Advice for sabbatical stuck at home

[emprof]

I'm eligible to apply for sabbatical for the 2021-22 academic year (and yes, I know how lucky I am, sacrifices of geography, quality of life and distance from family aside). I'm in a humanities field, and significant research usually requires international travel.

The problem is, my spouse has a 9-5 and we have a small child. If our plans for our family go well, we'll have a toddler and an infant by the fall of 2021, one of them still nursing. I can't really go anywhere.

Has anyone taken a sabbatical 'in place'? How do you stay productive and avoid frustration? I feel like staying stuck in our rural college town will be a waste of a year in many ways, but am more or less resigned to it.

[apostrophe]

I know we are all different, but my *favorite* sabbatical is, as you call it, 'in place'. The amount of time and money I save by working at home, the comfortable clothing . . . all of it is glorious. That being said, I don't have trouble imposing schedules on myself and haven't tried this with two small children at home. It seems like the line between sabbatical and parental leave will be at best blurred for you, if not invisible. Maybe that's okay, however?

If so, and if productivity is your top goal, I think you will need to come up with a pretty tight schedule that might involve working in your office or in the library or some other space. If you go in to work early or late and keep that door closed, folks will be less likely to bother you. In my department, we tend to actually say to people we run into when they're on sabbatical but in town "I know you're not really here" and leave them alone. Try to cultivate that if you're forced onto campus.

That being said, if you have the option of taking sabbatical the following year, might you consider that instead? I'm not trying to imply that having two toddlers will be a breeze, but you might have more child care options that would at least allow short trips.

[Ruralguy]

I've gone away once, stayed once, and about to stay again. The "away" was a special case. What I actually did was get an office at another institution about 1.5 hours from me, and I commuted. I was part of a working group there, and contributed, but was mainly doing my own thing.

I found it important not to spend too much time physically at home, but it was easier because my child was old enough to spend most of time in day care or school. So, even of you must be at home to take care of a small child, I do advise going the daycare route when you can and not just saying "oh, I'll be at home, I might as well do that." Same for your spouse. Depending on location and your own feeling on the matter, that can be easier said that done. To that end, find alternate space on your campus, even if its just in library somewhere or the back section of a lab nobody goes into.

Anyway, first sabbatical essentially got me two papers, second got me a book, third probably a paper or two and significant progress on a second book. So, though not stunningly productive for an R1, not shabby for an also-ran SLAC.

[mamselle]

Yes, I was going to suggest cultivating a good in-house babysitter who understands you're at home to work, when you are there, and their pay will be contingent on how many hours you keep the kids out of your hair at abtime (-mostly kidding).

In some places, you might have to teach the childcare worker (and yourself) that you're "not at home" for 2-3 hours at a time; in between, short spurts of closeness for meals, hugs, and a quick drawing session or story--and then you go back to work, the kids go back to the caregiver.

Tears may come the first few times, but you can hold out and gradually lengthen everyone's ability to function separately for hours at a stretch if you start earlier.

I did this kind of child care for people working on books, a very very long time ago. It was super-novel, and at first against my own instincts... "If mommy's at home, why doesn't she just take care of the kids?" was my almost innate response...but things have changed.

M.

[emprof]

Thanks all! To clarify, the children would be in daycare. In fact, losing the toddler's daycare spot is one of the 3 big arguments against going away as a family - they have a yearlong waiting list, sometimes longer.

[apostrophe]

Thanks all! To clarify, the children would be in daycare. In fact, losing the toddler's daycare spot is one of the 3 big arguments against going away as a family - they have a yearlong waiting list, sometimes longer.

This is great and it means that the major goal will be self-accountability. Set some goals, set a calendar, and off you go!

[tiva]

I took my first 2 sabbaticals in place (both my dogs and my sweetie couldn't travel easily), and they were great. Here's what worked for me:
a. I absolutely NEVER went into my department's building at the university. I absolutely never attended any single meeting.
b. I sent all my university emails into a separate folder and checked it maybe once a month, if that.
c.  I met with my PhD students infrequently, via Skype or at my home office.
d. I set a word count minimum for each day, and after that I could go play (cycling, hiking, skiing, etc--sabbatical is also about recharging yourself)
e. I did take a month-long research trip on each sabbatical--perhaps you could swing shorter trips with your child?
f. I set up an office in my house with different stuff than my usual home office (cheap stuff, not new furniture). This helped me feel like I was on sabbatical, not just hanging out.
g. My house was just far away enough from campus (15 miles?) so that I could get the university to mail me my books and email me scanned articles, so I didn't have to go to campus. Yay!

You might look into those shared work spaces, if your community has them.  Good luck! Avoid the university at all costs!

[Ruralguy]

On one of my sabbaticals, I worked out of a back room (think first season of Better Call Saul) in my dept., and it wasn't bad. I didn't purposely run into anybody, and they left me alone for the most part.
I think I went to one or two departmental meetings regarding scheduling for the semester I was to return. I attended zero general faculty meetings or committee meetings. I might have gone to a flu shot clinic.  So you *can* do it even on campus. You just have to not get sucked onto stuff or do what some people do with  "the college will go to hell in a hand basket if I go off my committee because so and so will be able to do such and such unchecked." No. They'll all be fine.  You are not that important.

[mamselle]

Maybe also shift how you're describing it to yourself, as being "stuck."

Seems like a loaded word with the potential to reverberate in a "feeling-sorry-for-oneself" way.

Maybe "anchored" (i.e., "stable while allowing for some drift")?

Or "Restfully occupied"?

M.

[lillipat]

Mamselle makes a good point.  Perspective is important to be able to make use of a sabbatical, whether one travels to another institution or archive or stays at a home base. 

[Directional_State_U]

I am currently on sabbatical "in place" for similar personal reasons. A few people gave me strange looks when I told them what I'm doing, but hey, this is the reality of two-career households. It works for me research-wise because my research is computational in nature, so there is no benefit to travel. I'm lucky in that I have space in a different building than my dept, so I can work on campus without having to see my colleagues (for the most part), but I know others who book rooms in the library for similar purposes. I have an auto-reply on my email instructing people I'm not checking e-mail and who to contact; after the first week, my work email has dropped by 75%. Select people have my cell number to text me if there is something time-sensitive. The few students I'm advising for research know how to get in touch with me (their work is productive towards my sabbatical goals). I get to work on my research without interruptions and go home early to cook dinner and clean before my wife and kid get home. Overall, its been a positive experience.

[apostrophe]

A bit off topic, but I'm impressed by the extent to which some of you disengage when on sabbatical. I don't attend meetings or events, but we are expected to actively mentor graduate students and respond to emails.

[Ruralguy]

I only have undergrads, but I do stay in touch with advisees even if they've officially been re-assigned during my absence. Also, if someone has a continuing project for which they need my advice, I'd engage with that. Obviously if the Dean (or anybody else) asks me a question, I'll reply, but if significant work is required, I'd likely balk.