Academic Parenthood: How Family Life Has Shaped Our Professional Life

Crystal Taylor, Ph.D., Appalachian State University; MacKenzie Sidwell, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

The integration of family and work can be complex for early-career faculty. The pull of tenure, while trying to be a good partner, parent, caregiver (and so on) can create feelings of guilt, burnout, and isolation. We are both in early stages of our academic careers while also managing the complexities of parenthood. While neither of us has perfected it, we strive to create a sustainable and effective work-life integration system.

We recognize that there likely is not anything we will cover here that is revolutionary or something we all haven’t considered related to our careers and lives, as each of the skills we plan to outline encompassing self-compassion, time management, collaborative relationship building, and communication are not exclusive to academic parents. Yet, we find that parenthood has provided us with boundless opportunities to practice these skills with newfound meaning that is quite likely unique to academia or other knowledge-work related professions. This post outlines the professional behaviors and skill sets we have gained while experiencing competing demands of parenthood and career, and how we have leveraged our positions as school psychology tenure-track faculty and mothers to find balance.

Self-compassion

Becoming a parent while navigating the tenure track has reshaped our understanding and recognition of our need for self-compassion. We find that parenthood illuminates the reality that practicing self-compassion need not compete with our career, but rather serve as fuel for persistence when we don’t get the grant, the paper got rejected - again, or despite the hours we spent in our office with the door open, students all seem to agree that we were not available enough outside of class. To us, self-compassion is meeting ourselves with the same level of empathy we award to others. This requires non-judgmental evaluation of our capabilities, which allows for acceptance of what we can and can’t control, recognition of our strengths and weaknesses, and adjusting our expectations to reflect these realities. As early career academics, this practice does not come easily nor naturally. Most of us find ourselves in this line of work because of a commitment to continual improvement of ourselves and the field, and desire for achievement, either driven internally or externally (e.g., family, mentors; certainly we can’t be in this gig for the money). Self-compassion permits us to approach academe like any other skill or set of behaviors in that they are malleable and can be changed rather than predetermined.

We have found that self-compassion allows us to find a greater appreciation for being a professor at this stage in our lives, as I (MacKenzie) write this piece with my daughter on a playmat behind me in my office at work. By no means is it easy, nor do we seek to diminish the challenges we experience, but we would be hard-pressed to find many other career options that allow for the flexibility and autonomy provided by academia. Further, the self-compassion required to be a parent also enables us to find levity amid the stress. Learning to laugh at ourselves in parenting and at work can help to shift our perspective and prevent feeling overwhelmed - it is our first time being human, after all.    

Strategies we recommend:

1. Use what you already know from psychology to abandon the “p-word” (a.k.a. perfect)

   1. Engage in positive self-talk or self-compassion mantras (Neff, 2015).

   2. Identify and reframe irrational or unhelpful thoughts (e.g., “I must always do things right or I’ve failed” becomes “I did my best and now I know what I’ll do differently next time”).

   3. Defuse perfectionistic thinking by recognizing the thought and reminding yourself it does not control you, or, as ACT practitioners may say, “Write it on a leaf” (Hayes & Smith, 2025).

   4. Use the Premack Principle to combat perfection-driven avoidance by structuring tasks so that low-preferred activities are followed by highly preferred activities (e.g., “Once I free-write for 20 minutes, no matter how messy, I can walk to get coffee with a colleague”).

2. Practice self-care with a focus on restorative rather than self-indulgent activities (but treat yourself every once in a while, too!)

   1. Instead of scrolling between tasks, practice deep breathing or take a quick lap around your department.

   2. Find ways to move and engage in physical activity that you enjoy and scrap the “all or nothing” mindset (e.g., a short and slow walk with the dog is better than nothing).

   3. Develop rituals that protect boundaries and reinforce limits between work, parenting, and personal time (e.g., change clothes when shifting from work to home mode or a wind-down ritual before bed with journaling, tea, and tech-free time).

   4. Say “no”- protect your time and energy by setting boundaries with others to preserve your capacity for your intentional “yeses”. Consider using a script or leaning on mentors or an accountability colleague.

Time Management

Before parenthood, time management meant fitting it all in efficiently for maximum productivity; now, time management means using systems and values to guide and prioritize our activities, recognizing that there will be trade-offs and not everything that could be done will be done. That is okay (thanks to self-compassion, see above). Parenthood forces us to consider what is truly essential so that we can focus our efforts intentionally across the competing demands of scholarship, teaching, service, and now responsibility for the physical, emotional, educational, and developmental nurturing of another human- not to mention the other obligations to primary relationships we juggle with partners, family, community, and ourselves. In our pre-motherhood lives, fewer life-sustaining commitments meant we had the freedom and fuel of an uninterrupted night’s sleep to power through and take on other people’s priorities as our own for the sake of not missing out on a single opportunity. Now, freedom comes from taking action aligned with our values and priorities within time-based structures we built to balance focus with flexibility when life calls for it.

We have learned that time management only works when it is rooted in clarity about what matters, what can wait, and what simply does not belong. We also recognize that in the urgency of academic and parenting demands, it can be difficult to slow down enough to evaluate our priorities, but when our priorities and values are clear, it becomes easier to say no, delegate, and invest our precious energy where it has the most meaning. Once values are defined, reliable systems for deciding, planning, and executing tasks make it possible to focus our efforts and give space for a little wiggle room when it is needed.

Strategies we recommend:

1. Use your values to prioritize and set boundaries

   1. Clarify your core professional and personal values by starting with a list of your top 3-5 values (e.g., mentorship, travel with your family, service to the field, rest, etc.).

   2. Use values as a filter to critically evaluate opportunities. When a new task or invitation comes up, ask:

      1. “Does this align with my current values?”

      2. “Does it support a long-term goal or meaningful relationship?”

      3. “What would I have to trade off to say yes?”

   3. Balance a worm’s and bird’s eye view of your deadlines, plans, and predictable activities. Based on your commitments in the short term and long term, determine what is even feasible based on time available and alignment with values.

   4. Consult with mentors and trusted colleagues who respect and understand your values when you need a sounding board, especially if you are someone who struggles with setting realistic expectations for yourself.

2. Developing systems for planning and executing tasks

   1. Write it down. This strategy seems incredibly simple, but it was the first system we both identified in the development of this post. Start with a reliable system for capturing all of your projects, tasks, ideas, and responsibilities. This will likely need to be updated weekly or even daily, but if you haven’t captured everything, something will get missed. Use what feels best to you and whatever you will use consistently, i.e., paper, digital, or a combination of both.

   2. Create repeatable weekly planning rituals. Schedule time to audit your calendar and reflect on how time was spent the previous week, and identify tasks that remain. Then, clarify projects, tasks, and ideas for the upcoming week. Ask yourself what absolutely must get done, and what would be nice to do, but is not urgent. Tip: We both like to do this in the early afternoon on Fridays, so we still have time to schedule meetings next week, and Monday morning is a bit smoother.

   3. Try low and high-tech task management tools to offload the mental load.

      1. Low-tech ideas: Pomodoro technique, time-blocking, paper planners, the Ivy Lee Method

      2. High-tech ideas: Todoist; Trello; Toggl; notes apps; your university’s email/calendar system; etc

   4. When in doubt, schedule it. Schedule everything - writing time, teaching time, planning, meetings, time to eat lunch/take a break, etc.

3. Use your systems to adapt to changes

   1. Schedule in “slack” time. In times of transition or uncertainty, I (MacKenzie) will schedule time to panic in my calendar. If there is a chance, I’m going to get stuck or if I have a moment of clairvoyance and can anticipate things will not go as expected, having this “time to panic” allows me the flexibility to waste a little time without it thwarting the rest of my day. 

   2. Automate what you can (e.g., meal prepping, schedule send, use AI).

   3. Create “minimum viable” versions of your routine (i.e., what is the least I can do to stay on track).

   4. Be willing to revise the system itself. While we do not recommend changing your system as frequently as your child will be home from daycare sick with the latest viral infection going around, it is good practice to check in with your system regularly. Do you notice you are not using a tool as reliably as you once were, or are you missing appointments because the sticky notes are no longer cutting it? Adjust your system to meet your current professional and personal needs.

Relationships and Collaboration

If parenthood has taught us anything, it’s that we truly cannot do this alone. Asking for help is okay, and often necessary. Before growing our own families, we believed the old saying, “Publish or perish." Maybe that is true; we all know that publications are important but doing it alone may lead to unnecessary burnout and stress.

Perhaps it is time to reimagine this phrase to instead be “Collaborate, publish, or perish.” We’ve found that collaborating with other academics helps build a community and helps us navigate family and personal life more easily. For us, community is sometimes a venting session in a group chat on a day with no childcare, when you’re teaching on Zoom with a three-year-old in your lap. Other times, it is sharing a syllabus and rubrics with a colleague to reduce the teaching load and increase time for writing and research. 

When you build your community, it is important to remember to be gentle with yourself and your partners. We’ve realized much like in a marriage, it is not always a 50/50 split. Sometimes one person gives 90% while the other person gives 10%, and other times it is 20/80. The balance shifts depending on the needs of each individual. Perhaps you can only give 20% on a manuscript because you are on week 2 of snow days. Working with others makes it okay to give what you can; the manuscript gets submitted, and next time, you give 80%. Maybe your teaching load is overwhelming, but a graduate student can take the lead on data collection. When it is time to write, you step back in. Asking for help when you need it is the only way to sustain a long and meaningful career in academia.

Strategies we recommend:

1. Find colleagues in similar life stages

   1. Attend networking events. SSSP-ECF hosts a NASP social each year where you can connect with other school psychologists at various stages in their careers.

   2. Start a group chat with other early-career scholars.

   3. Host a brown bag, check-in meetings, or writing retreat in your department or with other early career scholars in school psychology to build community.

2. Find research collaborators

   1. Send that email! If you consistently cite someone or admire their work, send an email requesting a meeting to connect and discuss ideas.

3. Don’t recreate the wheel: Share and borrow teaching materials

   1. Crowdsource syllabi, rubrics, slide decks, etc., on NASP listservs, SPTRAIN, and other forums. Or ask folks in your department for their materials and offer to share your own.

4. Plug into existing support networks

   1. SSSP-ECF hosts monthly writing retreats, socials, and webinars. These events are low-pressure and a great way to build relationships.

   2. Sign up for the NASP mentoring program to connect with and learn from advanced scholars.

   3. Attend local, state, and national conferences and prioritize networking.

Communication and Setting Boundaries

Clear, effective communication is the foundational skill required for executing most of the aforementioned strategies. Communication is important for all relationships. When children are involved, clear communication is not only necessary, it is required. Since becoming parents in academia, we have learned to be more direct and transparent with our partners and family, but we’ve also learned that we need to be direct and transparent with our students, collaborators, and colleagues too.

Setting boundaries is instrumental in our ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance. For example, I (Crystal) set firm boundaries with students and colleagues by limiting my availability to 8-5 Monday through Friday. That doesn’t mean I never work outside those hours, but it does mean I prioritize family time in the evenings and on weekends. Emails, papers, and class prep can wait. These expectations are communicated with students at the beginning of each semester and are brought up as needed when communicating with colleagues. So far, communicating this boundary has been well received and respected.

This circles back to time management: setting clear boundaries allows you to protect your time and focus on the tasks that move you towards tenure, on a schedule that works best for you. When you communicate your limits upfront, others know what to expect, and you are less likely to feel guilty. By communicating your boundaries, you permit yourself to have self-compassion. You are literally giving yourself permission to say no, and all early career scholars need to say no eventually.

Overall, you don’t owe anyone 24/7 access to your time. Boundaries allow you to prioritize what is important to you while staying focused and making progress toward your personal and professional goals. We were both under the impression that having a career and family would be difficult, almost aversive. However, in working on this blog post and reflecting on our experiences as parents and early career scholars, we realized that having a family and a personal life outside of work has given us the skills to set boundaries, build community, manage our time, and overall, give ourselves grace.

What are your recommendations for work-life integration? Comment below!

ChatGPT was used to help refine and identify action items under each recommended strategy. The final content is written in the authors’ own words.

References & Resources

Allen, D. (2015). Getting things done: The art of stress-free productivity. Penguin Books.

Burkeman, O. (2021). Four thousand weeks: Time management for mortals. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones. Avery.

Clear, J. (N.d.). The Ivy Lee Method: The daily routine experts recommend for peak productivity. ​​https://jamesclear.com/ivy-lee

Hayes, S. C. & Smith, S. X. (2025). Get out of your mind and into your life: The new acceptance and commitment therapy. New Harbinger Publications.

Neff, K. (2015). Self-Compassion: The proven power of being kind to yourself. William Morrow Paperbacks.

Newport, C. (2024). Slow productivity: The lost art of accomplishment without burnout. Portfolio.

Managing Your Time During Your First Year of Academia

Garret J. Hall, Florida State University

Sally L. Grapin, Montclair State University

As a first-year faculty member, deciding how to allocate your time can be challenging. Many faculty are expected to balance scholarship, teaching, and service responsibilities, all while acclimating to a new institution. At the same time, academic schedules are often quite flexible and afford faculty considerable discretion in how they spend their time. This can leave new academics (and even more experienced ones) feeling lost about how to schedule their days and plan for accomplishing short- and long-term goals. The following describes tips for new faculty members seeking to use their work time efficiently and realistically during their first year in academia.

• Identify and clarify your institution’s priorities and expectations around faculty responsibilities.

Universities vary considerably in their expectations for research productivity, teaching loads, and service responsibilities. Having a clear understanding of your institution’s expectations is critical for determining how to spend your time. For instance, faculty at institutions with substantial scholarship expectations should be especially intentional about carving out time for research and writing. Similarly, faculty who are expected to contribute heavily to academic programs and/or teaching may benefit from spending more time on these activities.

Unfortunately, institutions can be vague in communicating productivity expectations, especially in regard to research. This is due, in part, to the fact that scholarly pursuits (and thus evidence of productivity) vary considerably across disciplines and among scholars within those disciplines. For example, most universities do not explicitly specify a minimum number of publications or amount of grant funding needed to secure tenure and promotion.

Speaking to as many colleagues as possible at various institutional levels (e.g., department, college) can help clarify expectations. More experienced faculty members often have knowledge of institutional precedent that can be helpful for surmising university expectations. Moreover, examining CVs and other professional profiles (e.g., Google Scholar profiles) of colleagues at your level (e.g., pre-tenure) or more advanced levels (e.g., tenured and promoted) can also be helpful for gauging expectations.

Clarifying tenure and evaluation timelines and requirements is, of course, an important consideration in allocating your time. Being knowledgeable about these processes will allow you to determine how much progress you need to make over a given period. For instance, learning more about whether and how often periodic pre-tenure evaluations occur can help you pace yourself.

Finally, balancing university expectations with your own career goals is important as well. For instance, faculty with primarily teaching and clinical appointments who ultimately aspire to obtain more research-oriented positions should be mindful of balancing institutional priorities with their own research pursuits. Likewise, faculty who aspire to more teaching-oriented positions may wish to focus on refining their teaching philosophy, mastering effective teaching practices, and building a strong, diversified record of university instruction.

• Focus on your existing pipeline of scholarship while maintaining an eye toward building your long-term research agenda.

Building a long-term research agenda at a new institution can be time intensive. As you work toward this goal, consider making progress on writing projects that are already in your research pipeline (i.e., with data that are already collected and/or analyzed). This will allow you to maintain a fluid, consistent record of scholarship as you settle into your new faculty position. If you do not have a robust pipeline of scholarship to draw from, consider undertaking writing projects that do not require a full lab setup or established research partnerships. For instance, you might consider working on conceptual papers, book chapters, or other types of manuscripts while you prepare for new data collection. Working closely with existing collaborators can also help you maintain publishing momentum while also affording you time to set up longer-term projects.

As you build your long-term research agenda, it can be helpful to set tangible, short-term goals and to avoid starting too many new projects at once. You might consider identifying a few short-term research tasks and committing to finishing them (e.g., finishing a literature review, submitting an IRB application). You might also identify projects that will allow you to document clear progress along your tenure timeline (accounting for interim reviews). At the same time, consider how these short-term projects will contribute toward your longer-term publication pipeline and grant funding goals (if relevant).

• Work steadily toward building your lab and research infrastructure while also being mindful of the work required.

Spending time building your lab and/or research team infrastructure can be time-consuming. If you are fortunate to be awarded start-up funding or space for a lab, setting up this space (and even spending down funds) can require quite a bit of time and administrative effort. Likewise, setting up lab routines and protocols, preparing Institutional Review Board (IRB) applications for a new university, establishing external research partnerships, and recruiting and training new lab members can also be time intensive. While these activities pay dividends in the long run, they often do not result in tangible products or evidence of productivity. Be patient with yourself as you navigate these processes and remind yourself that you are still making needed progress. Moreover, consider the above tips for maintaining research productivity while building your lab/research infrastructure.

• Intentionally pursue collaborations within and outside of your university.

Collaboration both within and outside of your university can be one of the great joys of academia; nevertheless, identifying collaborators with whom you are compatible and share common interests can take time. Consider building these relationships as early on as possible. Internal colleagues might appreciate your reaching out to get to know them and to discuss potential collaborations (even if these collaborations are not realized immediately). Outside of your university, attending conferences and connecting with committees and/or interest groups through professional organizations can be a great way to build relationships and identify potential collaborators.

• Choose your service activities carefully.

Service is an important part of contributing to your university and larger profession; however, extremely heavy service loads can make it difficult to balance other roles in your first year and beyond. Typically, first-year faculty are (or at least should) be expected to take on relatively less service than their more advanced peers, as new faculty need time to prepare for research and teaching. While it is important to be a good citizen of your department, university, and profession, be sure to protect your research and teaching time as needed during this early stage of your career.

Ultimately, you will likely take on some service responsibilities in your first year, and choosing activities that are aligned with your other professional roles can be helpful. For example, serving on internal grant review committees may allow you to become familiar with procedures and evaluation criteria for these funding mechanisms. Likewise, becoming involved in editorial service (e.g., serving as an ad hoc reviewer, editorial board member, or editorial fellow) for peer-reviewed journals may sharpen your skills in critiquing and designing research studies as well as familiarize you with publication standards for various journals.

• Identify optimal times for productivity and prioritize them.

Your unstructured time can quickly become filled with impromptu meetings or other unplanned tasks. Imposing your own structure on large blocks of time can help prioritize specific kinds of tasks at different points in the day or week. Some faculty prefer to write research papers on certain days of the week and/or during certain times of the day, but those days/time might not be the same ones conducive to accomplishing other important tasks (e.g., class preparation).  It might take some trial-and-error to identify those times of day that are best suited to specific tasks—not all 3-hour blocks are ideal for the same activities. You might not have the same motivation to finish that Discussion section on a Friday from 1-4 p.m. as you would on a Tuesday. Everyone works a little differently, and that’s OK, but it might take time to figure out what works best for you—especially when the obligations pulling you in different directions as faculty will be very different than those as a graduate student, postdoc, or practitioner. Finding time to write with other friends and faculty can help provide structure and accountability; for instance, the SSSP ECF monthly writing retreats may help you build writing momentum.

Another strategy for prioritizing writing time can be to write during small blocks of time between other commitments. Those 15 minutes between meetings could be used to make some incremental progress on a smaller writing task. We know that saving a large task for a large block of time can feel daunting. Breaking down writing tasks into those smaller chunks to complete in between other commitments can help keep the writing momentum going and prevent you from becoming overwhelmed with the writing projects you have.

On the other hand, try to also be flexible with your time. That impromptu lunch with a colleague during your planned writing time is also important for your social and personal satisfaction at your job. You may feel like you are getting distracted from your writing plans, but being too task-oriented can burn you out. Many fruitful ideas and collaborations have come from unplanned meals, coffee breaks, and hallway conversations. Moreover, save time to think and read about your ideas. What “counts” as writing is not just the act of writing itself; thinking and reading are investments in writing. Don’t underestimate them. It’s OK to stare at the wall for 2 hours if it brought you clarity on how to approach your next project or write your next paper introduction (it’s also OK if it didn’t).

• Finding a way to balance work and life takes time and needs to be intentional.

You worked hard for many years, and you finally landed the academic job you were hoping for. Starting your first academic job is exciting and likely also stressful. There are many new responsibilities to balance. Depending on your teaching load, faculty meeting schedule, and research workflow, you could be left with a substantial amount of time to conduct your research or seemingly very little. You may have also moved a long distance to your new institution. Through all of that, you have to find time to live your life outside of your job.

The lack of structure to academics’ time can make it difficult to draw the line between your work and your personal life. As faculty, we are also passionate about what we do, and even when we are “done” with our workday and close our laptops, many of us are probably still thinking about our teaching, our new exciting research project, or that frustrating comment we received in a manuscript review. As passionate as we might be, it’s important to remember that this is still a job. Some might integrate their life with their job more than others, but that does not work for everyone, nor should it.

Finding structured time to separate yourself from your work can be extremely helpful, but this looks different for everyone. Some might choose to have activities with specific time commitments during the week that force them to be away from work. Others might choose to work only in specific spaces/locations (e.g., coffee shops or work/home offices but not other rooms in their home or on campus). Some are fine working on the weekends, and others don’t open their laptops between Friday afternoon and Monday morning. Establishing these boundaries and habits early on in your faculty career can help you prioritize non-work activities that promote your personal wellness, which will ultimately help you identify how your new faculty position fits into your preferred lifestyle.

Do you have any other good tips for planning your time in your first year of academia? Share below!

Setting Boundaries to Promote Your Research Productivity

By June L. Preast, PhD, NCSP, University of Alabama

Within traditional academic positions, our jobs are divided upon research, service, and teaching. The division of responsibilities across those commitments typically varies across different institutions and roles. For example, more research-intensive institutions may have a workload of .4 FTE for research, .4 FTE for teaching, and .2 FTE for service. Alternatively, institutions with more of a focus on teaching may require .60 FTE for teaching, .20 FTE for research, and .20 for service. Faculty, especially early career scholars, often have a lot of flexibility in how they spend their time in a given time period, which has many advantages. We often get to devote our time, focus, and energy to the activities and experiences about which we are most invested. 

However, there are also challenges that come with the flexibility of an academic career due to the abundance of unplanned opportunities that can crop up and assumption of self-management. Plus, many of us are taken by surprise--sometimes frequently--by the sheer volume of expected requests and opportunities that can come up, from staffing crises to calls for proposals to student needs or grading and advising needs that far outstrip allocated FTE. Quite simply, there is never a shortage of work, new opportunities, or time-sensitive demands. Scholars typically must be disciplined, thoughtful, organized, and self-protective to ensure they are able to fulfill their various responsibilities. Doing so, especially as an early career scholar, can be daunting because it requires setting and holding boundaries in a context where demands for your time can seem never ending.

Boundaries can be referred to as how we let others know our needs. And holding those boundaries are important to ensure that we are meeting our own needs. It’s important to keep in mind individual faculty may have different experiences in setting and holding boundaries in comparison to their colleagues. Women faculty are often expected to provide more time on service and teaching obligations, are often approached more often by students for support, and subsequently have less time to devote to research endeavors and their counterparts identifying as men. Faculty of color, especially women faculty of color, experience even more inequity, adding the sometimes hidden additional requirements for achieving tenure and promotion. LGBTQIA+ faculty and faculty of color are also tasked with creating and maintaining safe spaces for community for students. And women faculty often have significant caregiving responsibilities outside of work that limit their ability to continue working on tasks beyond the typical work day. The structure of higher education is designed to get as much as they can out of you before you say no. And with that, the structure easily takes advantage of faculty, especially women, faculty of color, and LGBTQIA+ faculty.

Often, teaching and service have set deadlines (i.e., class times, meetings) and involve working with others or for others. For teaching, you know you have to be prepared for the set class meeting times, grades have to be submitted by a certain date, and students are asking questions that need to be answered related to specific assignments or topics. For service, you usually know when the meetings will be, when your tasks are due, and have other people holding you accountable. But research is self-driven, with deadlines you set yourself or with research partners. Although there are times when you may have others holding you accountable for research, that may not always be the case. And your research agenda is just that, yours, and yours alone. It’s up to you to accomplish your goals related to research. And it can be easy to let the teaching and service needs take over the time you set aside for research simply because of the perceived obligation to others. This blog post aims to provide some strategies for preserving research time in the midst of other responsibilities. 

Strategy 1: Align your time with your job expectations. 

Research suggests that faculty time is often poorly aligned with job expectations. For early career scholars, developing effective habits for time use can be critical for avoiding over-extending yourself or failing to meet basic job role expectations (e.g., publishing). As much as possible, strive to align how you spend your time with how you’re expected to spend your time. This will often require a combination of proactive calendaring, self-monitoring, adjustment, and the strategies above. For early career scholars for whom research is a primary expectation for employment, promotion, or tenure, the ongoing process of scheduling, protecting, and fulfilling research time is especially important. This will likely necessitate firm limits on how much time is available for other responsibilities or endeavors. For example, you may cap the amount of time you can spend on course prep or grading each week, which will likely require use of strategies for efficient feedback.

Strategy 2: Set aside time each day to touch research. 

It’s important to make time in your schedule dedicated to research. Treat it like you would an important meeting or class period, limiting distractions for that scheduled time. If you struggle with carving out large chunks of time, one idea is scheduling 30 minutes each day to make any sort of forward progress towards research. Committing to smaller amounts of time throughout the week may be more beneficial than setting aside say all of Friday, especially as the needs of earlier in the week may overflow into your research time at the end of the week. Or if you prefer larger chunks of time, try to make sure to schedule those earlier in the week before other work responsibilities are able to get in the way. Regardless, make a point to cut distractions as much as you can during your research time and make note of all that you accomplish, even if it feels small. Avoiding distractions may mean ignoring email during writing time, limiting apps or internet access, or working where others are unlikely to disrupt your time.

Strategy 3: Schedule times in your day to answer emails. 

Very rarely are there emergencies in academia, so it’s okay to not answer all emails immediately after receiving them. Give yourself some time each day to answer emails, but only during that time each day. If it’s too hard to do all emails that way, consider setting aside time just for student emails. You can also use email templates to streamline your email time by preparing standard responses as the basis for common inquiries. These can include templates for graciously declining an opportunity that is a poor fit for your goals, role, or availability.

Strategy 4: Start saying no to opportunities that don’t align with your research and professional goals

The ECF has repeatedly addressed the importance of saying no to opportunities that aren’t aligned with your goals and interests because the tendency to say yes to every opportunity can derail goals and contribute to exhaustion and burnout. As an early career scholar, it may feel hard or seem mean saying no to committees or opportunities. But if those opportunities don’t align with your research and professional goals, it's okay to say no, especially if you are already meeting the expectations for service for your institution. You may feel better about saying no by visibly and frequently reminding yourself of your goals and role expectations. Write out your research and professional goal(s) and keep it either on your laptop, desktop, or maybe as a post-it note. Look back at your goal(s) when presented with an opportunity and ask yourself if it aligns. If you find it difficult to say no, text a couple friends (especially fellow academics) who are willing to provide guidance. Our previously mentioned post provides additional suggestions for how to navigate this tricky process.

Strategy 5: Resist the urge to fix to every student issue

Student issues (or situations that students perceive as issues) are inevitable. And when students come to you upset and in need of support, it can be easy to instantly want to help and find solutions for them. However, be sure to take the time to understand the issue before saying yes and jumping into the problem-solver role. Not all student issues are ours to solve. Feel free to ask colleagues for guidance. Consider directing students to other resources or personnel who are better positioned to support their needs. Where infrastructure is lacking, it might be helpful to work with colleagues to build out procedures or resources so that you’re not always in reactive mode every time a concern emerges.  

For most (if not all) of us, research is enjoyable and the questions we strive to answer drive us and our work. However, our various work responsibilities sometimes take away the time we plan or hope to spend on research. Prioritizing research is possible with a little planning and strategizing. Hopefully you find something helpful in our suggestions. What other suggestions do you have for effectively setting boundaries to support your research?

Top 10 Tips for New Faculty

On November 5, 2020, the ECF’s Lindsay Fallon and Bryn Harris hosted a virtual social for new faculty where they highlighted their top 10 tips from past ECF posts. See the tips below, linked to the original posts. 10. Self-Care MattersIn a year in which the election, racial justice, and a global pandemic are at the forefront, take care of yourself to help others. 

• Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.
• Take care of your body by engaging in relaxation techniques (deep breathing, stretching, meditation), healthy eating, exercise, and adequate sleep. 
• Make time to unwind and connect with others. Talking with trusted friends and colleagues can help to process difficult events and feelings. 

9. It’s OK to Not Have Academic Parenthood All Figured OutIf you are caring for others, be kind to yourself. In this post, Dr. Sterett Mercer reminded us to:

• Match tasks with current capabilities. 
• Planning and initiating a major project at a “low point” may not be the best use of time. 
• Be aware of the cycles of the work week and academic year and set reasonable expectations. 
• Try to relax and stay in the game - burnout is real!

8. Recognize That Imposter Syndrome Is CommonKnow that you belong; fake it ‘til you make it. Our anonymous blogger, Dr. Ima Syke, pointed out the following steps to help deal with imposter syndrome:

• Recognize it within yourself and in others. 
• Regularly remind yourself of your accomplishments. 
• Become keenly aware of your strengths. 
• Discuss imposter syndrome with your students. 
• Seek support. 

7. Be as Efficient as Possible With Course PrepFind ways to use time wisely when prepping courses and teaching. Dr. Bryn Harris recommends that you: 

• Schedule time to prep. 
• Make revisions right away! Take notes during or immediately after class on things that went well and things that need to be improved. 
• Teach early in the week if you can. It forces you to be efficient, and leaves the rest of the week for other tasks. 
• Use the notes feature in PowerPoint to remind you what you were thinking when you made the slide a year ago. Be kind to your future self!

6. Know Who You Are As a MentorBe intentional about how you will mentor and know your limits. Drs. Bryn Harris and Amanda Sullivan advocated that we: 

• Seek support from others when stuck and to learn ideas.
• Identify strong role models, be inspired by their style. 
• Know your strengths and decide what your approach will be/is. 
• Define expectations, roles and goals. 
• Set boundaries.
• Follow through with what you say you will do. 

5. Your Research Agenda Can EvolveYou are not wedded to who you were in your cover letter. Dr. Milena A. Keller-Margulis emphasized that it’s important you: 

• Don’t think of your research agenda as static but rather inherently reflective and ongoing.
• The best way to determine (or evolve) the general topic(s) of your research agenda is to pay attention to the topics that interest you the most. You might discover this through reading the literature but these ideas may also surface through your practical or field-based experiences. 
• Do not be afraid to test drive some areas of interest by getting involved in or exploring new areas, and talking to other people with similar interests.
• These activities will help you narrow your focus to the topics and questions that are the most interesting to you. 

4. A Manuscript Rejection Is Sometimes a BlessingIt’s awful, but can also teach you a lesson. Dr. Laura Pendergast shared this story: “Are you done?” my mentor asked patiently. My beautiful manuscript had been rejected… again. My mentor had been listening to me complain for 15 minutes. I was starting a tenure-track position and needed to publish. I had conducted my analyses using the most current statistical techniques. I had painstakingly crafted my arguments and drawn careful, well-supported conclusions. Why didn’t these reviewers understand my paper?! My mentor looked at me calmly and shared a hard truth that changed the way I thought about my writing. She said, “The editor chose three reviewers who he viewed as trusted experts. These hand-picked experts didn’t understand your paper. If multiple, highly educated people didn’t understand what you wrote, whose fault is that?” She was right. Publishing manuscripts is not just about being technically correct and scientifically sound. It is about communicating with an audience… I began by making a new outline. I kept my original results section but rewrote the rest of the paper in a way that was clear and conveyed why the work was meaningful. The revised paper was quickly accepted at another journal.” 3. Start Thinking Now About Your Personal StatementIt’s never too early to start thinking about T&P. Panelists offered the following advice on crafting your materials:Dr. Jamilia Blake: “Your CV provides a quantitative account of what you have accomplished in a set amount of time. I often think of my CV as my personal reference list. However, your candidate statement is qualitative and provides the context for your work. It should not merely be a narrative recount of your CV. It is your opportunity to bring attention to themes in your work that you feel are important and will eventually have impact on the field. It is your space to discuss how your work shows promise for changing school psychology practice and research.”Dr. Amanda Sullivan: “I used my statements to explain activities and describe linkages between them - to tell the story I wanted them to take away from reviewing my materials.” 2. Be Intentional About Managing Your TimeSelf-manage or track your time devoted to research, teaching and service. Dr. Stacy-Ann January offered the following recommendations: “I use a program/app called Toggl (many other programs are available). I started with 3 broad categories (research, teaching, service) and then kept track of everything I did related to those categories. Each week, Toggl sends me an email with a breakdown of how I spent my time during the previous week.”Know when you write best. Dr. Dave Klingbeil shared his approach: “I write best late at night, when there are far fewer distractions. I also tend to be more productive when I write almost every day for 1-2 hours (not always attainable), rather than trying to protect two full days for ‘research time’.” 1. Give Yourself the Gift of NoDr. Amanda Sullivan pointed out, As an early career scholar, you have a finite amount of time so there reaches a point where saying yes to one thing means saying no to another - or where you risk overburdening yourself to the point where your performance in other areas of work suffers. Saying yes to x often means less time for y. Learning to say no first requires identifying your priorities so that you can easily identify requests and opportunities inconsistent with those priorities. Practice pleasantly and unapologetically saying no. It’s okay to say no without offering any more justification than you are simply unavailable. What other tips or favorite posts would you share with new faculty?

Coping with COVID-19 As An Early Career Scholar (Part I)

By Lindsay M. Fallon, University of Massachusetts – Boston; and Amanda L. Sullivan, University of Minnesota Over the past few months, COVID-19 has been known to infect over a million people worldwide. Its spread brings great concern for physical health and safety, but also emotional wellness; access to healthcare, education and employment; caring for oneself and others; managing competing responsibilities; and much more. A pandemic of this magnitude is uncharted territory for most of us and there remain many unknowns. Intense and new feelings about the virus and its impact are justified. Kindness to oneself is critical in navigating through this difficult and unsettling time.As early career scholars in a helping profession, it can be hard to know exactly what to do or how to help. Those whom we support, teach, and mentor may be experiencing illness or significant disruptions to their life (e.g., moving away or back home to be with family, experiencing an abrupt end to on-site fieldwork, managing the interruption to dissertation data collection, unemployment or illness among family members). Challenges may be exacerbated for individuals from historically minoritized backgrounds, including first-gen students, individuals from racially minoritized backgrounds, women, and others given racialized, classist, gendered, and ableist dimensions of this crisis. Taken together, this may bring about feelings of disappointment, discomfort, and even grief. Those we mentor may require additional and more intensive support during a time when we also need time and space to process and adjust to unanticipated changes ourselves. It is critical we engage in self-care, access social support, and set and maintain manageable expectations now and in the coming months.There are many ways to engage in self-care. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommend: 

• Taking breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.
• Taking care of one’s body by engaging in relaxation techniques (deep breathing, stretching, meditation), healthy eating, exercise, and adequate sleep.
• Making time to unwind and connect with others. Talking with trusted friends and colleagues can help to process difficult events and feelings.

Additional recommendations and resources have been offered by NASP, SAMHSA and others. Accessing necessary social support is, of course, impacted by the practice of social distancing, or physical distancing as it is more aptly named. Guidance by the American Psychological Association (APA) emphasizes the value of using technology in the absence of face-to-face interactions. This includes using phone calls, text messages, video chat and social media to access social support networks. There are many virtual social media support groups emerging (e.g., Facebook groups) to facilitate communication and a sense of community. While social and professional support needs will vary for individuals, the realization that all early career scholars are experiencing this pandemic together is powerful. We hope that early career scholars utilize each other as support systems and build stronger collaborative relationships as a result of these challenging times.It’s also important to set and maintain manageable expectations in the coming weeks and months. What is manageable is necessarily different now and will likely vary throughout this pandemic. Most faculty are grappling with the unwieldy task of quickly transitioning to online instruction while also managing extensive, and perhaps growing, personal demands. Rebecca Barrett-Fox offered numerous reasons why you should please do a bad job of putting your courses online during this unprecedented time. Her rationale and corresponding recommendations are especially helpful for scholars who are deeply committed to high quality preparation of school psychologists and high personal standards of excellence generally. We all want to do our best. As she points out, present circumstances necessitate a qualitatively different approach to online teaching than we’d pursue outside of a crisis. Be kind to yourself and your students by doing less. That’s more important now than learning and implementing the most recent teaching apps or ensuring that your online course is as rigorous as you’d intended the in-person class to be before COVID-19 upended everything. Elsewhere, recommendations for supporting struggling online learners are increasingly abundant, but the general themes are to be flexible, low tech, and as minimalistic as possible. It's also reasonable to assume your students are or will be struggling with COVID-related challenges and to practice compassion accordingly.Contrary to early posturing about mimicking Shakespeare or Newton’s pandemic productivity, this crisis does not lend itself to research productivity for most of us. We aren’t on mandatory writing retreats when stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders are issued by university and state leaders. This is especially true for individuals now acclimating to round-the-clock childcare duties; distance learning support for school-age kids; mutual aid for friends, loved ones, and community members; and supporting our students, advisees, supervisees, and colleagues---to say nothing of the personal emotional toll of all of this. We are anxious. We are angry. We are grieving. We are scared.As scholars and graduate educators, most of us have the privilege of being able to continue our work from our homes following social distancing and home isolation orders. Yet, as many have pointed out, “You’re not working from home. You’re sheltering in place during a pandemic and trying to get work done in the gaps between taking care of yourself, your loved ones, and your worries.” Such pandemic work is fundamentally different from choosing to work from home outside of an international crisis. Research findings on employees’ stable or enhanced productivity when working from home are not generalizable to our present context. We must give ourselves permission to expect less from everyone---ourselves, our students, our collaborators, our colleagues---right now. 

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— Seánie (@seanieflanagan) April 1, 2020

Indeed, it may be hard to concentrate or focus on certain tasks, making it difficult to feel productive. This can feel stressful, but is completely understandable. Now, productivity will likely look very different than it did last semester. Practice acknowledging and accepting this, along with celebrating what you are doing: responding to the needs of students, colleagues, clients, etc. is essential, meaningful work. Also, many of us now have children at home all day and are navigating work and caregiving responsibilities. This calls for flexibility with deadlines, requests, and workload. As such, it might also be important to communicate with professional colleagues about capacity and deadlines (e.g., asking for more time to review manuscripts for editorial boards). It is important to think about ways to advocate for one’s needs during this time. Don’t be afraid to request extensions, step away from projects, or ask for other assistance. For tenure-track junior faculty, it may be necessary to discuss with department, college, and university colleagues about adjusted expectations pre-tenure (e.g., fewer publications required; paused tenure clocks). Many universities are automatically extending probationary periods or are allowing faculty to opt in to pausing their clocks. It can be difficult to grant yourself use of such allowances because of common criticisms of pausing clocks that many of us have encountered from senior scholars and others, not to mention concern for how it may widen gender disparities, but these are extraordinarily challenging times. Those of us with more privilege* must advocate and assist our more vulnerable colleagues. This means being flexible with scheduling, deadlines, and delegation of responsibilities and assignments. It means, as much as possible given our own challenges, shouldering more of the burden than we put on junior faculty, contingent faculty colleagues, and students. It also means advocating for tenure clock extensions if they aren’t already in place and ensuring that we make allowances for this lost year when evaluating junior scholars’ accomplishments and potential in the context of promotion, tenure (pssst - external reviewers), student reviews, hiring, or grant or fellowship proposals. The likely impact on grades, research output, teaching evaluations, service activities, and other professional activities or accomplishments should not be ignored or downplayed once this pandemic passes. In the coming days, weeks, and months, we will have a better sense of how long COVID-19 will impact our daily lives and of the long lasting impact the pandemic will have on our field and society. In the meantime, we can take care of ourselves and others by normalizing our own feelings of discomfort and stress, engaging in self-care to the extent that we’re able, accessing social support as needed, setting and maintaining manageable expectations, and being an advocate for what we need at this time. This is undoubtedly a pivotal moment in history. Let’s be kind to ourselves as we navigate the duality of this unprecedented time.

 

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This is part 1 of at least two posts the Early Career Forum is preparing to address the unique circumstances COVID-19 presents for early career scholars and others in our school psychology community. Our next installment will address the research challenges for early career scholars in school psychology. To our readers: What questions do you have for the ECF? What resources or opportunities would you like to see? What other recommendations would you offer to our community for coping with COVID-related issues as an early career scholar? Tell us in the comments section below or comment on Twitter or Facebook.* As a full professor, I (Amanda) know that I am co-writing this from a place of immense privilege. I challenge myself and my similarly privileged peers to ask how we can support those without the luxuries of rank, tenure, and everything that comes with it. We must also keep in mind that the consequences of this crisis will continue to reverberate, even when/if we return to business as usual, so our grace must extend beyond the crisis.

Reboot: Give Yourself the Gift of No

A reader recently suggested we reboot one of our early posts, Give Yourself the Gift of No, an entry from the 2015 holiday season. Vetting and sometimes declining opportunities is something many early career (and not-so-early career) scholars find challenging. As many of us enter into a new academic year, I offer this reboot of the post with updated content and invite our readers to share their recommendations for getting better at saying no.

Give Yourself the Gift of No (December 2015)

As an early career scholar, you have a finite amount of time so there reaches a point where saying yes to one thing means saying no to another—or where you risk overburdening yourself to the point where your performance in many or all areas of work suffers. Saying yes to x often means less time for y. This becomes problematic when x is a nonessential, unwanted task and y is a highly valued or necessary task (e.g., writing). Ideally, such decisions are driven by your professional and personal goals in conjunction with institutional expectations, especially if you are concerned about promotion and tenure. Maintaining any sense of balance in one’s professional roles and with one’s personal life will likely require accepting that we cannot and do not have to do everything. Often, this requires releasing ourselves of unrealistic expectations of personal perfection and pleasing everyone around us. Further, protecting the time needed to do well the things you need and want to do will require learning to say no to other nonessential opportunities and tasks.Learning to say no first requires identifying your priorities so that you can easily identify requests and opportunities inconsistent with those priorities. After identifying priorities it can be helpful to build time for necessary and desired tasks into you schedule and calendar. Just as you block out time for commitments to others (e.g., class, advising appointments, committee meetings), you should schedule time for commitments to yourself to better account for your time and to ensure necessary or desired tasks do not fall by the wayside. This is especially important with research and writing time since these are often the first to be sacrificed when faced with competing demands. Yet, for many scholars, these are also the highest priority. I routinely schedule writing time on my calendar. Treating these times as nonnegotiable helps to ensure you don’t abandon this priority. Few of us would accept competing appointments when we are scheduled to teach, but it is not uncommon to accept competing appointments when we plan to write even though it is counterproductive in both the short- and long-term.For those who have difficulty saying no, I have a colleague who admitted she notates writing time on her calendar as meetings with administrators so that others who view her calendar won’t consider infringing on the time and (perhaps more importantly) to remind herself of the importance of these appointments. A similar strategy may work for you if you are concerned that your commitment to research time won’t be accepted or respected by colleagues. The important thing is to carefully guard your time so that other activities don’t crowd out your priorities and prevent you from being productive and efficient. [Updated content] The necessity of guarding this time is something I continue to struggle with when I know the ramifications are unpleasant. With seniority comes a proliferation of competing demands that can easily encroach on my priorities if I let them. There have been times when I drop the habit of scheduling time for my own work and it’s invariably (and often seemingly immediately) filled with a variety of meetings and tasks that could have been delayed or avoided if I had been more intentional about my time. Another strategy that can make it easier to say no is giving yourself a minimum amount of time to consider any request or invitation. For instance, I know other EC scholars who wait at least 24 hours before responding to invitation or request for time or involvement. This disrupts an otherwise automatic tendency to say yes to everything and provides the time needed to reflect on whether an opportunity or request is consistent with one’s priorities and availability. Rather than blindly saying yes to everything, consider the potential benefits and costs, including the impact on your other work. Mentors and more senior scholars can provide valuable guidance in this decision process.You will also have to accept the need to practice pleasantly and unapologetically saying no. Some people are incredibly uncomfortable with the possibility of disappointing others or are so conflict-avoidant they would rather say yes to everything than risk any discomfort or awkwardness, only to fall short on their own goals. Still others are motivated by some mistaken belief that they are so important that others need them to the point that they cannot say no. This is very rarely the case. Once you’ve accepted that there are times when you can and should say no, do so simply and unapologetically. It’s okay to say no without offering any more justification than you are simply unavailable. That is generally all the requester needs or is entitled to know. Practice saying, “Thank you for the invitation, but I am not available at this time.” Or “Thank you for this opportunity, but I’m unavailable.” When justification is needed, it can be helpful to link you refusal to you job duties or tenure expectations, or to have a senior colleague–generally your program or area administrator–back up your decision (e.g., “My chair/director/supervisor advised me against taking on additional service activities at this time.”). Certainly some individuals may make requests that you shouldn’t refuse, but don’t assume every request they make is one of those. Instead, ask for time to consult with your colleagues and verify your availability and then speak with more senior colleagues and/or you program/area coordinator who can help you evaluate the request, and, when appropriate, plan your refusal. At times, your administrator may want to say no on your behalf depending on who the requester is in order to protect you from politics or more convincingly state your need to focus on your priorities.Another helpful strategy for people who tend to reflexively say yes is to remind yourself that no is the default decision unless you can identify sufficient professional or personal benefits to saying yes. For a few years, I posted a small note on my computer that read, “Just say no.” For me this visual reminder was needed to counter my knee jerk reaction to accept every research and service opportunity that came my way. It has saved me a lot of unwanted stress and time.[Updated content] A newer strategy I adapted from a book by Gretchen Rubin is to ask myself three questions when I consider an opportunity, particularly those that are more time intensive: (1) Do I want to? (2) Do I have time? (3) Is it in line with my values or goals? If I can’t say yes to at least 2 out of 3, or if the no for #2 overshadows the others, I know I need to say no. Sometimes it takes a while to work through these questions, and that’s okay, too. Recently, when faced with an unexpected opportunity, I spent nearly month reflecting on these questions because #3 was an easy, resounding yes but the others took more time. Ultimately, this reflection led me to say no to the opportunity but it also meant I was very confident in my eventual decision. My knee-jerk reaction was to say yes, but deliberating on these questions helped me see all the reasons why no was the right answer for me right now. I have these questions pinned by my monitors on campus and at home to prompt this much needed reflection.In the end, learning and practicing saying no is necessary to be strategic in managing your time and commitments and achieving your professional goals. Time management is key to being efficient and productive and avoiding overextension and burnout.  Chances are you’ll enjoy your work more when you are judicious with your time. Be kind to yourself by giving the gift of allowing yourself to say no when appropriate. It’s truly a gift that keeps on giving :)How do you give yourself the gift of no? What questions/concerns do you have about saying no?

Strategies for Optimizing Your Sabbatical for Professional and Personal Growth

By Dr. Bryn Harris, University of Colorado DenverIn 2016, I submitted my tenure dossier as well as my sabbatical application, hopeful that I would obtain both. I had been going, at what it felt like, warp speed while on the tenure track, constantly focused on getting out that next publication, updating syllabi, and the many other tasks that occupied my day but didn’t have a place on my vita. The idea of taking a sabbatical felt incredible—I could work on new projects and reflect on my career in a unique way. At the same time, taking a sabbatical felt overwhelming. How would I structure my time? What projects would I focus on? How could I reinvigorate my connection to academia? I also had two young children (ages 3 and 1) and felt a huge need to be more present in their lives during this time.For some assistant professors on the tenure track, like myself, the idea of taking a sabbatical might be a motivator to obtaining tenure. However, once an academic meets that milestone, they may struggle with organizing sabbatical in a way that increases productivity and recommitment to a career in academia. After obtaining tenure and approval for sabbatical, I started contacting colleagues to learn about their activities during sabbatical. I was searching for tips, strategies, and generally helpful advice that would increase my research productivity and also allow me some much-needed time to reflect on my career. The first emails I received were telling; I wasn’t the only person wondering how to best structure sabbatical. I received many “I didn’t think much about sabbatical, I wish I would have thought about it differently” and “I didn’t have a good plan and I wasn’t as productive as I could have been” emails. Most of the emails I received were people asking me to share what I learned about structuring a sabbatical. A quick google search reveals few resources available regarding this topic. This felt like a stark contrast to the mentorship opportunities that were available to me while on the tenure-track.I received a few recommendations from fellow academics regarding structuring sabbatical to optimize productivity. I also read multiple articles and resources pertaining to academic burnout, and how to avoid it. Based on these anecdotal and research-based resources, I am reflecting on the things that increased my productivity during sabbatical and beyond. Here are the recommendations I want to share with other scholars:1) Reflect. For me, reflecting on my career during this time was the most important aspect of sabbatical. I asked myself questions including (1) What are my favorite aspects of academia? Relatedly, how can I engage in these activities with more regularity?; (2) What skills am I lacking that could enhance my professional endeavors? How can I obtain these skills?; (3) How can I better integrate work-life realms?2) Recognize that everyone has diverse emotions regarding sabbatical. It is completely normal and understandable to feel such things as confusion, exhaustion, and lack of motivation when beginning your sabbatical. It is important to consider that a critical component of sabbatical should be self-care. Allow yourself to have those feelings, but also reflect on why you are feeling that way and seek solutions for returning from sabbatical in a different mindset. Allow yourself time to rejuvenate that does not include research, teaching, or service endeavors.3) Obtain mentorship. Sabbatical can be a wonderful time to start (or finally finish!) a new project, collaborate with a new colleague, or receive advice regarding future career planning. Seeking additional or new mentorship can be invigorating for your career and assist with accountability during a traditionally low-structured time.4) Create a schedule. One of the best pieces of advice that I received was to create a daily schedule, of which each day included time to spend on your sabbatical priorities. For me, this meant at least 1 hour of writing per day, often more, working out at least three times per week, and spending more time with my family in the evenings.5) Increase your visibility. During my sabbatical, I repeated the same activity I did my first year on the tenure track. That was to reach out to one new person per week in an effort to build research partnerships, create new connections with school districts, or forge relationships with state or local agencies or organizations. This activity contributed to being asked to keynote a presentation and a dual academic appointment on our medical school campus, among others.6) Remove yourself from activities that take you away from sabbatical goals. Don’t worry, your service responsibilities will be there when you get back from sabbatical. Take this time to disconnect from non-essential work. Plan in advance for this. This may mean saying “no” to sitting on a new committee or serving on a search committee and setting explicit periods of unavailability. Saying “no” may feel uncomfortable as many early career scholars must engage in certain service endeavors while on the tenure track. However, this work may take you away from other priorities, and leave you feeling less productive than you hoped.7) Do or learn something new. Reflect on the things that are holding you back from accomplishing more in your career. Sabbatical is a wonderful time to increase your knowledge in a particular area or challenge yourself in a new way. For me, this meant taking a biostatistics course (thank you, tuition benefit!) and going back to practice as a school psychologist one day per week. I also completed a certificate program in Research Leadership through the University of Pittsburg Medical School, something that would have been more challenging to complete during traditional semesters.8) Create a new plan. Many people obtain their first sabbatical soon after obtaining tenure. Often, we have a plan for working towards tenure, and when it is obtained we may think, Now what? Use some of your time to reflect on what the next period of your career may be. Seek mentorship if you are having difficulty creating this plan.If you had a productive sabbatical, that includes rest and rejuvenation, you will be a more productive scholar. What ideas do you have for structuring your sabbatical? What questions do you have about sabbatical? Join us Friday, October 26th, at 4:00 PM EST / 2:00 MST to chat about this topic. Sign up here for more info.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

October 24, 2017Ours is a field where open positions can abound, as we see this year, and where faculty roles, expectations, opportunities, and challenges can vary substantially across different types of institutions (e.g., public v. private, R1 v. teaching) and programs (doctoral only, specialist only, combined). Some scholars will spend their entire careers in a single institution, but many will not.Readers asked that the ECF tackle the topic of how to make the decision to remain in one’s current position or move on to a new one. We reached out to several early and mid-career scholars to discuss how they’ve dealt with this decision, sometimes repeatedly.When you made the decision to leave, what were the primary factors that motivated the choice?Professor A: Leaving for a new position was a really difficult choice. I was fortunate to be at a university where I was both happy and productive. I wasn’t looking to move, however my current position was one of those dream jobs we all have somewhere in the back of our minds. I decided to apply to just this position and see what happened. When offered the job, my spouse and I had discussed at length the pros and cons of the move, and if the short term pain (e.g., moving, starting new jobs, selling/buying a home) would be worth the long term gain. Ultimately, the opportunity to be at a really strong program with collaborative colleagues and research supports, an ideal geographic location with low cost of living, and career opportunities for both my spouse and I solidified the decision to leave.Professor B: There was a combination of personal and professional factors that lead to the decision to leave my previous institution. When I took my first assistant professor position, I was geographically-bound.  My spouse and I moved to be near family to assist with a family business in a rural area.  There were two institutions with school psychology training programs within a commuting distance (i.e., 50 miles), both of which were hiring the year I was searching!  I was thrilled to be offered a position. The position came with heavy teaching load with high service expectations (which is typical of a teaching-focused university) and I wished to have more time for research and writing, but I learned so much from my fellow faculty while there and greatly appreciated the experience. After teaching at the institution for four years, my spouse’s presence in the family business was no longer essential so we made the decision to move.  We hoped to move before our children (three under the age of 8) reached middle school when moving could have been a more difficult transition. Professionally, I wanted more time for research and sought out positions that valued and protected time for research, primarily R1 institutions.  Though I expected to be in the first (teaching-focused) institution for my whole career, I enjoyed writing and research so was able to be productive despite the high teaching and service expectations, which allowed me to be a competitive applicant.  Overall, the decision to leave was not motivated by dissatisfaction with the position, but a personal change that enabled a professional goal to come true. Professor C: My first position wasn’t my ideal for many reasons (e.g., administrative issues, local political and economic climate), but I had amazing colleagues and great collaborations with some of the local school systems, so it was somewhere I could do the work I was passionate about and feel supported by the people I worked with directly. Quite unexpectedly, the opportunity came to join my current program. It wasn’t actually anything I’d ever even thought about, but there were several compelling advantages: the program orientation and vision were a great fit for my own ideals as a school psych trainer and scholar; the research infrastructure is exceptionally researcher-friendly; students were highly dedicated to research; upper administration was heavily invested in the program; and the faculty seemed genuinely welcoming and supportive of me as an early career scholar; there were numerous resources to support my professional development that I didn’t have available in my first institution, among other things. Ultimately, it was the potential join a program that could really elevate my scholarship and overall professional development that drove my decision to move. Despite the inconveniences that came with moving, my partner was onboard because of all the advantages it conferred for my professional advancement.How did you navigate the processes involved in applying for positions, interviewing, and eventually leaving with your immediate colleagues, administrators, and others in your previous program?Professor A: Having already secured an academic position, many of my application materials needed to be updated but not completely rewritten. Before applying, I reached out to trusted mentors and colleagues to get as much information as possible in determining if my perception of the new job was consistent with theirs. I was under no illusion that the grass would be greener (just a different shade), and I wanted to gain an understanding of what “quirks” existed as they do at all universities. Interviewing was a bit more challenging as I had to work around my teaching schedule and various meetings. Fortunately, my new university was very accommodating in working around my commitments, and I was able to make a relatively quick trip. Notifying colleagues and administrators was much more difficult. I was upfront in notifying a trusted colleague or two when I received the invitation to interview, as I did not want any decision to come as a complete surprise. I was also in communication with these colleagues as I deliberated, and they offered advice and support when weighing my options. Informing and “negotiating” with upper administration was a miserable, but unavoidable experience. I recommend to anyone in a similar position to only engage in discussions with administration if there is something they can provide (e.g., large raise, different program role) that may change your decision. The most difficult conversation was informing my graduate students on my research team. I emphasized that I would always be a call or email away, and that I expected (and do!) maintain collaborative relationships with them. Because grad students may take the decision the hardest, I pre-arranged with colleagues opportunities for student meetings to debrief and plan for the eventual transition.   Professor B: Since I enjoyed my colleagues at the first position, the process of applying, interviewing, and leaving was very difficult for me.  I felt guilty about leaving and the strain it would be on the remaining faculty, so much so that I would get nervous anytime I was around my fellow school psychology faculty or department chair.  For me, personally, I felt much better once I told them I was searching for a new position and explained the reason.  They all wished me well and two of the senior faculty even wrote letters of recommendation.  I received advice that there was no need to tell other faculty and the chair beforehand, but I felt great relief once I did.  I suspect I felt relieved because I had solid, friendly relationships with them and felt as if I was withholding a great secret. During the interviewing process, I tried to schedule interviews on non-teaching days. On one occasion, my interview trip overlapped with a teaching day, so I created an online lecture and assignment so students would not miss content that week.  Once I accepted the position at the new institution, I notified all the other (non-school psychology) faculty in my department.  As I finished out the academic year, I was sure to finish up all service obligations and notify department, college, and university committee chairs that I was leaving. The months between when I let my colleagues and students know I was leaving and the time of my departure were a bit awkward and bittersweet. Awkward because there were discussions about who would do the things I was involved in, bitter because I was going to miss my colleagues and it is stressful to move a family of five, and sweet because I had such a great experience there but was simultaneously looking forward to a fresh start in a place where research was more valued.Professor C:When I left my first institution, I was open with my immediate colleagues from the outset of the process and they were very supportive. The administrative issues in our college and university meant we’d long been discussing the implications of various decisions for our program and our individual professional trajectories, and they’d been concerned about what certain constraints meant for me as the most junior member of the group. Thankfully, that meant that they were great sounding boards when I was considering other opportunities. They were able to discuss the process and how I could handle things with students and administrators. Ultimately, I decided not loop in anyone beyond my program until I handed in my letter of resignation to the dean because early in the process, I realized I was not going to stay. The process of being on the market was time consuming, but my teaching schedule made it possible to accommodate lots of travel without much rearranging of commitments (and resultant sharing with others). In addition to interviewing in my new program, I applied and visited a few others, so there was a stretch at the beginning of spring semester where every week I’d teach my classes at the beginning of the week and fly out for the 2-day interviews during the second half of the week. Things didn’t slow down when the contract was signed because in the later part of the semester, I was preparing for the move, including trips out to my new city for house hunting, and trying to graduate as many of my advisees as possible. One of my biggest reservations about the move was leaving the doc students I’d been working with and creating considerable burden for my colleagues since we were a small program. Thankfully, I was able to negotiate with both my old and new institutions support to finish the remainder of my students in the following year (e.g., non-salary appointment and travel funds). When you made the decision to stay, what were the primary factors that motivated the choice?Professor C: Now in my second institution, I’ve had opportunities to go elsewhere and each triggers really careful decisions of what I might gain professionally, and to a lesser extent, in my personal life, from the potential move, as well as what I would be giving up. I have to ask myself how it could elevate my scholarship, teaching and mentoring of students, and other professional activities. What resources and opportunities does the new position have that my current doesn’t? Particularly when faced with opportunities outside of school psychology programs, I’ve had to consider what it would mean for me as a scholar and teacher/mentor not to be involved in the preparation of future school psychologists. In multiple instances, that was the deciding factor for me, because despite considerable additional resources to support my scholarship, the move would mean not being a graduate educator in school psychology, and I realized that was a part of my professional identity and activities I did not want to give up. Professor D: I went on the job market with every intention of leaving my current institution. However, in the end, I chose to stay. Although I was happy in my position, there were some significant problems at my institution that led me to look elsewhere. I received another offer, and I planned to accept it. However, after honestly explaining my reasons for wanting to leave to the administration, I learned that they had already begun to address some of the concerns and committed in writing to addressing others. There were already major departmental changes underway that I was previously unaware of. This changed the context of my decision. In addition, my college offered a competitive counter-offer, which, in the end, I accepted.Sometimes staying where you are can nonetheless come with changes or added benefits. What benefits, if any, were there for you in staying?Professor C: The tangible benefit was in salary, but through conversations with my unit and college administrators I gained better understanding of their values and goals, appreciation for my professional contributions, and a feeling that my voice was heard and respected. Discussing potentially leaving was a very uncomfortable experience, but after the process, I felt much more empowered to speak up not just within my program, but in the department and college as well, and when I have concerns about leadership and policy I can go to the administrators and speak very frankly about my concerns and be candid about what I need to be successful in order to continue my career here. Professor D: I was able to negotiate a variety of perks (e.g., salary, course reductions, and additional in-kind supports to fund graduate students on my grants). I also received additional mentorship and support in the tenure process which was something that I needed. Overall, I am happy with my decision to stay. It is important to note that I had grants, and I had done a significant amount of service to support the administration in reaching their goals before going to them for a counter-offer. If that were not the case, I expect that the outcome would have been different.What recommendations or observations (e.g., lessons learned) would you like to share with others who face the decision to stay in or leave their current position, including those who might be considering other opportunities right now?Professor A: Moving can seem daunting, especially if you are happy and comfortable in your current position. However, the inconvenience and difficulties of the process can absolutely be worth it when considering a long term move where you can grow as a professional and person. I recommend to communicate often with trusted colleagues to obtain objective opinions on anything from research opportunities to cost of living. Consider the non-job related costs of moving (selling a house, changing kids’ schools, potentially losing a retirement match if you are not vested). Most importantly, we work in a small and connected profession so always remain positive and collegial throughout. Professor B: Ultimately, though I felt guilty that I was leaving holes that needed to be filled, I knew the decision to move was the best and I had to keep that in mind.I found it very helpful to have colleagues outside of my institution that I could call on with questions and support.  A graduate school friend was my sounding board because she had gone through the process of leaving her school psychologist position for academia the previous year.  Former professors helped me keep the big picture in mind and talked through the “politics” of leaving. I would recommend tapping into your social support network as you make these big decisions. I do not have other fabulous recommendations that would work for all situations, but recommend that you face the process of deciding to move in the way that works best for you.  For me, I felt “icky” about not telling my close colleagues I was searching (thus the nervous feeling and stomach knots I felt when in their presence) and I felt such relief after telling them. For others, they would want to keep that information to themselves until everything was finalized.  I do not think there is a right or wrong way to do it, but of course you should notify your supervisor as soon as you have decided so they can begin the process of filling your teaching and service obligations.  I found “The Academic Job Search Handbook” by Vick, Furlong, and Lurie to be a wonderful resource for the entire job search process.  There is also a section in one chapter focused on how to gracefully leave a job after you have accepted a new position, which was helpful as well.Professor C: I’ve tried to adopt a long term perspective in considering any moves. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a perfect position or a perfect institution, and even a near-perfect position can be less so as contextual issues change. I try to consider whether the things that might motivate my openness to move are short-term or fairly intractable issues. For instance, in many institutions, an unsupportive administrator can be a problem for a few years assuming there are term limits, but the institutional culture and infrastructure is less malleable. The sheer abundance of open positions can make it hard not to wonder if things might be better elsewhere, so having a broad network of colleagues at all career stages where we can discuss experiences and challenges is helpful. There are so many potential commonalities and nuances across institutions that makes it difficult to know what to expect from one place to another, to say nothing of all of the interpersonal factors that can contribute to a wonderful or dreadful professional experience. My biggest recommendation is to talk to others – peers, mentors, colleagues, search committees, administrators – to gather as much data as possible to understand the opportunities and challenges in your current position and elsewhere.Professor D: I think that it is important to be open-minded but also to realize that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Each institution has its strengths and challenges, and it is important to consider the extent to which the priorities and mission of your institution are consistent with your own career goals. Also, never go to your administration to ask for a counter-offer unless you are ready to walk and accept the other position. Sometimes, the administration will make a competitive counter-offer. Sometimes, they will not. Be prepared either way. Thanks to all our contributors for sharing their frank perspectives.Early career scholars and others considering going on the market the first or second time in 2018-19 may be interested in the NASP mini-skills session, Navigating Job Searches: Finding Your First -or Second- Faculty Position. 

Summertime and the Workin' is Easy: The Five Ps of a Productive Summer

June 1, 2017

By Leandra Parris, Illinois State University & Tamika P. La Salle, University of ConnecticutWe all make those lofty summertime goals in academia, thinking the reduced or nonexistent teaching load plus the relative absence of students will free us up for other projects. Writing those manuscripts that have been brewing on the back burner, finally getting in that R&R, or polishing off that grant you’ve been eyeing.  You just know this is going to be the summer that you get your academic and personal life together, attend to your mental health, go on vacations, tackle those personal projects, and hit the gym every day.Yes, summertime is a great time for work. But it’s also a great time for refreshing your tired academic mind and body. The problem is that, just like the pint of ice cream in the back of the freezer, a small taste of down time is never, ever enough. And with your academic life winning the battle for most of the year, it’s understandable that when work and personal time clash in the summer you tend to opt for that afternoon by the pool instead of revising yet another manuscript or prepping for a new class. So, what is an early career professional to do?The trick, as always, is balance and structure. We’ve put together some ideas that may help you keep or improve your productivity in the summer while also making sure that you don’t burn-out before the next school year even begins.Prioritize. Throughout the year, you have probably had thoughts or made statements along the lines of “that sounds like a good thing to do in the summer” or “I can get to that in the summer.” By May your list is fairly long, as is the list of conferences, weddings, family reunions, camps, and vacations that you plan to attend. This is when it is time to practice what we preach and make a list of priorities.· Things with due dates are easy enough, but things that are simply “need to be done by August” can be more difficult. Set a date for certain tasks that you think is the best-case scenario, and add two weeks to it.· The mistake that a lot of early career professionals make is that they don’t include their personal projects in their list of priorities. What is more important for the whole of your life: repainting the basement or reviewing a manuscript so you can send it back to your co-authors? Depending on the day, that answer can vary! Steve Truscott, Professor at Georgia State University reminds us to “remember to spend some time with people you love and like. You are working so hard to succeed that it is easy to forget that you need some people around who make all the success worthwhile.”Personal. The summer is time to focus on you. Really, focus on you. Unencumbered by the typical day-to-day running of programs, teaching, advising, and supervision, you can do the things that are truly important and valuable to you. Whether it’s writing, reviewing, designing research, conducting research, or improving your skills as a trainer, use this time to focus on the things that you are passionate about. Doing so will not only springboard you into the fall with renewed energy for your career, but will also make working in the summer feel more enjoyable, and less like…working. Reconnect with what brought you to this field and let it flourish in the open space of summer. “Mix a little pleasure with a little work. I find ethnographies to read in the summer so it feels more like a novel” says Tara Raines, Assistant Professor at the University of Denver. The same is true for your personal summer goals. Make them about you, your family, etc., --whatever is going to improve your well-being and give you enough me-time to prepare for when fall rolls around again.Pragmatic. Being pragmatic should come naturally to school psychologists. We are trained to do what is most reasonable, makes the most sense, and is evidence-based to be efficient and effective. Which means we all know that the overworked mind will eventually begin to interfere with any hope of productivity. And yet we continue to hesitate to say no to requests, take on multiple projects, overextend our commitments, and triple book our calendars. Early career professionals are notorious for not refusing any opportunities to add a line to their vitae. But it is important to be pragmatic in your approach to summer. What is reasonable? What is ideal? What is reinforcing? What does your academic to-do list look like up against your psychological well-being need list? How many manuscripts do you really need out this summer, how many grants have to be in during this round? Give yourself space, and time, to address the inevitable surprise or forgotten deadline. “Don’t plan anything from mid August on as that is all class and prep for the semester. Use May-June to get your biggest writing advantage times” says Sandy Chafouleas, Professor at the University of Connecticut.Pace. Pacing is key. Some people function well by charging through their academic goals during the first of the summer, leaving the last half for family, fun, and self-care. Others find that working daily, playing daily, and spreading out their down time is more effective. It really is dependent on your work style, your summer deadlines, and the rest of the world’s schedule. If you go with the first option, keep to a daily schedule that maximizes your time in the office. Melissa Bray, Professor at the University of Connecticut says “My advice is to write very day- or ever other (1/2 page to a page at a time only). This makes a world of difference in getting articles done and out.”  A daily to-do list is a must and you will want very clear start-and-stop dates for projects. If you can do the slow-and-steady approach, there is some flexibility in how you approach tasks. For example, one schedule may include writing for 2 hours every morning Tuesday-Thursday, working on grants in the afternoon, and using the four-day weekend to work around the house, engage in hobbies, or take smaller vacations. If a larger vacation is planned, then the three-day work week can easily be shifted to a full work week to compensate. You can also find the small moments throughout your travels – plane rides, long care rides – to do smaller tasks that will add up to large, meaningful contributions to your work.Play. Get out and do the things that you love and that you could not do during a typical semester. Remind yourself that work is not all that you are, and be okay with taking the afternoon, or even the week, to get back to those old hobbies. Lisa Sanetti, Associate Professor at the University of Connecticut says, “ For me it’s also important to schedule in true breaks from work. I will take my work e-mail off my phone and just relax with family during scheduled times.” All the reminders that academia is more than just a job will be waiting for you in the fall. You need to engage in some serious self-care, and whether you do that throughout the summer or during one set time period, make sure that when you decide it’s time for your personal life that you take it very seriously. It should be just as important throughout the year, but summer is the time to really set up those boundaries and protect the time that you need to refresh, recovery, and prepare.Hopefully these tips can help you accomplish your goals for the summer and get you prepared, professionally and personally, for Fall 2017. In the mean time, if you have any additional tips for your fellow early career academics, please comment below to share!

Preventing Academic Burnout

January 24, 2017

By: Amanda B. Nickerson, Ph.D.Professor and Director, Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention, University at Buffalo, the State University of New York“The 40-year-old burnout: Why I gave up tenure for a yet-to-be-determined career”http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-40-Year-Old-Burnout/237979/prompted Bryn and Amanda to invite me to write a blog about the topic of burnout and resiliency, which I am so pleased to do! Before describing burnout (and more importantly, things we can do to build resilience and avoid burnout), I want to give a shout out to the other excellent Early Career Forum blogs that address related topics such as work-life balance, being efficient, fostering partnerships, saying no, and academic parenthood.Burnout, a term coined by Freudenberguer (1974) and evolved from the work of Christina Maslach and colleagues; involves:·      Emotional exhaustion (feeling emotionally overextended and exhausted by work)·      Depersonalization (detachment or cynicism toward clients, students, or others served at work)·      Lack of personal accomplishment (dissatisfaction, feelings of incompetence or lack of success at work)Professionals who experience burnout often suffer from physical (headaches, fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, pain) and psychological (low self-efficacy, depression) symptoms, which can take a great personal and professional toll.Although your image of burnout may be of a checked out professor who should have retired long ago, hardworking and ambitious early career faculty members are not immune. With increasing demands for research, teaching, and service in academia, the work can seem limitless. When the semester is in full swing (and I am behind on grading and facing deadlines for grants, manuscript revisions, committee work, journal reviews, and conference presentations), I often think, “if anyone asks me to do one more thing, I might go off the deep end!” Thankfully, it hasn’t happened (yet), and I can honestly say that going into my 15th year in academia, I still love the career I have chosen. Thankfully, there are many things we can do to enhance our resilience and prevent burnout. As school psychology faculty members, you are probably familiar with many of these…and you probably teach them to others. Of course the challenges becomes to practice what we preach! Below I list a few that are most helpful for me.Reframe. You know this one – the almighty, ever-helpful cognitive restructuring (identify a maladaptive thought and instead view and experience the idea as more positive).Example: receiving a decision of Reject – Revise and Resubmit.Maladaptive thought: “I was rejected.”Reframe: [after acceptable first reaction of cursing the reviewers and feeling beaten down] “The reviewers saw merit in my work and making these revisions will make this a stronger contribution.”Find your Peeps. Surround yourself with social support. Collaboration makes the work better and more fun. The School Psychology Research Collaboration Conference is a great venue for meeting others with similar research interests. Within your department and across the country, there are people with whom you can collaborate that can make life easier and more enjoyable. Others may not be collaborators, but could be potential mentors or just coffee break buddies. I also find it helpful to engage in social media outlets that make me laugh about our shared reality (e.g., “Shit Academics Say”) or offer social support and advice (e.g. social media outlets such as “Academic Mamas” on Facebook). Having people outside of our work lives is even more important, so cherish and make time for family and friends.Work when it works.  So everyone knows that the joke about academia is that we can choose the 60 hours per week we work, but this is truly a luxury (did I mention how much I like reframing?). Some people find that carving out an hour or two each morning to write before checking e-mail or doing anything else works for them. Others can pull all-nighters to crank out a manuscript. I have learned that if I am feeling exhausted and spent, I am not productive – and when the mood strikes to work/write, I should seize it as I can be extremely productive in one hour when the timing is right.What are your “go to” strategies for self-care, building resilience, and preventing burnout? I would love to hear your thoughts. Even though I am no longer an early career faculty member, I learn a lot from the ideas, blogs, and interchanges through the Early Career Forum, so keep up the great work. It makes me optimistic about the future of school psychology with you all as emerging leaders!