It’s all very well having a plan for your writing, but how do you actually get going? “I’ll just quickly check Twitter, then I’ll make a start on this chapter.” 5 hours later, it’s time for dinner. In this post, I’ll share three strategies for dealing with an unwelcome visit from the Procrastination Fairy. 1.Think about why […]
Overcoming Page Fright: Three Techniques for Planning a Piece of Academic Writing
As a writer, there’s nothing more intimidating than a blank screen. As we stare into the void, our brain goes into spasm and is unable to retrieve even rudimentary ideas. Anything that does pop into our head feels like utter rubbish. No wonder it’s often easier to faff about on Facebook or talk to the […]
How to Become a Healthy Writer
If you’re an academic researcher, you’re also a professional writer. And if you’re a professional writer, then you’re probably suffering from a range of health problems. Most of us spend a lot of time hunched over our desks, so engrossed in work that we give no thought to the long-term consequences. Joanna Penn’s new book The Healthy […]
How to create a planner with the Evernote calendar template
It might be gloomy outside, but I bring you cheering news: the new Evernote planners are here. What’s more, they’re now much easier to use. The planners are smartly designed templates that help you organise yourself daily, weekly, monthly, and annually. Unlike the old templates, it’s simple to change the format to suit your purposes. […]
How to declutter and archive your stuff in Evernote
For years, I’ve breezily claimed that Evernote is the perfect way to capture absolutely everything. The result? over 5,000 notes and some very cursory attempts at organising them. One of the many unattractive tasks I set myself over the Christmas holiday was to impose some order. I’d imagined that among the squillion new features added to […]
Happy New Year and why I’m embracing analogue
Hello, and a very happy new year to you all. Thanks to an impacted wisdom tooth, my celebrations stretched to a cup of tea and a boxset of Dinnerladies. I do hope your night was more festive! Anyway, I’m using this first post of 2018 to outline my plans for the next twelve months, and also […]