Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Lennart Nacke, PhD

@lennartnacke.com

2.2K followers 30 following 2.6K posts

🧠 Tenured brain, fresh daily takes. Maximum citations but sanity questionable. The prof your prof follows for daily research & AI takes. Quality wins. University Research Chair & Tenured Full Professor. ➜ www.lennartnacke.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · Dec 6

The masterclass is this Saturday, Dec 7 at 11 AM Eastern.

Join here (bookmark): www.youtube.com/live/vpj2FT...

See you tomorrow.

Mini Masterclass: How to Write a CHI Paper

Join Professor Dr. Lennart Nacke for a FREE 30-minute masterclass about How to Write a CHI Paper. Become a smarter research author and master the basics of w...

www.youtube.com

1 1 3

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 39m

Stop trying to:

• Answer every email instantly
• Write the perfect draft
• Impress everyone

Instead:

• Focus on finishing one meaningful page daily.

Everything else will align naturally.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 4h

Three biggest mistakes new professors make:

1. Thinking stress = productivity
2. Saying yes to everything
3. Ignoring recovery

Address these issues:

• Say no with clarity
• Protect sleep and rest
• Measure outcomes, not hours

Burnout doesn’t win awards.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 8h

Stress management 101:

1. Notice tension
2. Turn tension into breathing
3. Turn breathing into clarity
4. Into focused action
5. Into small wins
6. Into progress
7. Into confidence

Start small. Stack slowly.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 12h

My favorite clarity framework:

• Rest
• Refocus
• Prioritize
• Execute
• Reflect

It's like your favourite K-Pop group.
Always reliable and never out of sync.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 15h

Life lesson:

If a colleague asks for help with a review, and you can lighten their load, picture being in their shoes.

The relief it gives them is the same relief you once prayed for.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 18h

Chasing motivation is overrated.

Building discipline through tiny, repeatable actions is underrated.

I can safely say the second one works.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 1d

Habits of the most resilient professors:

• Protecting energy like a scarce resource
• Writing despite low motivation
• Blocking time for recovery

Anything else?

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 1d

I got asked today:
“How do you stay motivated when tenure feels far away?”

The answers:
• Define today’s single win
• Log progress, not perfection
• Create rewards you actually enjoy

The big milestones will take care of themselves.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 1d

Here is our in-depth podcast episode discussing some of what this tool can do for you research (at the end): youtu.be/jhB5Vqibpsg

From ChatGPT to AI Companions: The Future of Research?

✨ Get the Research Tools Webinar recording: https://go.lennartnacke.com/aitoolswebinarMY ONLINE OFFERS:🎓 How to write better research papers self-paced vi...

www.youtube.com

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 1d

Systematic review hell:

• Thousands of papers
• Multiple screening stages
• Endless PRISMA flowcharts

Otto SR does most of that grunt work automatically.

It’s still on you to verify, but the time saved is massive.

Would you let AI handle your PRISMA?

1 1

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 2d

If you feel unmotivated, it’s not laziness.

You’re just depleted.

So do this:

• Sleep more
• Cut low-value work
• Celebrate micro wins

That’s how confidence comes back.

1 4

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 2d

Learn how I turned crushing rejection into my biggest career catalyst for free here:

lennartnacke.substack.com/p/how-i-tur...

How I turned crushing rejection into my biggest career catalyst

Most professors will hide this little gem

lennartnacke.substack.com

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 2d

You don't need to feel any better.
That's okay.

Just systematize your response so emotion doesn't derail progress.

I've processed most of my rejections this way.
It still stings.

But it stings productively.

Your feelings are valid.
But they're not a strategy.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 2d

Here's how to read a rejection email without dying inside:

First pass:
Skim for the decision.
Get the bad news fast.

Gulp!

Take 24 hours.

Second pass:
Read for patterns.
What themes emerge across reviewers?

Third pass:
Line by line with spreadsheet open.
Every criticism becomes an action item.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 2d

Like lifting weights but with focus…

Sets = short bursts of writing
Rest = walks between sessions
Progressive overload = fewer ChatGPT assists each week

That’s how mental muscle grows.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 3d

If you’re a new professor, your goal should be to protect deep work time.

1. It anchors your research identity
2. Shields you from admin creep
3. Restores a sense of progress

It’s not hard.
Guard 2 hours a day.

The rest can wait.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 3d

Underrated benefits of daily rest:

• Your thinking sharpens
• Small wins feel bigger
• Stress hormones drop

Inspired by my first semester burnout.

EXAMPLE:
One daily walk saved me from 1 AM grading meltdowns.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 3d

You can stay late, answer emails, or fill committee forms all night, but without protecting your mental clarity you may have done nothing at all.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 3d

Turn thesis flaws into researcher power moves with my FREE guide:

lennartnacke.substack.com/p/6-ways-i-...

6 Ways I Turn Thesis Flaws into Power Moves

Most PhD candidates try to hide weaknesses, but I’ve coached dozens to use them as weapons

lennartnacke.substack.com

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 3d

Stop apologizing for constraints.
Start articulating their unexpected benefits.

Your committee has published dozens of papers with limitations.

They want to know if you understand that's how research actually works.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 3d

But my control group was missing!
Eeek!
So?

That limitation just opened three new research questions.

Created a novel quasi-experimental design.
Pioneered an approach future researchers will cite.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 3d

How to clear your mental fog in 3 steps:

1. Block 90 minutes for one task only
2. Step away after to recharge instead of grinding
3. Repeat daily until the system sticks

Easy.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 3d

Avoid these mistakes as a beginner researcher:

• Aiming only for high-impact journals first
• Waiting for perfect resources
• Ignoring feedback loops
• Writing in isolation

Dodge these issues and save yourself years of hassle.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 4d

The 4 pillars of a sustainable professor life:

• Detach your worth from impact factors
• Write consistently, not obsessively
• Focus on progress, not prestige
• Protect energy with real rest

Simple, but most totally complicate it.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 4d

As an HCI researcher, you can be...

policy advisor
research lead
technologist
storyteller
AI ethicist
designer
scientist
founder
teacher
artist

...anything you want to be.

Go design the world you want to live in.

#hci #ux #ai #academicsky

1 1