365 papers
Before I set off to the USA I wrote a list of goals for myself to focus on during my postdoc. One of those goals was to read an academic article (or academic writing of some form) every day for a year. I didn’t tell anyone about this for a while as I was unsure of how realistic a pursuit this would be: would I have time? Would it be too much to expect of myself alongside all the research that was in store? What about weekends and holidays? I read my first paper — actually, a re-read of a chapter from a much-loved book written by my PhD supervisor — on the plane from Heathrow on 22nd August, and now, six months later, I’m rather pleased to say that I’ve read 192 pieces of academic writing over the past 184 days. I haven’t yet missed a single day since leaving the UK.
My reading has included journal articles, book chapters, opinion pieces, and popular science articles. I’ve mainly explored research in my immediate area of interest, but have also enjoyed getting to know less familiar research both within and outside of linguistics, as well as getting to grips with some work that is totally new to me. At first I wasn’t sure if I could really justify so much time spent reading, especially since I’ve read a lot of material that isn’t directly relevant to the work I’m doing now. But I’d argue that this little challenge has been really good for me as a researcher, for a number of equally important reasons.
First, it’s broken down any ‘fear’ I had of reading. Reading articles just for the sake of knowing what’s going on is perhaps considered to be an indulgence, especially when deadlines are looming and marking is piling up. I’m probably not the only person who had a whole stash of PDF journal articles in a ‘to read’ folder on my hard drive (not any more!), or a list of bookmarked papers, which I inevitably added to at a much faster rate than I ever drew from. But reading one paper every day has shown me that it’s really not that hard to keep up with the literature — rather than stockpiling papers to read when I never have the chance, taking half an hour each day to absorb what’s going on in my field is a much easier task to take on. And while I do read each article from start to finish, there isn’t any need to do that when faced with time constraints: putting aside 10 minutes each day to look over a couple of interesting papers may well save time in the long run. I keep an inventory of what I read, and make notes next to any papers that might be of importance to the projects I’m currently working on. When it comes to writing literature reviews or revising papers, I have a record of the latest relevant research, that I can easily go back to when needed.
Probably the most obvious benefit of this challenge is that it’s keeping me up to date with the latest research in my area. As a result of this, I feel more connected to my subject, which makes writing and reviewing articles easier and keeps some aspects of imposter syndrome at bay, at least. As well as the latest research, it’s also given me space to read some of the pinnacle articles that I haven’t read before, or even to re-read those that I read a while ago. I’ve challenged myself to read things outside of my comfort zone, and have enjoyed familiarizing myself with new areas of interest that have prompted me to think differently about my own work. It’s also meant that I’ve been able to read up on research in areas that I plan to pursue in the future, which has been helpful in shaping some of my ideas, and, consequently, my thoughts about my next career move.
Of course, it’s not all about the research. I’ve come across papers that will work nicely as student papers in teaching, all of which are flagged up in my reading record so I can easily come back and find them. Reading a variety of different types of writing has led me to think about how different types of academic communication can be used in teaching; observing how the same knowledge is discussed across journal articles, book chapters and even media articles makes for an interesting consideration of how these different texts could be used in different teaching contexts.
My main worry was about not giving myself a break. I really don’t agree with the idea of working every day, and reading even a short paper on a Sunday definitely counts as weekend work. But I’m happy to listen to podcasts about science and language, and always read the news on a weekend, so I figured that weekend reading could focus on articles that might reflect more ‘popular’ science, as a way to familiarize myself with some of the broader topics in psychology, linguistics and further afield. I’ve read some opinion pieces on current controversies in psychology (of which there are more than one might expect), some ‘debate’-style articles about wider theoretical issues, and some truly news-worthy short papers on various aspects of Big Science, including work in sociology and evolutionary anthropology (did you know that evidence of a human-like larynx has been found in baboons?!).
The fact is that many journals now publish more shorter articles. And the truth is that I will always pick a 12-page article over a 30-page article if I’m planning to spend time reading, rather than skimming. This has led me to focus my own work more carefully on the ‘short-form’, being mindful that if I want people to actually read my carefully-crafted words, it’s probably best to keep them quite brief. So all of this reading has inevitably had positive outcomes for my writing too, and that is never a waste of time.
So, even though I did feel the pressure to read a paper on Chirstmas Day, so far this challenge hasn’t been nearly as difficult as I had feared it might be. In fact, it’s had more positives than I could ever have imagined. Some days I read an article and when I get to the end realize that I have no idea what I just read, but more often than not I reach the conclusion feeling that I’ve learned something from the time I have spent. Whether it’s broadening my understanding of a topic, excitement about some work going on in my field, inspiration for a future study, new knowledge, teaching inspiration, a disagreement in opinion, enthusiasm for good writing, or a paper to include in my current literature review, there is almost inevitably something to be gained from reading. So I don’t think it’s a waste of time, and I’d go as far as saying that it assures me of 30ish very well-spent minutes every single day.
