Healthy and Sustainable Productivity Habits

As an academic you are expected to fulfil a number of different roles. You are a researcher, educator, you have administrative tasks and are expected to show leadership and be an effective manager. This often includes defining your own goals and being expected to reinvent yourself constantly, publish or perish, inspire and engage students and the wider public, and to work at the fringes of research and go beyond. On top of that you are bombarded by university meetings, requests to attend to administrative tasks and email overload! This is exacerbated by being a parent, where we have much less time and energy often resulting in feeling we are a bad parent as well a bad researcher.

All of this can pile the pressure on and can feel overwhelming. Unfortunately, our typical approach to dealing with this is to react to the loudest and latest requests, effectively only responding to what other people want from us rather than being able to prioritise the most important tasks. As a result, we work long hours, even during weekends, while being at the same time frustrated not achieving our goals.

This session will help you break this vicious circle. You will be introduced to a wide range of modern productivity tools and techniques, alongside numerous examples from real academic work, to help you deal with these challenges. You will be able to raise your productivity, set and achieve your goals, reduce your stress, boost your creativity, increase you thinking time, beat procrastination, and keep focused and calm during stressful times – All with the effect of being more in control, balanced and, eventually, happier and more fulfilled.

The workshop will take place in-person at the SWDTP Offices in 1 Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 1TX.
The workshop has 2 parts. In the first part we talk about how to rethink what productivity means. This includes also some practical work where participants look at their own work/life situation to gain insights. In the second part I will introduce powerful tricks and tips to help you to stay on track.
Overall, the workshop is highly interactive and discussion is encouraged.