PostDoc Writing Group Session

As part of its committment to peer networking, the PostDoc Office supports the self-organizing of researchers. There is a weekly writing session in-person and online in the meeting room of the PostDoc Office.

What are your writing goals this term? Do you have an action plan on how you are going to achieve them and when you are going to get all that writing done?

Studies show that the most popular, yet least effective way to write in academia is binge-writing. The most effective way to write is to set a dedicated, defensible time slot for writing. But setting schedules is different from sticking to them (all the more so with home-office). Writing in a group has many benefits: it provides accountability that helps stick to that schedule, social support, and community for sharing experiences and best practices with others at a similar academic level (post-doc).

How it works:

The writing slot consists of a brief intro and set up (up to 15 min), hardcore writing (1h+), and brief outro part (up to 15 min). In the intro we report how far along we are with our weekly writing goals outside the group and we set our writing goals for the current slot. The hardcore writing slot is just that: turn off the phone and email and just write. In the outro we reward ourselves for the hard work, socialize, share writing experiences and best practices, and - importantly - commit to our goals until the next meeting.

The group will meet every Friday from 9-10.30am online (meeting link can be requested from postdoc@uni-graz.at) and (if possible) in person (Location: Heinrichstrasse 22, 8010 Graz, 2nd floor, turn left, first room). Additional weekly slots on other days possible. Post-docs of all fields welcome. International scholars welcome.

(Informal) studies have shown that professors and PhD students might want to join, so keep this group a secret only for post-docs! ;-) The idea for this format is inspired by Ch. 4 in Silvia, P. J. (2007). How to write a lot: A practical guide to productive academic writing. American Psychological Association.