Productive in Publishing (guest post by Jason Brennan) at the Daily Nous.

Read the whole thing – it’s an outline, not a full article. But here are some especially good points:

1b: Publishing is not the price of being an academic. It’s the point.

2. Don’t let the urgent take precedence over the important
a. Write first; prep second; answer emails third
b. Prep less. Don’t let teaching be your excuse
c. Never sacrifice research to get other things done

3. Write every weekday, 20 hours/week
a. Keep a log

8. Always have multiple projects at different stages
a. When you get stuck on one, move on to the next
b. Come back with a clear head in a few weeks

18. Read your papers out loud. Rewrite until they sound good.

Worth reading the comments below the post too, which provide some clarifications. 2b is open to misinterpretation, but I’d see it less as say under-prepare your teaching, than don’t over-prepare. It is entirely possible to take teaching seriously, without taking it too seriously. And reading others’ work, while essential, should not be the barrier to writing.