Thursday, 14 October 2021 | 1100 1500 | Online
Find out how you can become significantly more productive as a researcher in a fraction of your current working day. Rather than learning (yet more) time management techniques, you will learn new ways of thinking that will reframe your relationship with work.
The course is based on Prof Reed’s book, The Productive Researcher, in which he draws on interviews with some of the world’s highest performing researchers, the literature and his own experience to identify a small number of important insights that can transform how researchers work. The course is based on an unparalleled breadth of interdisciplinary evidence that speaks directly to researchers of all disciplines and career stages.
Prof Reed works 37 hours a week and never works weekends, and yet over the last two years he published three books, 23 peer-reviewed papers in international journals and won 7 new grants bringing in almost £2M to his institution as part of projects worth over £30M in total. He did this while pursuing international impacts from his research and running spin-out company, Fast Track Impact, through which he personally trained >5000 researchers during this period.
How does it work?
The course works by shifting you from focusing on tasks to focusing on priorities, linked to your values and identity. By working regularly on your most important priorities, even if only for a small proportion of the working day, you can become increasingly motivated to make time for these priorities, creating a powerful positive feedback loop. Rather than encouraging you to extract ever more productivity from your working life, the emphasis is on using your new-found productivity to get better work-life balance, and by resting well, working even more effectively. This course will make you more productive, more satisfied with what you produce, and enable you to be happy working less, and being more.
Key benefits:
Leave with practical tools you can use immediately to prioritise limited time to achieve more ambitious career goals
Gain a deeper understanding of the values that underpin your work, and the reasons why you feel time pressured
Identify priorities that are as much about being as they are about doing, and that are stretching, motivational, authentic, relational and tailored to your unique strengths and abilities
Turn these into an “experiment” to make practical changes that create a positive feedback loop between your priorities and your motivation, so you can become increasingly focussed and productive
Write a message to your future self and receive an email after a month from Prof Reed to remind you of the commitments you made during the course and offer help, increasing the likelihood of lasting change
You get a PDF and hard copy of The Productive Researcher (2nd Edition), and Prof Reed answers all queries from participants within a week, to ensure you have support to change your impact culture for the better.
Pre-course preparation
Prior to the course please read as much as you have time of Chapters 5-7 of Prof Reed’s forthcoming Impact Culture book (approximately 11,000 words). Get exclusive access to the pre-publication version to complete your reading task here.
Trainer
Prof Mark Reed is a recognized international expert in impact research with >150 publications that have been cited >20,000 times. He is Professor of Rural Entrepreneurship and Director of the Thriving Natural Capital Challenge Centre at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), and a Visiting Professor at Newcastle University, Birmingham City University and the University of Leeds. He is research lead for an international charity and has won awards for the impact of his research.
How it works online
Sessions run via Zoom which does not require any software (just an Internet browser), enabling colleagues to join easily from home. Breaks are generous, so you can pace yourself effectively (30 mins each in morning and afternoon, and 1 hour for lunch)
There are two main modes of group interaction:
- Small group work works via Zoom’s break-out room function, with key insights reported back in plenary to the wider group
- Plenary discussion works via Zoom’s chat function in a two-part process. First everyone is asked to comment via chat (e.g. provide an answer to a provocative question, or ask a question of their own). Second, a sample of these comments is used to facilitate further in-depth discussion via commentary from Mark, followed by an open-mic session for those who want to take the discussion further
Additional learning and interaction you can't get face-to-face, for example:
- You get more engagement in plenary discussion than is possible face-to-face because everyone is asked to write an answer to the discussion point (or pose their own question) before discussion commences, rather than just the few who have time (and courage) to speak
- It is possible to get more out of some exercises where those speaking are able to share their screen with the whole group
- New individual exercises enable you to go deeper into course content linked to your own research
What do other researchers say about this course?
“Very beneficial and eye opening.” - Lecturer
“I now aspire more to be an inspiring researcher, and realise that productivity is both ‘doing’ and ‘being’.” -Post Doctoral Research Assistant
“I liked that I am going away with a workable plan at the end of the day” - Professor
“I like the structured approach, the build-up and especially the space and time to think. It has changed my approach to goal setting entirely. My whole work goal emerged entirely from the values I had identified in my personal life and I now have something to aim for that I really believe in – thank you!” - Professional Services
“Food for thought or a great kick start to moving forward.” - Senior Lecturer
“I’m switching from being task-orientated to being priority-orientated.” - Professor
“It’s very helpful to be reminded why we wanted to become an academic in the first place, and to reconnect with values-based priorities when we are struggling to get daily routine work done. Thank you!” - Senior Lecturer
“Thinking about what is important compared to how I spend my time is very powerful” - PhD student
“If I implement these techniques, I see a lot of untapped potential being unlocked, so this workshop is a real eye opener” - PhD student
“Positive, useful, thought-provoking.” - Professor
"It made me really think about what sort of researcher I want to be. It has given me the time and space to think through ways I might start to achieve this, both in the short-term and in my longer career. It has given me hope that there is a way forward to get work-life balance and it has focussed me on a path to achieve it.” -Post-Doctoral Research Assistant
"Really inspiring course. Motivated to become a better researcher and person after attending this course. Thanks Mark.” - PhD student