I do this to some extent--I don't try to draw patterns from it the way you do, but during periods when I feel as though I "never have time to work" it's useful to note that I truly am working.
Partly I think the issue is that my sense of what "real work" was formed during graduate school. I didn't go to Dept colloquia or for post-discussion section drinks with my peers--I just focused on my research. So still today I just feel as though if I'm not doing research, I'm not working. I have to remind myself that, as, for instance, the organizer of one Univ colloquium series, *attending that colloquium is work.* Getting a drink with the speaker afterwards is also definitely work. When I do the math in fact my colloquium days are my busiest days--I often work a total of like 14 hours just on that one day. Other days it's true that I might only work 3 or 4 hours, but it evens out.
I'm not sure if others would find it helpful but a related thing I do is write retrospective to do lists. Again I can feel as though "I didn't get anything done this semester"--but when I write out the list of things I DID do, I'm almost always impressed. Or if I'm overwhelmed I write down all the things and enjoy crossing them off as I go.
It's useful to see just how much time you put into doing non-research work. It's a lot! And it definitely counts as work! But also I think there are different seasons for different kinds of work... I do a ton of research in the summer and only a moderate, sometimes very mild, amount during the semester. But I also don't do any teaching and very little service during the summer. So I forgive myself for those days during the semester that are filled to the brim with teaching and service, and I try not to place very high of research expectations on myself during the semester.
such a great point. maintaining relationships in non-work hours with colleagues is definitely work. for us introverts, it is some of the most challenging work and one needs to dig deep into the reserves to show up at such things. but it does mean a lot to show up in these ways.
I think project-time tracking is excellent. In a way you're running your life like a company. Most companies track how long a given project or feature took. Kinda absurd only a few people apply the same idea to personal time tracking. I also used toggle to track my time but often forgot to turn on the timer. This is why I developed cronushq.com, which is the first ai time tracker (fully automated using LLMs, not just time tracking suggestions). If anyone is reading this, I'd love your feedback! We're still working on making project and client tracking easier:) Currently it's pretty minimalistic.
I do this to some extent--I don't try to draw patterns from it the way you do, but during periods when I feel as though I "never have time to work" it's useful to note that I truly am working.
Partly I think the issue is that my sense of what "real work" was formed during graduate school. I didn't go to Dept colloquia or for post-discussion section drinks with my peers--I just focused on my research. So still today I just feel as though if I'm not doing research, I'm not working. I have to remind myself that, as, for instance, the organizer of one Univ colloquium series, *attending that colloquium is work.* Getting a drink with the speaker afterwards is also definitely work. When I do the math in fact my colloquium days are my busiest days--I often work a total of like 14 hours just on that one day. Other days it's true that I might only work 3 or 4 hours, but it evens out.
I'm not sure if others would find it helpful but a related thing I do is write retrospective to do lists. Again I can feel as though "I didn't get anything done this semester"--but when I write out the list of things I DID do, I'm almost always impressed. Or if I'm overwhelmed I write down all the things and enjoy crossing them off as I go.
It's useful to see just how much time you put into doing non-research work. It's a lot! And it definitely counts as work! But also I think there are different seasons for different kinds of work... I do a ton of research in the summer and only a moderate, sometimes very mild, amount during the semester. But I also don't do any teaching and very little service during the summer. So I forgive myself for those days during the semester that are filled to the brim with teaching and service, and I try not to place very high of research expectations on myself during the semester.
such a great point. maintaining relationships in non-work hours with colleagues is definitely work. for us introverts, it is some of the most challenging work and one needs to dig deep into the reserves to show up at such things. but it does mean a lot to show up in these ways.
True about the cost! And I'm in the humanities--I feel as though we're mostly introverts.
I think project-time tracking is excellent. In a way you're running your life like a company. Most companies track how long a given project or feature took. Kinda absurd only a few people apply the same idea to personal time tracking. I also used toggle to track my time but often forgot to turn on the timer. This is why I developed cronushq.com, which is the first ai time tracker (fully automated using LLMs, not just time tracking suggestions). If anyone is reading this, I'd love your feedback! We're still working on making project and client tracking easier:) Currently it's pretty minimalistic.