What are your writing goals this year? 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? 

The PostDoc Office offers two formats to be successful with all your writing goals: Weekly writing groups (Friday morning, Monday afternoon, Thursday afternoon; organized by researchers themselves) and a yearly retreat.

The Scientifically-Backed PostDoc Writing Group

Studies show that an effective way to write in academia 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.

One group meets every Friday from 9-10.30am online and if possible in person (Location: Heinrichstrasse 22, 8010 Graz, 2^nd floor, turn left, first room). Additional meet-ups are Monday afternoon (3pm) and Thursday afternoon. PostDocs of all fields welcome. International scholars welcome. 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. 

The PostDoc Writing Retreat

The PostDoc Office and the PostDoc Writing Group invite you to a rural part of Styria for three days every September. Focus on your writing while staying sane, enjoying the community of other researchers and being/moving in nature. The retreat is being facilitated by an expert in academic writing and productivity, and there is to be a melange of focussed work, exercise and leisure. The language is a mix of English and German. Registration opens usually in May/June and is first come first serve. It will be announced via the mailing list.

Write to postdoc@uni-graz.at to receive reminders for the writing groups and access to the pad with shared goals and online link if you want to participate online.