The Pressure to Produce
Dear Faculty Relations: I used to love to write, but the pressure to produce has taken away a lot of the pleasure. Am I wrong to want to enjoy myself this summer? —Weary Researcher
Dear Weary: Summer is approaching like a wrapped gift, full of promise and potential, and many of us are feeling tired and burned out.
We tell ourselves stories that we’ll be able to write in long, uninterrupted stretches each day, put the final touches on that journal article or grant application, or finally get to revising the chapters we’ve been neglecting.
But what we most likely need is a break.
For those of us who haven’t met the writing goals we set out for ourselves at the beginning of the year, it’s easy to look ahead to the summer and make ambitious plans to catch up on the research and writing with the time that eluded us during the semester. I'd like to invite us to try a different approach.
In her iconic book The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron writes about ‘filling the well’—taking space to walk outside, visit a museum, or do something that has nothing to do with your work or your writing—in order to heal and replenish our creative minds. Research actually backs this up: taking breaks can give us more space to hone our ideas. When you do get to writing, think about how you might make things feel different. Where might you write or work that would be a rejuvenating change of scene? What routines might help you get into your work— and then, just as important, allow you to put that work away to enjoy time with loved ones? And might your list of summer goals include getting more sleep?
Instead of jumping right into summer work, try scheduling a ‘planned outage’—a longer stretch of time to reset and recharge. Then plan some blank space into each day or week of the summer. Your mind, body, and work will benefit.
Written by Erin Marie Furtak, Professor of STEM Education, School of Education.