing a way forward.
When you share your goals with another person, you are far more likely to reach your goal. Accountability can be particularly important when sharing your aims with a more senior staff member. Out of respect, you will be far less likely to falter on your commitments. And who knows your senior mentor may be able to connect you with others to help your goal materialise.
Seek further support if you need to
Most universities offer Employee Assistance Programmes and provide free, independent and confidential support including counselling. Education Support, which is a UK charity, supports the mental well-being of education staff in universities. The Charity called Mind offers advice to people with mental health problems as well as a range of initiatives. Samaritans aims to provide emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, and they can be accessed any time of the day.
Overcoming Barriers and Challenges for Women in Universities | Webinar summary and recording
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