The Academic Imperfectionist

Do you listen to podcasts like this one and think: But this advice is for people who are much nicer than me, who deserve success; it's not for me, who secretly hopes that their more successful colleague steps on a rake at their earliest convenience? Do you simmer with resentment even while you're doing the heart-reaction-thing on your friend's Facebook post about her new job? Is envy your dirty little secret, and yours alone? This episode is for you.References:Protasi, S. 2018: 'Love your frenemy', Aeon. Protasi, S. 2022: 'Beyond envy's dark side', IAI.

I started writing my book, on the philosophy of swearing, in 2015. The original deadline from the publisher was December 2016. I finally submitted it in June 2022, 5-and-a-half years late. Gather round the virtual campfire, friends, and I'll share with you why it took me so long (spoiler: it wasn't because I am lazy, worthless human being) and how I finally got it done (spoiler: it wasn't by being mean to myself).Here's a link to the Goal Contract mentioned in the episode.Leadership Lessons From The Great BooksUnderstanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Everything's a judgment with your inner critic, isn't it? It's never 'I'm having trouble focusing today'; instead, it's 'I'm lazy'. And it's never 'I'm prioritising my own goals this morning'; it's 'I'm selfish'. Has it ever occurred to you that not every unhelpful character trait, choice, or behaviour is a moral flaw? You probably haven't noticed this, but your inner critic likes to sneak moral judgment into everything she says to you. Not only is that hurtful, but it also holds you back by distracting you from thinking strategically about how to work towards your goals. The Academic Imperfectionist is here to neutralise that shit and help you cut through the judgment and get to where you want to be.

You're totally on board in theory with the idea of being kinder to yourself - it's just that your self-criticism helps you succeed, right? And while you recognise that overwork is a problem, you can't make time for rest, because then you'd fall behind, wouldn't you? Friend, don't take this the wrong way, but you have no idea what you're on about. The habits and thoughts that you think are helping you aren't doing that at all. They're making you miserable. You need to get rid of them - it's just that it's so hard to think clearly about them and what's wrong with them, and decide what to do instead. Your Academic Imperfectionist godmother is going Freudian in this episode - we're going to whip your unconscious into shape.

Do you tell yourself that, in order to be a strong, successful, productive human, you need to have zero tolerance for anxiety? I thought so. You think that if you ignore it, it will go away. The problem is, that doesn't work. Ignoring it makes it worse. To stop anxiety holding you back, you need to hit the pause button - yes, including on that thing that you really should have finished last week - and take a long, hard look at your anxiety. Here's your guide on how to do that.Here's some useful info and resources at cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

Are you one of those people who thinks that if a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing painfully? Who feels like they must be doing something wrong if it feels too effortless? Me too, friend. There are good reasons why you feel like progress needs to be difficult - but that doesn't mean you're right. Find out how to dial down your anxiety so you can work more peacefully on the stuff you care about.‘How To Achieve Your Goals Effortlessly’: interview with Greg McKeown on Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s Feel Better Live More podcast.Meet Kiwi!

Emails that will take 10 seconds to answer. That little pile of stuff in the corner of the kitchen that you need to take a couple of minutes to sort through. Taking 30 seconds to fill in a form that you're going to have to fill in at some point. You could just do these things, get them out of your head, and make your life a lot easier. Instead, you hide from them and devote far more mental effort to not doing them than it would ever take you to do them. What's going on? Well, friend - it's not the tasks at all. It's the emotion you attach to them. Instead of beating yourself up for all the things that you're failing to do, you need to lift the lid on your reluctance and ask what it means about your priorities, your values, and your stress levels. The Academic Imperfectionist is here to mop your brow while you face your fears.For the 'Identify Your Core Values' exercise mentioned in the episode, click here.

If you want something, you need to put in 110% to get it, right? Well, sure, if what you want is to turn yourself into an anxious mess. If you really want to achieve your goals, you need to take a smarter approach. You need to relax, stop trying so hard, and aim for just 'good enough'. For the 'good enough' exercise mentioned in the episode, go here.Reference:Haugen, T., Seiler, S., Sandbakk, Ø. et al. The Training and Development of Elite Sprint Performance: an Integration of Scientific and Best Practice Literature. Sports Med - Open 5, 44 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-019-0221-0

Lucky you: you get to spend your time researching that thing you find more interesting than anything else in the whole world! So, why is it that you can't bring yourself to do it these days? Why does the thought of it make you feel anxious and overwhelmed rather than excited and energised?Friend, you've fallen out of love with your research. It happens. And it's not just you. Unfortunately, academia (and, come to think of it, the world in general) is geared to trying to motivate you in ways that actually kill your interest in what you do. But there's a way out of this muddle, and your imperfect friend is here to tell you all about it.For the 5 whys analysis template mentioned in the episode, click here. References:Greene, D., & Lepper, M. R. 1974: 'Effects of extrinsic rewards on children's subsequent intrinsic interest', Child Development 45, 1141-1145. Lepper, M. R., Greene, D., & Nisbett, R. E. 1973: 'Undermining children's intrinsic interest with extrinsic rewards: a test of the overjustification hypothesis', Journal of Personality and SocialPsychology 28: 129-137.Loveland, K. K., & Olley, J. G. 1979: 'The Effect of External Reward on Interest and Quality of Task Performance in Children of High and Low Intrinsic Motivation', Child Development 50/4: 1207.

You know 'Believe in Yourself' is an important message - why else would it be emblazoned across so many t-shirts for pre-teen girls?  But do you really understand why it's so important, and just how far thinking the right thoughts about who you are and what you do can take you towards where you want to be? Your imperfect pal here just discovered the astonishing work on mindsets by the Stanford psychologist, Professor Alia Crum. Get the kettle on and let's have a chat about what it all means for you and your academic (and non-academic) struggles.  Click here for Professor Andrew Huberman's interview with Professor Alia Crum on the Huberman Lab podcast.References:Crum, A. J., Corbin, W. R., Brownell, K. D., Salovey, P. 2011: 'Mind over milkshakes: mindsets, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response', Health Psychology 30/4: 424-29.Crum, A. J. and Langer, E. J. 2007: "Mindset matters: exercise and the placebo effect', Psychological Science 18/2: 165-71.  Zahrt, O. H. and Crum, A. J. 2020: 'Effects of physical activity recommendations on mindset, behavior and perceived health', Preventative Medicine Reports 17: 101027