What does a professor do on sabbatical?

Well, I can only recount what this professor is doing on sabbatical.  The list is long and reflects things that suddenly arose, that were neglected, and things on my "someday-maybe list."

But the best of all is learning new things, practical things.  Developing my web site has been on my "someday-maybe" list for four years, ever since I took Meggin McIntosh's workshop "Make a Difference, Make Money, Teaching Teachers." So it's time to learn iWeb.

Learning how to use Evernote productively is also on the list.

Spending time actually reading all of my RSS feeds would be useful, as will pruning some of them back.

For the learning part, I'm experimenting with Grovo-can't remember how I first heard of Grovo, but so far the free classes have been very useful.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll actually get caught up on all that e-mail (or perhaps I'll just declare e-mail bankruptcy).

Getting Started-Getting Things Done

It's tough being an information systems professor in the 21st century. It's hard to keep up with the technology; it's hard to get things done. I spent 16 years in industry before I became an "academic" (my PhD is in business and I have an MBA) so I keep one eye on what's going on in the "real world" and what's going on in the "ivory tower."

To keep up with the latest research and teaching I visit the ISWorld web site and I'm on the ISWorld list. It's not the answer but it is an answer.

To really get things done is much harder. I read Getting Things Done by David Allen about two years ago, and I've attended his seminar-twice! I was catching up on podcasts yesterday and I heard David say in a interview with Merlin Mann of 43 Folders that it takes TWO YEARS to really get it right, so that was somewhat encouraging.

What's the problem? Or as a woman I used to work with at Equitable Life used to say, "What's the real problem?" We like to blame information overload but really it's analysis paralysis. And believe me I know this first hand-I think of all the psychic energy I waste reading e-mail and trying to figure out "what to do " with the 9 million notes I get each day.

So I'll try to share here how I get anything done-if I do. Here's what I'm trying to get done: prepare for my classes (I teach a freshman introduction to computers and a doctoral introduction to systems analysis and design), co-direct our faculty development center, write a section of a university self-study report with a colleague, work with colleagues to direct our faculty council, edit a paper with a student on doing business in virtual worlds, prepare a presentation for a conference next month-and that's just this week!

Stay tuned, and please, share your survival tips!