Last week was my university's first week of classes, and today is the Labor Day, which means we have the day off. Given that I have a MWF teaching schedule, this is a nice stroke of luck, as the sudden change of workload from summer break last week hit me like a ton of bricks. I usually don't have any problems with motivation, but to be honest I was already feeling pretty worn out...just one week into the academic year!
I'll probably adapt to the change in a week or two, as it's always difficult to get back into the swing of things. But it got me thinking about something I was warned about during the tenure and promotion process at my university: burnout. This was something I was warned about several times, both during my 3-year review and the final tenure process--and by both my department and college T&P committees. Each time, the committees noted that I had taken on a lot of optional responsibilities beyond research and teaching, and they warned me to ease off to avoid burnout. Naturally, I didn't listen. I've only taken on more responsibilities this year. But what do you know? I am beginning to wonder whether I may have finally taken on too much...and have wondered what, if anything, I should do to make sure I don't burn out.
I'm not entirely sure I should do anything. On the one hand, every time in the past I've taken on more things, I've eventually grown accustomed to the added responsibilities. And I've heard from other tenured folk that this is sort of how things work--that the further one goes along in one's career, the more things you get asked to do and the more things you end up doing. I also like a lot of the things I do, such as coaching debate teams and running this blog. Finally, in our current environment in higher ed--where philosophy departments are getting closed down left and right--it may be vital for the survival of our discipline for us to do more things: things that make philosophy seem more relevant to the public, and to our students.
On the other hand, there is a part of me who is sympathetic with the idea of resisting the 'culture of speed' in academia--of pulling back on some things, in part so that I don't burn out physically and mentally, but also to help preserve the idea that the core things faculty should be doing (the core of higher education) are teaching and research. Alas, every time I think of pulling back on things, I start to feel guilty: that it would just be me getting lazy or whatever (though, admittedly, this reaction may be the result of many years of socialization into our culture of productivity).
In any case, at this point these are just some musings on my part. Every time in the past I've felt a bit worn out, I've just listened to my mind and body and tried to ease off things temporarily until I've felt more energized--and it has always worked: my energy returns, and all is well again. But still, I'm curious to hear from you all. Have you ever faced burnout? If so, how did you grapple with it? Alternatively, if you haven't faced burnout, do you have any sense as to why? Did you (and do you) make sure not to take on "too many things"? I'm really curious to hear everyone's answers!
My advice: avoid MWF classes whenever possible!
Posted by: Amanda | 09/04/2018 at 01:59 AM
In my own case, it's very important not to do professional philosophy 12 months of the year. For two to three months a year I do not touch philosophy. I know not everyone is in a position to do this, but I think any time away helps.
Posted by: Recent grad | 09/04/2018 at 06:41 AM
Recent grad: I can't imagine that. If I go 2 to 3 WEEKS a year without doing philosophy that is much higher than average.
Posted by: Amanda | 09/04/2018 at 10:39 AM
It will depend on people's circumstances. I'm well over the pace of research required for tenure at my institution. I'm still partly riding the wave of my dissertation, so I'm not having to come up with entirely new research. I don't have kids. I get stuff done during the semester. Also, I need time off to improve my work (I am prone to tunnel vision).I'm curious: what do you find incredible about it?
Posted by: Recent grad | 09/04/2018 at 01:21 PM
Recent grad: I don't find what you do incredible.
At some point I may need to try something like that--as I expect part of my sense of burnout when I wrote this post came from not taking enough time off this summer (good news as a side-note: the long weekend did me wonders!).
But I will say that if I took 2-3 months off each year, I probably wouldn't get any real research done (as the summer months are basically when I get all of my serious research done).
Posted by: Marcus Arvan | 09/04/2018 at 02:48 PM
Marcus,
I didn't mean to suggest that you were incredulous. I was responding to Amanda but forgot to address her (sorry, Amanda).
Have you read David McNaughton's piece "Why is so much of philosophy so tedious?"?. If not, I highly recommend it. One of its lessons that I return to again and again is the idea that much of philosophy has life as its subject matter and that philosophers will tend to have nothing to say about life is they're always doing philosophy. One benefit of taking this to heart, at least in my experience, is that I have more to say, both in research and in the classroom, when I just don't do philosophy for a while.
Posted by: Recent grad | 09/04/2018 at 03:33 PM
Recent grad if it works for you that's great. I guess I just find it incredible from the perspective that I would feel guilty for doing that. (yes I fully admit that might not be rational) And since I moved institutions, the tenure requirements are much harder. I probably look fine on paper, but I am someone who gets anxious about this sort of thing. I also think it speaks to what a different sort of career being an academic amounts to, because in the US most people are lucky to get 3 weeks off a year.
Posted by: Amanda | 09/04/2018 at 04:37 PM
Recent grad: Thanks for drawing my attention to McNaughton's piece. Although I haven't read it yet, the line of thought you mention from it is one I have been long sympathetic with!
Posted by: Marcus Arvan | 09/04/2018 at 06:35 PM