As an academic, a researcher, an avid book lover, a curious reader, and someone who enjoys a lot of different things, there comes a time where a balance must be struck. I need to read academic texts but also books for pleasure, I need to write for my PhD thesis but also these book blog posts and my own creative writing endeavours, and then there is needing to juggle reading and writing in their various forms. So how do I do it?

Perhaps I should pose this more as how do I plan to do it, because I can already tell you there is a big point that needs to be addressed in the planning and execution phase that is neither of these things. Plans are good fun; for some, it is the backbone of their day and they feel better once a plan is in place whereas for others a plan is a tedious thing that must be finished before they can move onto the good bits. I am in the middle, though leaning more toward the first group. I like plans because they help to structure my days, my projects, my tasks for the week, and they keep me up-to-date with what I haven’t finished yet. When it comes to managing many big things at once, like all this reading and writing I do, a plan is essential. So, without further ado, here are the steps to achieve this balance.

Acknowledge the distractions and momentum killers

As part of my reading and writing plan, I allowed myself assess to my Switch to play games during my free time. Well, that was a mistake. I derailed my plan within a. few days because I was immersed in the game I was playing and lost valuable time that could have been better spent reading for pleasure and blog posts, going outside to stretch and walk around for exercise, cooking and preparing bulk meals to set me up for a few days. There are many ways to spend free time and while some of them may sounds like chores more than downtime activities, they are a much better use of the time than a distraction you cannot control when you get sucked into it. If you do want to have some game time, here are my suggestions: set a timer for when you will finish playing, listen to music to ground the passing of time and limit your immersion into the game, and play without the device charging (if possible on a device like a phone, Switch, DS, tablet, etc.

Outline what fits under each category

Writing and reading are broad categories, and within each I have multiple kinds of reading and writing to sketch out time for. The best way to address it all is to write it down and visually see how much you want to do and what kind of work it is. For example, under writing I would put the following:

PhD thesis

annafromuni blog

Fantasy manuscript

There would be further breakdowns of what writing I want to do and how frequently I want to do it, what the end result is, and how much time I want to dedicate to it. By splitting them up you can also better understand the skills and attention required for each task. Out of these three, blog posts are the one that I could do with little energy and brainpower as it takes less processing and finesse to write book reviews and discussions posts than it does to write a literature review portion for my thesis or a whole chapter of an adult fantasy manuscript. Similarly, I know that once I get into the flow of it writing for my fantasy manuscript will be an easy, immersive experience that I can do first and get a decent number of hours in each day.

Consider the extras and the multi-tasking opportunities

Some things come with extras attached, like reading academic texts and books before I can write about them, reading a book for pleasure before I can write it my review, or waiting for a book to come into the library before I can read it. Others come with layering options, like reading while you are on public transport or listening to the audiobook while you do tasks and academic novels serving as book blog posts too. Not all tasks need be in a vacuum, and if it makes it easier to manage, double dipping is a great way to reduce the stress you put ourself under accomplishing these tasks. And is it really double dipping if you share more about what you are reading academically to your non-academic book friends?

Reconsider those distractions down the line

Not all distractions are bad for you. In fact, some things that may have initially been considered a distraction could turn into valuable resources to create breaks and structure in your projects. For example, that Switch I got addicted to playing on when I could have been reading may come in clutch later when I get too immersed in my fantasy writing, otherwise my thoughts and plans for what to write next may bleed into reading time and mess up a tight reading schedule. Similarly, going out for walks and a stretch may seem like distractions when you are in the depths of what you are doing, but it is exactly the kind of thing you need to reset your brain and give it time to come around to the answers you are looking for, especially when you are in the middle of a problem you can’t find the answer to.

This is a very basic hash out of the kind of balance plan I would put into place. Personally, I would include a lot more detail and time allocation notes so that I set my days up like a working day, following Cal Newport’s ‘deep work’ outline with a maximum of 4 hours of serious deep work and focus each day. If you want to know about deep work, I highly recommend checking out his book about it as it could be life-changing in how you approach your workload. I also made a post a while back about managing long-term plans and goals that you can check out if you are interested in reading more. At the end of the day, the path is yours to meander down at your own pace. Doing things one at a time is just as commendable as managing multiple projects at once. Find what works for you and make any changes you need to along the way.