What if the collapse of your writing routine is not evidence that you lack discipline but a sign that the system was never built for the realities of your life?
In this episode, I explore why so many scholars blame themselves when a routine falls apart, rather than questioning the assumptions built into the strategy itself. I wanted to name that pattern clearly because I think these breakdowns often reveal far more about the limits of the system than about your commitment or capacity.
I also consider what changes when we stop asking, “What’s wrong with me?” and start asking, “What would actually work for my real life, my real energy, and my real writing process?” I talk about the invisible assumptions built into many productivity systems, why so many of them don’t hold for scholars juggling caregiving, heavy teaching loads, neurodivergence, chronic stress, or writing in an additional language, and why flexibility is not a weakness but a necessary design principle.
If you’ve built up a graveyard of abandoned routines and you’ve started to believe that nothing works for you, I hope this episode offers a gentler and more honest reframe.
