The Science of Simplicity
How Early Career Academics Can Streamline Success
Though sometimes undervalued, there is a beauty in life’s small defeats.
Focused on winning the game, we usually obsess over rules and diligently follow instructions. But in our rush to figure out the next step, we can blind ourselves to spectacular surprises along the journey.
We forget why we are playing the game in the first place.
For early career academics, this rings especially true. We’re told to publish prolifically, network strategically, teach excellently, serve meaningfully, and somehow maintain work-life balance.
The result?
A cognitive overload that neuroscience tells us actually diminishes our ability to perform any of these tasks well.
This summer, I am taking steps to simplify my academic life. Simplicity brings balance and joy to our careers by removing burdensome clutter and allowing us to appreciate everything that remains.
Even more, simplicity can help us focus our efforts on bold research projects and magnify the impact we have in our academic community and beyond.
The Hidden Cost of Academic Overwhelm
Before diving into practical strategies, it’s worth understanding why our brains struggle with the complexity of academic life.
Research shows that constantly switching between tasks—checking email, writing, reading, teaching prep, grant applications—releases stress hormones that impair our ability to think creatively and make sound decisions.
More importantly, we never allow our minds the rest periods necessary for the innovative thinking that drives breakthrough research.
Here are five evidence-based strategies for academic simplification to finally overcome academic overwhelm.
1. Streamline Your Academic Goals
I avoid obsessing over goals because they often become limiting beliefs that hinder happiness and make it difficult to be fully present.
We say, “Once I publish this project, I will finally be where I need to be and celebrate myself.”
But you can give yourself permission to be happy now, and throughout the journey as well. To be sure, a forward-thinking mindset is valuable for establishing direction in academia’s complex landscape, but don’t lose sight of how far you have already come.
Research on goal addiction shows that constantly deferring satisfaction until we achieve certain external markers (like publication acceptance or conference presentations) can actually hijack our brain’s reward system, leading to chronic dissatisfaction even when we do achieve our targets.
Rather than creating a laundry list of publication targets, grant deadlines, and networking events this year, adopt two guiding principles that align with your core academic values.
I recommend: curiosity and contribution. Let curiosity drive your research questions, allowing you to follow unexpected paths that lead to new discoveries. Let contribution remind you that knowledge creation is inherently collaborative and meant to benefit the broader scholarly community.
Practical Implementation:
Replace your annual goal list with a one-page research manifesto outlining why your work matters
Use the “Rule of Three”: Focus on three projects per semester
Conduct weekly “alignment checks”: Ask yourself if your current activities serve curiosity or contribution
2. Tame the Academic Technology Beast
For many academics, daily life has become a relentless barrage of never-ending emails from journal editors, conference organizers, administrators, and students.
Whether through social media, email notifications, or research apps, technology frequently invades our scholarly lives with more information than we can meaningfully process.
Research on “attention residue” shows that when we switch from one task to another, part of our attention remains stuck on the previous task.
For academics constantly switching between reading, writing, email, data analysis, and social media, this creates a cumulative attention deficit that can reduce productivity by up to 40%.
Academic Technology Audit:
Email batching: Check email only three times daily (morning, lunch, evening)
Social media boundaries: Limit social media to a set number of minutes daily (try using an app blocker or modify your phone’s settings), focused on genuine engagement rather than passive scrolling
Notification elimination: Turn off all non-essential notifications during designated “deep work” blocks
Digital sabbaths: Implement technology-free periods for reading, reflection, and handwritten note-taking
Research Tools Simplification:
Consolidate to one reference manager
Use one cloud storage system for all research files
Limit yourself to three core research apps/software programs
Establish standard file naming conventions to reduce cognitive load during searches
3. Elevate Academic Communication Through Mindful Listening
Although I value silence and reflection, my listening skills still need work.
Beyond engaging with colleagues and students in more meaningful conversation, I am also learning to listen more closely to the academic world around me and communicate more effectively with diverse scholarly audiences.
Research shows that active listening strengthens neural pathways associated with empathy and social cognition. For academics, this enhanced social intelligence directly translates to better collaboration, more effective teaching, and stronger professional relationships.
In Faculty Meetings:
Practice “generative listening”: Listen not just to respond, but to understand underlying concerns and opportunities
Take handwritten notes to avoid digital distractions
Ask one clarifying question per meeting rather than multiple reactive comments
With Students:
Implement “office hour mindfulness”: Give students your complete attention without multitasking
Use the “reflection technique”: Summarize what you’ve heard before offering advice
Create space for silence, allowing students to process and articulate their thoughts
In Professional Conversations:
Before academic conferences, set an intention to have five meaningful conversations rather than collecting dozens of business cards
Practice “deep questions” that move beyond surface-level chats:
“What assumptions in your field are you questioning?”
“What keeps you excited about your research when the work gets difficult?”
“How has your thinking evolved since you started this project?”
4. Curate Your Academic Possessions Strategically
The more academic possessions we accumulate—books, journal articles, conference mugs, office supplies—the more complicated our scholarly lives become.
On a practical level, acquiring more stuff drains our limited stipends and clutters our already small office spaces. But it also robs us of mental energy and tugs our attention away from the ideas and relationships that are most valuable in our academic careers.
Research shows that cluttered physical spaces correlate with elevated stress levels and a decreased ability to focus.
For academics, whose work requires sustained concentration and creative thinking, this environmental chaos can significantly impact research productivity and writing quality.
How do you reduce the chaos?
For Books and Resources:
Curate your office library thoughtfully by only keeping books that you reference regularly, have annotated meaningfully, or hold special intellectual significance
Digitize articles, conference papers, and similar resources where possible to reduce physical clutter
Pass along books you’ve outgrown to junior colleagues who might benefit from them (this also creates mentoring opportunities while decluttering)
Use library resources for one-time reference needs rather than purchasing
Create shared departmental collections for specialized resources that multiple people might use occasionally
For Office Space Optimization:
Maintain a “three-project desk”: Only materials for current active projects visible
Use the “one touch rule” for academic paperwork: File, act on, or discard immediately
Create dedicated spaces for different work modes (writing corner, reading chair, meeting area, etc.)
For Conference and Professional Materials:
Before conferences, identify three specific goals rather than collecting every available resource
Convert business cards to digital contacts immediately, then recycle cards
Take photos of presentations rather than collecting printed materials
5. Cultivate Academic Gratitude as Professional Practice
Adopting a spirit of gratitude means more than sending thank-you notes to mentors and colleagues.
It means fully embracing the value of intellectual opportunities, recognizing that academic privileges are not simply personal achievements to celebrate, but opportunities to share knowledge and create positive impact for others.
Research on gratitude shows that a regular gratitude practice rewires the brain, strengthening pathways associated with positive emotion while reducing stress and anxiety.
For academics facing constant rejection, criticism, and uncertainty, a regular gratitude practice serves as a crucial resilience tool.
Moreover, studies show that when academics connect their work to larger purposes beyond personal advancement, they experience increased motivation, creativity, and job satisfaction, all factors directly linked to long-term career success.
How can you incorporate gratitude into your academic life?
Small Daily Practices:
Begin each writing session by acknowledging one person whose work influenced your thinking
End each teaching day by noting one moment when a student’s question or insight surprised you
Keep a “research gratitude journal”: Weekly notes on unexpected discoveries, helpful colleagues, or moments of intellectual joy
Professional Gratitude Expressions:
Send monthly “impact emails” to authors whose work significantly influenced your research
Publicly acknowledge colleagues’ contributions during presentations
Mentor undergraduates or junior colleagues as an expression of gratitude for your own mentorship
Participate in peer review as scholarly service, recognizing the gift of early access to cutting-edge research
Reframing Academic Setbacks:
View paper rejections as opportunities to strengthen arguments
Consider criticism during job talks as free advice from potential colleagues
Treat failed experiments as important contributions to scientific knowledge
The Compound Effect of Academic Simplification
Using all five simplification strategies that we have discussed at the same time makes the benefits even greater.
Reduced cognitive load frees mental resources for creative problem-solving. Improved focus enhances both research depth and teaching presence. Stronger professional relationships create collaborative opportunities that accelerate career development.
The paradox of academic simplification is that by doing less, we achieve more.
By focusing deeply rather than broadly, we produce higher-quality work that generates greater impact.
By communicating mindfully rather than constantly, we build stronger professional relationships that support long-term career development.
Your Simplification Challenge
As Leonardo da Vinci said,
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
This week, I challenge you to choose one of these five areas for focused attention. Perhaps you’ll implement email batching to reclaim deep work time. Maybe you’ll clear your desk of everything except your current writing project.
Or perhaps you might simply begin each day by identifying one aspect of your academic work for which you feel genuinely grateful.
Remember: simplification isn’t about deprivation, it’s about clarity.
It’s about removing the noise so you can hear the signal of what truly matters in your work and career.
The tenure track doesn’t have to be a frantic juggling act.
With intentional simplification, it can become a focused journey toward meaningful contribution and sustainable success.
And, for me, that’s refreshing.
Becoming Full,
Resources for Further Reading:
Newport, C. (2016). Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Levitin, D. J. (2014). The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload
Grant, A. (2013). Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success
P.S. As always, thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Tenure Track. If you found this article helpful, share it with a friend. If it moved you, consider supporting with a paid subscription or buying me a coffee. Together, let’s continue to build a supportive and creative academic community.
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