Academic life, although hectic, seems to be very compartmentalized in many ways. We end up doing a lot of our teaching, grading and course prep during the fall and winter months. We fit in service mostly during those parts of the year as well, where we can squeeze it in. Summers are devoted to research and scholarship, for the most part, and a bit of time to take a breath. However, this seasonal schedule does not always work as well as it should. I have advocated elsewhere that it is beneficial (and much more relaxing) to prep courses just after classes in the spring, or – even better – one hour a day during March and April when grading and teaching are at their height. Either way, it helps to spread out some of that work and gives us a respite from the everyday grind. Where research is concerned though, it is much harder to squeeze most of that into the summer. We also tend to be burned out and tired at the end of the school year, and many people do not feel ready to just jump into the deep end of writing.
I talked to a very productive colleague in my field who was an administrator at the time. He definitely wrote in the summer, but what he told me was very interesting and I have adopted his approach in my own life. That is, he does not write during the school year at all, but he keeps up on all of the latest journals and scholarship in his field of research. This seemed like a great idea. We all know what it is like to teach all day, have a few hours in the afternoon or midday when we are not occupied with that, but we are too tired, too distracted, or just moving in so many directions that it is difficult to sit down and do what has come to be known as “deep work.” Maybe when I was younger this was easier to do, but I find over the years that teaching takes a lot out of you on a physical, intellectual and emotional level. One thing we can do, with no pressure to perform, is read.
Here is a plan that you might find useful: for an hour a day or a few hours during the week (never more than an hour) read the most recently published journals and scholarship in your field. Don’t take notes, don’t write to the authors, don’t even create a bibliography. Just read in and around your field and also more generally about the trends in your field. If you are a person who does not mind working at night and on the weekends (this is not me), you could do some of that reading at that time, or in a coffee shop while relaxing after a hard day. Or, you might want to warm up in the morning before you are fully awake and functional. With such a plan, by the end of the school year, not only do you feel connected to your field and colleagues, but you are up-to-date on your own research area so that you can hit the ground running in the summer after a bit of time off for refreshment.
What this does is keep you in touch with what you find interesting and important without the pressure to do anything about it. If you don’t have time one week, no problem. If you find some time on a long weekend when you just would like to feel intellectually stimulated, then go for it. I always tell people that it is good to keep a little bit of your “other” life going throughout the year. When you don’t have to do something, suddenly it seems much more fun and almost a treat. If you subscribe to a favourite journal that gets delivered to you, it is nice to carry it in your satchel or have it on a coffee table to make it seem more special (and keep you off screens). Either way, keeping up with your field is not a chore you have to shoehorn into the summer. It can be a pleasant and low-key practice you can enjoy all year-round.
Elizabeth Wells is a professor of music history and musicology at Mount Allison University as well as author of the book The Organized Academic.