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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

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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...

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Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 11h

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...

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Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 11h

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?

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Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 20h

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.

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Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 1d

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 · 1d

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 · 1d

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 · 1d

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 · 1d

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 · 2d

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 · 2d

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 · 2d

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 · 2d

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 · 2d

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 · 2d

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 · 2d

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 · 2d

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 · 3d

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

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Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 3d

Simple tips I’d give anyone starting their publication journey:

• Use every collaboration opportunity
• Don’t wait for perfect data
• Build a writing schedule
• Submit and learn fast
• Pick journals early

Getting started is just that easy.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 3d

Traits of the best early-career professors I know:

• Strategic in choosing journals
• Resourceful with small labs
• Generous with coauthors
• Fearless about rejection
• Relentless about drafts

Look around. You’ll see the successful ones share these.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 4d

If you want to succeed as new faculty,
practice boundary-setting everywhere:

• In meetings
• In classrooms
• In committee emails
• In hallway quick questions

Don’t wait for the perfect time. Do it daily. Do it now.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 4d

How resource constraints in publishing build unexpected strength:

• You learn frugality in methods
• You master collaboration hacks
• You get resilient under rejection
• You focus on meaningful questions
• You sharpen writing to persuade harder

Every researcher should practice this discipline.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 4d

Stop trying to:

• Perfect every slide
• Be the go-to admin fixer
• Join every shiny project

Instead, focus on:

• Protecting time for research and writing

Reality bends to your own cosmos.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 4d

Three challenges you’ll face in your first faculty years:

• Program duties without support
• Teaching overload
• Admin creep

Push through these, and you’ll find your rhythm.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 5d

Professoring is like long-distance running:

• Pacing beats sprinting
• Small habits compound
• No medal for burning out at mile 3

Maybe that’s why academia teaches you endurance more than smarts.

Lennart Nacke, PhD @lennartnacke.com · 5d

The best local examples of research-life balance I’ve seen:

• A mentor who never answered any email after 6pm
• A chair who shielded junior faculty from admin
• A friend who quit committees without guilt
• A colleague who wrote 20 minutes daily

Models worth studying.