Progressive Extremism: The Power of Atomic Habits
Dear students,
A while back, I sent an email to PhD candidates in our department with the following suggestion: never lose touch with your project, even if it is just 15 minutes a day! However busy you are, however crazy your life is, check in with your writing, 5-6 times a week, even if ever so briefly. Don’t break the chain! (See, for example, the following piece.)
Two ideas from two authors that supplement that advice:
Clear, Atomic Habits – Focus on lead measures (habits, processes) rather than lag measures (results). In other words, focus on the systems and strategies (as in the paragraph above) rather than goals. Embrace an identity (e.g., writer, scholar) rather than some future outcome (e.g., finishing the dissertation).
Nir Eyal, the author of Indistractable – Adopt the philosophy of “progressive extremism.” Forget about the ideal of becoming a scholar overnight who writes hours every day. Decide on one thing, however minimal, that you will do for the rest of your life. (Again, the example above is a good place to start). Once something has become second nature, move it up a notch. And so on, and so on.
In any case, learning about habits formation and processes of productivity is one aspect of approaching scholarship as a craft. (More about that in the future.)
I am praying for your well-being and that of your families.
Affectionately yours,
Dr. J.