The Academic Imperfectionist

Think you can cope with a two-minute task? How about a zillion two-minute tasks? Do you do them right away, as they come in, to get them out the way? Or do you push them aside and risk forgetting about them? You could write them down to ensure you remember them, I suppose - but wouldn't it be just as quick to do them? But if you do them, how are you ever going to have time to do anything else - finish your thesis, submit that grant application, apply for that job? If you've ever sat down to tackle a quick bit of desk-clearing admin before you get on with the real work only to find yourself exhausted, hours later, having made no progress on the projects you actually care about, this episode is for you. Plug in the vacuum cleaner, friends. We're going in.

How often do you take breaks? Scrolling on your phone while your eyes sting with tiredness doesn't count. Do you even know what sorts of activities you find restorative? Do you remember what being relaxed feels like? And don't give me that 'I'm much happier when I'm busy, honest!' nonsense. If you find it hard to switch off and relax, that's not because you don't need a rest. It's because you're out of practice. But it's a skill you can learn (or re-learn) and have fun along the way. And, importantly, it's something you need to do before you crash and burn. Close that laptop and have a sit down with your Imperfectionist friend. Together, we'll locate your OFF switch.

With all the self-improvement advice that's out there these days, you could be forgiven for thinking that you have no excuse for feeling like your life is a mess. Here's an article about how to identify the right sort of to-do list for your personality type! Here's a quiz to tell you what career path best fits your star sign! Here's a t-shirt design that will help calm your nervous system! Sometimes, though, wading through this information takes more time, attention, motivation, and willpower than you currently have. Perhaps you're too overwhelmed even to open your calendar to see what you've got on today. Maybe even the thought of making a sandwich makes you want to cry.  If that's where you are today, I have you covered. I've boiled down some of my five best insights into little prompts that will take you 30 seconds. Dry your eyes and have a listen.
If you want these sanity-saving microfixes in a form that you can print out and stick above your desk (or crumple up and throw across the room, or rip therapeutically to shreds), you can download it here.
The BBC article mentioned in this episode is here.

When was the last time you made a completely frivolous, inconsequential decision? Some of you, I know, are going to have to think hard about your answer to that. Some of you are all about the drama, in the worst possible way. Missing that deadline means sabotaging your entire career. Forgetting that colleague's name means revealing yourself as a giant buffoon to everyone you care about connecting with. Making the wrong decision about which project to work on next means squandering what remains of your potential. You're so anxious about reaching your goals that you're burning through your energy and your peace of mind. You know you can't go on like this, but you're afraid to relax because that means giving up, failure, and oblivion. 
It really doesn't have to be this way, my friend. Not everything matters. There's room in your life and in your career for playfulness, whimsy, and mistakes without consequences. Make yourself a calming cuppa and settle in for some straight talking from The Academic Imperfectionist.

You've done the inner work, the soul searching, the assertiveness training. You're no longer a people-pleasing pushover who agrees to anything anyone asks. These days, you're someone who's not afraid to guard their own boundaries. You know the word 'no', and you're not afraid to use it. Go you! But there's a problem. Sometimes, saying 'no' doesn't work. You get pushback. It feels like sometimes people don't hear you. You don't understand why this happens. And while you've learned to be comfortable with saying 'no', you're out of your depth when it comes to fighting your corner against people who go all-out to get a 'yes'.
I've got you covered, my friend. With a dollop of philosophy of language, a side-serving of sociolinguistics, and a sprinkle of sociology, you can understand what's going on, and what you can do about it. 
References:
Brown, P. and Levinson, S. 1987: Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Goffman, Erving. 1967: Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face-to-Face Behavior (New York: Pantheon Books).
Grice, H. Paul. 1975: ‘Logic and Conversation’, in Cole, P. and Morgan, J. L. (eds.) Syntax and Semantics, Vol. 3, Speech Acts (New York: Academic Press), 41-58.