tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9848115.post114896498371010410..comments2023-10-30T08:30:47.431-05:00Comments on See Jane Compute: Taking back my lifeJanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17082496114155799356noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9848115.post-1149216828564781392006-06-01T21:53:00.000-05:002006-06-01T21:53:00.000-05:00NTLTSN, that's a great idea. I'm finding the dire...NTLTSN, that's a great idea. I'm finding the direct approach is working rather well for me, too---today, I told my chair that I hated every minute of serving on this one committee, and he said he'd help me extricate myself from it. Woo hoo!<BR/><BR/>Fellow Jr Academic, I love the spreadsheet idea! I think I'm going to try that. Thanks for sharing!<BR/><BR/>Ianqui, "take back your summer!" should be the rallying cry everywhere of junior faculty. Let's start a movement! :)Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17082496114155799356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9848115.post-1149098605701867192006-05-31T13:03:00.000-05:002006-05-31T13:03:00.000-05:00Hi, Jane,I've enjoyed reading your blog - and I ca...Hi, Jane,<BR/><BR/>I've enjoyed reading your blog - and I can certainly commiserate on a lot of things!<BR/><BR/>What has worked very well for me has been to keep a spreadsheet of my hours. I decided a few years ago how many hours I thought was reasonable to work each week, how much vacation time I should "get," etc. There are some weeks when one is obviously going to have to work longer (grading finals, anyone?), but you track that, too, and give yourself comp time later on. Once I've done my quota, I don't feel obligated to do more work.<BR/><BR/>I've found it's worked well to keep me from going crazy - and from slacking too much, since that's also been known to happen. :-) I decided that I needed to contain the work somehow if I wanted to stay sane, and I'm not willing to compromise my sanity for a job. At least not much. :-)<BR/><BR/>Good luck!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9848115.post-1149052062654146902006-05-31T00:07:00.000-05:002006-05-31T00:07:00.000-05:00Jane, I can so relate. I felt incredibly guilty t...Jane, I can so relate. I felt incredibly guilty the first time I said no, but it has empowered me to be able to say it again. (Okay, I say no too rarely, but I'm working on it.)<BR/><BR/>You hit on the key when you said <I>extricate ... from time-sucking and unfruitful commitments</I>. Ask why a service opportunity is a good thing for you to do. Will this service commitment specifically address a concern that was raised in your three-year review? If not, then it sounds like your colleagues have expressed their preference when they were forced to make a choice.<BR/><BR/>One strategy that I have followed is to present alternatives. "I could do service task X, but it will interfere with me submitting proposal Y and paper Z." Colleagues who encouraged me to take on certain service responsibilities were less enthusiastic when the constraint imposed by time scarcity was clear.<BR/><BR/>Most importantly, enjoy the summer. Take some time to relax. Last summer I found that even two days doing something just for myself -- something completely unrelated to research -- was incredibly rejuvenating.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9848115.post-1149004528613658652006-05-30T10:55:00.000-05:002006-05-30T10:55:00.000-05:00Committing tons of time to other people is definit...Committing tons of time to other people is definitely not right considering that it's summer! I too am tending way too much to the needs of other people, and it's really grating on my nerves. Take back your summer!Ianquihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03268223727887685830noreply@blogger.com