As we approach the end of the semester, many people in academe (faculty and students alike) discover that they have been or currently are procrastinating about something.   An expectation of procrastination seems almost built into the academic landscape, with campus libraries offering 24-hour access during exams, syllabi that spell out late assignment policies, and journal or conference submission deadlines frequently being unofficially “soft.”

Most of us have been there at some point or other.  But few people procrastinate about everything. Chances are, you’re always on time with certain kinds of things and often a bit behind or up against the deadline with others.  Procrastination, in other words, is a selective strategy that we employ in part because it has seemed to have worked for us in the past.   Sometimes if you keep putting something off long enough, it no...

Despite all the motivational posters you may have seen, balance isn’t a state you can achieve.   Balance isn’t a thing you can grasp or a noun of any sort to be attained.  Instead, balance is a continuously changing process.  Think about walking on a street curb, or on a balance beam.  (Or on a tightrope.)  To be in balance on a narrow beam or on a rope requires numerous small adjustments.

All trajectories, like balancing acts, require repeated course corrections.  When you drive, even down a straight road, you don’t just point your car in the direction you want to go and leave it alone. Instead, you adjust the steering wheel, as well as the speed at which you are traveling.  Much of the time you’re probably not even aware of these adjustments, until some other constraint occurs (like an injured arm, or driving an unfamiliar vehicle) to focus your attention.

So:�...

Got a minute? Feeling frazzled, overwhelmed, or distracted? Here’s another installment in the ProfHacker one-minute body/mind series.

This exercise is very valuable when you find yourself so overwhelmed by thoughts and ideas that you can’t actually focus on doing anything. Maybe you’ve even tried to close your eyes and simply breathe for one minute, but your anxious internal voice wouldn’t quiet down. 

By giving your visual and logical capacities something to do while you are breathing, you can trick your brain into letting you calm down your nervous system. This is what your brain actually wants anyway.  A calmer mind and calmer body will work better, rest better, and function better in all ways.

• Set your timer for one minute.  (Or 2  or 3, if you’re able to.)
• Close your eyes.  (This is optimal but not required, if you are in a situation in which closing your eyes...

Chances are, the library catalogs you frequently consult have either recently undergone some interface modifications, or might be doing so in the near future. A 2008 survey of librarians revealed significant dissatisfaction with the available software options for integrated library systems that combine access and searching for electronic resources and materials catalogs. Many libraries are turning to open source projects, including Blacklight and VuFind, which will offer library users new ways of conducting searches and using the results.

But until your institutional library finds or creates the perfect library system interface, you are probably stuck with whatever they’ve currently got. Few integrated systems can easily meet the needs of both novice library users and advanced researchers, and there is significant disagreement about what search features will best help users...

One of the central concepts of David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology is that your lists of next actions should be organized by context. The most basic context of an action is the physical setting or tools required to perform the action. So, tasks that can only be performed at the office would go on the @Office list; errands to be run on @Errands; or calls on an @Calls list. (Allen’s book suggests prefixing the @ symbol to your action lists if you use digital list keepers (folders in your email, memos on your PDA or phone) as it will bump them to the top of an alphabetical list and make the physical context aspect of the list obvious to you every time you use it.)

Choosing your context lists depends upon the kinds of actions you frequently do, and the structures of your life. If you don’t make a lot of phone calls, then you might not need an @Calls list,...

Today marks the beginning of a new month — a good time for taking a few minutes to assess how things are going. It’s easy at this point in the semester (whether you’re 4 or 7 weeks in) to feel caught up in just doing stuff: teaching, meetings, grant proposals, recommendation writing, and oh yeah, your own writing and research.

All too often, the things we’re not doing weigh more heavily on our minds than the things we are doing, just as the class that goes badly stands out more in your memory than the ones that went well.  Sometimes you can use that as impetus for change or “doing better next time”; but sometimes you just wind up feeling overwhelmed. (Particularly if it’s week 6 or 7.)

So, a simple question.  What’s working?

This is both a psychological and a practical strategy.  As Nels pointed out, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by productivity tips...

Later this week, ProfHacker begins a series of posts on the topic of mentoring. Mentoring is one of those vague and slippery terms: sometimes you know (good) mentoring when you see or experience it; sometimes you only figure it out in retrospect. Sometimes it becomes a buzzword or the focus of administrative structures; sometimes it represents authentic attempts to nurture and develop potential talent.

This series of posts grew out of some conversations among the ProfHacker contributing writers, who include people at many different levels of academe, and who as individuals have very different experiences with mentoring and being mentored. We hope to create a conversation here on the site that will not only recognize the significance of personal experience, but will also help create strategies, tools, and techniques for mentoring that will help enhance productivity and growth...

Got a minute? Feeling a little drowsy or unfocused?

(Although this is a very mild form of movement, if you are injured or have limited mobility, use common sense and/or consult your health care guide.)

• Set your timer for 1 minute (or more).
• Stand up and move away from any furniture. Stand in a relaxed posture with your hands at your sides.
• As you inhale deeply, slowly sweep your hands out to each side and up over your head.
• As you exhale, slowly bring your fingertips together (almost touching) with your palms held flat, facing down. Gently and slowly bring your hands down in front of your face and body until your arms are almost to the starting position. Imagine bringing the energy of the sky or sun down into your body. Repeat twice.

• Then reverse the action, bringing energy up from the earth: as you inhale, slowly sweep your arms up in front of your body (allow them to cross ...

Last week, I recommended tracking how you spent your time for a few days (or ideally for the whole week) as a first step in evaluating and possibly refocusing your decisions about what you do and when.

The other exercise I suggested was to think a bit about what your current goals and priorities are, not just in your work, but more holistically.  Each of us will have different categories for these priorities, but some common labels might include: Research, Teaching, Family Time, Exercise, Spirituality, Friendship, Personal Growth, Relaxation, Learning, Domestic Space, or Finances.  It’s also helpful to think about a few activities that could contribute towards that goal or priority.  (“Friendship” is a general priority, but “meet Fred for coffee” and “phone Julie” are specific actions you can take.)

So once you have a few days’ worth of notes about the...

If, like me, you look around after the dust settles at the beginning of a new semester, and wonder now how am I going to find time for X? this tip is for you. It’s an exercise I repeat at least once a year, sometimes more frequently depending on what changes have been taking place in my work, in my life, or in my goals.

Despite our conventional usage of the words,  there’s really no such thing as time management — only decision management. You can change your decisions about how to use your time.   But in order to do that effectively, you first have to know how you are currently using your time.  Who hasn’t dreamt up an incredibly ambitious writing schedule or exercise routine only to discover that it doesn’t have any anchor in reality?

So, for this week, if you’d like to play along with me, I recommend two steps.

(1) Track how you spend your time for a week...