Menu
ACADEMICS ONLY
  • PhD Students
    • Get a PhD?
    • Find an advisor
    • Finish Dissertation
  • New Professors
    • Start Strong
    • Teach Better
    • Publish More
  • Scholars
    • Write for Impact
    • Find a great job
    • Avoid Burnout
  • |
  • One-Pagers
    • 5 Ways to Finish Thesis
  • About
  • PhD Students
    • Get a PhD?
    • Find an advisor
    • Finish Dissertation
  • New Professors
    • Start Strong
    • Teach Better
    • Publish More
  • Scholars
    • Write for Impact
    • Find a great job
    • Avoid Burnout
  • |
  • One-Pagers
    • 5 Ways to Finish Thesis
  • About

How to Be a Happier Academic

11/19/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Some scholars are truly amazing and heroic.  They’re self-made, and their career’s been flawlessly filled with perfect decisions and perfect timing.
 
Then there’s the rest of us.  The rest of us have succeeded because we were all raised, socialized, and helped by other people.  
 
Outside of academia, some of these people are obvious:  parents, close relatives, coaches, and some teachers.  But inside academia, not all of these people are as obvious.  They might be that undergraduate professor who recommended we go to one grad school versus another, or the one who helped get us our first tenure-track job, helped lend a hand during a difficult time, or saved us from a desert island that one time by paddling through shark infested waters using only their right arm.
 
With Thanksgiving coming up, it can be a nice chance to hit pause and think of 2-3 nonobvious people who might have done a small thing that made a big difference in your life.  Doing something as simple as this can do your soul good.  On one extreme, it reminds us that we aren’t the self-centered Master of our Universe as we might think when things are going great.  On the other extreme, it reminds us that there are a lot of people silently cheering for us when we might think things aren’t going so great. 
 
What do you suppose would happen if you tracked these people down and game them a call?  It’s four steps:
            
            1. Find their phone number and dial.
            2. “Hey, I’m ___; remember me? How are you?”
            3. “It’s Thanksgiving. I was thinking of you” or "It's not Thanksgiving, but I've been thinking of you."
            4.  “Thanks”
 
For about the past 30 years, I’ve tried to do this each Thanksgiving.  It used to be the same 3-4 people (advisors and a post-college mentor), then a couple more, and this year I’m adding a new one.    For some reason, I always look for an excuse why I shouldn’t make these calls. I always find myself pacing around before I make the first call.  Part of me thinks I might be bore them, or they already know it, or it’s interrupting them, or that it’s too corny. 
 
Yet even if I have to leave voice messages, I’m always end up smiling when I get off the phone.  I feel more thankful and centered.  I feel happier.  Maybe they feel differently too. 
 
Still, there’s some years I never made any calls, because I had good excuses.  Maybe it was too late in the day, or they were probably with their family, or I called them last year, or I didn’t really have enough time to talk.   I’m sure they had some good excuses – way back when – as to why they didn’t have time for me.  I’m thankful they didn’t use them. 
 
If you can think of 2-3 people you’re thankful for who might not know it, you don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving next year to tell them.  They won’t care that you’re a little bit late or a whole lot early.   It’s only 4 steps. 
 ​
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome...

    Academics Only is a how-to community that  helps  us share our best practices as PhD students, new professors, and independent scholars.

    Helpful tools and tips on how to graduate, get tenure, teach better, publish more, and have a super rewarding career.
    Picture

    Relevant Posts

    All
    Independent Scholars
    New Profs
    PhD Students


    Some Older Posts

    Picture
    Develop great judgment

    Picture
    Choose the Best Advisor

    Picture
    Give useful advice

    Picture
    How not to retire

    Picture
    Useful sample syllabus

    Picture
    Party with students!

    Picture
    Stay focused

    Picture
    Get into a PhD Program

    Picture
    One way to write a lot

    Picture
    Use PhD case studies

    Picture
    Thank a mentor

    Picture
    Blow an interview

    Picture
    Teach for impact

    Picture
    Ace an interview

    Picture
    Do solution-based research

    Picture
    Am I a mini-me?


    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019

    RSS Feed



Share Your Insights and Ideas

What have you created or found that's been useful and could be helpful for other PhD students, new professors, or independent scholars?  ​
​
  • A pdf handout on teaching 
  • Tips on surviving grad school
  • Favorite career-advice articles
  • A paper submission checklist 
  • A list of inspirational quotes
  • A productivity aid you use
  • ​​​​The goal-setting system you use
  • Your most useful go-to websites
  • Helpful academic How-to articles
  • A method to keep perspective or manage stress

​Send an email to AcademicsOnly@yahoo.com if you have something you think would be useful to share with others on this website, or if you have ideas on how to make this more useful to you or your students.

Stay in touch


Picture