Thread by @DrSamiSchalk

As the semester increasingly approaches, I’ll be getting back to posting my #WorkGoals during the week. Since I’ve got some new followers, this is a #thread about this practice. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter #WorkPractices

Each workday I post my #WorkGoals of things I plan to do. These are SMART goals; specific, measurable, achievable, realistic/relevant & time-based. It includes my teaching & meetings as well as research & grading tasks. Whatever needs to/can reasonably get done.

I set daily goals during the academic year as a way of keeping myself focused & not overwhelmed. I started this practice as part of @NCFDD’s Faculty Success Program in 2015 as a first year tenure track professor trying to balance teaching, research & service for the first time.

I started sharing my daily #WorkGoals on Twitter before I had much of a following as a form of accountability. Something about making it public helped me with feeling like I had committed to the goals even though there’s no consequences for not meeting them.

Writing them down also helped me see when I was trying to do too much. But over time other #academics, esp junior faculty & grad students commented that seeing my #workgoals helped them set more reasonable goals too & be gentle with themselves when they didn’t meet every goal.

One thing I learned from the Faculty Success Program is that it takes time to learn your working pace & style, but doing so helps increase productivity AND work-life balance. When I finish my goals for the day, I am done. I feel better & don’t burn myself out.

When I don’t finish my goals for the day I’m better able to assess why: did I underestimate the time a task would take? Did some emergency happen beyond my control? Or did I mess around & just not get my work done? I take accountability for what I can own & let go of the rest.

I typically post the goals in the early morning as I’m reviewing my calendar & time for the day. Some people plot their daily goals at the beginning of the week. Whatever works for you. And if setting daily goals (publicly or not) isn’t for you, it’s fine. It works for me.

More than ever with work from home it’s been critical for me to hold boundaries around my work for my mental well-being. Whatever you find that helps you do that, do that. Sometimes you just have to try a bunch of things to create the work style that’s best for you.

So today’s #WorkGoals are:
-2 meetings (2 hrs)
-Syllabi prep (1 hr)
-Course webpage work (2 hrs)
-E-mail (1 hr)

I’m waiting on desk copies of books, but if I can get everything done except page # assignments on my syllabi/course pages, I’ll be thrilled. Have a great day, bbs!

Forgot to say my goals to cover ~5-6 hrs. This leaves time for lunch & wiggle room in case something pops up or a task takes longer than expected. I found scheduling myself for 7-8 hrs meant I’d not eat lunch, or feel stressed when something changed & I was already booked full.