How to quit promising time and energy you don’t have

Your time and energy are finite - and valuable. Maybe it is time to start planning based on what is actually available.

Hello and welcome to Academia Made Easier. I am so glad that you are here. 

Have you ever agreed to do something and then discovered you don’t actually have the time or energy necessary to do it? I have been there a few times, with research projects, committees, media engagements, conference commitments … okay, maybe more than a few times. And usually I ended up taking time away from my own research, teaching, and service priorities to fulfill the commitment. 

The result was inevitably resentment. This was unfair, as the fact that I freely agreed to take on too much was not the fault of the person who issued the invitation. It was also a bit ironic, as often I took things on to be helpful and to strengthen a relationship. 

The reality of finite time and energy is not a reason for me to stop doing things and to reject all invitations that don’t completely align with my personal priorities. It is important for academics to contribute to their universities, disciplines, and society. Collegial governance, peer review, and providing expert opinion to governments, industry, community groups, and media are all valuable activities. And these engagements can benefit me as much as I contribute, by teaching me new skills, growing my network, and demonstrating the impact of my research. 

They can be win-win - provided I have the time and energy necessary. 

In thinking through future time and energy, I find it helpful to think about what I have Available to Promise (ATP). I was introduced to the ATP idea through the work of Meggin McIntosh, who adapted this time management idea from supply management and logistics. In a nutshell: just as a business should only promise to deliver products for which it will have inventory available, I should only promise time and energy that I actually have available. 

The trick with this, of course, is to have an understanding of my “inventory” of time and energy available to promise to others. And that is where today’s small idea for you to try immediately comes in. Grab a calculator and some paper, and give yourself about 15 minutes for this one.

One Small Thing to Try Immediately: Create a Term Time Inventory 

We tend to think of time in terms of weeks but for this inventory, I am going to have you think about the next academic term (semester, quarter, whatever they call it where you work). I will use the fall semester dates from my own institution as an example and walk through this step by step.

1. Determine the number of weeks in the term. 

Example:

• First week in September to the week before December break: 16 weeks (includes instructional weeks plus break week and final exam period)

2. Decide how many hours per week (on average) you want to work, and then multiply this by the number of weeks in the term to get your starting number.

Example:

• 40 hours per week * 16 weeks = 640 hours

3. Identify your existing commitments and estimate the time needed for each.

Example:

• Teaching: 358 hours [179 hours per class * 2 classes]

  • Breakdown per class: 

    • class preparation 36 hours (3 hours per week *12 weeks)

    • in-class instruction 36 hours (3 hours per week * 12 weeks)

    • grading 75 hours (3 assignments/exams @ 0.5 hours * 50 students)

    • student email and office hours 32 hours (2 hours per week *16 weeks)

• Research: 160 hours [10 hours per week *16 weeks]

• Graduate supervision: 30 hours [half hour meeting every second week * 3 students * 16 weeks = 12 hours; 6 hours of draft review per term * 3 students = 18 hours]

• University service and collegial governance: 18 hours

  • Department meetings and committees: 14 hours [2 hour department meeting * 4 times per term = 8 hours; 6 hours of undergrad committee meetings and work per term]

  • Bylaws committee: 4 hours [1 hour meeting * 4 times per term]

4. Add up your estimated time for existing commitments, and then add a 10% contingency (because things happen and estimates are just that - estimates).

Example:

• Estimate total: 566 hours (teaching 358 hours, research 160, supervision 30, service 18)

• Contingency: 57 hours 

• Estimate plus contingency total: 623 hours

5. Subtract your existing commitments time from your starting number. This is your inventory of what you have Available to Promise for other engagements.

Example:

• 640 hours - 623 hours = 17 hours

You can use your understanding of your ATP inventory to make some choices. 

• If you feel your ATP inventory is too low: you can opt to reduce an area of your committed time (in this example, hiring a TA to grade for you would free up as much as 150 hours over the term) and/or you can decide to work more hours overall (in this example, planning to work 42 hours per week would add 32 hours over the term).

• If you feel your ATP inventory is too high: you can opt to increase an area of your committed time (for example, allocating more time for research), add in an activity that matters to you (for example, time for reading), and/or plan to work fewer hours overall (perhaps scheduling a Friday off during the busy part of the term to avoid burnout).

• If you feel your ATP inventory is just right: you can use this information to make strategic choices of how you allocate this time - and plan to not make commitments that greatly exceed this number. (For an easy way to politely say no to some requests, try the “thanks but no” email signature idea).

Again, I would like to acknowledge and thank Meggin McIntosh for introducing me to this idea. I have found it exceptionally powerful in shaping my thinking and planning. I hope you do as well.

Chipping Away: What I Have Been Up To

A quick update on some of my own activities since my last newsletter, since I have your attention:

• I wrote a “syllabus design boot camp” series for my University Affairs Skills Agenda column. This five-day series will run Monday to Friday next week (July 26-30, 2021), with each day walking you through part of your syllabus design. If you have a syllabus (or two) that you need to complete, please be sure to check it out.

• I have started to set up my new campus office. I switched roles during the lockdown and just this week received my new office key. It is exciting to have a new space. Less exciting are the crates of books that will need to be sorted and put onto shelves.

• I am in an ongoing battle with our cats regarding outside time. Bandit is allowed in the backyard on a leash, but regularly rushes at the front door. Storm is terrified of the outdoors, so when Bandit is in the yard on his leash, she sits at the window and yowls in fear until he is safely back inside. The feline drama is (somewhat) entertaining. Somewhat.

Until next time…

In my part of the world, there are growing signs that summer will eventually end. The nights are cooler. Back to school advertising has begun. And if I actually went to them, I fear I would find that the big box and dollar stores are starting to stock Halloween supplies. But summer is NOT over yet, and I plan to enjoy the remaining time as much as possible. I hope you do, too.

Stay well, my colleagues. 

PS. People who read all the way to the bottom are the best (and that would be you!). I would love to hear if the Term Time Inventory idea resonated with you. Please click the comment button and let me know!

Loleen Berdahl, PhD: I am a twin mother, wife, runner, cat lover, and chocolate enthusiast. I spend far too much time on Twitter and binge-watching television, and my house could be a lot cleaner. During the work hours, I am the Executive Director of the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. I am the author of University Affair’s Skills Agenda column and my most recent books are Work Your Career: Get What You Want from Your Social Sciences or Humanities PhD and Explorations: Conducting Empirical Research in Canadian Political Science.