I keep thinking back on Emily’s post of a few weeks ago about learning how to manage your time and be more productive, but also feeling suspicious of that tendency — like, wtf with all this being productive all the time? I’m wondering again why the work overload in academia goes so unquestioned. It’s complained about, for sure, but at the same time, undergirding a publish or perish imperative is an ethos of suffer or see-ya. As in — this is how it is, you must work all the time, and express your desire to work all the time, or this just may not be the career path for you. While I recognize the privilege of academic work over other kinds of labor, I also recognize that never has anyone suggested to me that a 40-hour work week exists in the academy. (And not that I think 40 hours is reasonable anyway…) For me, the great lure of academia is having less structure imposed on my time. The flip side of this, of course, is that work time bleeds right into living time. When I was temping, in the late 90s (ah, the heady late 90s), I felt I was much more engaged with others in a critique of capitalism in our everyday lives. And so when I slacked off at a temp job, I felt I was sticking it to the man. (I believe I actually referred to it, following Michel de Certeau, as la perruque, because I took myself just that seriously.) But I also just enjoyed it — long lunch breaks, writing letters to friends on the clock, learning about this thing called “the internet” and the various distractions it promised. Now, when I shuck off work, I just feel bad about myself.
So, in the midst of being behind on virtually everything I could feel behind on, I’m thinking about how to get stuff done, but go easier on myself in the process. I am thinking of this as really late capitalism — late to finish the draft of that revise and resubmit, late to get to the library. Hell, this blog post took me two weeks to write. But as Greg’s old supervisor used to say, “We’re living a life,” and I’d like mine to be lived a little more slowly. Is that so wrong?
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During your slow periods, pick up a copy of the current Vanity Fair (or get that crazy “internet” to find it for you, free) and read the article about the hijacking of a French cruise ship by pirates. It is most amusing (I know that sounds strange until you read it), particularly because of the frequent criticisms of how mega-rich Americans AND African pirates insist on denying the pleasures of a slow lunch.
Thanks for the suggestion, and motivation to take a break. Will do!
Speaking of the academic work rhythm, this was an essay from a few years ago that I liked: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/04/opinion/04lutz.html?_r=2&ex=1157601600&en=eeecd0cdc39b13cd&ei=5087
Thank you for sharing this essay — I loved it! And loved learning that workers would strike against having to ask permission to leave whenever they wanted. That is a labor demand I can get behind.
google alerts plus overloaded inbox = delay in reading this
BUT I’ve just found Advice for New Faculty Members by Robert Boice and he suggests, based on years of experience and actual research on successful new faculty, that the culture of overwork is just plain wrong. Moderation apparently is more likely to lead to success. And he gives lots of practical tips and advice for all 3 main areas of faculty work. Probably worth a read. Check the library.
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