Tag Archives: study

Some helpful pieces on planning and study

I’ve been finding a number of really helpful pieces on different aspects of planning, research and study recently, and here share three of my favourites. Here is a belter of a piece by the wonderful Katherine Firth about ‘Taking a critical distance break’, explaining the very helpful process of stepping back from a project you’re engrossed in, to give yourself time and head space to see what’s really going on, what’s most important, how things fit together, etc. Here is a very helpful piece on Continue reading →

Tavis Bohlinger on choosing the life of the mind

Tavis Bohlinger posted this excellent reflection on choosing the life of the mind, highly relevant for scholars, doctoral students, and those considering doctoral study. He has kindly given me permission to share it here as a ‘guest post’ on my blog. Over to Tavis… Why, in the face of material prosperity and the endless production of greater and better goods, would anybody choose the life of the mind? I use the definite article with purpose. There are plural “lives” of intellectual priority that one might Continue reading →

Review of Deep Work by Cal Newport

Here’s a helpful review of Cal Newport’s outstandingly good book Deep Work, a book which I read with great profit when it first came out. It’s by Imogen Mathew, and found on the Thesis Whisperer, a very useful and readable blog for those involved in PhD work (and their supervisors—I find it very helpful). Thanks Imogen and Inger Mewburn!