Struggling to return to your writing after a break? Discover how to gracefully step away and seamlessly re-engage with your work. The discussion dives into the concept of writing on- and off-ramps, providing practical strategies to maintain momentum during transitional periods. Learn to leave strategic notes for your future self, ensuring you can pick up where you left off with ease. Transform your writing pauses into powerful pivots, fostering a sustainable and empowering writing practice.
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Plan Writing Off-Ramps
Plan your writing off-ramp like exiting a highway: signal, slow down, and prepare thoughtfully.
Leave strategic notes or breadcrumbs in your draft to easily resume later.
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Schedule Gentle Writing On-Ramps
Schedule your writing re-entry sessions gently on your calendar before breaking.
Start with a light first session reading your notes before writing again to ease back in.
insights INSIGHT
Breaks Can Boost Momentum
Stepping away from writing can energize and renew momentum instead of breaking progress.
Believing you can sustain your writing practice fosters resilience and ease during transitions.
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Are you struggling to get back into academic writing after a break? Or maybe you’re afraid to change your writing schedule because you think you’ll lose momentum. In this episode, I’ll show you how to step away from your writing without derailing your progress and how to return to it without losing your rhythm.
In this episode, I explore the concept of writing off-ramps and on-ramps—a metaphor (and practical toolset) for how to put your writing down with intention and pick it back up with ease. Whether you’re heading into a planned vacation or returning from an unexpected pause, learning to manage transitions is a key part of building a sustainable academic writing practice. You’ll learn how to exit your writing flow gently, leave strategic breadcrumbs for your future self, and design a smooth, flexible re-entry that supports your long-term goals without burnout or self-judgment.
If you're craving a writing practice that feels stable, resilient, and empowering, this episode is a must-listen. Stop treating breaks like setbacks, and learn the tools and mindset you need to turn your writing pauses into powerful pivots.
And don’t forget: our next Navigate information session is happening on July 23, 2025. To get all the details, make sure you’re on my email list—sign up at scholarsvoice.org.
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. Get on the waitlist 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!
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