Building
Your Term
Work Plan
Higher Education Seminar
Series
January 14, 2014
Presented by Tricia Seifert
Agenda
Challenges of the Academic Term
The Keys to a Successful Term
Creating Your Ideal Term
How to Plan
How to Create the Support You Need
Post-Workshop Resources
Challenges of the Academic Term
The challenges of Academic Term are:
Balancing class/work/personal demands with making headway on
your writing projects
Prioritizing tasks: what to focus on when
Something always seems due TOMORROW so it’s hard to plan for
the coming weeks.
Knowing how much time to allot: it always takes longer and knowing
when it’s okay to stop.
Multi-tasking – being able to work on multiple projects at the same
time while making progress on each
How to start something big (and maybe the fear of doing so)
Finding time to relax
How to plan for the unanticipated
The Keys to a Successful Term
You have always thought that if you just did “X”, you would have
a more successful term. What is the “X” for you?
• Identifying clear goals that are realistic in a term timeframe
• Networking – building my community
• Exploring new activities/hobbies
• Early thinking about topic for end-of-term paper
• Reading in the field, relevant literature
• Focus so as not to get distracted by work, etc.
• Making time to reflect on past courses, reading, -- how does it
all fit together, connect to my research
• Making space/time for creativity, in the moment opportunities.
Slowing down to sense the connections. Guilt free, brain down
time.
Exercise 1:
Describe your ideal
work day.
Reflecting on Ideal Work Day
What about your ideal day is
particularly attractive to you?
How does it differ from what you do
now?
How to Plan
Create a Plan for Your Academic Term:
1. Identify your goals
2. Map out the necessary steps to accomplish your
goals
3. Introduce your projects to your calendar
4. Choose an appropriate accountability and support
system
5. Work the plan
How to Plan
Step #1: Identify Your Goals
1. Launch survey, manage data collection – end of February
2. Write methods and results for TA study paper w/ Carol –
during spring break
3. Write paper for SAS global for ACPA – DUE March 31
Goals should be SMART!
Specific
Measurable
Attractive
Realistic
Time-based
How to Plan
Step #2: Map out the steps to your goal
Goal 1: Launch survey, manage data collection
Steps:
1. Submit and get ethics approval (where necessary) from
participating institutions
2. Have all communications translated
3. Create pre-notification “poster” for each institution
4. Create online survey instrument
5. Test online survey instrument across multiple platforms
6. Develop sampling protocol and send to institutional liaisons
7. Field questions (ongoing)
8. Follow response for multiple surveys once launched
How to Plan
Step #3: Introduce your projects to your calendar
Goal 1: Launch survey, manage data collection
January 14-20
Submit and get ethics approval (where necessary) from
participating institutions
Have all communications translated
January 21-26
Create pre-notification “poster” for each institution
Create online survey instrument
Jan 27-Feb 2
Test online survey instrument across multiple platforms
Develop sampling protocol and send to institutional
liaisons
Field questions (ongoing)
Feb 25
Launch survey
Create The Support YOU Need
What Do YOU Need to Feel
Accountable and Supported?
Types of Structure you can
connect with or create
Other people
working with you
Write on Site
Daily contact & enthusiasm
Online Writing Group
Weekly accountability & ongoing
problem solving
Writing Accountability Group
A taskmaster to crack
the whip and hold you
accountable
Individual Writing coach
Copied from K. Rockquemore, “Every Summer Needs a Plan” slidedeck.
Post Workshop Resources
1. National Center for Faculty Diversity and Development
http://www.facultydiversity.org/
The format for this workshop has come from my own experience with
the Faculty Success Program and particularly the “Every Summer Needs a
Plan” workshop presented by Dr. Kerry Ann Rockquemore.
2. Academic Coaching and Writing
http://www.academiccoachingandwriting.org/
3. UofT Writing Centre for Graduate Students
http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/writing-centres/graduate-students
4. OISE Student Success Centre
http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ss/OISE_Student_Success_Centre_%28OSS
C%29/index.html