Relaxed New Year’s Head Start for Academics

Welcome, 2025! So this is it: a new year, a new beginning, new resolutions, new goals, etc. Well, I guess your online feeds are full of that kind of content. In Academia, at least when you are located in the German-speaking parts, we face the last 3 to 6 weeks of the winter semester after Christmas break. So, not long before the next break (aka more time for your research and writing because there is no teaching to be done). But still, a lot of work remains. Semester endings are always taking a toll on everybody.

So, what can you do to start this new year refreshed and with the right mindset?

First things first – a little reflection on last year

We all have experienced a lot this past year, 2024. Maybe you already have reflected on the goals you have reached, the things that went well and those that did not go that well at all. Failing is always part of the process when working towards a career in Academia. That’s why we adjust our workflow and our methods every once in a while. The beginning of the New Year is one of the best times for this kind of action.

Maybe you have read the last post – from the beginning of this week, but already last year – about Epigrammetry’s previous year in a short blog post overview. Our main topics and interests have not changed. Sarah and I are in our postdoc phase now, and the academic workload is not getting any smaller. New projects and requirements are popping out of the blank air (if you allow me this metaphor). And with every new project, the pressure of “publication debts” grows. And still, we consider our jobs the best in the world.

How to do a simple reflection of your last year?

Sit down, get yourself a piece of paper and a pen, take your phone and set a timer for 10 minutes. Now, think about last year and start writing. No matter how the words come out, whether in complete sentences or just pieces of thought. What happened? What made you happy or angry? What made you laugh or cry? What was great, and what was a negative experience?
After those 10 minutes, read your output, and if you like, take your calendar, phone camera roll or whatever to help yourself remember good and positive things. Forgive yourself for your mistakes – they already happened. We will give our best and try to be our best selves for the whole of next year. I also struggle with letting mistakes and negativity in any form of memory just be. You are not alone in feeling this way. But we have done wonderfully this last year. And that’s the essential thing to focus on.

If you ever had any New Year’s Resolutions or annual goals, think about them shortly. Could you meet your goals? What went well, and what was not working out at all? What are the lessons learned? Those lessons are important because everything we learn helps us to do better the next time. Mistakes help you learn, so I can’t stress this enough.

Maybe you also want to discuss your year with someone dear to you. I like to do it that way. With friends and my partner – remembering good moments together, how we mastered hard times, all the good and bad things. This is another way of reflection. You can do it for your private life, academic life, and everything together or in separate steps – there are no rules.

The art of goal setting without stressing yourself out

I watched a lot of YouTube recently, some of my favourite creators, a lot of ASMR (I am writing this post while listening to a winterly dark academia violin setting showing me a snowy wood and a small river with a bridge), and – because you could not escape this topic at this time between years – a lot about goal setting. There are various techniques for setting goals in every aspect of your life.

The Power of 90 Days

One thing that stuck with me on goal setting was the avoidance of setting annual goals – quarterly goal planning, followed by quarterly reflection, seems to be the thing. And when we think about it, it seems logical. Whenever we want to set goals, we know that big, mighty ones (e.g., publishing the proceedings of a conference as an editor) are frightening. 12 months is a long time, too – when you have not made progress for three or four months, it is not that bad, right? There is the whole year ahead… yeah, we all have been there. No worries, I see you. This is one of the common pitfalls with annual goals.

Quarterly goals need a reflection every three months. So, every 90 days, we are forced to think about our progress. 90 days can also be visualized better than the whole year. Take a piece of paper and write down the numbers 1 to 90, or sketch a rough three-month calendar sheet. For the entire year, this tends to get exhausting and confusing. 90 days can be split up easily into smaller steps – monthly, weekly, every 10 days, or whatever you like in your routine.

(Research) Journalling and your “academic manifesto”

How do you keep an overview? As mentioned before, we are in our postdoc phase, and work is one thing we will never be short of in life again. I had a phase where I was constantly forgetting what I was doing – overwhelmed by all my publication debts and all the new stuff to work on. So, I made a list. Sounds simple, right? I just sat down with my calendar, a sheet of paper, and my favourite pen (yes, I have a favourite pen and red ink because I love my favourite pen with red ink). I put some good music on, made myself a cup of coffee, and wrote down every task I could think of. A wild mix of big, small, and tiny tasks, all together, in no particular order. Then, I grabbed some crayons (yes, I am an archaeologist; drawing is a method of documentation, and we use crayons for colouring our drawings). I tried to form groups by colouring tasks that belong together in one project.

With this sorted list, I could start maintaining a research journal. I started tracking the progress I made with every project. I had a sheet of paper for every project, and every time I did some work on one, I wrote it down – date, what I did, the time spent, and sometimes also why I was having problems or what I discovered and what fueled my research idea. This way, I can always see where I am with my progress and what I need to do to meet my goal.

Another method next to your research journal is the so-called “academic manifesto”. I am a postdoc in Classical Archaeology, focusing on Roman Archaeology and the Roman Provinces. My research profile should show what my focus research area is. Therefore, My research projects are my projects because I have the expertise in this area and want to find out more and produce further knowledge about this area.

Voilà, your basic form of an academic manifesto. When you formulate your goals, you combine your research interests, research profile to date, expertise, and the steps you need to take to succeed in your projects into your manifesto. This can be two or three sentences, but also half a page – however you like. A manifesto is also a little help should you ever doubt your path – it’s the “Remember why you started” magic.

Progress is progress

Some days, you can’t get anything out of your brain. You stare at a blank page; you read the same sentences repeatedly without grasping the meaning of the words. You fall asleep during your reading. Coffee seems to be broken because you can’t concentrate on anything.

THIS IS NORMAL! (And everyone who tries to tell you that you must push through – let them talk! Maybe also roll your eyes on them.)

Everyone tends to have those kind of days. (I sometimes have a week like this.) So, what is the point of beating yourself up? Does it help? No. Work is not magically existent just because you gave yourself a hard time.

Concentrate on the bare minimum when you happen to experience such days. You checked your e-mail, answered three and sent one? Fine. Have you cleaned up your Zotero or Citavi database? Great. Did you scan some images you need for one of your lectures? Good job. Progress is progress. No matter what baby steps. It is always a step in the right direction: forward. Try to relax, take a bath, read a good book, call your parents or grandparents, talk to people you love, or simply go for a walk. Rest. There are those power days ahead. 😉

Past – Future – and living in the moment

Now that you have done some reflection and revision of your past year, you have spent some time thinking about your future goals, and now you need to make progress. As I said before, progress is progress. Bad days, generally bad phases where you feel stuck will pass. Forgive yourself for “dropping out of your routine”. Everything is fine as long as you show up again and try to keep this routine going after some days that did not go well. Sometimes, your best is 100%, and on some days, even 120%. But sometimes it’s only 35% or 20%, which is also acceptable and perfect enough. Consistency is key. Everything is fine as long as you show up and make at least one little step forward.

Be kind to yourself and be aware of what your body tells you. Take that break when you feel tired. When energized, put in that extra hour of effort if you like and when you have no other commitments or appointments.

Have a marvellous year, stay healthy, and all the best!

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