Less haste, more speed: 7 ideas for getting summer projects done

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“Less haste, more speed” is a variant of “Haste makes waste.” The idea goes back a long, long way— at least to the first century CE. In Canterbury Tales (c. 1387), Chaucer used the phrase “In wikked haste is not profit” in “The Tale of Malibee” as Dame Prudence counsels her husband in planning revenge. But in this case, I want to suggest that you would be wise to slow down a bit and take a breather, before diving into your summer projects and writing. It is the fortunate lot of the academician that does not have to teach over the summer and is able to spend time on their summer projects, including writing. Do it realistically, and you won’t look back by saying, “I wasted the summer…again.”

Here are 7 ideas for getting summer projects done:

Start by stopping: Whether you are planning to write three articles, get on with a book, do field work, or experiment in your lab, you need to have some downtime. Make sure you actually have a plan for a true break away from the everyday demands of your life, whether it’s as soon as school finishes, or right before it starts in the fall again. You know how you work better than anyone else, so plan accordingly. No one can work all the time, and you need to have some enjoyable time with friends and family. Without a real break, or knowing when you will get one, you run a serious risk of burnout.
Create a schedule: Do you work best in the morning when you are fresh? Or are you a night owl preferring the quiet of the night for thinking? Academics, like every other form of human, come in a wide variety of types. Be clear about how you really function and plan accordingly. If you cannot get any work on your projects done until the kids are off to summer activities, what do you need to motivate yourself?
Construct a place to write: If you are writing, I find a ritual place and a ritual time can work wonders for the brain. Create a space you enjoy being in. Whether your desk is situated to look out over a back garden, or you prefer the sense of being in your own cubby hole, make sure you want to sit there. Otherwise, you are just going to feel guilty because sitting in your writing space is unpleasant and you avoid it. I find greenery to be quite soothing and calming, which makes it easier for me to sit down and write.
Set realistic goals: OK, there are two schools of thought about this. You can either set ridiculously ambitious goals and fall short. I find this method can make you feel really bad if you don’t meet those goals. I prefer being realistic about goals. Getting some quality work or writing done that can ultimately be submitted for publication is more important than the sheer number of words on paper. If writing, my preferred method is committing to at least 15 minutes of writing per day. Or to 500 words per day. No one says you have to stop if you are in the flow. But steady progress will keep your project top of mind and make it easier to get into that flow. Limit your focus time from two to four hours at a stretch because your brain is a muscle. It needs time to rest if you want your project to make sense.
Don’t punish yourself: If you don’t meet your goal one day, and there will be days you can’t get any work done because something you must attend to immediately will arise, do not (repeat, do not) push yourself to do twice as much the next day. Or after three days of frustration, say, “Tomorrow I will write 5,000 words to catch up.” You are setting yourself up for failure, and what Kelly McGonigal calls the “what the hell effect.” If you have several days of getting no work done, you may say, “What the hell, the summer is already wasted. Might as well go to the beach.” Stick to committing to small progress every day. You might even think about giving yourself an extra day off each week so you feel like you are enjoying your summer time, while still getting your projects done.
Get an accountability partner: Some academics feel strongly that they must have an outside deadline to get something done. If you do not have a research proposal that has been accepted or a book contract, you may need to create some pressure for yourself. You can hire someone like me because paying for help sometimes makes it harder to miss deadlines with yourself. Or make sure you have a work partner, someone else in the same situation as you. You can meet in person or by video to compare where you are; you can also set up times to simply be together while working.
Stay focused on finishing: Yes, there is a difference between process time, when you are doing whatever background research you need to do, and product time, when you are actually getting your own summer projects finished. You may actually have to limit the time you allow yourself to get sucked into the computer doing research. It’s extraordinarily easy for naturally inquisitive academics to fall into rabbit holes of tangential material. If you have committed to four hours of product time, and you realize you really need to look something up for clarification, you might want to set an actual alarm for the time when you will stop chasing those rabbits.