Thank you! I completely agree. Having too much time on your hands causes more problems than I can count. Thinking is all good and necessary, but overthinking is something academics excel at! Good luck with the PhD decision…

Hi Mari, yes, absolutely go for it with the productivity gains. Excellent line of argumentation! There was one researcher at the seminar who really got it, but he had already been studying productivity for a bit. He actually got back to me with the advice to elaborate more on the performance analogy. I’m going to take his advice. The supervisors were again the most sceptical. They really seemed to believe in the kill yourself mentality. The most sceptical one was disappointed I didn’t have anything more ‘evidence-based’. Oh well 😉

I frequently have these discussions with coworkers (STEM research), and the majority of my admittedly not-random sample support a healthy work-life balance. The point of improved productivity is rarely raised, though. Perhaps it warrants a mention the next time the topic is raised 🙂

Thanks for a great post!