Exploring Time as a Resource for Wellness in Higher Education

Bringing together international perspectives, this book demonstrates the importance of reframing time in higher education and how we can view it as a resource to support wellbeing and self-care. Time is a central part of our lives and structures our days, and yet often we don't think about the socially constructed nature of time or how we might reframe our relationship with time and our work in ways that support our self-care and wellbeing. Exploring Time as a Resource for Wellness in Higher Education suggests an alternative way to look at how we structure our time to better support our wellbeing. Drawing on a range of theoretical and personal perspectives, the authors advocate for a reconsideration and reconceptualization of our relationship with time. By sharing their experiences, the authors encourage readers to notice how they spend their time and offer strategies for an intentional focus on the relationship between time, self-care, and wellbeing. Whether it's making time, having time, or investing in time, this book explores strategies and reflections necessary to grow, maintain, and protect wellbeing. This book is a valuable resource for those working in higher education, offering individual, collective, and systemic suggestions and strategies for navigating the ways we see time and wellbeing.

Sharon McDonough is an Associate Professor in Teacher Education at Federation University Australia in Ballarat, Australia. Sharon is a qualitative and creative methods specialist, and her research expertise focuses on the field of wellbeing and resilience in teacher education, higher education, and community settings. Narelle Lemon, Vice Chancellor Professoriate Research Fellow at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia, is an interdisciplinary scholar specializing in arts, education, and positive psychology. Her research focuses on enhancing wellbeing literacy in K-12 schools, teacher education, higher education, and community settings, emphasizing evidence-based practices for proactive flourishing.

1. Reconceptualising our relationship with time to enhance self-care and wellbeing in higher education Part 1 - IDENTITY TAKES TIME TO RETHINK Opening poem: Navigating Academia's Labyrinth: Time, Identity, and Wellbeing 2. Reclaiming Embodiment of my Academic Time through Yoga Practice 3. Moving abroad to work in Higher Education,in a different language, as a constructive disruption 4. Time keeps on slippin', slipping: Oldlings holding on, and onto the embodied self 5. Not quite a professor: professional identity, self-care and time management as an atypical academic Part 2 - INTENSIFICATION AND CARE Opening poem: Echoes of Academia: Time, Care, and Collective Wellbeing 6. The Work of Wellbeing: Making Time and Creating Space in Academia 7. Fire and Focus: The Decision of Which Flames to Fan in Higher Education 8. Fighting Dragons with Contemplative Practices: A Hero's Journey in Higher Education through Time and Self-Care 9. Time Allocation and Job Satisfaction for Women Academics: Lessons Learned from the Pandemic 10. Interstate Dialogues: Chronicles of Rhythms of Time and the Art of Self-Care of a Mobile Academic Part 3 - TIME INVESTING IN SELF Opening poem: Embracing Balance: Nurturing Academia's Soul 11. In and out of time: practising self-care when leaving and re-entering higher education. 12. Overwork is not evidence of passion 13. Deep Dive on Boundary Setting: Time for maintaining, and thriving. 14. Self-care: A Guilty Pleasure or Required Academic Work?