Trying to do less

Over the past semester, I started a new leadership role at my university. It is an opportunity I am grateful for and excited about, but it has also come with an uncomfortable realization: every new responsibility requires making room somewhere else.

Academia often rewards saying yes. We say yes to new projects, new committees, new collaborations, new students, and new opportunities. When a leadership position comes along, it can feel like the natural next step to simply add those responsibilities on top of everything else. For a while, that was exactly what I tried to do.

The result was predictable. Many weeks stretch to 80 hours or more. My calendar fills with meetings and events. My inbox, which was already busy, became even more demanding. Most days I receive around 300 emails. I find myself spending evenings replying to messages, pushing work later into the night, and gradually cutting back on sleep. While that approach may work temporarily, it is not sustainable.

The challenge I am facing now is not how to do more. It is how to do less.

That sounds simple in theory, but I have found it difficult in practice. Some responsibilities are easy to identify as candidates for delegation. For example, I have been involved in the leadership of several technical committees for many years. These roles have been rewarding, but they also require considerable time and attention. Ideally, they should be opportunities for others to step into leadership positions and gain experience. I have been trying to hand over some of these responsibilities to colleagues and encourage the next generation to take ownership.

The same is true for proposal writing. Over the years, I have developed templates, workflows, and toolkits that allow me to write proposals relatively efficiently. Yet even with efficient systems, proposal writing still takes time. Increasingly, I find myself wondering whether my role should shift from being the primary author to being a mentor and source of feedback. Perhaps my contribution can be greater by helping others develop these skills rather than doing all the writing myself.

The difficulty is that delegation is not as straightforward. Many colleagues of my generation are already carrying heavy workloads of their own. Younger colleagues often have the enthusiasm and talent, but understandably may hesitate before taking on visible leadership responsibilities. As a result, some of the tasks I hoped to transfer remain on my desk for longer than expected.

One thing that has helped is tracking my time. Time tracking tells me: where is my time actually going? The data are not always surprising, but they are useful. They show how much time is absorbed by email, meetings, administration, and unexpected requests. They also help me identify where I can make more realistic plans and where I need to reserve dedicated time in my schedule rather than hoping tasks will somehow fit themselves into the day. My Fall 2026 template will reflect this.

At this point, I do not have a neat solution or a list of five steps to share. I am still in the middle of figuring this out. I am still reviewing my commitments, trying to reduce what is on my plate, and learning which responsibilities truly require my involvement and which do not.

Perhaps that is the lesson I am learning right now. Career progression is not only about taking on new responsibilities. It is also about letting go of others. Every new role requires making choices about where our time, energy, and attention are best spent. And while I have not yet mastered the art of doing less, I am convinced that it is a skill every academic eventually needs to learn.

How have you made space on your schedule as your responsibilities changed?