Academic Writing Amplified

Have you ever struggled with pushing 'send' on a piece for publication? In this episode I'm giving you an update on my book process, including timeline, cover reveals, and how hard it is to let go of that final draft. It's time for installment three on my book writing process! In episode 60 I shared part 1, a dive into the publishing world, deciding on academic vs. traditional publishing houses, figuring out what I wanted to say, and the fear that I wouldn't have enough words to put on the page (spoiler: I did). In episode 79 I shared part 2, all about figuring out my own writing process, getting mindset and development help from book coach Jane Jones, and how I got the writing done. In this episode, I want to continue to be open about what scares me, give you an overview of all the professionals I've worked with to help bring this book to life, and share an update on the book timeline. I've learned so much along the way, and I hope you have picked up some tips and tidbits from these book update episodes. For full show notes, visit cathymazak.com/episode102.

Is creating systems really worth the time it takes? What systems do you need in place to ensure you can write and publish to your full potential? I'm giving you 3 systems you need in place to write and publish more. Systems are the key to a calm, joyful and highly productive academic career. When you have the right systems in place, you don't waste time and energy on repeated decision-making. With systems, your boundaries are preset, you know what's coming next, how to choose projects, how to pick back up when you've had to step back from your writing, and so much more. For full show notes, visit cathymazak.com/episode101. Doors to Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap open on Black Friday. Click here to enroll: https://www.cathymazak.com/navigate/

My wonderful coach Gina Robinson joins me on this episode to discuss publication goals and how to increase your capacity for writing and publishing in the coming year. What determines how much you can publish, and where are our expectations coming from? Is it possible to increase your level of joy in your work as you increase output? We talk through these concepts as well as share how we determined the parts of our new yearlong Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap program and what you need to create sustainable success. Get the free module of Navigate here: https://www.cathymazak.com/sneakpeek For full show notes visit cathymazak.com/episode100.

Have you ever been scared to admit all that you want for yourself and your career? I'm here to give you permission to go after that influential, fulfilling and impactful career. Here's how to start. It's time we in academia have a talk about ambition and wanting more. Because friends, there is more for you in your career! As womxn, we have often been socialized not to be seen as "ambitious". We're not going to give that idea more time that it is worth. What I want to emphasize to you is: you are allowed to want it all! You are allowed to want a great career, to be influential and impactful in your field, and to do it without feeling burdened and burned out. For full show notes, visit cathymazak.com/episode99.

How do you get writing and publishing done to enhance your career, get that promotion, impact your field - without breaking down or burning out? I've got the roadmap that shows the way. I'm covering a lot today, as I share all about my Navigate: The Writing Roadmap program, how it can help you write and publish more, and set yourself up for success in your career without burnout and overwhelm. For the full show notes, visit cathymazak.com/episode98.

What will get you from the start of the tenure process all the way to full professor? What worries do you have and what should you focus on instead to achieve your career goals? I'm often inspired by concepts from the entrepreneurial space. I see a lot of parallels between entrepreneurship and academia. A recent inspiration came from a business coach of mine, Rachel Rodgers. Her entrepreneurial growth scale shows the steps for business growth, what entrepreneurs are worried about at each step and what they should be worried about to achieve the growth they"re looking for. I love this model, and am working on adapting it to the process of growth during an academic career. In this podcast episode, I'm using this model to break down the tenure (permanence) process into career stages. In each stage I look at what might be happening for you in terms of research, teaching and service, what some common worries are, and what you should be focusing on instead. What you'll gain is a better understanding of what it takes to make it to full professor, and what you might need to change to get there. For the full show notes, visit cathymazak.com/episode97.

Are you still exhausted after getting tenure and don't know why things haven't changed? Feeling like you'll never not be tired? I've got 3 steps to take to help you take control. Are you tired? Like, really tired? Maybe you're moving toward total exhaustion, or are already there. In this episode I'm digging into why you are still tired after receiving tenure, and what you can do about it. Yes, you can do something about it! For full notes, visit www.cathymazak.com/episode96.

I'm joined on this episode by wonderful Elevate graduates Debra Gombert and Sonia Cabell. We talk about the most impactful parts of the program, tangible versus intangible benefits, and where they're going from here. They each share great insights and inspirational takeaways to remind us all that we are worth investing in, and that growth and change never stop. Key points discussed: What each of their careers looked like and what wasn't working before Elevate What the most impactful part of the program was for each of them Shifting to bigger picture thinking rather than single answer solutions Zones of genius and leaning into strengths in all areas of life and career 1:1 coaching and the difference it made for each of them Discovering patterns of scarcity What made each of them hesitate before signing up, and why they signed up anyway Tangible versus intangible benefits and the impact of each Going back to the toolkit of skills Elevate equipped them with Continued growth, and individual benefits of the coaches and community For the full show notes for this episode, visit cathymazak.com/episode95.

What if being a leader in academia doesn't have to mean taking on an administrative role? Listen in for my take on what it means to be a leader in your mid to late career. When we hear people talking about leadership in academia, what they often mean is admin. Leadership to your institution probably means a department chair or associate director, or other role that helps the university to function. But if admin just isn't a fit for you, does that mean you're not a leader? No way. For the full show notes, visit cathymazak.com/episode94 Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page Follow me on Clubhouse: @cathymazak

It is our second podcast-iversary! Thank you SO much for listening. To show my appreciation, I'm sharing part of my Career Design Workshop with you-free-on this episode! It is our second anniversary on the podcast, and I want to say thank you so much for listening and for helping us reach 207,832 episode downloads! That is amazing, and I am truly grateful. As a thank you, I want to share part of my Career Design Workshop with you. Normally, you need to attend one of the retreats included with our Elevate or Amplify coaching programs, which are a significant investment. But since we are celebrating, I want you to have this sneak peek! I hope you enjoy and find it helpful. For the full show notes, visit https://cathymazak.com/episode93 How a Designed Career Feels I'm going to illustrate how a designed career feels vs. an undesigned career using bookshelves. This first picture is of my living room bookshelves at home. These shelves started out organized, clean and set up how I want them. But as you can see, over time they have been stuffed full of many things that don't really belong there, or aren't even mine at all. My husband and children have put their things on there, a bunch of random things no one knew what to do with have been shoved in, and the more stuffed it gets, the more overwhelming it feels to deal with all of it. So it just keeps coming! If these bookshelves were a career, it is definitely undesigned. This next picture is of my dream bookshelf. It's curated, calm, everything has a place and feels like it belongs. If this bookshelf were a career, it would be an intentionally designed one! I hope you can see where I'm going with this illustration. Career design gives you room to breathe, and helps you curate the career that feels right to you, full of the activities that you have chosen. What Gets in the Way Just like with my personal bookshelves, we might start from an organized place, but life in academia throws so much at us, that if we're not extremely careful and intentional, we end up with something chaotic that feels overwhelming. Here are some things that get in the way: The snowball effect. The more things that come at us, the more fires we have to put out, the less time we have to reflect on what we're doing, the fuller the "bookshelf" gets. Our default setting is react. If there's not a solid plan in place, when new things get thrown at us, they often just get shoved in wherever they fit. Instead of responding with intention, we react, and therefore never feel like we have enough time, space, or control. We believe we have no control. There is a long list of things in academia that we can't control, so we give in to the feeling that our whole career is out of our hands. What is Career Design? Career design is all about intentional planning and intentional action. The key is that your career choices and plans are driven by you, not others. You decide what you want your career to look like and what direction you need to go, and you make choices about how to get there. The goal is to create a career that is joyful, and then to set boundaries to protect that joy. "You should get joy out of your career." -Cathy Mazak Is my career designed well enough? To get an idea of where you are in terms of a well-designed career, take a minute to complete this assessment. After each question, give yourself a grade of: RED: Not designed at all; things just come at me and I react YELLOW: Somewhat designed; I'm able to make some intentional choices, some of the time GREEN: Well Designed; this area is driven by me, intentional and well-defined 1. Is your calendar designed? Is your schedule intentionally created and controlled by you? 2. Is your email management designed? Do you have a system for dealing with email or are you just reacting? Are there boundaries in place around your email? 3. Is your writing system designed? Do you have a regular process, systems, and a way to engage with your projects in an intentional way? Do you know how to get back into it when you fall away? 4. Is your pipeline designed? Do you have a curated pipeline full of strategically chosen projects for specifically targeted journals? 5. Is your path to promotion designed? Whatever point you're at in your career, are your next steps defined? While the process and requirements may feel arbitrary or out of your hands, have you decided how you will approach the goal, and what steps you'll choose to take? What color came up most for you on this assessment? How did you feel about it? Checking in on what's working and what isn't is a vital first step toward designing a career that feels good to you. Once you get a handle on what's tripping you up, you'll have a better idea of what needs to change and where to start. The Career Design Process Set Intentions--Take Action--Reflect & Revise Having a well designed career is not something you can do and have it stay done forever. As with my bookshelf example above, you have to revisit it if you want it to stay the way you want it. You have to set clear intentions, take action on them, reflect on what's working, and revise as necessary. You also need to be relentless with your boundaries. Ready for More? Did you enjoy this sneak peek into our Career Design process? If you're ready to find space to think and plan your next career moves, our Elevate program could be right for you. Happy academics make more knowledge and create more change. You deserve to be one of them! Click here to sign up for a free, live info session to get all your questions answered about Elevate, a program for post-tenure academics who are ready to create careers they love, make an impact, and leave a legacy. Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page Follow me on Clubhouse: @cathymazak This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode93.