Academic

One of the early obstacles in a research project is getting overwhelmed by the literature. Even if you’ve limited your scope, there’s still a lot of material to interrogate. It’s easy to fall into a trap of reading everything from cover to cover, making sure you haven’t missed anything. But if you want to finish before you’re 95, you need to read strategically. Without a clear strategy, you can disappear down a research rabbit hole. Although it’s fun hanging out with the bunnies, they won’t help you get your writing done. ...

As someone who has around 500 ideas a day, I needed a way of assessing those ideas more systematically. Most of them seem exciting, but pursing dozens of projects is a shortcut to burnout. How on earth do I choose one? Well, the answer turned out to be “sequential elimination”. Best known as a voting system, the sequential elimination method works by repeatedly eliminating the losing candidate until a single winner remains. Instead of asking myself, “Am I excited by this idea?” I subject the potential project to rigorous questioning, rating my responses on a scale of 1-10. ...

Here are the resources for my workshop The Neurodivergent Researcher. Tools Capturing Research Notes with Audiopen Why I Use Obsidian for Notetaking How to Automatically Sync AudioPen Notes with Obsidian MacWhisper: a Privacy-Focused Tool for Transcribing Audio Visual Planning with Trello Wellbeing Managing Your Energy Budget The Human Function Curve Your Circle of Control Setting Boundaries that Stick Planning The Eisenhower Matrix Improve Your Project Management with Data-Driven Planning Wearing Your Writing Hat Assessing Ideas with Sequential Elimination Time-Tracking for Researchers Communication Achieving a Win-Win The Drama Triangle Beyond the Feedback Sandwich The Hersey-Blanchard Model in Doctoral Supervision

AI tools promise to transform academic research and writing. But how do you take advantage of them without compromising your integrity or losing your scholarly voice? In this interactive session, you’ll explore a range of AI tools for both the research and writing stages of your work. You’ll learn how to find literature more efficiently, overcome writer’s block, and improve the clarity and flow of your writing, all while using AI responsibly and transparently. ...

Researchers face an ever-expanding set of demands: writing, teaching, administration, supervision, grant applications, knowledge exchange, and more. The challenge isn’t just finding time — it’s making deliberate decisions about where your time and energy actually go, and protecting what matters most from what’s merely urgent. ⭐️ A full outline for this workshop is available on request. ...

Do you keep waiting for a free week to write, only to find it never arrives? Finding time to write is one of the biggest challenges researchers face. The good news is that time is rarely the real problem. In this practical workshop, you’ll discover how to build a sustainable writing habit that fits around your existing commitments — without working harder or longer. ⭐️ A full outline for this workshop is available on request. ...

A strong professional network isn’t a luxury or a sign of self-promotion: it’s one of the most important tools you have for developing your research, advancing your career, and staying connected to what’s happening in your field and beyond. Yet most of us rely on the contacts we already have. In this practical workshop, you’ll learn how to audit and extend your network with intention, moving beyond the familiar to build relationships that genuinely support where you’re heading. ...

Research thinking is seldom tidy. Ideas arrive out of sequence, connections appear from unexpected directions, and the sheer volume of material you’re holding in your head at any one time makes progress difficult. For neurodivergent researchers, this challenge is often amplified, as your working memory is already managing additional demands. Led by a facilitator with her own lived experience of working as an AuDHD researcher, this workshop offers practical techniques for getting your research thinking out of your head and into a form you can actually work with. ...

By the middle of your PhD, you’ve already done a lot of reading. The challenge isn’t usually finding more sources, it’s knowing how to read strategically, retain what matters, and make the transition from reading to writing with confidence. This workshop offers a practical framework for doing exactly that. ⭐️ A full outline for this workshop is available on request. ...

A PhD makes unique demands at every stage — from establishing yourself as a researcher in the early years, to sustaining momentum through the middle stretch, to the particular pressures of writing up and submission. It’s an exciting journey, but it can also be a demanding one, especially if your brain works in ways that don’t always fit the default structures of academic life. This workshop is designed specifically for PhD students who identify as neurodivergent, whether you have a formal diagnosis, or simply recognise yourself in those experiences. It’s led by a facilitator with her own lived experience of navigating academia as an AuDHD researcher, so we’ll look honestly at the challenges the PhD presents, and also at the very real strengths that neurodivergent thinking brings to research. ...