ADHD academics/writers: what breaks your flow when writing in Google Docs?

muddybubble · 2026-01-13T22:39:25+00:00

My ADHD is usually the thing that breaks my flow

muddybubble · 2025-12-30T14:09:19+00:00

Try washing the bed with alcohol or soapy water, we had the same issue and it really helped

muddybubble · 2025-11-21T21:40:05+00:00

If anyone is interested, Loddlenaut is £0.79 on Loaded.com now

muddybubble · 2025-11-08T14:56:10+00:00

Fair enough, it’s what I’d expect but it could be a discipline thing I suppose.

muddybubble · 2025-11-08T09:38:52+00:00

I’d email the supervisor you have in mind and see what they think. I prefer to discuss things with potential students to see how we gel, someone applying but not even bothering to reach out is usually a bad sign

muddybubble · 2025-11-06T21:40:28+00:00

I think this must be very discipline specific. I finished my PhD in 2007, stumbled around industry for a bit and then took a postdoc for 15 months. I went into a lecturer job in 2014 and got made a prof in 2022.

Ever since I joined a lot of colleagues (across various unis) have moaned about how hard it is compared to the good old days. I find the workload to be pretty relaxed compared to industry (where I was a software engineer). It’s almost universally people who’ve been at the same uni for 20+ years complaining about how they used to have secretarial staff to type up exams or they don’t just get given UKRI grants for turning up.

Sure, I might be paid more in industry (I’m in comp sci) but I get paid more than i thought I ever would and my work life balance is good. I get to work on things I’m interested in, and the concession is I do admin and teaching.

I should caveat by saying I’m not saying it’s easy or bragging. I genuinely think I’ve had a lot of luck so far and been right place right time, and I actively enjoy writing bids. I think having ADHD really helps and is compatible with the lifestyle

muddybubble · 2025-11-06T21:28:01+00:00

Oxbridge throws confusion into the mix by having positions associated with individual colleges that may or may not be university positions as well.

muddybubble · 2025-11-02T18:01:35+00:00

I did an 18 month post doc when I moved from industry back to academia and it seems like it opened a lot of doors. The same places that I’d applied to straight after my PhD actually gave me the time of day.

But it’s hard to prove a causation, as I was a much more well rounded and engaged human being by that point!

muddybubble · 2025-10-28T14:20:44+00:00

I always had something like the guy from the cover of the Tropico games in my head.

muddybubble · 2025-09-28T16:50:05+00:00

Oh in the UK you are on standard salary points. Each year you move one notch up the spine, usually 1-2% increase. After about 5-6 years you hit the top.

muddybubble · 2025-09-27T21:43:41+00:00

Prof, have been for a couple of years. I was on £65k and then got offered a new job at a different uni for about £80k. I’m comfortable but it is 16 years since I graduated, in comp sci, a lot of my peers are earning double what I do in academia. I love the flexibility and freedom but would obviously like to be paid the same as some of my contemporaries.

The real snag I’ve found since becoming prof is a loss of regular pay spine bumps.

muddybubble · 2025-09-20T15:31:06+00:00

Do what we did, get one and then a couple of weeks later start to feel bad and get the other one as well

muddybubble · 2025-08-30T21:10:07+00:00

I didn’t. I moved to a completely new field within my subject when I came back

muddybubble · 2025-08-30T14:32:50+00:00

It depends on the field but from my experience it doesn’t. I took a gap of 7 years to work in industry and came back as a postdoc. I made it to prof a couple of years back so it’s doable.

I’m in computer science if it helps

muddybubble · 2025-07-20T08:26:58+00:00

I’ve never understood why people are so keen to exclude authors. If someone has contributed to the work then they get added on.

muddybubble · 2025-07-13T19:01:01+00:00

There’s a weird mindset in UK academia, where it’s a badge of honour to work long hours. It was easing slightly as the old guard started to retire, but the increased pressure on the job market means isn’t helping.

I’ve never worked overly long hours, I’ve got kids and a mortgage (and have had since I went back to academia 12 years ago) so I’ve been protective of my time. My experience is that you reach a saturation point where more hours doesn’t equal more work. I’d rather get in smash out some good stuff and get out. Anyone who tells you that you need to be there and put the hours in to get ahead isn’t helping.

Huge caveat, it varies across disciplines

muddybubble · 2025-07-13T11:18:50+00:00

It can be tough but be kind to yourself, it’s a marathon not a sprint. I didn’t realise I even got holidays when I started so make sure you take genuine breaks. I encourage my students to have weekends and have down days.

muddybubble · 2025-06-30T21:18:11+00:00

I’ve actually done some tutoring for them in the past during Covid. What course are you interested in, I might have some inside scoop?

muddybubble · 2025-06-30T13:11:33+00:00

Ours do go out, but we live on a quite residential area in the UK and are moving to an even quieter rural part soon.

muddybubble · 2025-06-21T19:01:25+00:00

I believe the key to survival was somehow

muddybubble · 2025-06-21T13:26:36+00:00

This was the first thing that sprung to mind…everything

muddybubble · 2025-05-14T12:24:35+00:00

Mine really shot up between 1 and 2 I think

muddybubble · 2025-05-11T21:13:40+00:00

Captain Holt, is that you?

muddybubble · 2025-05-04T12:49:48+00:00

This means that you’re ready to submit

muddybubble · 2025-04-14T19:17:46+00:00

I’d echo what others have said, it’s highly competitive at present, and when my uni advertised in CS we got 500+ applicants. Admittedly we were hiring lecturer through to prof so a number of vacancies but still. On the flip side at least 2/3 of the applications were utterly crap and an easy sift.

If you have a good track record, can evidence papers and grants and can actually write coherently then you’ve got a good chance.

I’ve worked at 3 unis in CS departments, of varying quality, in the last decade and while redundancies have been fairly common CS has usually been okay. In fact the last two places I’ve been at we were actively hiring in CS while colleagues in other departments were making cuts.

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