As we leave 2024 and embark on the new year, I want to share the reflective template I used for myself, playing with the LP (long play) record concept. I introduce the table structure of the personal, people, play, and projects (Ps) categories, paired with reflective components like land, love, labor, and learn (Ls) for the past year review, and look forward, let go, let grow, and let be (Ls) for the next year. I share some illustrative examples from my own reflections of 2024, including milestones, achievements, and lessons learned. And I share some of the feedback from you that helps make the work of this podcast worthwhile – thank you! I hope this encourage you too to reflect on your LP last year, celebrate your accomplishments, and be more intentional on how you approach the coming year.

You can download the LP template here.

00:29 Episode Introduction

02:29 Introducing the LP Table Template

06:27 Reflecting on my 2024 Landings

16:10 What I Loved and What Feels Like Labour

19:13 What I Learned

23:21 Taking Time to Savour and Celebrate

25:06 Celebrating Feedback on the Podcast

31:42 Looking forward to the 2025 LP

36:44 Wrapping Up and Summary

39:48 Final Pointers

41:01 Outro

41:50 End

Related Links

Past Episodes:

Remembering Volkmar Pipek - on being curious, being you

Liam Bannon (Part 1) on a career outside the box – April 2024 

Liam Bannon (Part 2) on values & what matters – Sept 2024 

On research identity, meaningful work and funding (solo)  - Jan 2024

RW9 Progress and praise – July 2021 

Other links:

Linked In Post by Rachel Ratz-Lubashevsky on the research identity episode

HCI Group, TU Wien 

Online Academic Leadership Development course – Spring 2025, early bird deadline 2 March 2025

To explore more of my offerings: geraldinefitzpatrick.com 

Welcome to Changing Academic Life.

2

I'm Geraldine Fitzpatrick and this is

a podcast series where academics and

3

others share their stories, provide

ideas and provoke discussions about what

4

we can do individually and collectively

to change academic life for the better.

5

A pop quiz question for you.

6

Do you remember the LP?

7

Or do you even know what an LP is for

those of you who maybe aren't old enough?

8

Well, an LP is a long play vinyl record.

9

And it used to be our source

of music when I was a teenager.

10

This was clearly a long time before

online music streaming services.

11

Though, I believe LPs are

making a bit of a comeback.

12

I can still hear a song from,

I don't know, John Denver's

13

back home again, album.

14

Or Susie Quattros Quatro album.

15

And I'm immediately taken back to 1974.

16

And I can even remember particular

occasions when we played these or who

17

I was with and what we were doing.

18

In this episode, I want to play with

LP as a template for reflecting on

19

and celebrating what will be our

20

And also as we look forward to what might

21

I'll explain how I'm playing

with L and P as I go along.

22

And you'll also be able to

find a template that you can

23

download and use for yourself.

24

And you can find this on the

episode, webpage that you can access

25

via www.changingacademiclife.com.

26

I'm going to first walk through the

template and explain the L's and the P's.

27

And then I'm going to go on and

use that as a template for myself

28

to reflect on my past year.

29

And to look forward to next year.

30

I've set it up for myself as a table.

31

And the labels on the

columns reflect the PS.

32

And the Ps are personal,

people, play and projects.

33

And for myself, I've added in

podcasts, and the L's reflect the rows.

34

And I've got different Ls for

reflecting upon the past year.

35

And for thinking about the next year.

36

So the L's for reflecting upon

this last year on those P areas

37

are land, love, labor and learn.

38

And for thinking about

39

The Ls are look forward to,

let go, let grow, and let be.

40

Now I've been playing

with these just for fun.

41

So you could create column

labels to reflect whatever

42

areas are important for you.

43

And if those Ls provide questions

that don't connect for you create

44

your own questions or your own labels.

45

So let's start reflecting

on this past year.

46

And to give you a little bit more

of an explanation of the P's and

47

the L's are the L's and the P's.

48

For the Ps.

49

Personal is about where you're

currently at in your life and career

50

and, and how you look after yourself.

51

Thinking about what makes you, you.

52

People is pretty obvious.

53

And that's both people who

support you, who make life fun and

54

worthwhile, and people that you've

been able to support and serve.

55

Both directly and indirectly.

56

And we're thinking about friends,

family, colleagues, peers, here.

57

Play is about doing things that

aren't work, that are fun, that are

58

hobbies or passion projects, or just

hanging out or things that just don't

59

have any direct, functional purpose.

60

And projects is my catch-all

for all things work.

61

What you're paid to do or projects that

you've chosen to take on for yourself

62

that contribute in some work-like way.

63

And the L's just by expanding a bit more.

64

Land is about what have

you landed this year?

65

And we could think about that

in terms of what have you done?

66

What went well?

67

What are you proud of?

68

Love is standing back and reflecting

on what you've landed and looking

69

at: what are the high points?

70

When were you at your real best?

71

What did you particularly love doing?

72

When did you feel particularly

energized in the flow and what patterns

73

do you see across those moments?

74

And similarly labor is reflecting on

when did feel a little bit like hard

75

work or, you know, going through treacle.

76

What didn't you enjoy doing so much?

77

And what patterns do you see here?

78

And learn is pretty self-explanatory.

79

It's what did you learn?

80

And that could be, what did you

learn from what didn't work so well?

81

Or what did you learn from

your mistakes or failures?

82

And what are those lessons for next

time or what would you do differently?

83

And in particular, what did

you learn about yourself?

84

I found it really useful

before embarking on this.

85

Just to spend some time.

86

Going back and looking at my photos

and looking across my calendar entries.

87

And skimming across the journal that

I've been keeping, surprisingly.

88

Because I haven't usually been a journal

keeper, but I found it really useful that.

89

Just to have a commitment

to myself though.

90

At least write a phrase

or a sentence every day.

91

So, how do I reflect on my own 2024?

92

I won't go into all the details.

93

Just pull out a couple

of illustrative points.

94

On a personal level.

95

I finally finished my employment

contract end of September, this year.

96

And it really is then the finish

of that transition period between

97

my formal academic position.

98

And now.

99

Being more freelance and

being able to explore.

100

Being in so-called

retirement and also working.

101

So that has been a big deal because

it really represents stepping

102

into a new phase of my life.

103

Another big deal for me was running

my first half marathon in April.

104

And really being surprised too.

105

That I could do that, that I

could take on that challenge

106

and do it and, and enjoyed it.

107

And that's been part of a

commitment to try to keep up regular

108

exercise and take better care of

sleeping well and eating well.

109

Because, especially as I get older,

I'm aware that my health is really

110

critically important and can make all

the difference to quality of life.

111

And I've also been able to enjoy

lots of learning experiences.

112

I love learning.

113

And apart from informal learning, in

terms of reading books or listening to

114

various podcasts, I've also undertaken

particular trainings and certifications

115

that will go towards supporting the

work that I want to continue doing.

116

And so I'm now a certified strength

scope coach practitioner for

117

individuals and teams and leaders.

118

And that's about working with people

to help them understand what their

119

particular strengths are and how

they can work with them and use

120

them to craft their good life.

121

And their impactful life.

122

And also undertaking courses

around creating better cultures.

123

And also facilitating peer learning

experiences and action learning sets.

124

We could also talk about that

as peer coaching group coaching.

125

Moving on to people where.

126

Where do I start?

127

When I look across the photos,

they're just packed full of wonderful

128

people, wonderful relationships,

lots of people visiting.

129

Um, people in various courses,

amazing people I've had the privilege

130

to work with my own work group.

131

And there are also some sad memories

there of having lost people.

132

You will have heard some of those

discussions in the podcast.

133

And also recognizing that for many

of the people that I care about,

134

they've also been dealing with various

hardships and losses this year.

135

But people have been really

important in just getting through

136

collaborators, friends, my partner.

137

So I'm really appreciative

of people's friendships.

138

I won't go through the play, but

there's been lots of opportunities

139

for playful explorations, which was

140

able to do some interesting travels.

141

And again, many of those

travels were with friends that

142

really enhanced the experience.

143

I'm also really proud of the

work that I've been able to do

144

under the projects umbrella.

145

Some of that has been

ongoing peer service roles.

146

But I'm also deliberately cutting back

on a lot of other peer service roles

147

so that I can focus on where I think

I can make more unique contributions.

148

And that's been focusing more of my

work time on the consulting, training,

149

speaking, and coaching work that I offer.

150

For example with my co-facilitator Austin

Rainer we've run some long form academic

151

leadership development courses, both as an

online course, over a number of months and

152

as a residential course, over a few days.

153

I've also run various

courses for PhD students.

154

Many of which are also longer form

that go towards course credits.

155

And then there's a whole myriad

of other different workshops and

156

courses and facilitated sessions.

157

That can run for anything

from half a day to two days.

158

When I look back and count these up,

there were 22 of those last year.

159

And these have been across

a range of countries.

160

In alphabetical order, like Austria,

Denmark, England, Germany, Iceland,

161

Luxembourg, Portugal, Italy,

Sweden, Switzerland, and Wales.

162

And have been delivered to various groups

from senior leadership teams to people

163

in general leadership positions to early

career researchers to PhD students.

164

We've covered topics from how to

create an inclusive meeting culture.

165

And more general issues around

inclusion and diversity.

166

To leadership development issues

specifically around how to

167

ask for feedback as a leader.

168

Or how to bring a coaching mindset

to your leadership toolkit.

169

There also been courses about

how to better know and understand

170

yourself and then use that

understanding to lead yourself.

171

And how to craft your own good

academic life and make good decisions.

172

And that has been around

saying yes and no.

173

As well as around managing all areas

of your life and promoting wellbeing.

174

And they've also been courses that have

connected to issues around emotional

175

intelligence and understanding emotions

as data and working with the voices in

176

your head, like the procrastinator and

the perfectionist and the imposter.

177

And there've been topics

around women at work as well.

178

And I've run sessions on mentoring

mentors and helping to establish a

179

mentoring culture in a department.

180

I've also facilitated a number of events.

181

These include the launch

of a women's network.

182

And also a strategic planning workshop

for leadership team in a faculty.

183

And I did six different keynote

or invited talks this year.

184

Covering issues ranging from leadership

to creating collegial research cultures.

185

To diversity and inclusion.

186

To mentoring.

187

And these have all been

such a pleasure to do.

188

I love facilitating groups.

189

I love engaging with people in these

sorts of discussions and shared

190

learning experiences where I learned

just as much as they may learn.

191

And I guess one of the big

projects I've taken on together

192

with Austin is writing a book.

193

And this is in response to many people

saying to us over the last couple of

194

years, about when are we going to write

a book, reflecting what we teach in

195

our leadership development courses.

196

So we're starting to work on that.

197

This isn't particularly my happy place.

198

I'm much happier standing up

speaking and facilitating.

199

And I also recognize that

we want to write the book.

200

Because there is lots that we've

learnt from doing the courses that

201

we do and that we want to share.

202

Because we know it can be impactful

from the feedback that we get

203

from our courses and workshops.

204

And now onto my podcast column.

205

And there's lots to be

celebrated here as well.

206

This, that I'm recording now is

the 16th episode for the year.

207

And that includes taking a

break between June and August.

208

It also includes the hundredth

episode that I've recorded

209

since I started the podcast in

210

These have been a mix of

interviews and also exploring

211

more with some solo episodes.

212

A lot of themes have come out of the

interviews and the solo episodes.

213

Reflecting topics around how to create

better, more collegial and supportive

214

research cultures, the value of values

and recognizing what's important.

215

And how to connect to

what's meaningful work.

216

Because that's when we're at our best

and can make the biggest difference.

217

The episodes were really poignant with me.

218

were connected to people, good peers

and colleagues that we lost this year.

219

It was reading Volkmar

Pipek's final reflections and

220

advice to other researchers.

221

It was also my interviews

with Liam Bannon.

222

And I know it was particularly important

for him to share his experiences and

223

insights, despite the difficulties

of the final interview context.

224

And that he really did want to

urge us to pay attention to what's

225

important and who's important.

226

So when I look across all these areas

and think about what did I really love?

227

Like when did I really feel alive in that?

228

I can see how I really love

taking on challenges and I

229

love learning and developing.

230

Also, I love just being with people and

I love listening to people's stories.

231

I love being outdoors and being active.

232

When I think about my play areas.

233

And when I think about my

project areas, I love speaking.

234

And standing up in front and working

with groups and facilitating shared

235

learning experiences and shared exchanges.

236

In contrast to what I've loved, I can

also recognize some of the areas that feel

237

more like labor, feel more like hard work.

238

And this was clearly some of

the bureaucratic work that we

239

had to go through to navigate

the pension systems in different

240

countries and in different schemes.

241

Really complex.

242

And I also recognize I'm not so

strong on structure and processes.

243

And so the administrative work

around the courses and workshops

244

like scheduling calls and writing

up proposals and following up on

245

people and getting contracts drawn up

and doing the invoicing and working

246

out pricing schedules and so on.

247

Not particularly what I love doing,

but I know I need to do them in order

248

to do the work that I care about.

249

And then there's the promotion

and business development work.

250

And here, I can't even say it's

been hard work because I'd sort

251

of been dragging my feet and

putting my head in the sand really.

252

Um, Don't feel so

comfortable on social media.

253

And I also recognize that part of

it is I'm not quite sure how much

254

work I want to do relative to other

opportunities at this new phase of life.

255

And I can also reflect on similar

labor experiences around the podcast.

256

Scheduling has ended up being

a real challenge this year.

257

I've had many people that I've been

trying to line up and we've had trouble

258

finding dates or had dates agreed.

259

And then one of us gets sick and so on.

260

And then the enormous amount of time

and effort it takes to process the

261

recording and to get it out as a podcast

episode So I love the conversations

262

and the talking with people, but the

work to actually get the podcast out is.

263

Yeah, it's work for me.

264

Again, though I know that it's

work that needs to be done in

265

order to get the podcast out.

266

I'm also dragging my feet on the work

to get the new podcast website opened.

267

Another story for another day.

268

Because I want to move on and

reflect on the many things

269

that I learned this last year.

270

Just as an example is

from a mistake I made.

271

And we'd been at a friend's

birthday party and we ended

272

up having a really late night.

273

And the next day I was feeling

really tired and out of sorts, I

274

felt low energy and I struggled

to string two thoughts together.

275

And ironically, the course I was

facilitating that day was on issues

276

of wellbeing and the importance

of things like eating well and

277

sleeping well and moving and

looking after your relationships.

278

So I was walking the talk in so far as

I was illustrating directly, what are the

279

consequences of not having good sleep.

280

That was a big learning to really take

more deliberate care, intentional care.

281

Of looking after the basics, especially

in advance of being able to stand up and

282

do my best for the people I want to serve.

283

Another learning was about

how important my everyday

284

interactions with people are to me.

285

And it was because I noticed that

I really missed the people that I'd

286

had the pleasure and the privilege

of interacting with every day

287

when I was going into the office.

288

And I'm not doing that anymore.

289

So one of my learnings here is

that I'm going to need to be much

290

more deliberate now in making

an effort to connect to people.

291

And I think in terms of the work

as well, one of my big learnings.

292

Is to trust myself a little bit more.

293

Because one of my love of learning

is I genuinely do love learning.

294

And part of it though is also feeling

like I'm a bit of an imposter and I need

295

to have all these formal certifications

and degrees to underpin or justify

296

my right to stand up and speak.

297

And.

298

This last year has helped me gain much

more confidence in what I already know,

299

the foundation that I already have on what

I've experienced myself and what I know

300

from all my formal and informal studies.

301

And to trust myself.

302

I've been reflecting lately on the fact

that a lot of this work feels like when

303

I was a midwife in a previous career.

304

Being a midwife is all about being with.

305

Where it's women and birthing it's

about you being there to support and

306

encourage and to scaffold the process.

307

And to also have provided them

with information and resources so

308

that they could work with their

bodies to birth their own babies.

309

And I feel like I'm doing that a lot

with the development and consulting and

310

training and coaching work that I do.

311

And that is also helping equip

people with the knowledge, concepts,

312

tools, and resources that they need.

313

So that they can find their own ways

to develop their own potential and

314

to take control of their choices, to

develop a life that they care about.

315

And that is about finding

who they are at their best.

316

And it's such a privilege to witness.

317

And be with someone as they

go through this process.

318

I'm also learning more practical,

pragmatic things like, Appropriate

319

pricing, which I'm never comfortable with.

320

And I know that I will need to learn

more about engaging with social media.

321

That's one of my actions for next year.

322

So there's much more I could

talk about here because there's

323

much more that I've written into

my own review of the last year.

324

But that was just to give a flavor.

325

What I want to do now is encourage us all.

326

Once you've done this.

327

Just to stop.

328

And take a moment to stand back and

reflect on how much you've done.

329

And how much you've achieved.

330

How much you've learned.

331

And to celebrate that.

332

Because it's pretty impressive.

333

It's pretty impressive.

334

And we're so quick to focus

on what we haven't done.

335

Or what still to do or what we got wrong.

336

That we forget to take that

precious moment to actually stop

337

and celebrate what we have done.

338

And it can also be useful to

take a moment to think about.

339

What are we particularly grateful for?

340

And who might we be

particularly grateful for?

341

It could also be useful to

step back and think about.

342

What if you were your own best friend?

343

And you were looking at the

review that you've just captured.

344

What would that friend say to you?

345

And they're likely to

be pretty blown away.

346

Aren't they.

347

So I think we should just take

a moment to pat ourselves on the

348

back and say, well done, you.

349

And also recognize the fact that we're

human and that we're on a learning

350

journey for the whole of our life.

351

And that we're never perfect.

352

So we can celebrate still what we have

done and what we have learned and the

353

impact that we have been able to have.

354

And towards this, I want to take this

moment to express my gratitude to you.

355

The many listeners who've taken the

time to give feedback on the podcast.

356

. Because that has really encouraged me.

357

I said before that it takes

a lot of work to do this.

358

Every time, I would start to think

about maybe stopping the podcast.

359

I would get an email or a contact

from someone, or I'd run into someone

360

and they'd share some of the ways in

which the podcast has helped them.

361

So I'd like to share some

of the particular feedback.

362

To also encourage you.

363

I haven't got explicit permission

from people to use their name.

364

So I will just do these as anonymous

for the moment, but just to give

365

some examples of the feedback.

366

Someone who discovered the podcast late.

367

So they've gone back and been

listening to some of the last seasons.

368

And just say, "I must say that this

is such a valuable contribution

369

to the academic community.

370

I've got so many insights and Eureka

moments from other people's stories.

371

It is really a needed discourse in our

field and probably in many other fields

372

that we all have our vulnerabilities

in addition to our successes and

373

that we have to be more merciful

to ourselves as well to others."

374

Isn't that wonderful.

375

And I'm so grateful to all the

people who've shared their stories.

376

Who've shared their vulnerabilities

in addition to their successes.

377

That have enabled this sort of

connection with someone who's listened.

378

And that starts to normalize

those conversations.

379

One of the episodes that was particularly.

380

Impactful for people where the

episodes talking with Liam Bannon.

381

And someone who's been going through some

of their own career struggles and personal

382

life struggles at the moment wrote and

said, "I'm at an age where you start to

383

reflect more on bigger issues in life.

384

So your interview and Liam's words.

385

I really struck a chord with me.

386

I just wanted to say a big thank

you for delivering this podcast.

387

Because it's so important to hear

from experienced academics when

388

you struggle with your own career.

389

But now it feels even more important.

390

After listening to your

interview with Liam.

391

Because this goes way

beyond working life issues.

392

I was really touched by it.

393

Thank you."

394

And someone else reflecting

on Liam's episodes.

395

And I did a solo afterwards

about how what he said made me

396

think about the importance of

how we connect to other people.

397

And so they write.

398

"This is a note of appreciation.

399

I'm so enjoying your podcast.

400

I'm so sorry to hear that.

401

Liam Bannon passed what a wonderful

interview to memorialize him.

402

Your reflection on networking through the

lens of that interview was very touching.

403

I find your podcast really helpful

for learning about different

404

academic careers and trajectories.

405

It energizes my imagination

for other ways of being."

406

And the other episode that particularly

seemed to resonate and get lots of

407

feedback was a solo episode I did

back in January called research

408

identity, meaningful work and funding.

409

And some of the comments were things

like "thank you for another insightful

410

episode that really touched me.

411

If you're also a recovering academic

and interested in reclaiming your

412

research identity, follow these

nine simple steps to get a clear

413

insight into what lights you up."

414

And this post, I actually will put

this in the notes, on the podcast

415

episode, because it's a LinkedIn post.

416

And rachel here did a great

job in summarizing the nine key

417

points that I made in that episode.

418

And someone else similarly reflected on

that episode and sent a message to say.

419

"I had to pause their morning run

because they just finished the episode

420

on research identity, meaningful work

and funding, and it hits so close to home.

421

Thank you so much.

422

Every example, every

tension I was like, yes.

423

Been there felt that.

424

Thank you also for normalizing, not

only this but often the favorite

425

projects we have are the ones that

are not even funded that are side

426

projects with passionate colleagues.

427

'cause I always feel kind of bad

putting non-funded time into that.

428

Now I don't, because these are

the ones that give meaning to

429

my work and make me happy."

430

Thank you so much for that comment.

431

Another comment from

someone around that episode.

432

"I've been listening to your

podcast for a while now.

433

And as a woman in academia and

a social science researcher,

434

find it really valuable.

435

I particularly enjoyed today's

episode on research, identity,

436

meaningful work and funding.

437

What you said on this aligns with

where I tend to land on these things,

438

following your passion and values.

439

Making decisions and playing the game.

440

And figuring out why and how."

441

As I reflect on the year

and savor and celebrate.

442

And do it via this podcast episode.

443

I want to thank in particular

all my guests who have shared

444

so vulnerably and openly and

honestly about their own journeys.

445

And there've been some wonderful

conversations and themes.

446

And I want to thank all of you who've

taken the time to write and reflect

447

on where and how these connect.

448

It helps me also think about

who might be good guests.

449

And if you have other ideas,

please let me know or what might

450

be good themes to talk about.

451

And as a final, thank you.

452

I want to thank Pawel Wazniak and

the human computer interaction

453

group at TU Wien who provided some

financial support for the tools and

454

platforms that I use for this podcast.

455

That support really makes a difference.

456

Thank you.

457

So now we come to 2025.

458

I've continued playing with the LP.

459

So you might like to

draw up another table.

460

And you can put the usual Ps on the

columns, whatever your column labels are.

461

For me, they're personal people

play and projects and also podcast.

462

And the ELLs we're going to put

for our rows are going to cover.

463

Looking forward.

464

What are you looking forward to?

465

What are you going to let go of?

466

What are you going to

let grow and develop?

467

And what are you going to let be?

468

So again, I'm not going to go

through all these in detail.

469

But I can just talk through those

Ls a little bit more to help

470

give some questions that might

frame your own reflections.

471

Looking forward to 2025.

472

And for each of those Ls, you can consider

them again across each of your P areas

473

or whatever your columns are labeled.

474

The first L is looking forward.

475

So, what do you already

know is on the horizon?

476

And what would you like to make happen and

what are the opportunities and potentials?

477

The second L is let go.

478

And I think letting go is a

really important one to consider.

479

And that's about what do you want

to leave behind or stop doing.

480

That isn't serving you well,

481

what do you want to do less of.

482

So that you can do more of something else.

483

What isn't the best use of your

time and attention and energy.

484

For the difference you can

make when you are at your best.

485

For me, some of that is uh, need

to let go of feeling inadequate.

486

Measuring myself against others and

recognizing that they're in different

487

situations and stop doing that.

488

Also need to let go of

trying to do it all.

489

There are so many things on my list that

I would love to do or try out, especially

490

in the project consulting space.

491

And I can't do it all.

492

Moving on the third, L is let grow.

493

What do you want to let grow?

494

What do you want to take forward?

495

What do you want to develop more?

496

What do you want to do more of.

497

How do you want to show up for yourself?

498

And what will help you

do that in the best way?

499

So for me, I want to start being more

intentional about the structure of my day

500

and the rhythm of work and play and rest.

501

And building in time for

intentional connections.

502

And do of reflecting on decisions.

503

Cause I get asked to do a lot still.

504

I want to do more of asking myself.

505

What am I saying no to

if I say yes to this.

506

And our final L is let be.

507

What are the things that you

just need to be comfortable with?

508

And that can be about not knowing

or not having all the answers.

509

And that also may be not ever having

all the answers or it could even

510

just be not just yet having the

answers or not just yet knowing.

511

So can you just let it be okay that

things are open and uncertain for while.

512

What do you need to give space

and time for them to work out.

513

And what do you need just to

accept that there are some things

514

that you can't change and have

absolutely no control over.

515

So for me in particular, at this time,

it's letting it be okay with not knowing

516

exactly what the future will hold.

517

And that comes down to what mix

of work and play I want to do.

518

And it even comes down to

where we might end up living.

519

So there's lots that you could think

about for each of your P areas.

520

And along those Ls, like what.

521

What are you looking forward to?

522

What are you letting go of?

523

What are you going to

let grow and develop?

524

What are you going to let be?

525

So wrapping up now.

526

What I've tried to share here is a

little bit of a template for reflecting

527

on your long play record that was 2024.

528

And give some questions to think about

moving forward into this new year.

529

To summarize, we talked about

the P's in terms of personal

530

people play and projects.

531

And for reflecting on the past year.

532

I offered the L's of land,

love, labor, and learn.

533

And looking forward to the next

year across those same areas, it's,

534

as I said, what to look forward

to let, go of let grow, let be.

535

You could also play with the whole

LP record metaphor, if you wanted

536

to and think about if you're doing a

mixed music pop compilation for your

537

last year or for this coming year.

538

What would that be comprised of?

539

So, as I said at the beginning, There's

a template that you can download by

540

going to www.changingacademiclife.com.

541

And I'll also link to some of

the other past podcast episodes

542

that I've mentioned there.

543

And whether you use this template or

not, I just offer it in case it's useful.

544

I think it is really good just to take

some time at these transition points,

545

artificial as they are in lots of ways,

just to put our head above all the details

546

and the messiness of work and life, and

just think about where have we come.

547

And to take the time,

as I said to celebrate.

548

And then to think about where are

we going and how can we be a little

549

bit more intentional about that?

550

So that we can better connect

to who we are at our best and

551

to what's important to us.

552

Because that's when we're going

to make our biggest and best

553

contributions by doing that.

554

And this may be a reflection that you

do just on your own, or it could be

555

something that you do with colleagues.

556

Or if you're in some sort of supervisory

or leadership relationship, it

557

could also frame a discussion that

you have setting up the new year.

558

So I'm curious to hear from you

if this works for you at all, and

559

thank you at this end for being with

me on the journey this past year.

560

And I'm really looking forward to

what the next year brings us all.

561

As we work together to change

academic life for the better,

562

both our own academic life.

563

And the collective academic life

that we all co-create together.

564

And if you will allow me to end with a

little bit of blatant self promotion.

565

We have our next academic leadership

development course, our online

566

course scheduled for May, 2025.

567

The early bird registration

for that closes on 2nd of

568

March and places are limited.

569

The information about the

courses under the events tab on

570

the informatics, your website.

571

Which is www.informatics-europe.org.

572

And I'll put a link to

that on the web page.

573

And if you're interested in exploring

more about any of the offerings

574

that I have through my consulting,

training, speaking, coaching work.

575

You can go to

www.geraldinefitzpatrick.com,

576

Geraldine Fitzpatrick, all one word.

577

And I would also ask a final favor of you.

578

That you share this podcast

with at least one other person.

579

Thank you.

580

Have a great 2025!

581

You can find the summary notes,

a transcript, and related

582

links for this podcast on www.

583

changingacademiclife.

584

com.

585

You can also subscribe to

Changing Academic Life on iTunes,

586

Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

587

And I'm really hoping that we can

widen the conversation about how

588

we can do academia differently.

589

And you can contribute to this by rating

the podcast and also giving feedback.

590

And if something connected with

you, please consider sharing this

591

podcast with your colleagues.

592

Together.

593

We can make change happen.