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Writer's pictureSamantha Lynch

Reboot your Academic Career in 2021

2021 sees the start of a New Year but what does this mean for your career? Here on the blog we are kicking-off our January with our month-long reboot.

Image: courtesy of Unsplash


Time to Reflect

It's so easy to get caught up in the hum-drum of day-to-day work. With a new semester or academic year ahead looming, chances are you have a to-do list filled to the max already. While just one more Christmas gin might ease the pain of marking and teaching prep we need to take a step back too. Start as you mean to go on I say. So first things first reflect on your year. Ok, so 2020 was a bit of a s*** one for many of us but looking at things from a career perspective what were your pits and your peaks? Identify what went well - is there anything you can take into the New Year and keep doing? What were the milestones that you didn't quite reach - do you need to change these or place a little extra momentum behind them in 2021?


Goals

Goals may sound a bit cheesy but they really can help focus your year ahead. Don't you just love all the January newness? Spend a little time now defining your goals I won't go all SMART objectives on you - let's save that for the undergrads) just flesh out what you roughly want to do. As a result, you will find decision making when it comes to new opportunities and projects a much easier as you now have these goals as an anchor point. If it something crops up in that doesn't connect with your goals then perhaps you need to sideline that project for another time or just say no. You don't need a tonne of goals but create a couple of challenges to help you get going. Perhaps these could be centred around personal development, career progression, research, teaching or even how you are working.


This month you'll find lots of blog posts, resources, tips and tools and mentoring sessions to kickstart your year ahead so stay with us throughout January for more of the good stuff. In the meantime may I wish you a happy Hogmanay (as us Scots say) and a successful, happy and healthy year ahead.


Dr Sam Lynch - is a researcher, consultant and head of department focusing on consumer decision-making and omnichannel fashion retail. Sam is also a mentor helping academics to work smarter through her blog and workshops. You can find out more by visiting the drsamlynch.co.uk homepage, reach out via twitter @drsamlynch or use the email address above.


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