While I’m pretty organised and systematic in the way I do things, I always run the risk of thinking “wow, that’s a neat project and one I should pursue” without much regard for whether I have the bandwidth to actually work on something and function normally. This has been happening to me this semester (Fall 2017) when despite my previously very organised semester, which I already had planned with my Everything Notebook since last December, I thought to myself “oh look, SHINY NEW PROJECTS! But I don’t have the energy to pursue them. Although… well, I have a large lab, and my research assistants can help me get through and organise this, or write that, or generate that. Ok, sure, I’ll say yes“.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS.
Right now, I’m sick at home, after a rather trying week where I flew into Vancouver, did fieldwork, conducted interviews, met up with UBC professors, colleagues, and coauthors, gave two talks, participated in one panel. All the while, flying back on the Thursday so I could teach my undergraduate and graduate classes on Friday and Saturday. Obviously, I’m completely wiped out, even though it’s a Monday now. The reality is that, despite my best efforts to always plan my life to the very last minute, there are always contingencies, one of the most important ones being – there’s always a Shiny New Project that appears in the horizons that you say “sure why not, this looks doable and like something I want to do“.
DON’T.
Learn your lesson through me. Although, in all fairness, we ALL sometimes face Shiny New Project Syndrome.
Well, first off I develop a list of reasonable obj… ooh, what’s that over there?
— Lejo Flores (@HydroLejo) November 12, 2017
I have this disease. I try not to have more than 3 or 4 projects in the air at once but sometimes a friend has an idea and that becomes 5 or 6.
— William D. Adler (@williamadler78) November 12, 2017
I took to Twitter to ask them how to deal with SNPS, and here are a few of the excellent responses I got.
I use the semester plan approach, and my plan is always done by the week before, so nothing new can get added after then. By the time the next plan starts some projects are no longer as shiny.
— Psyc Girl (@PsycGrrrl) November 12, 2017
I now give myself a 24h #thinkingperiod before I accept any #commitment longer than 48h to complete… I'm learning from my #mistakes
— Catherine Boisvert (@SharkEvoDevo) November 13, 2017
I have this above my desk, and tell my students to just keep pestering me about their drafts. It almost works. pic.twitter.com/xKa2KpokK0
— Ben Schulz (@bnschlz) November 12, 2017
I think of doing things in 3s. Right now I have a book I'm contracted to write, an article to make final revisions on, and a chapter to contribute to an edited collection. Any more than that, and I shut down. Having 10 things going on at once is, for me, unrealistic.
— Shannon H (@alabamamutant) November 12, 2017
Exhaustion works well.
I keep a spreadsheet of projects, so new ideas get put there, but I have never really suffered from SNPS.
— Steve Somebody's Baby Saideman (@smsaideman) November 12, 2017
Only start new projects when they're accepted for a conference and there's a deadline
— Jaclyn Piatak (@JaclynPiatak) November 12, 2017
I focus more on having one new thing to do at a time, which usually leads to way more than three new things a year if you count chapters in books. Instead of 3/3/3 I like 1/1/1 for each week, works out in the end
— Brandon Valeriano (@drbvaler) November 12, 2017
Put time in your calendar for each project and stick to it. It doesn’t have to be equal time. When I’m getting ready to submitting a paper I shift all my energy to that project, until it’s done.
— M Gallardo-Williams (@Teachforaliving) November 12, 2017
Me working on a shiny new project. I try to use them as reward for finishing a dusty dull project pic.twitter.com/3o7953FKeD
— distracted academic (@adhd_professor) November 12, 2017
I keep an overview of projects and papers by month. Helps me prioritize new projects and decide whether I have capacity. Still very susceptible, and with multiple contributors planning often gets messy…
— nava (@navatintarev) November 12, 2017
Timelines and practicality. If it's not going to keep me producing to publish then no
— Erika A #defendDACA (@lionwanderer531) November 11, 2017
I keep a prioritized list of in-progress manuscripts & research projects posted by my desk. Any new project idea gets recorded on a "research ideas" spreadsheet that's buried within a few folders (i.e., not easily accessible on the desktop).
— Chris Belser (@CBelser_PSC) November 11, 2017
Commit to somebody else. If I have told somebody the writing is on the way I don't want to disappoint. It helps me get over the hump.
— David Feltmate (@DavidFeltmate) November 11, 2017
I take two or three projects at the time, no more than that. I try to not engage in any more writing or academic work until I finish what I have already on my plate.
— Diego (@DiegoBzl) November 11, 2017
I love Liz Gloyn’s concept of academic otters 🙂
Academic otters all the way! https://t.co/D77KibrYEd
— Liz Gloyn (@lizgloyn) November 11, 2017
One thing I liked about all the responses is how human we all are regarding new projects. We all try to be very systematic and stay with the main ones we’re working on and then… WHOA. Something new comes our way.
Like others, I limit to 2-3 at a time. One big, 2-3 small. Maybe a paper. Oh, wait. That's 5 or 6? Never mind.
— Meg Mulrooney (@MegMulrooney) November 11, 2017
Still working on that one. Let me know when you figure it out.
— Benjamin Y. Clark – Assistant Professor of PA (@BenClarkPhD) November 11, 2017
Overall, when it comes to Shiny New Project Syndrome, I try to just stick to my yearly, monthly and weekly plan, but I also have a folder of “Projects to Undertake“. I’ll write more about it in a different post.
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