I focus and write
Creating a mindful scientific life
What gets scheduled, gets done
Parkinson’s Law states that work takes as long as you give it to take.
For example, you have two weeks to hit a deadline. In most scenarios, we can assume you’ll be turning it in on Day 14.
But what if there’s no deadline?
What if there’s work that needs to be done, but no expectations on when?
Does it ever get done?
Or does it continuously get pushed down on the task list? Replaced with more pressing needs and looming deadlines?
When it comes to our writing, like…
Starting that scientific paper that you never have time for
Finishing that article from your last job that lives daily in your head
Revising that manuscript that was rejected and feels so hard to back to
Drafting the grant proposal you know you need to write!
It often gets pushed to the side. While you know it’s important to let the world know what you’ve found and to advance your career, there are just so many other things that must be done now. All of them urgent: emails from collaborators, theses and experiments from students, and all those other papers and grants where you are in but that are not your priority.
So just when we think we might have time in the afternoon to work on that paper, someone or something comes along to interrupt.
And that paper just sits there.
So while Parkinson’s Law isn’t technically a law, why not put it to the test?
If work takes as long as you give it to take… pick something to work on and attend...
The research shows...
Writing is necessary to hitting your goals.
And I know you have big goals. You wouldn’t be where you are today if you didn’t.
Your heart is big, too. You care deeply about your family, your students, your peers, the planet…
While helping all those groups put out fires all day long may seem like the thing you need to be doing...what would really help them (and you) is to give yourself the gift of done.
To focus + finish your writing will help you...
1- communicate your results to the world
2- get you money (either for your next grant or next job!)
3- feel confident with your work and your ability to be productive
So that you can truly focus on the things and people you care about.
And when you get the writing done, you’ll become more
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efficient in your tasks, because that big mental block is gone!
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confident at work, especially after seeing how much you can get done in 2 days.
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present at home, no more finishing work after dinner 🙌🏼
...knowing that this big task has gone from “makes me anxious but still I still don’t do it” to “holy crap! I did it and now I’m moving in the right direction”
How this online academic writing retreat works and why it’s effective
Community vibes!
We scientists haven’t exactly figured out why, but we all agree this type of group focus works. (Yes, even online.) When people come together with a common goal to focus and work, productivity soars.
Push past your distractions and finish what needs to be done.
Pomodoro + Time Blocking
Both proven to be highly effective on their own, we’ll couple these time management techniques together to increase efficiency and maximize the amount of writing you’ll get done in just two days.
Set a big goal and see big results.
Goal setting
Research has long convinced us that sharing goals increases our likelihood of success. Going beyond that to monitor goal progress in a social setting translates into major action for participants.
Both are baked into the retreat to ensure you get things done.
What's inside our online academic writing retreat?
Aside from time to advance your writing, during these two days you’ll also receive:
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2 masterclasses of 1 hour each around scientific writing, productivity, and mindset
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Several short mindful activities to help you rest and reset throughout the day (meditation, yoga, breathing…)
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2 Q+A group sessions with me to answer questions you have
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Slack channel where you can get support for anything is blocking you
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2 informal peer-coaching sessions in a small group (you’ll see you’re not alone in your struggles!)
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PDF retreat guide to help you prepare in advance so you can come in and get started right away
ALLOW YOURSELF TO JUST...
GET IT DONE
A 2-day online academic writing retreat
Finally carve out the time you need to finish whatever writing you’ve been putting off so you can advance to the next level of your career and research. Because the year is not yet over!
Using proven methods to increase productivity and focus!
Proudly trusted by scholars at
and many more!
Lucia Pita
Junior Group Leader at ICM-CSIC
“My biggest win wasn’t my paper. It’s all these tools (pomodoro, free writing, meditation) that I can now bring into my everyday work. I trusted the process, and fell in love with it.”
Interested?
If you can relate to any of these...
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Feel like your writing is stuck in a drawer but somehow still lives in your head everyday
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You need hours to finish certain parts of your paper; writing them here and there isn’t going to cut it
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There seem to be a lot of to-dos you want to cross off but no time
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Lots of projects started but no time to finish them
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There’s a lot of guilt, frustration and irritation throughout your day from feeling pulled in all sorts of directions
Then I created this scientific writing retreat just for you.
I know you’re being constantly interrupted by other emergencies at work and at home. And I want to help you feel more relaxed, efficient, and satisfied with life and work.
This retreat is designed to
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Be a simple way to get ahead and lessen the anxiety of feeling constantly behind
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Give you dedicated time to finish one or several of your writing projects
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Bring back your confidence around your work and abilities
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Equip you with strategies to stay calm + motivated for months to come
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Get that productive feeling back
Here’s how this scientific writing retreat schedule looks like:
Day 1 (Madrid time zone)
8.30-9.30 - Masterclass “How to get your writing done: starting” with mindful activity
9.30-11.30 - First Focus block
11.30-11.50 - Long break to snack and recharge
11.50-13.50 - Second Focus block
13.50-14.30 - Lunch break
14.30-15.00 - Q&A with me
15.00-15.30 - Mindful walk
15.30-17.30 - Third Focus block
Day 2 (Madrid time zone)
8.30-9.30 - Masterclass “How to get your writing done: finishing” with mindful activity
9.30-11.30 - First Focus block
11.30-11.50 - Long break to snack and recharge
11.50-13.50 - Second Focus block
13.50-14.30 - Lunch break
14.30-15.00 - Q&A with me
15.00-15.30 - Office yoga & meditation
15.30-17.00 - Third Focus block: wrap it up!
17.00-17.30 - Final Q&A and celebration!
Meet your host...
Hi! I’m Ana.
I've taken everything I've learned from more than 15 years doing research and helped more than 100 scientists focus and write so they can feel confident with their work.
From supervising postgraduate students and Ph.D. researchers. collaborating with top researchers in the fields of Ecology and Entomology in Spain and The Netherlands, to simply hosting retreats to help you get your writing done...my greatest work is to see you feel confident and excited about the work you do.
I know your priority list is long. And there’s a lot of imposter syndrome going on...trying to write in a foreign language, or succeed in a new position that seems overwhelming (even though it was your dream).
You might simply just feel unable to focus because of endless distractions or exhausted from being a mum and a scientist.
After working with so many scientists over the years, I know writing too often gets pushed down the priority list. It seems hard and sometimes impossible to get to!
But I've learned something crucial: writing and productivity are skills. You can learn them. And when you put them into practice in the right environment...boom! You get things done.
