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Time management

Scheduling, balancing teaching and research, and career progression all require effective time-management skills. Here, academics offer their own experience, techniques and advice.

A glowing tool icon is generated from a tablet by a woman in the background

Use technology to boost productivity and beat burnout

Ayşe Hyusein advises using a range of techniques and tools for more effective time management

Ayşe Hyusein

Near East University

Conference presentations 101: master the art of speaking to an audience

Don’t get stage fright when it comes to presenting your research. Ayten Ordu offers her tips for preparing for speaking success

Ayten Ordu

Near East University

A hand uses a laptop trackpad as candles burn in the background

Protect your emotional well-being for a happier writing experience

Writing academic papers can be a long and emotional journey. Burcu Totur Dikmen offers her tips for emotional well-being

Burcu Totur Dikmen

Near East University

Eight ways to improve your digital well-being

To counteract the detrimental consequences of excessive screen time and digital overload, we must take a thoughtful and balanced approach, writes Nisha P. Shetty

Nisha P. Shetty

Manipal Academy of Higher Education

It can be different: managing time, tasks and well-being in academia

Academic careers are often associated with long hours, overwhelming workload and burnout – but it doesn’t have to be that way. Understanding the nature of knowledge work can help, says Katrina McChesney

Katrina McChesney

University of Waikato

How to survive the academic treadmill

When working hours are stretched to cover marking, induction and other tasks, what is a busy scholar to do? Here, James Derounian offers suggestions for taking essential downtime

James Derounian

University of Bolton

Five ways to beat the procrastination monster

Writing and procrastination often go together like pen and paper, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Here, Glenn Fosbraey offers strategies to stop putting off putting words on the page

Glenn Fosbraey

University of Winchester

A tray with a jar of bath salts, lilies and towels sits on the edge of a candelit bathtub

Let’s prioritise self-care for the benefit of everyone

Self-care can make us better at our jobs, support our students more effectively and help to build a better community across academia. Karina Dancza offers her tips on how to implement self-care in your professional life

Karina Dancza

Singapore Institute of Technology

How to engage your staff in just 15 minutes

You need to get updates and other messages to faculty and staff, but they don’t have much time for internal communications. Here, Kelly Hibbs offers tips to reach a busy audience in a quick, engaging, accessible way

Kelly Hibbs

University of Southampton

Advice for university staff on working successfully with HR

How can faculty ensure that all the touch points they have with human resources within their employee lifecycle are efficient, transparent and the best experience they can be?

Lisa Smith

University of Southampton

Childcare remains a barrier for too many learners. Here’s how institutions can help

Universities can design programmes that meet student-parents where they are with their childcare needs. Here, Joanitt Montano and Chike Aguh outline three ways

Joanitt Montano , Chike Aguh

College of Health Care Professions, Harvard University

How to coach in-employment lifelong learners for success

A team from Singapore Institute of Technology offers insights from working with in-employment learners who are seeking to upskill by studying for degrees

Chow Peck Chee , Julian Matius , May Lim

Singapore Institute of Technology

Timeline and calendar for project management

How to use a project management approach to help run research projects

Jon Gunnell explains how to adopt the PRINCE2 project management method to help overcome the many challenges of running a multi-year research project

Jon Gunnell

University of Sheffield

How to win at the part-time ‘game’ in academia

Higher education might be more accommodating of part-time employment than many private sector organisations, but working part-time comes with challenges. So how can you make a success of part-time working in academia?

Multiple authors

The University of Bristol, University of Bedfordshire, Bath Spa University, Women Space

Group of women working together online via teleconferencing

Virtually writing together: creating community while supporting individual endeavour

Lessons in setting up and running a virtual writing group that facilitates individual and collaborative work through a supportive community of practice

Karen Kenny

The University of Exeter

Colleagues laughing and having a chat over coffee

Good daily work habits for early career researchers

A collection of good daily work habits that will help early career researchers flourish, based on insight from a number of academics

Kelly Louise Preece

The University of Exeter

How to make working from home work as an academic

Is working from home going to solve your work-life balance problems?

Commitment and good implementation are required from both institutions and individuals to make working from home a success, writes Brenda Lautsch

Brenda Lautsch

Simon Fraser University

How to create a university timetable efficiently

How to create university-wide timetables using free, open-source software

Creating a university timetable is a complex and challenging task that requires significant planning and organisation. Yağmur Çerkez explains how it can be done quickly and efficiently

Yağmur Çerkez

Near East University

Get healthy even as a university academic

Three easy ways to stay healthy in the new year (even with a busy job)

The time squeeze of modern university roles can make it feel impossible to carve out schedule space for health and wellness. Sandy Jones provides tips on how to do so

Sandy Jones

Colorado State University Global

Tips to balance teaching and research activities

Five tips to help academics balance their teaching and research duties without compromising the quality of one or the other, by Abdullah Khadim

Abdullah Khadim

Al-Mustaqbal University

Nine tips to help students prioritise tasks

If students complain of not having enough time to complete assignments, Hassan Imad Kadhim has nine tips that will help them (and anyone else juggling a to-do list) get tasks done

Hassan Imad Kadhim

Al-Mustaqbal University

Recognise work-life imbalance and restore resilience

How can academics stay energised and resilient? The first step, says Aaron Davis, is take stock of those tasks and worries that deplete energy, then add activities that refill your cup

Aaron Davis

University of Washington

Work-life balance in academia can be achieved, but it's not easy

You can have it all, just not all at once

It might just be possible to achieve a good work-life balance in academia, but it requires focusing on certain areas of your life and career at certain times, says Lucas Lixinski

Lucas Lixinski

UNSW Sydney

Using a calendar to plan ideal uses of time can help academics avoid burnout

A calendar activity that can help in the battle against burnout

Working out how you want to spend your time versus how you actually spend it can be a useful tool for ensuring investment in your physical and mental health, says Sara Metz

Sara Metz

Colorado State University Global

Using the pick three method to reduce HE burnout

Using the ‘pick three’ method to avoid burnout in higher education

One can accomplish only so many tasks in a given day, so try selecting three from five designated priorities and ensuring they are nurtured, says Sandy Jones

Sandy Jones

Colorado State University Global

To block or not to block? How time affects learning in higher education

From intensive block plans to open-ended study programmes, the ideal length for a unit of study is under interrogation. Jason M. Lodge considers the evidence

Jason M. Lodge

The University of Queensland

Tips for organising and optimising your inbox and messaging apps

We all suffer from communication overload in both our work and personal lives. Ingrid Benavides and Anahí Molina provide simple tips to make messages less overwhelming

Ingrid Benavides , Gloria Anahí Molina Barrón

Tecnológico de Monterrey

The magic motivation fairy does not exist for academics

Bad news, kids (and academics): the magical motivation fairy doesn’t exist

Motivation for tricky tasks doesn’t just appear magically, but with these psychological tricks you can get yourself and your career moving, says Hugh Kearns

Hugh Kearns

Flinders University

Illustration of young woman with pile of papers, laptop and timer

Ask for help: a survival guide for inexperienced academics

Research and teaching are two sides of the knowledge coin: creation and dissemination. How do young scholars learn to balance these fundamental roles?

M. C. Zhang, Aliana Leong

Macau University of Science and Technology

Tame the to-do list and manage an academic workload

Reduce procrastination, forget multitasking and get the to-do list done. From delegating to prioritising urgent versus important tasks, here are six practical ways to balance teaching, research and service for university faculty

Kaihan Yang , Ben K. Goh

Macau University of Science and Technology

Many adjunct professors find themselves pulled in two different directions

Five steps to help adjunct professors prioritise competing workloads

Teaching at universities while also working in industry can require superhuman powers of organisation. Brooke Wilson offers pointers for staying on top of things

Brooke Wilson

Colorado State University Global

The boundaries to set so your students don’t take over your life

As the role of university teacher evolves, a key workplace challenge is how to offer proximity without becoming a 24/7 bot service

Ingrid Benavides , Adela Vega

Tecnológico de Monterrey

How to balance a teaching and research workload

Three key tips to help balance research and teaching duties

With ever-greater demands being placed on university faculty, Megumi Terui offers advice on balancing two key parts of the job

Megumi Terui

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Rhythm of a class: lesson-planning and assessment in block teaching

Block scheduling rethinks curriculum design, lesson-planning, assessment and feedback. Tom Clark outlines how this shift, as well as blended learning resources, helped Victoria University meet students’ need for clear and reliable rhythms of study

Tom Clark

Victoria University

Self-care tips such as setting a regular wake-up time can help mature students handle the stresses of university life

Coaching students in self-care lessons that will help them manage stress

From setting a consistent wake-up time to sound financial planning, there are many beneficial changes that you can encourage to help your students

Matthew L. Brown

Colorado State University Global

Timing your writing and breaking it into 25-minute chunks can be very useful for time-poor academics

The ‘25 method’ for forming a writing routine when you have limited time

Olivia Burgess shares her abbreviated form of the pomodoro method for being productive in only 25 minutes a day

Olivia Burgess

Colorado State University Global

Feet climbing hands acting as steps (illustration)

From conventional course to block scheduling: adapting resources for successful learning

Block teaching can seem like an impossible task – all the teaching in less than half the time. But with intentional design of courses and resources, you can move from traditional to block delivery. Here, Ellen Buck shares advice based on her experience

Ellen Buck

University of Suffolk

Working back to front, by writing feedback before students have submitted, can help when teaching large cohorts

Why you should write feedback to your students before they’ve submitted

Starting at the end seems counterintuitive, but anticipating student strengths and weaknesses and automating your responses comes into its own for large cohorts

Andy Grayson

Advice on delivering efficient and effective feedback that helps students learn and

Making feedback effective for your students and efficient for you

Effective feedback is vital to aid students’ learning and progress but must be managed in a way that is realistic for professors’ workloads. Loïc Plé shares his tips

Loïc Plé

IÉSEG School of Management

Sessional academics early in their careers should learn how to balance the competing demands of teaching and research

Sessional academics: how to balance the demands of teaching and research

Teaching and research are the pillars of academia, yet these two roles often end up in opposition to one another, says Tara East

Tara East

The University of Southern Queensland

Advice from a doctoral student on overcoming common challenges while studying for your PhD

Transitioning to a PhD: common struggles and how to overcome them

Camille Bou outlines the key struggles she encountered during the first year of her PhD and shares useful insight on how she overcame them

Camille Bou

The London School of Economics and Political Science

After spending my entire career climbing the university career ladder, I'm now wondering what's next

I’ve successfully climbed the academic career ladder − now what?

Having spent my entire career trying to get to where I am now, I’m working out how to slow down and seize the opportunities ahead, says Lucas Lixinski

Lucas Lixinski

UNSW Sydney

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