In this busy period leading up to Christmas it seems like a good time to think about how to make sure that you maintain a healthy work-life balance towards the end of a busy term and leading into the holiday period. It’s always a challenge but here are some key issues:
Commuting:
If you or anyone in your family commutes a long distance to work you’ll know what a challenge that can be to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. The costs and the time involved can be difficult but also the sheer exhaustion can mean that time with your family is impacted by your working life.
The flip-side to this is that many university employers allow their staff to work from home some of the time, so even if you have a long journey to work, you need not be in the office from 9-5 every day of the working week.
Research:
Many scholars look forward to the end of term time thinking that this presents an excellent opportunity to get some research or writing done. And this is true of course. But it’s important not to let this work time impinge too much on your life outside work. You will not be able to do good work if you don’t give yourself a break every now and then. So don’t think of down-time as wasted time. It’s essential to recharge your batteries. You’ll then be able to come back to your research afresh.
Preparing for the new term:
Less so at Christmas, but certainly over the Summer break, much of an academic’s time is devoted to preparing lessons for the new term. As with research, this is a vital part of the job and you must keep up with this activity. But it’s important to allow yourself time to assess how the previous term has gone before plunging into preparation for the next one. Don’t always be forward-looking; try to be reflexive in your course and session development too. And, again, give yourself some time away from your computer and books: you’ll do better work if you’re refreshed.
