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HOW TO KILL THE WEEDS IN YOUR DEPARTMENT
So what alternative techniques can you use (and get away with) to rid your professional life of those evil weeds? I know you can’t wait to start whacking.
Before your first whack, you need something to whack.
IDENTIFY THE WEEDS quickly before they grow. They can pop up everywhere and at any time You know that little baby ugly weeds can grow like wildfire into big ugly hairy daddy weeds. Grab them quickly and wring their baby stems.
Let’s investigate the possible strategies for attacking the weeds in the aforementioned 5 categories. The remainder of this blog will address the weeds in your mind:
1. MIND: Consider an attitude transplant to respond positively and constructively to the disappointments, rejections, and failures along the academic trail. Suck it in and cut off these weeds at the stem. Don’t dwell on the weeds. Attack your manuscript or proposal revisions, class preparation, committee work, course changes, and professional adjustments from evaluations with the vigor and rigor of your initial engagement.
Adopt a shotgun approach: Make sure to have numerous “potential products” being reviewed and in progress at all times so you don’t obsess over any single manuscript or proposal rejection and maintain an optimistic perspective that something will succeed. Consciously avoid any negative self-talk when you take a hit. What counts most is how you respond or react to each weed when you see it. Whack it immediately. Don’t let it gain a foothold or a hold of your foot. And, by all means, KEEP MOVING FORWARD!
My next blogs will continue with strategies to kill the weeds in your heart, relationships, time, and environment. Happy weeding!
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
WHAT’S WRONG WITH WEEDS?
Why are WEEDS such a problem? They are insidious, covert, stealth-like, creeping behaviors, habits, attitudes, activities, and relationships that are difficult to identify. They look like the real thing, but, instead, come along side and slowly suck the breath out of the real thing and destroy it. They can pop up everywhere you turn.
Consider your level of involvement and intensity in your daily tasks, such a teaching classes, writing grant proposals, journal manuscripts, and e-mail responses, and attending a bazillion meetings. It’s really difficult to step back and gain perspective to see the weeds interfering with those tasks. You’re too busy spinning your professorial wheels and expending great effort and energy to complete the tasks at hand to even notice:
“What’s wrong with this picture?” “Why isn’t this working?” “Why can I make any headway?” “Why do I feel so discouraged?”
WHAT ARE THE WEEDS IN YOUR LIFE?
What are the elements in your professional life that are negatively affecting your productivity? There are at least 5 categories of weeds that can kill your productive spirit: (1) mind, (2) heart, (3) relationships, (4) time, and (5) environment. This blog will start with your mind.
1. WEEDS IN YOUR MIND: Although most of you are not Wide World of Sports professional athletes, do you ever experience the “Agony of Defeat”? Does the constant barrage of disappointments, rejection, and failures get to you? How do you respond to these sources of discouragement? What are your “HIT RATES” with the following?
• grant proposals
• journal submissions
• conference proposals
• book prospectuses
• teaching load
• committee work
• student evaluations
• peer evaluations
• department chair evaluations
• reviews for promotion and tenure
Do any of these or a combination bring you to your knees and discourage you from pursuing your goals? Are you on the verge or have you reached your Quitting Quotient (QQ)?
These feelings are weeds growing in your mind that can prevent you from achieving your goals. They yield negative self-talk and counter-productive attitudes that can arrest your development and progress. Every hit seems to get bigger and bigger.
Do you have any of the preceding weeds? Jot them down so you can plan an attack. My next blogs will examine the weeds in your heart, relationships, time, and environment. Weeds just keep growing in us and around us everywhere.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
