coldhearted scientist وداد

Here is something else I dislike about standard academic advice: it is all about limiting, cutting, squeezing, evading, fitting in. It is claustrophobic and everything is such a tight fit. What about expanding, using your powers, doing as you see fit, enjoying what you do?

This version of how to say no, from the Tenured Radical, is what I did in graduate school, what I have done and seen undertaken as normal practice at R1 places, and what I have been told is inappropriate to do at other jobs.

That stymied me for a while, but I seriously recommend these strategies to everyone.

I like what TR has to say, but I am also particularly fond of this comment. It is exactly what I used to do in college and graduate school, and what I was fatally criticized for doing as an assistant professor. It is what I am going to do now.

Use meeting maker to schedule EVERYTHING.  People will try to schedule any available minutes, so schedule things like 2 hours for working on a grant proposal as an appointment with yourself, going to the gym, or dates with your partner.  Make it clear on your schedule when you are on campus and when you are not.  If someone tries to schedule over one of these things, reject the invitation and suggest an alternate time.

I strongly advise blocking off chunks of time.  A chunk for student office hours (and make the students stick to them), a chunk for writing/research.  A chunk every monday morning for organizing your thoughts and papers for the week and another chunk every friday afternoon for cleaning out your email and finishing the things you’ve only half done all week.  BLOCK OUT TIME FOR GRADING.  Block out 30 minutes before each class to review the material/your notes.

I’m guessing part of the problem is a lack of sufficient time in blocks to get things done.  That means making appointments with yourself and keeping them.  Interruptions sap your productivity, making it really hard to finish things.  Until you learn how to batch up the things you need to do and block off the time in which to do them, you will continue to feel stressed.  The work load is manageable IF you take control of your time and manage it like the limited resource it is.

Finally, if someone schedules an appointment that doesn’t work for you, tell them.  Offer another time that would work better, or a few of them.  But outside of your classes there are few things that can’t be moved around.

Axé.