EP 9: 5 Productivity Hacks for TT/Admin Jobs & Home Education | Prof. Christopher Tollefsen (USC)

This is Episode #9 of the A-KID-EMIA podcast (formerly Anscombe’s Juggle), the home for parent-scholars looking to balance personal and professional goals. In this Fall Semester episode, we welcome Christopher Tollefsen, a father of nine (yes, NINE!), professor of philosophy, and director of the Center for American Civic Leadership and Public Discourse at the University of South Carolina. Married to another academic, he tells us how his family managed the ‘Two-Body Problem’; what home education was like; and how he achieved prolificacy, both while seeking tenure and in later administrative roles as department chair and director of a research center.

Chapters
0:00 - Introduction

2:32-4:18 - Tollefsen’s Job and Family Background

4:18-7:45 - Having Kids in Grad School

7:45-9:54 - Bringing Kids on Campus

9:55-12:47 - Living Near Campus and Bringing the Campus Home

12:48-15:49 - The ‘Two-Body Problem’ and Whether Home Education is Possible

15:50-18:25 - Geographic Stability

18:26-20:32 - Productivity Tip #1: Scheduling Specifics

20:33-23:40 - Productivity Tip #2: How to Be More Creative

23:41-24:03 - Productivity Tip #3: Using Teaching as a Research Stepping Stone

24:04-25:09 - Productivity Tip #4: Vertically Integrating Popular Writing into Academic Rough Drafts

25:10-27:00 - Productivity Tip #5: Strategically Random Reading

27:01-29:04 - De-Integrating Family Responsibilities from Work

29:05-33:35 - Administrative Duties as Research Inspiration

33:36-37:19 - Staying Flexible Amid Fixed Administrative Duties

37:20-38:33 - Overcoming Learned Helplessness

38:34-40:05 - Making and Following Lists

40:06-41:12 - Wrap Up