Dr. Janet McCabe, an associate professor at Ontario Tech University, bravely discusses her struggles with time management amidst personal and professional challenges. She candidly shares her initial fears about committing to academic writing and how she overcame burnout through structured approaches. Janet emphasizes the importance of mission statements in guiding decision-making, offering inspiration for balancing writing with other responsibilities. Her journey highlights that meaningful writing requires attention and a willingness to embrace the process, even in busy times.
15:31
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
question_answer ANECDOTE
Janet's Burnout and Recovery
Janet McCabe experienced burnout while juggling administrative duties and personal loss, including the loss of a close co-writer.
She shifted focus to rebuilding confidence and restructuring her writing process post-burnout.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Use a Research Mission Statement
Crafting a clear research mission statement helps guide decisions and priorities.
Use it to say yes or no to projects and keep focus aligned with personal goals.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Plan Your Year Visually
Map out your academic year to recognize busy and lighter periods.
Use this calendar to realistically allocate writing and rest times, balancing work and life demands.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
If you’ve ever said, “I’d love to join Navigate, but I just don’t have the time,” this episode is for you.
Today, I’m joined by Dr. Janet McCabe, who brings honesty and real-world insight into what it looks like to invest in your writing during a busy and emotionally challenging season. We talk about her initial hesitation to join Navigate, the fear of adding one more thing to her plate, and how she ultimately found structure, clarity, and unexpected ease in her academic writing process.
Whether you're mid-career, managing administrative responsibilities, or simply struggling to reconnect with your research, Janet’s reflections offer perspective and encouragement. Janet’s experience is a powerful reminder that your writing doesn’t need perfect conditions—it needs attention, structure, and a willingness to begin.
We're receiving applications for our next cohort of Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap®. Check out the program details and start your application process here.
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION:
Our 12-week Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap® program helps tenure-track womxn and nonbinary professors to publish their backlog of papers so that their voice can have the impact they know is possible. Apply here!
Cathy’s book, Making Time to Write: How to Resist the Patriarchy and Take Control of Your Academic Career Through Writing is available in print! Learn how to build your career around your writing practice while shattering the myths of writing every day, accountability, and motivation, doing mindset work that’s going to reshape your writing,and changing academic culture one womxn and nonbinary professor at a time. Get your print copy today or order it for a friend here!
If you would like to hear more from Cathy for free, please subscribe to the weekly newsletter, In the Pipeline, at scholarsvoice.org. It’s a newsletter that she personally writes that goes out once a week with writing and publication tips, strategies, inspiration, book reviews and more.
Academic Writing Amplified 