I am really bad at doing this, so I am not one to advise really. My boss asked me on Friday 'when did you decide to become an academic' and my answer was something along the lines of 'but I never did and I'm still not sure I DO want to be one' so I guess I really ought to sh1t or get off the pot, whatever the saying is. i.e. If I could prioritise what I DO aim to do AS WELL, I would be better able to articulate why I DO want to be an academic (since it is not a bad job, I enjoy lots of it, I would be mad to give it up, and it definitely allows me time to pursue other projects if I had something else I really felt I wanted to do e.g. long-range consulting editor for mark 'n' frank's mega-mag or whatevs)