Robert Boice's Principles on Establishing Momementum for Research
This guy is the real deal:
Step 1: Establish ideas and momentum for research
Once under way, projects build their own momentum; the biggest difficulty for most faculty is getting started. The insights above tell us that a primary obstacle to momentum is self-consciousness. One of the most effective solutions for self-consciousness is simply beginning to write quickly without editing, effectively silencing your internal editor. Peter Elbow (1973) explains the free writing process: "The idea is simply to write for ten minutes.... Don't stop for anything. Go quickly without rushing. Never stop to look back, to cross something out...to wonder what word or thought to use, or to think about what you are doing. If you can't think of a word or a spelling, just use a squiggle or else write 'I can't think of it.' Just put down something" (p. 1).
Step 2: Establish a regimen
While free writing can get you started, it cannot assure regular writing, and it can (without adequate assessment) result in a false sense of productivity. Faculty often put off working on research projects because they believe that doing so will result in a better project because it will be done and written at some ideal time. However, the pressing matters of meeting classes each day, service responsibilities and family commitments create significant roadblocks to finding long, uninterrupted periods free for research activities.
The research literature (Boice 1989) indicates that as faculty we are trained, particularly in graduate school, to believe that, "the best research is done in big blocks of undisrupted time and only after the writer is fully prepared, highly motivated and in possession of a clever idea. Done properly, [faculty believe] these 'binges' require substantial warm-up time. They believe the best times for writing are vacations and sabbaticals." The research shows that this "bingeing" point of view corresponds to low research productivity. High productivity is found among faculty who view research as an activity deserving moderate priority, one that can be handled in brief daily sessions amid other, more pressing tasks. These faculty know that when a project is worked on every day, little or no warm-up time is needed; perfectionism is best reserved for final revisions, not in initial drafts; and that projects are best undertaken as a leap of faith, because one never feels truly ready.
In fact, literature on research productivity shows that new faculty and others are far more productive when following a regimen of brief daily sessions than in a binge pattern. Research (Boice 1987) with new faculty shows that those who find only an hour per weekday to work on their research generally manage to submit about 1.5 manuscripts per year, an output level consistent with the expectations of tenure and promotion committees on many campuses. Moreover, faculty who adopt the regimen of brief daily periods for research projects typically experience fewer feelings of stress at managing their time and lives.
Step 3: Establish comfort
Regimen is great, but works only to a point. It does increase productivity, but does nothing to increase comfort with research activity. Nearly two-thirds of faculty studied who experienced "writers' block" had negative attitudes about their progress (for example, "This will probably be rejected"). Research and writing have become aversive to many of us because of the negative stressful expectations we create around it. Looming deadlines for post-tenure or promotion and tenure reviews connect stressful stimuli with the activity we want to do. Positive attitudes toward the research process can be built through both self-management and collaboration with colleagues.
Step 4: Make writing a socially skilled act
It is important to seek out experienced colleagues who can share their expertise on how to cope with the editorial process and the inevitable disappointments of revisions and rejections. Sharing plans for your projects, as well as outlines and drafts for manuscripts makes writing less private. Early feedback both improves the quality of the work as well as providing experience in a review and revision process that mirrors the editorial process. Welcome criticism-ask for it.
Step 1: Establish ideas and momentum for research
Once under way, projects build their own momentum; the biggest difficulty for most faculty is getting started. The insights above tell us that a primary obstacle to momentum is self-consciousness. One of the most effective solutions for self-consciousness is simply beginning to write quickly without editing, effectively silencing your internal editor. Peter Elbow (1973) explains the free writing process: "The idea is simply to write for ten minutes.... Don't stop for anything. Go quickly without rushing. Never stop to look back, to cross something out...to wonder what word or thought to use, or to think about what you are doing. If you can't think of a word or a spelling, just use a squiggle or else write 'I can't think of it.' Just put down something" (p. 1).
Step 2: Establish a regimen
While free writing can get you started, it cannot assure regular writing, and it can (without adequate assessment) result in a false sense of productivity. Faculty often put off working on research projects because they believe that doing so will result in a better project because it will be done and written at some ideal time. However, the pressing matters of meeting classes each day, service responsibilities and family commitments create significant roadblocks to finding long, uninterrupted periods free for research activities.
The research literature (Boice 1989) indicates that as faculty we are trained, particularly in graduate school, to believe that, "the best research is done in big blocks of undisrupted time and only after the writer is fully prepared, highly motivated and in possession of a clever idea. Done properly, [faculty believe] these 'binges' require substantial warm-up time. They believe the best times for writing are vacations and sabbaticals." The research shows that this "bingeing" point of view corresponds to low research productivity. High productivity is found among faculty who view research as an activity deserving moderate priority, one that can be handled in brief daily sessions amid other, more pressing tasks. These faculty know that when a project is worked on every day, little or no warm-up time is needed; perfectionism is best reserved for final revisions, not in initial drafts; and that projects are best undertaken as a leap of faith, because one never feels truly ready.
In fact, literature on research productivity shows that new faculty and others are far more productive when following a regimen of brief daily sessions than in a binge pattern. Research (Boice 1987) with new faculty shows that those who find only an hour per weekday to work on their research generally manage to submit about 1.5 manuscripts per year, an output level consistent with the expectations of tenure and promotion committees on many campuses. Moreover, faculty who adopt the regimen of brief daily periods for research projects typically experience fewer feelings of stress at managing their time and lives.
Step 3: Establish comfort
Regimen is great, but works only to a point. It does increase productivity, but does nothing to increase comfort with research activity. Nearly two-thirds of faculty studied who experienced "writers' block" had negative attitudes about their progress (for example, "This will probably be rejected"). Research and writing have become aversive to many of us because of the negative stressful expectations we create around it. Looming deadlines for post-tenure or promotion and tenure reviews connect stressful stimuli with the activity we want to do. Positive attitudes toward the research process can be built through both self-management and collaboration with colleagues.
Step 4: Make writing a socially skilled act
It is important to seek out experienced colleagues who can share their expertise on how to cope with the editorial process and the inevitable disappointments of revisions and rejections. Sharing plans for your projects, as well as outlines and drafts for manuscripts makes writing less private. Early feedback both improves the quality of the work as well as providing experience in a review and revision process that mirrors the editorial process. Welcome criticism-ask for it.
posted by Todd Finley at 5:06 AM
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