Feb 17, 2023·edited Feb 17, 2023Liked by Bryn Williams-Jones
This is something I felt strongly in graduate school - the Sword of Damocles hanging over me as I read 'for fun' or watched TV or spent time with friends, when I could always be reading, writing, thinking, etc. I don't know that I ever struck the right balance at the time, but with a few years away from my degree (and being in an alt-academic space today), I have found time for what I love doing - writing TV criticism. It still sometimes intersects with or sounds like my academic work (my partner will sometimes point out that I'm not just 'turning off my brain' while watching TV), but being able to engage my thinking skills in something that is otherwise trivial to my career (though intensely meaningful for me, personally) has been a lovely way to destress and discover non-academic passions.
Very important! And I can testify that in academia, I don't think one EVER feels adequate. There is always more to read, more to research. There was, for me, always a feeling of inadequacy, no matter how much I wrote or published. And the academic world often carries few tangible results. Hence, all my hobbies tended to be "hands on" -- crafting, sewing, making bread, things that left a tangible result. thanks for this blog!
This is something I felt strongly in graduate school - the Sword of Damocles hanging over me as I read 'for fun' or watched TV or spent time with friends, when I could always be reading, writing, thinking, etc. I don't know that I ever struck the right balance at the time, but with a few years away from my degree (and being in an alt-academic space today), I have found time for what I love doing - writing TV criticism. It still sometimes intersects with or sounds like my academic work (my partner will sometimes point out that I'm not just 'turning off my brain' while watching TV), but being able to engage my thinking skills in something that is otherwise trivial to my career (though intensely meaningful for me, personally) has been a lovely way to destress and discover non-academic passions.
Thank you. This is such an important topic.
Very important! And I can testify that in academia, I don't think one EVER feels adequate. There is always more to read, more to research. There was, for me, always a feeling of inadequacy, no matter how much I wrote or published. And the academic world often carries few tangible results. Hence, all my hobbies tended to be "hands on" -- crafting, sewing, making bread, things that left a tangible result. thanks for this blog!