Three tips for finding motivation after a research break (or you just have to get started).
Academics take breaks from research for many reasons.
Sometimes, it is because they take on new responsibilities- department chairs or Deans do not write many papers.
Somtimes, it is bc they have a life event - it’s tough to write with a new baby in the house.
Sometimes, the words don’t come.
Breaks can have different durations.
A break due to changed responsibilities can last years - it may never end!
A break due to a life event can be variable - but it needs to end.
A break due to writer's block should not be allowed to persist - it must end.
No matter the cause or the length of the break, the hard part about getting back to research is finding the motivation, structure, and focus to get back to designing and writing up studies.
How do you find motivation?
We all talk about extrinsic and intrinsic motivation - but - in either case - it depends on you to do the work.
You have to set aside whatever stopped you from working, be it a baby, divorce, a breakdown (true story) or a move, an admin job, or external service (true story), & clear your head.
This is not simple.
I suggest starting small.
Set daily goals for reading or writing.
Just finishing one task a day helps me build momentum that translates to more motivation over time.
How do you find structure?
I’ve written about the need to find time to write here: https://lnkd.in/e_TACRbP
When you reboot, you go back to square one.
The odds are good you have had a change in circumstances.
Sort out your best time to write & spend 30 min to an hour a day trying to realize your daily goal.
Refrain from overinvesting in creating a writing space - that quickly becomes an excuse for not writing.
Do create a clear uncluttered space to write - it need not be decorated.
You need time and a distraction free environment to work in.
How do you find focus?
While I work to realize daily goals, I recognize that big-picture goals motivate me.
My big-picture goals are simple.
I write to keep my job. I find the thought of not being able to support my kid motivating.
Sometimes. That isn’t enough.
So I think about the people who depend on me. I find supporting my students motivating.
Sometimes. That isn’t enough.
So I remind myself how much I like learning.
Sometimes. That still isn’t enough.
So I think about the guilt that I feel when I miss deadlines.
Usually, that gets me - even though I hate guilting myself to get research done.
If you have motivation, structure and focus, start working.
Really though, even if you don’t, you just have to start working.
You will find your efficacy grows & your understanding of what must be done improves each day.
If, even after all this, you don’t find research compelling, it’s okay to find a different professional path - inside or outside of academia.
Life is long - you don’t have to be a professor - find your happiness!
Best of luck!
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