Day in the Life of an Academic #14: Teaching day

Someone asked me the other day what the job of an academic looks like. We talked about the multiple sides of academic life, and the need to balance them; about how we are never truly off, even if people outside of academy (my mother included!) seem to think that we are permanently on holidays; and … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #14: Teaching day

Day in the Life of an Academic #13: Graduation

What I did, on Tuesday, 19th July. 07h07m: Alarm goes off but, really, I have been awake for a while because we are in the middle of a heatwave and it’s hard to sleep. Get up, cold shower, coffee, quick breakfast, and head out of the door. Today I am going to Brunel, for one of … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #13: Graduation

Day in the Life of an Academic #12: Spanners in the work

I had a request for another day in the life blog post. I usually try to pick up days that illustrate different facets of the life of an academic, to help others considering this profession visualise the type of work and experiences involved; and to connect with those interacting with academics (students, administrators, research partners...). … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #12: Spanners in the work

Day in the Life of an Academic #11: Lockdown 2

November 5th marked the start of the second national lockdown in England. Lockdown 2 shouldn’t be particularly inconvenient as far as my household is concerned, given that schools and universities are still running, that we have more space, and that our way of life changed since last March (meaning that it doesn’t represent such a drastic … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #11: Lockdown 2

Day in the Life of an Academic #10: In lock-down

A peak into a day that was anything but ordinary: April 1st, a Wednesday, halfway through the second week of lockdown in the UK. I got up just before 8 am, which is very late for me. Normally, by now, I would be getting ready to leave the house to drop the kiddo in … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #10: In lock-down

Day in the Life of an Academic #9: All sorts of meetings

It’s time to offer you a peak into yet another facet of an academic’s life, with another “Day in the Life” post. This time, a post looking at Wednesday, October 30th: a day that was full of meetings. I woke up at 5ish, and got ready to go to work: I have a meeting in … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #9: All sorts of meetings

Day in the Life of an Academic #8: fragmented vs focused work days

While I was reading the book ‘Deep Work’ by Cal Newport, about the value and challenges of doing focused work, I started paying more attention to the instances of deep vs shallow work in my life and, in particular, how it impacted on how I felt. I kept a diary for a couple of weeks. … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #8: fragmented vs focused work days