This interview introduces Candace Epps-Robertson, Ph.D., a collaborator with Heart-Head-Hands, facilitator of writing groups, and co-creator of the new offering, “Pathways Through Burnout: A Cohort Experience.” Candace is a writer, researcher, and educator with deep commitments to justice and more than twenty years of experience in literacy education. She is also Associate Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she ... Read more ...
career discernment
Intervening into Burnout, Building a Sense of What’s Possible
A new article, “Intervening into Burnout,” appears in Inside Higher Ed today. In this follow-up piece to “Honoring Ourselves and Each Other Through Burnout,” I offer examples of creative interventions into burnout. These examples are gifted to me through coaching, so I write with deep gratitude for people who are trying different ways of being, doing, feeling, thinking, relating and imagining in higher education. Here’s an excerpt: “Burnout is also never ... Read more ...
Behind the Scenes: What’s Changing with Heart-Head-Hands
October has been a BIG behind the scenes month. I’ve been making small shifts, acting on the recognition that I need more space and time for creativity and contribution. These shifts involve going slower, pulling back from activities, holding questions about capacity, practicing meditation, and prioritizing writing toward a collaborative book project. These shifts feel exciting—like they support me in showing up more fully, vulnerably, and with presence. And these shifts ... Read more ...
Slowing Down to Clarify Commitments
Earlier this summer, I had covid and slowed to a snail’s pace. Everyday care (like bathing and brushing) took incredible effort. Because I had such little energy, I had to make tough decisions about where to put that energy. In many ways, being sick provided time for review. That review clarified my commitments, helping me consider if where I’m directing energy is truly where I want to be putting it. For the most part, I could answer: yes. I am clear about my deepest ... Read more ...
Reframing Burnout and Recognizing the Collective Experience
Today, I have a new article published in Inside Higher Ed: “Honoring Ourselves and Each Other Through Burnout.” Here’s the opening: In the past few months, nearly all my conversations have focused on burnout. One friend is running on fumes, another wonders how to keep teaching when her body says no and still another rattles off a near-endless list of what’s not getting done. Such stories are nearly endless, too. The recent Inside Higher Ed opinion piece “Academe, Hear ... Read more ...
Small-Group Coaching: Aligning Career with Commitments
This summer I’m hoping to try something new: small-group coaching focused on career discernment. After several years of facilitating “Career Discernment for Academics: Aligning Career with Commitments,” I’m reflecting on how career discernment can be a lonely experience. This is true even while many people are experiencing similar frustrations and asking similar questions. How do we shift time toward priorities? How do we navigate unjust workplace conditions? How do we ... Read more ...
Commitment Statements: Questions and Answers Pointing Toward Action
Commitment statements are living documents: a way to clarify deep dedications and priorities and to make them actionable both in everyday life and for the long haul. For several years now, I’ve been working with commitment statements as a way to better understand my own commitments and where I’m out of alignment with them—and, importantly, to realign and strive toward justice. This work has grown out of my collaborative research on “Making Commitments to Racial Justice ... Read more ...
Journaling and Drawing Exercises for Times of Transition
Recently, a Patreon subscriber wrote to me with the following question: Could you share a few journaling or drawing exercises to help find focus/calm/mindfulness during a time of big transition and change? I found myself nodding when reading this question, reflecting on how much feels in flux for me as well. As we’re heading into the third year of the pandemic, we continue to live with a lot of unknowns and uncertainty, a lot of change asked of us regularly, and a lot of ... Read more ...
Lessons from Turtles, or How I’m Practicing Saying “No” to Say “Yes”
Recently, I moved homes, and throughout the move, I kept seeing turtles. Turtles walking across trails, peeking out of shells, and sunbathing on logs.Turtles in real life and on divination cards and in photographs.Turtles of different sizes and species: box turtles and snapping turtles. At first, I thought these turtles were symbolizing that home is with me wherever I am. To go home, go within. This message continues to be comforting as I create a new home-space. Then, I ... Read more ...
Clarifying Your Purpose in Grad School: Workshop Handouts and Resources
Welcome to this page of handouts and resources for the workshop “Rediscover Your Why: Clarifying Your Purpose in Grad School”: coming up on Monday, December 14 at 12pm Central time. This workshop is part of the “Grad Gather & Grow Speaker Series” at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. A collaboration among the Graduate School, Graduate Student Organization, and Student Government Association, this virtual speaker series is “an opportunity to reset after a ... Read more ...
