It’s summer, and if you’re like most academics I know, you’re holding on to a beautiful little fantasy: I’m finally going to catch up on that grant, knock out those papers, and get ahead before the fall chaos hits. 

And yet? Every year, the summer slips through our fingers. Why? Not because we didn’t care, or weren’t working hard—but because we didn’t protect the time. We didn’t say the words. We didn’t hold the line. 

Let me be clear: the biggest threat to your deep work this summer isn’t your calendar. It’s the belief that your work doesn’t deserve a boundary.  

I don’t buy it. 

I’ve been writing like my life depended on it since Year One—no grants, no title, just ideas and a dream. And I did it by working from my best mind, not my leftover scraps of attention. I blocked time off six months ahead. I said no. I got comfortable being the weirdo in the department who didn’t answer emails between 9 and 12. 

If you want something big, you have to protect the process that gets you there. 

So, I want you to ask yourself: 

• What boundaries am I willing to honor for the sake of the work I care about most? 
• Who around me is reinforcing the idea that my efforts should be quiet, secret, and perfect—and why am I listening? 

You don’t owe anyone an explanation for prioritizing your purpose. But you do owe yourself the time to do it well. 

Love y’all, 

Kemi