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Tips for carving out research time?

In our newest “how can we help you?” thread, a reader writes:

I’d be keen to any hear tips on carving out time – and making the most of that time – for research in amongst teaching and admin work, beyond “just make sure you spent x amount of time on it a day”.

I’ve recently moved into an adjunct-type role after submitting my doctoral work and it’s quite the change from being free (even obliged) to spend most of my time on my research. My teaching load isn’t nearly as heavy as it might be, but I find myself ping-ponging between taking classes and office hours, doing my paperwork, etc., such that I often get to the end of the week and find I’ve managed little reading and often no writing. I’m barely even managing any good honest procrastination!

I find it pretty tough to carve out research time during the semester and am not sure that I have ever developed any real strategies above and beyond “trying to fit in a little and here.” ¯\\(ツ)/¯

Do any readers have any helpful tips?

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10 responses to “Tips for carving out research time?”

  1. Anonymous

    One trick is to find out when you work the best – and then reserve some of that time for research. If I can get some research done in the morning before 10.30, then I have usually made some progress. The morning is my most productive time. Save the more routine tasks for your slow time. Mid-afternoon is when I do such things as check the philosophy blogs, delete e-mails that are piling up, even refereeing a papers

    Reply
  2. Daniel

    Different things work for different people. What works best for me is (among other things):

    1) Trying as much as possible to confine teaching stuff (courses, office hours, prep) to some days and research to other days.

    2) Lots and lots of prep before the semester begins so I don’t have to do much prep during the semester.

    3) Starting on research first thing when possible, and only when I run out of steam do I move to other stuff on the to-do list.

    4) Reflecting very deeply on how much prep actually makes my courses better and not doing more than I need to. You can easily over-prepare if you let yourself.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    Read Jason Brennan’s chapter on productivity, and adapt the advice as close as you can to your circumstances: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Work-You-Can-Get-ebook/dp/B07YQ8XG7R/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ZKVDVU5EFBBT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NSA9m0zRafbTY8ioOXoS0zYCxdrFh1oS0295pGdUoBbaPw0gzOp1aFQz9Z9KCw7_-1gR8Cm_flmZMmPktMsx3PFxKLg2Xi8DyPWQRCnGN7mtG2Hp57Dgg7lBjyuZ6d7GDmddpQRmz2ZPtZY3lNYY_XBWWpPRvhvbMl4HrJX47hdClAxqPyJ1DrlLMHCT5Feq3cCi7T5-M3Zz0ch9lNkn6caTyF937TrtmLUsHfU_0FU.YfK1zbeLdeD24CEz97bNhuMpv3MMj_dkTFgYK1b4Q6M&dib_tag=se&keywords=good+work+if+you+can+get+it&qid=1763999637&sprefix=good+work+if+you+can+get+it%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-1.

    Reply
  4. Michel

    I aim to do 15-30 minutes a day. Sometimes I get more in, sometimes less. The trick is just to manage it every day.

    I fit it in when I’m napping my youngest (she’s fresh, so takes several naps a day, a few of which are with me); I also do my other work then, but I make sure to put in my 15 minutes first, before I do anything else. I do it on the commute to work and back. I do it at the end of the day, just before heading to bed.

    I just find a fifteen-minute window here and there, and do it then. With small children, I no longer have the luxury of several-hour periods, or time when I’m at my best. So I just do it when I can, in the increments I can, every day. But it’s all a lot easier if you can put in your fifteen minutes (or whatever) at the beginning of the day, before other stuff intrudes. You can always come back to it later, if there’s time, but if there’s not, then you’re still good to go.

    Reply
  5. Anonymous

    Commit to things that have deadlines. Recently, for me, that’s involved agreeing to submit papers to edited volumes. Earlier on, before I reached a career stage where I was receiving these invitations, I would submit to conferences that required only an abstract. When the date for getting it to my commentator was looming, it turned out I could be quite productive. Obviously, it would be better if I could be equally productive on a day-to-day basis without the looming deadline, but so it goes.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous

    Everyone is different. Please know first that you are not alone. I have been trying for years and have not succeeded… I tried almost every suggestion people gave online but none of them worked well. Again, it is on me.

    Personally, I feel that most of it is about your mental approach. Teach is an endless process, and you will always find more things to do. So, for me, the key is to find a way to stop doing things. I recently (after teaching for 10+ years since graduate school) adopted two strategies that worked relatively well.

    First, I start to go to more conferences, even if it means that I have to cancel classes. When I am among other researchers, although most people do not know me, I feel being reminded of my role as a researcher, and teaching is not all of my work. Whenever I feel that I can spend more time preparing for a class, I stop and tell myself that I do not need the additional prep; I have my research to do and I need to be an active scholar.

    Second, I reduce the amount of assignments and save time from grading. When I realize that I do not have time for my own research, I remind myself that I can assign less work. That might mean that my students receive less training at certain skills, but hey, it means that I have more time doing my own thing.

    I am sorry for being (too) pragmatic but as I said, most other strategies did not work..

    Reply
  7. Anonymous

    Lots of great advice in here already. I will mention one more thing that has been moderately successful for me: create more opportunities to meet your research obligations while simultaneously meeting your teaching and service obligations. The classic way of doing this, of course, is to teach a class on a topic that you are actively researching — then prep for class becomes prep for writing. Not everyone can do that, I know. But try to find your version of this. This semester, for example, many of my students are working on term papers, writing samples, etc. So I help to organize a Shut Up & Write group for them. While it sounds like I am doing them a favor, the truth is that it is my most productive hour for getting my own writing done.

    Reply
  8. AGT

    Co-authoring worked for me. Increases productivity, broadens your network, and if you do it well, also improves your research.

    Reply
  9. a bit more self care

    Echoing some of the above comments, but just do enough for teaching. Don’t be so arrogant to believe that a few more minutes each week on teaching prep or other teaching-related activities have a reasonable chance to change students’ lives significantly for the better. Moreover, you don’t owe your students excellent teaching. Your employer is responsible for not hiring more people to do the teaching. Don’t let facilitate your own exploitation. On the other hand, if research is what you deeply enjoy, you owe it to yourself.

    Reply
  10. Anonymous

    OP here – thanks to all have commented! Will take a break later on (ha) and read through them all properly.

    Reply

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