optimizing use of meeting/teaching free days

[Puget]

So, I've finalized my schedule for the semester, and miracle of miracles, I was able to consolidate everything into three days and protect the other two as uninterrupted work from home days.  One day will definitely be my writing day, but I'm thinking about how to make best use of the other day. I think I'd like to focus on learning new things, which I've been feeling frustrated that I don't have time to do much. Maybe (1) actually read some of the many papers I've downloaded, and (2) learn a new statistical method that seems like it would be useful for some of our work.

Has anyone else tried blocking off time for learning new things as a faculty member? How do others like to use unstructured days/blocks? What has worked well vs. not you?

[Ruralguy]

Nothing too insightful other than the bigger the block, the better , and dont be too hard on yourself if you veer off to finish writing a paper draft or other task. Just try to protect that time in general. Unforunately, i can only rarely get this kind of time.

[clean]

Make a schedule.  Every day if you can, but certainly the other days you are not teaching.  Make it so that it is 3 or 4 hours of time.  Then stop at that point.  This way you will be eager to get back to the work.
Guard it!  Dont let anything else interfere with that time... no appointments with doctors, students, ADMINCRITTERS!  Nothing! This is WORK time ONLY, not internet, laundry , shopping, surfing, emailing... Work! 

You have the rest of the week to accomplish those other tasks! 

good luck.

[lightning]

I've tried exactly this. I start the semester with 3 days for teaching and service, and two days for research, curriculum development, and personally directed professional development. Then, those two days gets whittled down to one day. Then, that one day goes down to a half day, and eventually I'm squeezing research, curriculum development, self-directed professional development, and choice engagements into free hours here and there.

Guarding time means you have to be an a$$hole to people who want your time, and that's something that I have a hard time doing because there are SO MANY people and things that want my attention (I know a few of you here have a hard time believing that part about not being an a$$hole).

Also, around my parts, admincritters frame EVERYTHING as an "emergency," where if I don't do this-or-that, the sky will fall. In too many cases, that is true, in that the admincritters will make their problem my problem, and even make the sky fall on everything dear to me, if I don't dance with them. It happens a lot.

[Ruralguy]

Exactly how much time you guard is going to be dependent on institutional and departmental culture. So, rather than openly discussing a specific amount of time and a specific strategy for how to guard it, I would just say, pick a reasonably amount of time per week that works, taking into account all of your other duties, and then you may rarely need to guard the time because it will just work.  Rather than framing it as being a jerk as to guarding your time, just make sure you are very available at the other times, and few will care.

[Puget]

Exactly how much time you guard is going to be dependent on institutional and departmental culture. So, rather than openly discussing a specific amount of time and a specific strategy for how to guard it, I would just say, pick a reasonably amount of time per week that works, taking into account all of your other duties, and then you may rarely need to guard the time because it will just work.  Rather than framing it as being a jerk as to guarding your time, just make sure you are very available at the other times, and few will care.

Yeah, this is going to be very institution type specific. I'm at an R1, so protecting research time is very much expected and essential-- no one will think you're a jerk for doing that (unless you totally shirk your service duties, which I have the opposite problem of taking on too much service). They would be pretty alarmed if you weren't.

But, there is research time and then there is research time-- as a PI, most of my research time is devoted to the lab and what they need from me (weekly group and individual meetings for everyone plus other frequent questions on slack, comments and edits on drafts, etc.). What gets crowded out is time for non-urgent things that may not have an immediate application to a paper or grant, but that nonetheless I think are important for the long-term vitality of our research program and my own job satisfaction-- namely, I need to keep up with developments in my subfield (both empirical and methodological) and spend some time thinking about new directions I may want to take our research in. This is what I'm thinking about how to make happen more this semester.

[Sun_Worshiper]

I rarely learn new things outside the context of research or teaching. So I will learn a new statistical technique or read through a batch of articles for a research project or because I am updating my syllabi, but I rarely do these things just for the purpose of doing them. I would like to make time for learning/doing new things, but I'm thinking more about things like learning a new language or musical instrument, as opposed to professional development activities.

I agree with others about the importance of protecting your time. Sometimes meetings and other obligations (not to mention teaching) can be suffocating. My strategy is to do the harder and more thought intensive work on off/slow times, like during summer break or parts of the semester when I'm not teaching or grading much, and to do the inevitable busy work (editing, light R&Rs, turning around rejections) at the margins when I'm too busy to put any real thought into research.

For Pugit's specific question, I'm usually enthusiastic enough about research and unenthusiastic enough about other stuff that I manage to make time for the former while minimizing time spent on the latter. If someone asks something of me on my research days then I'll just ignore them until I feel like getting to their question. Some things are urgent, yes, but mostly that is not really the case in my experience.

[Ruralguy]

Ah yes, the "I'm a lab manager, not a researcher" effect at many R1's (and some non-R1's!). In fact I recently heard of a colleague, some time after making full prof at an R1, leaving his position. He's way too young to retire. I think he was weary of the grant race/lab manager thing and he and some family wanted a geographic change anyhow, and got an appropriate job offer outside of academia in a cognate field, but not requiring grant chasing and student management.

Anyway, yes, I'd give same advice anyway. During research days for which you are available, be very available to students and colleagues asking about drafts or malfunctioning equipment, etc..  On the other days, since it sounds like most will be respectful of you being left alone for a bit, just do that. Some people may be upset that an email was put aside for a day, but they'll live.

[Funastrum]

I would set aside one of the two days and allow meetings on that day.  The other day I would turn off email and focus on whatever you set as the priority.  I would also divide your non-teaching calendar into hard and soft times for writing and research.  The hard times are when you are productive (for me, mornings) and are unavailable for anything else.  Soft are when you might be willing to move things around to accommodate other tasks.  Similarly grading and prep need to fit within specified times (use a hammer if needed).  I would also encourage putting your family/social life on your calendar and setting a hard time to stop work.

[paultuttle]

Practice saying this, as often and as sincerely as is feasible for your work culture: "I'm sorry, but I'm not available during that time." If you're pressed, say something like this: "I have obligations during that time that I cannot move."

Having been a university research administrator for the better part of the last 22 years, I can honestly say that in serving faculty members as first a funding opportunities specialist and then a grant writer/proposal development specialist, I've learned that I needed to ask respectfully about availability and/or match the open spaces in my daily 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. schedule to the open spaces in my clients'/customers' (faculty members') schedules. Otherwise, how could those same faculty members--the prime movers of investigations into teaching and research topics designed to yield useful advances in their fields and in society--do what they need to do?