It is no secret that one of the biggest challenges academics face (outside the brutality of the job market) is staying on track in writing and publishing. The inherent isolation of writing combined with the challenges of adapting to life as an academic can leave even the most successful scholar struggling to produce.

As with all things related to the Ph.D, the Professor Is In is dedicated to helping you succeed. We created a range of services to help you overcome the two elephant-sized roadblocks to your productivity — procrastination and isolation.

Once you make the decision to take control of your writing life, academic productivity coach Kellee Weinhold will move you step by step toward completion of of your writing goals while helping you establish habits that support academic success over the long haul. She offers both group and individual support. (Check out the end of this post for testimonials!)

UNSTUCK: The Art of Productivity

Are you a tenure track professor struggling to get your article finished? Have a book chapter that is languishing? Are you teaching on a contingent contract, juggling your limited time to get the publications you need to go on the market again? Are you grad student looking for that final push over the finish line? In other words, are you an academic writer? This course is for you.

The next group session of UNSTUCK will begin at the end of September.

Unstuck includes access to the group Facebook page, live webinars and small groups. COST: $360. (Three payment plan options: weekly, monthly, one time)

How it works:

UNSTUCK: The Art of Productivity is a self-directed online course devoted to changing your writing habits and getting your work from stalled to submitted.

The course is divided into Twelve Steps to Productivity (Think recovery from bad habits!) Each step is devoted to 1) setting up your writing practice for success and 2) moving you step by step through the standard parts of an academic publication.

Each of the Twelve Steps to Productivity come with five installments of information beginning with a daily (M-F) email reminder. In addition to a Just for Today “practice,” which is simply an idea to consider about your thinking and approach to writing, the course content includes a brief post and video offering concrete guidance on how to reach your goals. (Focusing not how to but why aren’t you? and more importantly, how do you fix begin to change it.)

In addition to the online modules, participants in regular version will have access to a secret FB page, cohort of support and accountability and live sessions with Kellee, who will take up common struggles and concerns. The course, FB group, and live sessions combine to provide structure AND community. The two things so often lacking in an academic writing life.

FAQs

• Do I have to have completed my Ph.D to register?

No. You need only be pursuing the completion of an academic writing project.

• Do I have to be working on a journal article?

No. Although the material does take up the standard parts of a journal article, those same sections (lit review, methods, results, etc. are key elements of any full-length academic work.

• What if I don’t finish in 12 weeks? How long will I have access to the material?

Access to the material does not expire.

• What if I don’t have a Facebook account?

You will miss out on the FB live sessions and community support. Consider creating a fake one to join in.

• Will there be other people in my discipline in my group?

There will be people from a range of disciplines. This is actually one of the strengths of the program as it produces a lively dialogue!

• Do I have to have a tenure track position to participate?

No. You only need an academic writing project.

• What if I can’t make it to all of the live sessions?

First, we encourage you to examine “can’t.” Is it inconvenient or impossible? Inconvenient: I am on vacation and I will have to go to a local café for internet. Impossible: I will be mid-air on a flight with no wi-fi. If a session is truly impossible, then you can watch the recording. They will remain available throughout the course.

• Do I have to buy a book?

For those working on an already drafted journal article, the Wendy Laura Belcher book  “Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks A Guide to Academic Publishing Success” provides extensive guidance will no doubt improve your final product. (Belcher provides valuable guidance in the thinking and goals of the sections that The Art of Productivity does not).

INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC SUCCESS COACHING AND MENTORING

For those PhDs who have taken the UNSTUCK course and want more, I also offer one-on-one coaching

Maintaining a productive publishing trajectory in the face of the demands of an academic life is an ongoing challenge for many junior faculty. Improving your productivity with personalized support and guidance will decrease your stress, help you get your work submitted faster and move you one step closer to tenure.

Let’s Talk: A 50-minute conversation covering the topic(s) of your choice regarding productivity. Let me help you get out of your own way and get published!  Book your Let’s Talk Session HERE.

Email me, Kellee, at tnl.reach@gmail.com to learn more or sign up!

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TESTIMONIALS

“I joined Unstuck last summer. Since then, I have submitted my book manuscript for review and submitted an article manuscript for review. Prior to that I was in a book revising funk for about a year. still tying up loose ends with the book and article but inching towards writing new material too. Most of all I have moved into the slow and steady wins the race philosophy thanks to Unstuck – without the feeling of panic or impending doom I once felt.”

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I chose a project in July that was competing with two others and is still in progress, my book proposal. I learned from Kellee that it’s incredibly difficult and frustrating to try to keep three projects in the air at the same time.

That said, I finished 2 of the 3, a book review and the critical introduction to a special issue of a journal I have co-edited. I’m really proud of the second. And did this all while adjusting to being the new chair of my department (44 faculty members total).

In the seven months before I joined Unstuck, I fretted a lot. And didn’t submit anything other than a conference abstract or two.

I now take weekends completely off and don’t look at work stuff after I get home. I also write everyday, sometimes only morning pages, but that’s writing.

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When I started the UNSTUCK program in October 2017, I came into it with a certain level of skepticism. In fact, I believe I sent you an email stating that I did not think the program was for me. You convinced me otherwise and I stayed with it until the very last lesson in December. I have little doubt that the experiences of others in the program differed from mine, but for me, the videos that accompanied each lesson became a fountain of reassurance and inspiration. So, on January 13th I received notice from the registrar at the university that my Ph.D. in Psychology had been officially conferred! Please accept my sincere appreciation for helping me believe in myself to the extent that I was able to achieve such an important academic milestone.

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Kellee is, by far, the best mentor and writing coach I’ve ever had. The UNSTUCK program has encouraged me to reach out to colleagues, it’s provided me with an excellent group of scholars who offer daily support and encouragement and it’s forced me to be honest about what I can and should accomplish this summer. Overall, the last 6 weeks have been (realistically) productive and a pleasure. Can’t say enough good things about Kellee’s program and guidance.

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I have always had issues with writing to the extent that I have questioned my choice of profession. Last year, which was my second year in a TT position, was specially challenging due to some life events. When the opportunity came to take this seminar, I took it with some enthusiasm but also doubt. I am a professional slacker! Can a weekly hour long writing workshop actually change habits that took almost a decade and a half to solidify? The answer is a very strong yes! I have written and worked more on my research in the last six weeks than in the last several months combined. The wonderful coach that Kellee is, the very structured approach to writing she teaches, the methods I learned on how to approach writing when it appears to be a very angry Hulk, have indeed changed my work habits. I still get anxiety about writing, I still get the nagging feeling that my work is not good enough, but now, I work as opposed to just worrying and being anxious about tenure. When I read my paper now, I see progress. It is not a paper I have been sitting on for a year now, it is a project that is getting close to submission. I write and I make lists and approach the paper from an entirely new and much improved perspective. I have also noticed an improvement in my non-work related habits. I have just become so much more proactive about so many other things. 
I might actually stop seeing my therapist as regularly so it saves money too!! 🙂 

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I’m emailing to say Happy Birthday from one of the TPII Unstuck writing groups!  (Apparently Skype lets you know when there is a birthday to celebrate).  When I shared it today with my fellow summer writing group members, I suggested that we list our accomplishments for the month in honor of your birthday and everything that you’ve done to help ALL of us at various points in our careers.  Here’s the list:

-5 journal articles submitted, under review, or in revision

-1 sample chapter submitted for a book proposal

-1 fellowship submitted

-consistent writing EVERY day, even with kids, jobs, and service

-personal sanity and a professional support network in this crazy academic life

As a group, we are definitely “unstuck” thanks to you and The Professor Is In site. I hope you will copy and paste this for a special blast on Facebook so others can post what they’ve accomplished with your help or “like” covertly from the shadows.  Whether it’s job applications, career advice, or writing support, we could not have done it without you!

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“I was in last July’s Unstuck cohort, and I just wanted to say thank you.  I successfully defended my dissertation last Friday (no revisions!) and I could not have finished it or gotten to the defense without Unstuck.  The tools I got are invaluable, and I will definitely be returning to them as I try to make this thing into a book.  I’m so grateful to you and Karen for all the support.”

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“I just submitted my very first article (and Unstuck project) to an academic journal! Thank you all!”

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“I finally submitted my full dissertation to my committee! So grateful for all the support and the methods I learned with unstuck. I finally learned how to de dramatize writing and how to create a realistic – and surprisingly accurate – timeline to complete projects! Just one task at a time…”
“Kellee, thanks for making me feel respected/valued as an individual and not just one among many clients. I love that you’re genuine in all your responses to individual questions and not just providing generic advice like some other academic productivity companies.”

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