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Academic blogs

Author: Sarah Lang

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

How to write a lot [Book Review]

Here’s my review of Paul J. Silvia, How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing (APA LifeTools). I loved it so much that I listened to the audiobook three times in a row. In short: read it, I loved it Overall, I have to say, this…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

What reviewing books taught me about how to procrastinate less

Here are the key takeaways from various authors on overcoming procrastination that I talked about in earlier posts or book reviews: From Steven Pressfield (“Turning Pro” & “The War of Art”): Procrastination is a form of stress relief and can be like addiction, characterized by passive, easy, and guilt-inducing behaviors.…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

Revolutionary thought for the summer break: You work best when well-rested

Brace yourselves, I have something revolutionary to say. You work the best when well-rested. When you’re well-rested, you’re not constantly running on a low battery and about to crash; you have enough energy to keep going. In that battery-always-almost-empty state, you’re irritable, make bad decisions, procrastinate more, do things that,…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

How to stop procrastinating on academic writing (it may be simpler than you think)

I spent the weekend meditating at a silent retreat and had a big insight during a work meditation session (where you attempt to do household chores with awareness) that I wanted to share with you because I think it’s relevant to many of us struggling with procrastination and the fear…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

Endings are hard: How to write a strong conclusion [Book Review]

Nobody knows how to write good conclusions. So for the second post in my recap of Joshua Schimmel’s Writing Science (part 1), I will unpack how to write a strong conclusion—according to Schimmel anyway and adding a few experiences of mine. But honestly, trust him, not me. I don’t know…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

What I learned about Writing Science [Book Review]

At a recent professional development workshop, I was recommended Writing Science by Joshua Schimmel (Oxford University Press: Oxford 2011). I learned so much! Initially, I didn’t expect much because it’s for scientists and not the Humanities – but it was extremely helpful nonetheless. Thus, I decided to make notes of…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

How to energise and condense your writing [Book Review]

In this post, you will learn how to energise and condense your writing according to Joshua Schimmel’s Writing Science. His advice really isn’t secret or particularly mind-blowing but I’m making all those mistakes on a regularl basis. Sometimes it’s good to have the rules spelled out. To energise your writing,…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

Why I’m disappointed by Slow Productivity [Book Review]

I was disappointed by Cal Newport’s latest book ​Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment without Burnout (2024). In this blog post, I will share my takeaways from this book, why I was disappointed and why you may or may not be, too. This book review is quite long and…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

[Book Review] A world without email

Today, I want to give a brief reivew of Cal Newport, A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload (Penguin 2021, see also the author’s website). The summary situates the work as follows: Modern knowledge workers communicate constantly. Their days are defined by a relentless barrage…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

Why Networking in Academia is overrated and how to do it right

I was motivated to write this blog post because I watched this YouTube video of a PhD student who is thinking about quitting because “academia with its networking isn’t for them”. If that’s you, too, don’t despair. Networking in academia is overrated and I’ll explain why I think so based…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

On the Art and Politics of Chairing Panels

I have considered chairing panels at academic conferences for a while as a topic for a potential blog post. This aspect of academic life isn’t self-evident and there are only a few guides on how to do it. But here’s more: chairing is a political act that nobody talks about.…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

Applications in Academia 101: A Survival Guide (Part 3)

In the last post, I outlined how you can get better at academic job applications (Applications in Academia 101: A Survival Guide (Part 1)). Now I’m going to provide some more detail on what that can look like in practice. Since I came up with lots of material, there will…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

Applications in Academia 101: A Survival Guide (Part 2)

In the last post, I outlined how you can get better at academic job applications (Applications in Academia 101: A Survival Guide (Part 1)). Now I’m going to provide some more detail on what that can look like in practice. Since I came up with lots of material, there will…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

(PhD) Life Wisdom from Bouldering. Part IV

Our posts on “wisdom from bouldering” have turned into quite a series. I’m surprised myself each time that bouldering has something more to teach me about life. But I guess you’ll always take away the insights you were ready to learn at that particular time. Today’s insight is about overgripping,…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

Adventurous Epigrammetrists – part II

This is the second part of our “why you didn’t hear from us much this past summer” series and you’ve got a lot to catch up! I have been quite busy this summer too. You have already gotten a glimpse into how I digested my post PhD submission fatigue (and…

Sarah Lang · Epigrammetry

Post PhD Submission Fatigue. Part 1

As some of you might know, I submitted my PhD thesis a while ago. I knew about the supposed post-(PhD)-partum depression from stories, of course. I wasn’t sure how it was going to play out for myself. Now after more than a month, I’m definitely still in the deep of…