1 The intellectual craftsman in a digital world Essay chapter prepared for Festschrift volume honoring Pam Shoemaker Stephen D. Reese University of Texas 1/21/15 The life of the mind is under attack from many directions. Concentrated in communities of higher education, this life makes an easy target for critics of academia who think it should conform more closely to business values and productivity metrics. And the irrational forces in the larger culture undermine reason itself, diminishing the importance of rational arguments and casting doubt on even issues of scientific consensus. More insidious pressures arise, however, from the inside, with the distractions of always-on information streams that make it harder to carve out space for serious reflection and quality work. There are enough external threats without being self-defeating. As “information workers” are scholars contending with the same pressures they always have, or have we entered a new era with greater demands on information handling abilities than ever before—requiring new skills and different forms of personal discipline? I think the latter, and want to consider the habits of mind, workflows and tools in the academic routine. There is a vast amount written on the general subject of productivity, but in this essay I review the special challenges we face in the academic world in keeping up with professional demands, put them in the context of that larger productivity conversation, and share some of the routines and tools that I've found useful. My emphasis is on the daily needs we have in common in staying organizing and keeping up with the academic workflow, leaving aside the more specific pedagogical and methodological skills also required for the job. Writing about productivity implies that I myself have some credibility in this area. I don’t profess to have it all figured out, but having been promoted through the ranks at my own institution, I hope that I have learned a few things worth sharing. In the length of my career and as an early adopter I’ve seen the remarkable changes technology has brought to the academic workplace, and been obliged to adapt to them. I do regularly take stock of my own routines and update them, particularly at the beginning of a new year and as office moves have forced some organizing and down-sizing. Above all, I take seriously the life of the mind and have been privileged to be allowed to pursue it, so I want to do everything I can to get better at it and help others do the same. These strategies are not usually taught in graduate school, and how we organize ourselves is a very personal side of life, one that can be a source of potential embarrassment and sensitivity. 1 People cobble together some system they think works for them and are resistant to changing it, especially after it’s been rooted in place for many years. These are not issues we often share with our colleagues, much like teaching once was, where new teachers were thrown into the classroom with little preparation. That has changed fortunately,