Schedule dedicated time for thinking

No-one else is going to set aside dedicated time for thinking in your schedule.

If you’re like most busy academics, you may feel that the time for creativity and deep thinking is what will be left when everything else is finished. You might catch yourself saying, “When the ‘important’ work of teaching, grading, meetings, and administrative tasks is wrapped up, then I’ll have time to be creative and work on developing new ideas.”

But the reality is, if you don’t intentionally schedule dedicated thinking time, it likely won’t happen. The busywork and reactive tasks will expand to fill every moment of every day. And before you know it, weeks will have passed without giving your mind the freedom to explore, analyse, question, and conceive.

Read: Email is not your work.

Thinking is not a luxury; it’s the engine that drives high-value academic work. So treat thinking time with the same respect and prioritisation as you would an important meeting or deadline. Block off a few hours on your calendar, find a quiet space away from distraction, and immerse yourself in new ideas. Remember, deep work is what gets you promoted, while shallow work merely prevents you from getting fired.

Start your day by ensuring that you’ve set aside time for the thinking that leads to high-value output.


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