Making the Most of your Summer
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Congratulations! You have now learned a lot about the rhythms of an academic year—even though it was not exactly a typical year. You likely experienced juggling research and teaching. You probably taught remotely or had limited in person experience with your students. You occasionally fumbled to find the unmute button on Zoom. You have probably worried about your students and you might have experienced intellectual isolation yourself.
Wow! You did learn a lot. You have more learning ahead: how to manage research as the world re-opens, how to get more acquainted with your departmental and school colleagues, what the IUPUI campus really looks like!
Here are some ways to keep your productivity up and your stress down:
- Ensure you have at least some vacation. Go, go, go, go, go = Crash! It’s easy to think, “If I just get THIS done, THEN I can relax.” If you relax a bit NOW, then THIS will usually be easier.
- Even in non-COVID summers, faculty and students aren’t on campus much. Try to be a bit proactive about keeping in touch with people over the summer.
Get the vaccine! IUPUI has its own clinic for faculty, staff and students. If you then report your vaccine, you will be exempted from the mitigation selection.
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Plan ahead for your family’s needs.
Watch out for how school (K-12) schedules interact with the IUPUI academic calendar and the most important conferences for your professional development. Even “virtual” conferences will take time and attention.
Communicate with your partner, household, friends, and family about your obligations—especially in summer. Some people think faculty have ‘summers off.’ This is clearly not true. Many non-academics are well-meaning but don’t understand how “non-nine-to-five” a faculty position is. Talk to them about protecting time for research, teaching, and your loved ones. But also, do try to find some time for self care and rejuvenation.
The second year will still be stressful.
You knew the first year would be…brace yourself again.
It DOES get better.
Your third year is really when you hit your stride, for both tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty. You should experience fewer new course preps and glimmers of results from research.
Know where to find resources.
Healthy IU has many resources (elder and adult care, mental well-being, parenting, webinars, etc.) to make balancing work and life a little more attainable.
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Articles that are uploaded to institutional repositories are cited 18% more than articles that are only published through a journal’s subscription, and articles in institutional repositories generate additional metrics that can help a tenure-track faculty member show impact early in his/her career.
IUPUI has an Open Access Policy that helps faculty get scholarship in our institutional repository, IUPUI ScholarWorks.
- Submitted by Willie Miller, associate dean for communication and technology, University Library.
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Need-to-Know for New Faculty
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Sign Up for the Summer 2021 Writing Group Program
The writing group program provides a structure that encourages progress toward publication by promoting regular writing. At the start of each meeting, participants share their writing goals for the week. Then, they write quietly for 90 minutes or more. This is a simple, powerful way to make time for writing.
Sign up: facultycrossing.iupui.edu/WritingGroups.
Questions? Please contact: ude[dot]iupui[at]ssorccaf.
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