Look- have you to be true to yourself. You have to know how you want to spend your time, and spend your professional life, and not force yourself to be the kind of scholar that you do not wish to be.
If you love empirical work, and really only want to write about this type of work, do it!
If you love parts of the writing process but hate others- get collaborators to help with the parts you hate.
If you want to publish an article every few years, and really not make writing a big part of your career, you better find creative collaborations or find the type of university that will support this level of contribution.
There are so many ways of capitalizing on our strengths; too often we feel we have to do everything by ourselves. The academy supports this type of isolation, but we do not need to buy into this type of isolationist approach to our work.
Find colleagues to work with. Find editors. Be true to yourself.
Of course, this does not mean you can get away with only doing what you wish- life does not work this way. Still, you have to know yourself, and be true to yourself, and see the type of career you wish to have.
Very good to find this blog at this point; I am in a critical stage and I have to make choices, or find them, or make them happen bur I feel stuck.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteMany of us have felt stuck at different times in our academic lives. We are taught so many "shoulds" but this really do not helps is navigate the hard choices we have to make. Sometimes, we can work them out ourselves; other times we need an advisor, friend, or colleague.
I an almost feel the sense of stuck in your words- please let me know if I can be of any help. Feel free to ask any questions and I will post them, or send me an email.
Rich