Research at a non-research institution, part two

When and where to work? While all scholars can benefit from a schedule, set-aside times become more important if your teaching load is 3-3 or higher. Strictly speaking, it's not necessarily the case that the problem lies with prep time (especially once you're several semesters in) or even grading (which tends to come in intensive spurts); instead, it's a matter of sheer exhaustion. This semester, for example, my Wednesday schedule begins at 2:30 in the afternoon and ends at 9:15 in the evening, with one 45 minute break between the second and third classes. By the end of the day, the most I'm ready to take on is Law and Order or the literary equivalent. (Last night, I went for Mary Elizabeth Braddon's At Chrighton Abbey and Other Horror Stories.) If I want to write during the semester, then, I have to set aside time on weekends or on Tuesdays and Thursdays--after, that is, I finish my course obligations and any committee work. More often, however, I plan on writing during breaks. I always set aside at least an hour per day to do reading for my scholarly work, above and beyond anything I need to do for classes; there's often time for more, but, as I said, on days that I teach I'm often too tired to concentrate on anything particularly dense or abstruse. I find it better to decompress for a bit than to waste my time.

I rarely do any original writing in my office, since the books in it are the ones I don't use very often! Instead, I'll bring something from home to read between classes, or I'll mark up preliminary drafts. I've also been leaving my office door open more often outside of my regular office hours, which means that I get students wandering in looking for assistance--especially now that I'm graduate coordinator...