Time Management for Faculty
Overview
Faculty life is unique in that you are largely in control of how you spend your time. Unlike other professions with a consistent Monday through Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm commitment, faculty members have the benefit of being largely in charge of how they spend their time. However, this benefit is also a challenge. Having to decide how you spend your time can easily lead to accepting additional projects when your plate is full, taking too much time to complete certain tasks, and struggling to make progress on your goals, to name a few.
The following guides provides evidence-based strategies for managing your time as you juggle teaching, service, and scholarship, and the things in between.
Practice Strategic Goal Setting
Strategic goal setting involves breaking larger projects into smaller, actionable steps with clear deadlines. Doing so can help you stay organized and maintain momentum. Time management experts recommend beginning each semester with a plan. Adapted from the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD), faculty can work through the following steps to develop a semester plan.
- Identify Your Goals (e.g. Semester Writing Goals, Semester Personal Goals, etc)
- Map Out the Steps
- Introduce your Projects to Your Calendar
- Find the Support and Accountability You Need
- What is your support structure, and what need is it meeting? For example, attending our Pew FTLC Writing Challenges could your support structure, as it helps you block off time to write.
Download this printable guide to practice goal-setting on your own!
Other Time Tips for Faculty Life
Block Your Time. Set boundaries around your work by blocking off time in your calendar (e.g. teaching a class, grading time, office hours, reading). We highly recommend this 20-minute video on Calendar Hacks Faculty Can Use to Avoid Stress and Burnout from the Teaching Professor Digital Library (formerly Magna Digital Library) subscription. All GVSU faculty have access to this free subscription!
Try Parallel Working. Parallel working or body doubling is a strategy for initiating and completing task, while working physically or virtually alongside someone else. The Pew FTLC Remote Writing Challenge is a great example of this strategy.
Leverage Technology. Digital tools like Microsoft Planner (free for GVSU users) and Trello provide systems for tracking projects, deadlines, and collaborations, which can help you stay on top of your workload.
Use Rubrics. Rubrics can help add focus to your grading process and eliminate the need to write the same comments on assignment after assignment. They also clarify the grading criteria for you and your students so expectations are clear.
Assign peer-to-peer feedback. Students can provide each other with useful feedback on papers, projects, and group work tasks. Doing so helps them learn the principles of constructive feedback, though keep in mind they will need to be taught how to provide effective feedback.
Additional Resources
Articles
Dawson, P. (2017). Assessment rubrics: Towards clear and more replicable design, research and practice. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 42 (3), 347-360
Jhangiani, R. S. (2016). The Impact of Participating in a Peer Assessment Activity on Subsequent Academic Performance. Teaching of Psychology, 43(3), 180–186.
Nilson, L. B. (2003). Improving Student Peer Feedback. College Teaching, 51(1), 34–38.
Books
Ames, K. (2019). Time Management for Academic Impact: Controlling Teaching Treadmills and Tornadoes. Routledge.
Gasman, M., & Epstein, C. S. (2021). Candid advice for new faculty members: A guide to getting tenure and advancing your academic career. Myers Education Press.
Morgenstern, J. (2005). Never Check E-Mail in the Morning: An Other Unexpected Strategies for Making Your Work Life Work. Touchstone.
Newport, C. (2024). Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout. Portfolio.
Rockquemore, K. A., & Laszloffy, T. (2008). The Black Academic s Guide to Winning Tenure Without Losing Your Soul. Lynne Rienner Publishers |.
Webpages / Videos
A customizable Instructional Task Planner created by Daniel Stanford that allows you to estimate how much time to allocate to tasks per week.
A helpful blog 5 Must-Read Books for Pre-Tenure Faculty, by Becca Mason
The Busy Professor Time Management Blog. This is a time management blog for Busy Professors, coordinated by the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education Research