Before this semester began I was told I could not write a major grant proposal, do major administrative work, and teach five courses. I could have said no to the grant proposal and canceled my seminar, and I could have, although it would have caused major trouble, wormed my way out of the administrative work.
If I had done these things, I would also have cut off almost all in person work related contact with anyone with a PhD and also almost everyone doing upper level or graduate study. I would have “protected my time” for research but I would also have had no context for any, and it would have been alienating and depressing. I know this, having tried it before. If you limit your world in that way then there is no adult present, ever, to counterbalance the crabs-in-a-barrel atmosphere of the lower division and instructor world.
In that mode I have time to travel to collections at the universities down the road and see the energized people working, but I am too drained and oppressed to do work myself and also too occupied with admiring these godlike beings one encounters at good libraries who saw journals yesterday, and are seeing them now, and will see them tomorrow, too.
In the situation I chose I had no time for any research, but all projects undertaken are on track. I am exhausted but I am not depressed yet and so what I say is yes, I not only could but did write a major grant proposal, do major administrative work, and teach five courses, and it is a good thing, too. I am running ahead of you, suffering bitchez, and my lungs are expanding; catch me if you can.
I never did like the phrase “protect your time” which is one of the things they tell assistant professors. Before the PhD, before the BA, you use your time, but afterwards, when you are supposed instead to “protect” time, it appears you are expected to envision yourself as a kind of fortress, a person under siege. I never found that to be a useful image to guide a work atmosphere. I have not used it this semester; I never used it in any of my good semesters; I do not believe I shall ever try it on for size again.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
I’m not one of those ‘suffering bitchez’ (love the expression, by the way) but I fully identify with the goal of protecting my time.
I decided a long time ago that the only reason to have a job in academia was to enjoy myself and to have fun. I have been excoriated for this many times, but I feel like I can be honest about this on your blog. (I haven’t even posted this on my own blog yet because I’m afraid of the reaction. Here I feel I can be more honest.)
Whenever I have a service obligation, I go to the committee but leave the moment it becomes boring. When I feel that I’m not getting enriched by a committee, a meeting of the students club, a lunch with colleagues, etc., I feel completely justified in protecting my time and just leaving.
I know for a fact that if I didn’t protect my time and decided to dispense it freely to whomever needed it, I’d end up becoming one of those suffering bitchez very soon. I do feel under siege very often because there are so many people who want to share with me that our life is intolerable and vent some petty grievances with me. If I didn’t protect my time, I’d be stuck in the office hearing how everything sucks. And I feel like that undermines me a lot.
The reason everybody who’s anybody and went into academia did it was to have fun. All the smartest professors are having fun with their work and also their lives – that’s how they put up with the b.s. aspects of it all. If not, one could be something else.
Protecting time in your sense is good and I am guessing that is what is meant by the phrase. I just don’t care for the fortress image — or the “writing in the corners” image either, for that matter — . I’d rather just have some big humongous projects that I’m interested in, whether they’re required or not. Then the timewasters can’t get in. The recommendation to cut out anything non required, even if it is fun and nourishing, so as to save all possible time for just the right research, feels like some sort of starvation diet to me and leaves me open to energy vampirism, actually.