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2 years ago in Academic Practice By Divya
What does "academic practice" actually entail on a day-to-day basis for a research professor?
I'm considering a career in academia. Beyond teaching and publishing, what does the actual daily work look like? How is time typically divided between different tasks like writing, reviewing, administration, and actual research?
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By Olu Answered 1 year ago
From my two decades in the role, it's a constant juggling of varied, context-switching tasks. A typical day might involve: 2-3 hours of deep work (writing a paper, analyzing data), 1-2 hours of meetings (with research team, students, collaborators), 1 hour of email and administrative tasks (grant reports, letters), and 1-2 hours of teaching-related work (prep, grading, student meetings). Sprinkled throughout are peer review for journals, reading new literature, and networking calls. There's no standard day, which is both liberating and challenging. The key to survival is rigorous time-blocking and protecting chunks of uninterrupted time for the deep thinking that drives real research progress. The myth of the ivory tower is just that; modern academia is a highly social, administrative, and managerial enterprise.
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