A few days ago, I had a slightly awkward conversation that was all too familiar. I was at yoga, chatting after class with someone I don’t know well, someone who’s not connected to academia. She said, “are you enjoying all your time off?”
I should have just said “yes, it’s been a nice holiday” and left it at that. But instead, I sputtered something complicated about how it’s not really “time off” and that I was doing a lot of writing. It was more information than she wanted or needed to know, and was really unnecessary given the context of our conversation.
I’ve certainly been in other conversations where the question is more aggressive or challenging, when someone doubts that college faculty work hard enough to merit a couple weeks off. But this wasn’t one of them. I didn’t need to explain or defend what I was spending my time on.
So I’ve been thinking bit about why her question triggered that response in me.
I think it has to do with the language of time off. To say you’re taking time off implies that the rest of the time you are on, that your work and leisure is a simple binary. But for many academics, time away from certain responsibilities allows us to be more on for other activities.
I don’t turn my brain off for three weeks during the winter break because I’m not teaching. In fact, that time is special because it allows me a different kind of connection to my writing, thinking, and planning. I don’t mean on in the sense of performing — rather in the sense of being engaged with an activity. For me, time away from teaching and service is time on for writing, for an enhanced exercise routine, for friends and family, and for renewal of my domestic space.
There are times when it’s appropriate to completely rest, to recharge your batteries, to turn off some of your usual energy patterns. If you’re run down or exhausted, then you need sleep. Sometimes you need a day spent lounging around on the couch watching old movies.
But many of the best ways to recharge also involve some form of being on, of being awake to new possibilities: a walk on a different hiking trail, a museum visit, reading for fun, or cooking from a new recipe.
Time on, time off, and time away can also be part of planning for the new semester. What do you want to get away from for at least one day a week? What kind of time off do you need? and what kind of time on do you need but don’t always make space for in your schedule?