There Has to Be Another Way

Join the fall cohort of Flourish: Cultivating a Sustainable Writing Practice!

There are moments in my writing life that are seared into my memory. They are often moments of pain that, over time, transformed into meaningful shifts in how I understand myself as a scholar and writer.

Like when I was sitting in my graduate school office, staring at a blank document that had been open on my laptop for hours. The cursor blinked mockingly at me while I scrolled through social media, organized my desk, and found seventeen other things to do instead of writing.

The guilt was crushing. I knew I should be writing and I wanted to be writing. But every time I tried, something inside me recoiled. Writing felt like punishment, a slow and laborious punishment that just never felt good.

I'd procrastinate until the pressure became unbearable, then force myself to write something that felt clunky and wrong. I'd second-guess every sentence, delete paragraphs, and start over. The cycle was draining and demoralizing.

I faced a choice: quit academia there and then or find another way.

The Ah-Ha Moment

I didn’t have the structures or tools I needed to make writing feel manageable or meaningful. I kept stumbling through it without understanding why it felt so hard. I had great mentors, but I needed more instruction on how to manage everything, both in practical terms and emotional terms. Grad school hadn’t equipped me.

So, I did something that felt embarrassing at the time: I sought help. I bought books about writing. I took courses on project management and time management. I invested in learning how to actually do this work instead of just struggling through it.

It felt vulnerable to admit I didn't already know how to manage my academic life and my relationship to writing.

However, that financial and time investment has paid dividends consistently since that low point when I first sought help. My relationship to writing transformed in ways that completely changed my process. I stopped second-guessing myself so much. I wrote more freely and allowed the revision process to do its job, rather than feeling like everything had to be perfect the moment it hit the page. I developed a writing rhythm that felt as routine as brushing my teeth.

I eventually went on to become an award-winning scholar. But more importantly, I learned that writing doesn't always have to be a struggle. There really is another way.

And that experience is precisely why I created Flourish.

Over the years, I met so many smart, capable scholars who felt stuck, not because they lacked talent or drive, but because no one had ever taught them how to build a writing practice that actually worked for them. That’s what Flourish is all about.

Join the new cohort of Flourish! (September 8 - November 21)

I've spent years translating what worked for me into my work with graduate students and coaching clients. I've seen the same transformation happen over and over again—scholars moving from confusion and chaos to clarity and strategy.

Flourish: Cultivating a Sustainable Writing Practice is a 10-week course designed to help early-career scholars develop writing habits that actually stick, manage major projects with confidence, and create a sustainable balance between productivity and well-being. Through a combination of practical tools, mindset shifts, and community support, participants learn to work with their natural rhythms rather than against them.

Here’s what past participants have said about Flourish:

"I'm so glad that I took the leap and signed up for the first running of Flourish. The ten modules go well beyond basic time management strategies to build our resilience as writers. We didn't just learn how to plan our writing projects but how to integrate them into our lives." —Diana Bolsinger, PhD, Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at El Paso

"Flourish helped me put names to processes I'd been stumbling through for years. I finally understood why academic writing felt so confusing. The tools and structures Flourish introduced gave me a lot of clarity. Now, instead of finding myself trapped in chaotic and ineffective loops, I now know how to approach my writing with strategy and purpose." —Violeta Camarasa, PhD Candidate, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

"I wish I had Flourish when I started as a graduate student. I never had anyone help me this way through my M.A., Ph.D., and tenure achievements. The information is fundamental!" —Course Participant

If you're reading this and recognizing yourself —the procrastination, the guilt, the feeling like you should already know how to do this—you’re not the only one.

You don't have to figure this out by yourself. There is another way.

Flourish will run from September 8th to November 21st and is designed specifically for early-career scholars who want to transform their relationship with writing and finally make consistent progress on their major projects. That being said, scholars at any stage are welcome to participate if the course appeals to you.

Flourish isn't about forcing yourself into rigid schedules or embracing someone else's definition of productivity. It's about discovering what actually works for you in a way that honors your unique circumstances and aligns your writing practice with your values and priorities.

We offer two participation options:

• Foundation Track (€575): Self-paced learning with community support

• Momentum Track (€1075): Live group coaching and co-working sessions for additional structure, accountability, and connection

Registration closes August 25th.

The scholars who thrive in academia aren't the ones who've figured out some secret formula. They're the ones who are proactive in learning and applying strategies that work for them—strategies that bring more ease, more clarity, and more joy to their work.

Still feeling that familiar hesitation? I get it. Seeking help felt hard for me too. But investing in yourself and your writing practice isn't just about this one project. Instead, it's about building skills that will serve you for the rest of your career.

If you're ready to stop struggling and start flourishing, I'd love to have you join us!