‘I’ll just clear my inbox first…’

If higher education has a universal refrain, it’s this: “I’ll just clear my inbox first.” 

Then the Teams chat pings. A student needs a form signed. A committee meeting shifts into your best thinking slot. The day dissolves into adminis-trivia and, before you know it, writing has been nudged to the margins. 

The paradox is persistent: academic success is measured in terms of ideas and outputs, yet our calendars are filled with tasks that compete with the very work that moves our research forward. As such, protecting writing time must be about creating mindful structures that support deep work and guarding the small windows where thinking and writing can coexist. 

Here are our practical habits that can help you claw back the hours. 

Tip 1: Be accountable 

Solo resolve is fragile in the face of competing demands. Group accountability, by contrast, is resilient, turning intention to sit down and write into practice. Joining an established and committed campus-based or online writing group of like-focused colleagues will give your writing a regular home in your diary and reclassify it as work, not a luxury. Here accountability compounds with the social connections you make over time, which not only support individual productivity but also become a valuable source of professional camaraderie with a shared goal. “We show up because we know we will be missed and won’t get that valuable work done if we don’t,” says Claire Nicholls, a co-author of this article.

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For our online group, Phoenix Writers, the format is simple: each online session of two hours includes a short check-in, focused working times of 25 to 40 minutes, brief breaks, then a wrap-up of what you achieved and what comes next.

Tip 2: Be consistent

Whether you are part of a writing group or going solo, consistency is key for maintaining momentum and producing high-quality work. Protect your writing time as you would a scheduled commitment – just like teaching a class – by setting aside dedicated time each day or week. This routine helps reduce procrastination, fosters discipline and allows ideas to develop steadily and ultimately will outpace a once-a-month binge. Regular practice also improves clarity and coherence, making the writing process less overwhelming. 

Scheduling one to two hours per scheduled session is ideal and can pump out writing more quickly than waiting for a full-day-of-writing unicorn day. 

• Protect two scheduled 60- to 120-minute sessions a week as you would a class.
• Start each session by stating one concrete deliverable (such as, “first draft methods subsection” or “create figure 2”).
• End with a one-sentence “next action” in the comments so future-you can re-enter and pick up the work again quickly.

Tip 3: Count thinking time as writing time

Academia narrowly defines “productivity” as auditable words on the page. However, great writing happens downstream of idea formation, structure and synthesis. Mind mapping, sketching on a whiteboard, reading background literature and, yes, walking to let concepts percolate are not detours; they are the raw materials of writing clarity.

When we fail to recognise this, we build brittle schedules that privilege typing over thinking. Reframe your week so that thinking tasks become synonymous with writing. Use active verbs such as “map”, “sketch”, “structure”, “trace” and “annotate”. If a morning walk reliably unlocks your flow, set it beside your writing block and treat it as the warm-up, not an indulgence.

Tip 4: Maximise peak productivity and minimise interruptions

Deep work requires design. Observe your personal productivity rhythms. Are your sharpest hours 7am to 9am? Or is mid-afternoon a better fit, if mornings are teaching heavy? Build your writing blocks where attention is most available and accommodate seasons and workload when you are scheduling writing sessions.

Next, minimise interruptions. Close mail and messaging apps, silence notifications and keep only the files you’ll use open. Use one device profile or browser window dedicated to writing. We’ve found that rituals prime focus – perhaps fresh tea, a cleared desk, a single tab with your draft.

Finally, guard the door. A firm “Do not disturb. Writing in progress” sign on your office door (and in your email signature) normalises boundaries. If you can, redirect non-urgent email queries to designated hours. Interruptions fracture attention and degrade argument quality as well as steal time. 

Tip 5: Acknowledge distractions, then get back on task

Distractions (the email ping, new readings, tracking down citations and the like) can masquerade as urgency. Instead of suppressing them (which rarely works), acknowledge, capture them and keep moving. One technique is keeping a notebook or an open “parking lot” document beside your draft where you can acknowledge and capture the thought, so you can return to the writing task at hand.

Tip 6: Make editing a separate job

Drafting and editing draw on different cognitive muscles. Draft in generous strokes, edit with precision – and avoid letting the latter eat into time for the former because you lack confidence to move forward. Separating these modes protects your writing time. Use sprints to produce imperfect but complete sections. You can return later with an editor’s eye.

Try this:

• Label calendar entries as a drafting session or an editing session.
• During drafting, use placeholders (such as ‘[citation here]’) rather than breaking flow to hunt down a source.

Tip 7: Protect your future self

Every writing session should end with a short note to future-you. This handover should document where you left off, the first sentence you’ll write next and the next micro-task. This two-minute investment will reduce re-entry friction and turns each block into an episode within a continuous thread.

Try this:

• Add a “session wrap” at the bottom of your draft (for example: “Next: define inclusion criteria; insert table 1”)

A culture shift, not just a time hack

Underpinning all these tactics is a mindset change: writing is not something we squeeze around other work; it is work that deserves our time and focus. When institutions signal that deep thinking and writing are central, and when teams normalise boundaries, accountability and reflection, outputs improve in quality. But you don’t need a culture-wide revolution to start. Put one protected block in your diary this week, join or start a group, and treat the work of thinking as the first kilometre of writing. The hamster wheel will still spin. The difference is that you’ll step off it regularly to do the work that matters.

Claire Nicholls is a lecturer in curriculum and pedagogy, Katie Burke is an associate professor in education, Jane Baltham is a lecturer in curriculum and pedagogy – STEM, Nicole Brownlie is a lecturer in educational counselling, Katrina Cutcliffe is a lecturer in curriculum and pedagogy and Rachel Leslie is a lecturer in curriculum and pedagogy (educational psychology), all in the School of Education and Creative Arts at the University of Southern Queensland.

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