How Do You Move Forward In Chaos?

In the last 45 days, the US government has threatened to alter how academia is conducted. The change in research funding has caused significant concern and anxiety among academic professionals.  

It is no wonder that my clients are anxious and concerned. Changes regarding research and funding create an atmosphere that generates fear, anxiety, and chaos. 

Given that academia is not generally prone to the sudden shifts in policies, processes, or procedures, you may feel as if you have no control over the situation. You may be asking, "Why is this happening?"  

In times like these, I recommend that my clients focus on the "what" instead of the "why."  The question should be, 'What can I do?' 

This shift in focus from the 'why' to the 'what' will empower you, giving you a sense of control in a situation that may seem overwhelming.

If you are faced with the current changes and are looking for a way to overcome anxiety and decrease the chaos, try the following.

1) Prioritize your work in areas such as discovering new knowledge, teaching, or providing service. 

2) Focus on what you can control. This is the key to managing anxiety in times of uncertainty. This will empower you and give you a sense of direction.  

To help get you started, I have broken this process down according to your faculty position. As you think about what you should prioritize and focus on, ask yourself what you must do to keep your job.  

Instructional Faculty

Your priority is teaching. Therefore, you need to focus on excelling in your teaching and put your research and service on the back burner.

Research Faculty

Your priority is research and funding. Consequently, you need to focus on excelling in these areas and put your teaching and service on the back burner.

Administrator

Your priority is service (in this case, administrative service). So, you have to focus on excelling in your administration, with less emphasis on teaching and research.   

At this point, you may ask, 'How do I put my teaching on the back burner?' or 'How do I put my research on the back burner? ' I recommend that my clients practice the principle first suggested by Dr. Robert Boice, who called it 'Nihil Nimus' or 'just enough.' This principle doesn't mean ignoring teaching (or research) but doing enough to complete your job responsibilities. It's about finding the right balance, not overcommitting, and avoiding burnout*.   

If you are a research faculty member, do 'just enough' in your teaching. Don't try to cover every detail of the topic you teach; give the class the framework so they can extend it on their own. Don't devise elaborate projects; give the class more straightforward (or no) projects that make the same point. The strategy is to place the majority of your time and emphasis on your research and fund development. While you will continue your teaching, it shouldn't be your focal point. Your actions should focus on your research. 

If you are a teaching faculty member, do 'just enough' in your research portfolio. Don't be involved in multiple research projects or try to get grant money. Focus on research projects that will take less time but show that you are engaged in research. Again, if your workload is apportioned to research, do the research, but no more. Focus on teaching. 

The same advice applies to the service component of your workload if you are teaching or research faculty: do 'just enough.' It is too easy to become burdened with many services within your department and professionally. Work to reduce your service to only the activities you like the most and provide the most impact. Strive to say 'no' to service requests instead of saying 'yes' to everything. 

This approach may be counterintuitive to your thinking, but it will keep you employed. Prioritizing the most important responsibilities of your job will help you excel in the areas that are most important to those above you in the hierarchy who are making personnel decisions. In these days of snap evaluations and unwarranted email firings where the law doesn't seem to move fast enough, you have to excel in the areas you can control.   

I am not suggesting you ignore what is happening in the academic environment. However, your first concern is staying and excelling in your job.  

So, turn off your newsfeeds and social media, focus, and prioritize so you can navigate this uncharted territory while surviving and thriving in academia. 

*If you want more advice and examples of the 'nihil nimus' approach, you can go to the source, R. Boice, 'Advice for New Faculty Members: Nihil Nimus' (which has been out of print many years) or you can check out Chapter 6 in our book 'Surviving Your First Five Years as a Faculty Member'https://www.amazon.com/Surviving-First-Years-Faculty-Member/dp/0578577356 where we talk about this topic extensively.