Noted faculty development researcher Robert Boice identified a small percentage of early career faculty that demonstrated enormous success. These faculty learned how to balance the competing demands on their time. Specifically, they figured out how to achieve success across the teaching, research, and service aspects of faculty life. In today’s post, I draw from Boice’s work to provide some suggestions on how to be a quick starting faculty member. Although this advice is particularly geared for new faculty, we are at that point in the semester that many of us are struggling with the various demands on our time. I suspect that the tips here will be helpful for faculty (and many staff) regardless of your career stage.

Boice identified less than 10% of faculty who he termed quick starters. By analyzing the traits, behaviors, and strategies of this group, we can make some suggestions for early career faculty success.

Here are the specific ways that quick starters behave:

1. Lectured in a facts and principles style, but comfortably allowed student involvement.

2. Uncritical, accepting, optimistic attitudes toward students.

3. Disposition to seek advice about teaching.

4. Prepared 1.5 hours per classroom hour by the third semester.

5. Spent at least 3 hours on academic writing per week.

6. Integrated research and scholarly interests into classes resulting in enthusiasm for teaching and recruitment of students as research assistants.

7. Demonstrated high energy, broad interests, and a sense of humor.

In many ways, the foundational element that runs across the various behaviors is balance and avoiding “the binge.”

Due to the constant pressures and in many ways the past academic success of faculty, there is an enormous tendency to engage in binge behaviors. This might include writing for long periods of time until the point of exhaustion. Or it might be spending hours cramming preparations for class.

I believe there are 3 strategies that if used as a foundation for the behaviors Boice identified will prepare faculty for success.

1. Work in brief, regular sessions.

2. Work early to avoid last minute panic.

3. Stop work before reaching the point of diminishing returns.

So many of the challenges that faculty face are tied to efforts to search for spontaneous, quick, and easy results. Sadly, this doesn’t exist for faculty (or life in general).

We have to be intentional with our time and effort in order to maintain a reasonable work-life balance.

Working 60 or 80 hour weeks might be sustainable in the short-term, but they will hurt your productivity, health, and morale in the long-term.

In order to be a quick starting faculty member, you have to figure out how to balance professional and personal responsibilities. Additionally, you have to balance the many aspects of your professional work.

As a result, the issue for faculty isn’t often time management, but task management.

You should work to develop strategies to determine what to do (your most important work). This is more valuable and vital than figuring out how to maximize your time.

Are you making time for your important work? Or are you simply hoping to find the time?

Quick starters make the time. Don’t you want to be one of them?