Avoiding the Overwhelm: Setting Boundaries and Defining Responsibilities in Academia

Entering academia often feels like entering a maze of opportunities, responsibilities, and endless requests for your time. For many early-career researchers, what starts as enthusiasm can quickly spiral into overwhelm—teaching, administrative tasks, research assistance, and conference planning—all while your thesis sits neglected. Sound familiar?

This post will help you recognize time traps—and the exploitative structures or behaviors behind them—and share actionable strategies to protect your time, energy, and stand your ground so you can prioritize your thesis.

1. Why Boundaries Are Key for Academic Survival

Many positions (e.g., research associates, teaching assistants) come with fuzzy expectations. Without clear boundaries, tasks can bleed into each other. You may find yourself:

• Attending every departmental meeting.
• Overcommitting to teaching or organizing conferences.
• Accepting last-minute admin work that isn’t yours.

The result? You’re exhausted, and your research suffers.

2. Strategy: Define Your Responsibilities Early

One powerful approach is to formalize your role and responsibilities early on. This can be achieved through a Duties and Responsibilities Agreement (template attached).

What is it?
It’s a document, signed between you, your supervisor, and often the head of department (or department chair, depending on institutional structures). Unlike in the U.S., where the primary advisor typically supervises doctoral assistants, the head of department often serves as the direct supervisor in many European systems. It clearly outlines your working hours and how they’re allocated. For example:

• X hours for teaching,
• Y hours for administrative tasks or research assistance,
• Z hours protected for your independent research.

Why does it work?

• It clarifies expectations.
• It sets mutual boundaries to avoid last-minute ‘scope creep’ (where tasks gradually expand beyond what was originally agreed)
• It keeps both parties accountable.

When the going gets tough:

If responsibilities begin to spiral or boundaries are ignored, having clearly defined duties can protect you. In such cases, it can be helpful to involve institutional support structures like your staff council, Human Resources, the Dean’s Office, or even the University Rectorate (see duty of care, which refers to the institution’s obligation to ensure fair treatment and well-being).

Importantly, the agreement can also serve as a documented record if you feel the situation is escalating. By forwarding it—along with a log of your working hours—to these entities, you can provide clear evidence of your workload and responsibilities. This not only helps highlight potential overload but also strengthens your case for fair working conditions.