Managing that Mid-July Panic
What to Do When You Haven't Made Progress on Your Book this Summer
Every year around this time, I encounter academics who wake up one day to discover that it's mid-July and they haven't made as much progress on their writing as they had hoped.
If that’s you, here’s a newsletter from the archives to help you get back on track!
Need even more help? Check-out my 1:1 Writing Strategy and Structure Program—built to regain focus, develop clarity, and accelerate momentum on your book project.
Many of us will wake up this week to find that it is mid-July and we have barely made any headway on writing the book this summer. That dreadful feeling will hit many of us sooner or later, depending on when our respective school years begin. It is normal to feel panicked when there is a big discrepancy between our plans and how things are actually going.
How did we get to July already? Where did June go? Do I really have only a month until the new semester? I need to start prepping for classes!
Falling behind on your writing goals can be frustrating, but dwelling on the past will not help you move forward. Here are three steps for getting back on track without beating yourself up over lost ground.
And if you live in the Southern Hemisphere or follow a different academic calendar, save this post for the middle of your next long school break.
Step 1: Have A Little Self-Compassion
Many of us enter the summer expecting to charge full speed ahead, even though slowing down is often necessary to avoid burnout. In my experience, a lack of productivity during the summer usually means we needed the time off. It is important to give ourselves that time.
As I have written before, imagine that you went outside and sprinted a mile as fast as you could. Afterward, most of us would pause, gasp for air, drink some water, and walk until we stopped sweating.
Yet we often expect ourselves to begin a research sprint immediately after completing a teaching or classwork sprint. We cannot expect to sprint again without adequate rest. Allow yourself to slow down and recover if you are tired from the semester.
Of course, knowing we needed rest does not necessarily free us from guilt, especially if we took more time off than we expected.
Instead of being hard on yourself, try showing yourself some compassion. When I am overly critical of myself, my partner sometimes asks what advice I would give to a client. She knows I will be much nicer to someone else than to myself. That perspective helps me relax and see myself with more kindness.
Self-compassion is not about excusing your actions or shifting blame. It is about offering yourself the same kindness and empathy you would give someone else who felt defeated.
Step 2: Appreciate Any Progress
Instead of dwelling on what you have not done, take a moment to appreciate what you have. Recognize any research you completed, ideas you generated, or lessons you learned from the obstacles you encountered. Your ideas may also have needed time to percolate, even if your main progress consists of thoughts you had in the shower rather than words on the page.
I find it more motivating to adopt a glass-half-full—or a “some Guinness left is better than no Guinness left”—attitude. Recognizing your progress makes it easier to set new goals without feeling that you first have to dig yourself out of a hole.
Step 3: Set Honest and Realistic Goals
Now revisit your writing goals and revise them based on the time you actually have left. Be honest with yourself: you cannot fit three months of work into one month.
Put an end to the grandiose thinking and commit to being practical about what you can accomplish. A smaller, more realistic plan will make the writing feel less daunting and give you a better chance of succeeding without carrying so much guilt.
These posts may help you reassess the time you have left and what you can realistically accomplish in that amount of time:
The key is to focus on the present and take small steps forward rather than dwelling on what might have been. Over the next month—or however long the remnants of your summer last—you can rebuild momentum and make meaningful progress toward your writing goals.
When You’re Not Sure How to Move Forward
Of course, setting honest and realistic goals is often easier said than done. It can be difficult to see what matters most when you are overwhelmed by everything you hoped to accomplish and the semester is already approaching.
My 1:1 Writing Strategy and Structure Program is designed to help with exactly that. We will determine the highest-impact next steps for your project, build a manageable plan for moving forward, and create a strategy for transitioning into the fall without letting the writing disappear again.
