The N Word

Last week's Monday Motivator ("Just Say NO") touched a raw nerve for many of you. It's the most mail I've ever received on one topic! I assume that's because saying "no" taps into all three factors that block our research productivity (technical errors, external factors and psychological obstacles). But even more importantly, service overload is pervasive and can be debilitating for pre-tenure faculty. This week I want to share two great ideas that readers submitted to help them deal with the N-word.

A Book With Many Chapters

One wise reader described the best advice she received about saying "no" was to conceptualize her career as a book with many chapters. She hopes to be a faculty member for 25-30 years and by taking this long-term view of her career, she visualizes her 6 years on the tenure track as one of the early chapters of that book. Clearly, the main themes of this early chapter are research, writing and publication. But she also imagines later chapters that have different and exciting themes. One future chapter centers around her work to transform the chilly climate of her institution. Another chapter focuses on her becoming a master teacher. A later chapter has her writing a trade book for a popular audience, appearing on Oprah, and becoming a public intellectual. And with her accrued wisdom, she imagines the final chapters focusing on working in her local community for social change. I love this metaphor, and the idea of different chapters of my career having different central themes. What I loved most is the way she described how easy it is for her to say "no" to things that aren't the focus of her work in the current chapter. Just knowing that there will be a later chapter that focuses on teaching allows her to accept the limited time she can spend on teaching while on the tenure track without guilt. Confident she will write for a general audience in a future chapter allows her to work enthusiastically on academic writing today. And believing that she will have later chapters that focus on institutional and social change allow her the freedom to firmly say "no" to overwhelming service commitments. "The N Committee" Another busy colleague and mother of three small children gave me a strategy that I'm putting into immediate use! She suggested that people (like me) who have extraordinary difficulty saying "no" create an "'N' committee." Her committee consists of two people who can help filter the unending stream of requests that flow through her phone, email, and office each day. After receiving a request, she brings it to "The N Committee" to discuss the pros and cons of accepting an additional commitment. She reports that: "99% of the time, I walk away from those conversations, not only ready to say no, but with a really sound sense in my own mind of why "no" is the right answer." For me, the wisdom of "The N Committee" is the creation of an external and objective filter through which I can run service requests. I tried it by asking two people the following: "I'm struggling with too much service and saying "no". Would you be willing to be on my N-Committee?" Since everyone who knows me is aware of my dilemma, as well as how salty I get when I hit service overload, everyone I asked was overjoyed to assist me in this way. I found it to be effective for both small and large requests. There's even a virtual N-committee thread on the discussion forum for those of you who don't have a network in place, or are too shy to ask anyone for help in this way.

The Weekly Challenge

This week, I want to challenge you to do the following: Try visualizing your career as a book with many chapters and imagine what the central focus of later chapters might be. Use this exercise to release yourself from feeling you must do everything for everyone right now. Locate two people to be on your N Committee, or join the N Committee thread on the discussion forum. Use your N Committee to filter every service request you receive this week. Re-commit yourself to 30-60 minutes each day for your writing. If you haven't determined your semester goals, it's not too late. Consider joining the October Writing Challenge. I am incredibly thankful to the wise folks who keep the tips, strategies, and insight flowing into my mailbox. I hope this week brings them extra good karma, and everyone else the strength to pro-actively reach out to others for nurturing and professional support. Peace & Productivity, Kerry Ann Rockquemore Associate Professor African American Studies and Sociology University of Illinois at Chicago KerryAnn@NewFacultySuccess.com