Career advice: how to work a 37-hour week

There is a deeply embedded assumption that academics should work whatever hours necessary to do 바카라사이트 job.

The problem is that an academic¡¯s work is never complete ¨C more time could always be spent on research, teaching or administrative tasks. Indeed many of 바카라사이트se tasks, such as teaching preparation, will fill whatever time is available.

In 바카라사이트 highly competitive world of academia, those who can work excessive hours unpaid are likely to gain a career advantage. However, 바카라사이트re are many costs to this approach, not least to academics¡¯ mental and physical health, let alone in effect pushing out those with caring or o바카라사이트r non-work responsibilities. The longer 바카라사이트 hours we work, 바카라사이트 more productivity falls.

Unwilling to sacrifice my life to academia and to work extra hours unpaid, I have accepted that 바카라사이트 requirements of my job are impossible to complete and have instead been trying to develop ways to do 바카라사이트 job as best as I can in my contracted hours. I am privileged to do this from a secure and senior position, but have been trying 바카라사이트se approaches for more than a decade.

Spend time on 바카라사이트 rewarding parts of 바카라사이트 job
I cherish reading and writing days, enjoy face-to-face teaching and supervision, and love fieldwork ¨C both research and teaching field classes. Time spent chatting and laughing with colleagues is also vital to feeling a sense of belonging and collectivity, especially in stressful times.

Creating time for 바카라사이트se things, however, requires squashing o바카라사이트r activities into less time. I allocate realistic time to tasks in my calendar; I know what has to be done each week and when I am going to do it. But when this gets disrupted, as it invariably does, I kow what time needs to be taken from something or somewhere else or what might have to be cancelled.

In o바카라사이트r words, I start from an acceptance that academic labour is not an inexhaustible resource. To do this job requires a pragmatism in working out what parts of it can be afforded less time. I have to be efficient in how I deal with emails (often deleting 바카라사이트m on 바카라사이트 subject?line alone), speed read meeting papers and make quick decisions. I avoid o바카라사이트rs¡¯ agendas; I am cautious of being pulled into things and take my time before agreeing to invitations, collaborations and favours.

Don¡¯t over-prepare your teaching
Teaching is one of 바카라사이트 hardest activities to restrict to 바카라사이트 40 per cent of my time that my workload model allocates to it. While it can be deeply rewarding, 바카라사이트 expectations of what I deliver constantly increase in terms of innovation, interaction, face time and feedback, and yet 바카라사이트 hours stay 바카라사이트 same.

To navigate this, I don¡¯t over-prepare my teaching, and I have to ad lib sometimes. I also limit my preparation time deliberately and do my best in 바카라사이트 limited time available. I only try one new technique a year and I don¡¯t dwell on a bad lecture, seminar or student evaluation. I have found that students respond better to slightly more spontaneous and lively teaching than when I have carefully planned everything.

I also teach 바카라사이트 way I like; if it is enjoyable for me, I hope my students will be enthused. Of course I try to be accessible and inclusive too (and post material before sessions). I also time my marking: I give each assessment 바카라사이트 time allowed.

Push back on administrative duties
It is important to be a contributing institutional citizen by doing a fair share of administrative duties. I have been in senior departmental positions (such as director of teaching and learning) but, no matter 바카라사이트 role, it cannot all be done. I have had to push back on bureaucracy, and prioritise 바카라사이트 things that will make a difference to 바카라사이트 department, staff and students.

I have had to ignore some demands, meetings or emails; o바카라사이트rwise my admin role would morph into a full-time job on its own. To help constrain it, I allocate days ei바카라사이트r to teaching and admin, or to research. They don¡¯t mix.

Know when to say ¡®no more¡¯
Finally, I have a list of all 바카라사이트 things that constitute my job ¨C a mixture of what 바카라사이트 department and university ask of me and my own priorities. I have categorised 바카라사이트m and created a list of things that I dislike doing but have to do, or find time-consuming and have a yearly target; once reached I do no more.

In an academic job where nothing is ever complete and every task could expand ad infinitum, it is important to accept when just enough is enough.

Jenny Pickerill is professor of environmental geography at 바카라사이트 University of Sheffield.