Is it a Mistake to Be Too Ambitious?

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Clarissa

August 25, 2014

The reviewers of my sabbatical application are saying that I’m making a mistake in offering very ambitious promises of what I will achieve as a result of my sabbatical. They say that it’s better to promise less as a sort of an insurance policy in case I don’t manage to finish what I planned.

My plan is to finish the second book by the end of the sabbatical. Of course, I’m not planning to write the entire book during the sabbatical. That would be really insane, even for me. The truth is that I am already writing the book. I have a new Seinfeld chain and I get up at 7 am every day to write before work. I have done massive research and have an annotated bibliography with quotes I will use culled out. This bibliography / collection of quotes is 49 pages long and growing.

The reason why I’m making my plan to finish the first draft of the book by the end of 2015 official is that I need to have an official deadline in place to keep myself accountable and not get distracted by the endless temptations to read just one more book or article before I continue writing. I don’t really care – and never did – about the formalities of sabbaticals, tenure, merit reviews, full professorships, etc. It’s nice to have them, but that’s not what I’m about. I’m writing this book because I need it. And I don’t want to fail because it will be my personal failure, not because the university administration will be on my case if I don’t do what I promised in the sabbatical application.

Am I crazy, though? Should I listen to the wise, older colleagues and tone down my wild promises?

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13 responses to “Is it a Mistake to Be Too Ambitious?”

Sarah Brodsky (@sarahbrodsky)

August 25, 2014

No.

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1. Clarissa
  
  August 25, 2014
  
  You really remind me of me. 🙂
  
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Jonathan Mayhew

August 25, 2014

Here’s what you should do. Tell them what you have already written (drafts of x number of chapters), how many chapters you will write before the sabbatical, and how many chapters you will write during the sabbatical. If you are detailed enough then they won’t think you are blowing smoke.

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David P. Bellamy

August 25, 2014

This is amusing. For years I was told by assorted colleagues the exact opposite: Predict more than anyone thinks you can achieve.

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ladyleahjane

August 25, 2014

Since when has being too ambitious hurt your academic career? Everything about your story suggests you got where you were by being “too” ambitious.

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Good Enough Professor

August 25, 2014

“I don’t want to fail because it will be my personal failure, not because the university administration will be on my case if I don’t do what I promised in the sabbatical application.” In that case, you’re probably accountable (to the only judge that matters–yourself) without an official public deadline. If stating a smaller ambition can still get you a sabbatical, go ahead and write the application that won’t trigger your second-guessing reviewers, and then stick to your own self-imposed goals. When you meet them, everyone will be all the more impressed.

Or do the thing Jonathan Mayhew said.

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el

August 25, 2014

\\ go ahead and write the application that won’t trigger your second-guessing reviewers, and then stick to your own self-imposed goals. When you meet them, everyone will be all the more impressed.

+1

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Fie Upon This Quiet Life

August 25, 2014

One of my colleagues told me this exact same thing — be careful what you promise — when I was talking about writing an application for a course release and grant. I ended up not writing it at all because I got discouraged. Pretty soon after that was when I got my first publication, followed in quick succession by two more acceptances. Now, I’m not listening to anyone but myself. I think you know what you’re capable of. You might need to spell it out to your reviewers. But you can accomplish what you set out to do. Good luck!

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Z

August 25, 2014

Do as you see fit.

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rogerburt

August 25, 2014

Is there a way in-between where you see where it leads you?

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Sister

August 25, 2014

What happens if you promise and don’t deliver?

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1. Clarissa
  
  August 25, 2014
  
  The worst thing is that the next sabbatical will be delayed by the time it takes me to finish this project.
  
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Jones

August 26, 2014

I prefer to judge someone by the quality of their enemies …

… keeping in mind that some enemies will inevitably look like allies, at least for some time, because their counsel appears to be learned and wise, rather than conflicted and time-worn.

If enough pieces have made themselves available or known to the point that work can proceed, I see no reason why it shouldn’t. If there’s an inevitability to it that needs to be sought out, I see no reason to add barriers or to insert delays in order to sustain distance from it.

Is your “sabbatical” a period when you invert your work situation so you can do the serious work you want to do? If that is the case, it would do to ponder whether your normal situation is a sort of “holiday in hell”, where you’re given a lovely view from a comfortable position, but with considerable drawbacks.

There was a reason I ended my recent holiday, after all …

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