Head Space

Calm productivity for academics

Tag: administration

  • Work that shouldn’t exist: What to do when your role is a workaround

    A lot of academic work seems to exist purely to compensate for broken institutional systems. When your primary function is forwarding emails, duplicating data, or routing queries, you’re not adding value—you’re revealing systemic dysfunction. Personal productivity strategies can’t fix organisational failures, and acknowledging these patterns is the essential first step.

  • Start your week with admin to avoid feeling overwhelmed

    Deliberately dedicating Mondays to admin tasks in academia can lead to a more productive week. By containing administrative work to one day, you create mental space and uninterrupted time blocks for meaningful academic work while reducing the anxiety of scattered administrative responsibilities throughout the week.