Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    College Advising
    Serving Higher Ed
    Chronicle Festival 2025
Sign In
Profhacker Logo

ProfHacker

Teaching, tech, and productivity.

From the Archives: Academic Workspace

By Natalie Houston September 20, 2010

cat on deskOne of the characteristics of academic work is that it is often portable and can occur in a variety of settings.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

cat on deskOne of the characteristics of academic work is that it is often portable and can occur in a variety of settings.

Here are tips and ideas from the ProfHacker archives about the various spaces in which academic work happens. Where to you like to work?

The office

As most of us have returned to the semester’s routine, it seems that offices have been on the ProfHacker mind: Erin asked How is Your Workspace Furnished and George asked an Open Thread question What Does Your Office Door Look Like.

ADVERTISEMENT

I wrote about Organizing Your Teaching Materials, which can often take up a significant amount of space in your office, as Jason points out in What Will You Throw Away Today.

Jason shared a picture of his workspace and linked to those of a few others. Some of our readers joined in the fun and posted pictures to the ProfHacker Flickr group. Of course, if your primary office is at home, you may have more flexibility in choosing furniture or other equipment. Erin’s Effective Summer Planning and The Chalkboard Wall Revisited describe her decision to transform a wall of her home into an extra-large calendar.

If you missed Erin’s end-of-semester tips for office cleaning, why not clean up a little now? It’s not going to get prettier as the semester goes on.

The desk

Heather offered a useful list of standard and personal items in What’s in Your Desk. Erin let us know she keeps a Magic Pencil in hers. You’d probably find some of George’s 5 Analog Tools I Can’t Live Without in his.

The bag

Jason admired George’s wish list for a faculty member’s work bag and asked the question “What’s in your bag?” Billie answered with an annotated photo of the contents of her work bag. You can see George’s bag in his discussion of How to Keep Track of All Those Keys. And Heather responded with What Is Your Bag in which she described her criteria for the perfect academic bookbag.

The commute

George reminds us to Anticipate the Commute with auto maintenance and emergency preparedness. Brian offers Three Ways to Hack Your Commute and Mark tells us about The Long Way Home: Hacking Your Commute When Cars Just Aren’t Enough.

The mobile workspace

Judging from the comments on George’s The coffee shop as workspace, lots of academics frequently work in places other than home or office. We’ve written quite a bit about tools for mobile productivity, including Julie’s On Netbooks, Using Super Smartphones for Productivity, and an Update on Productivity with her phone.

The soundtrack

Billie shared her motivational playlist in What’s on your iPod. Nels describes how he curates The Soundtrack of the Semester and also shared his Theme Song Soundtrack. And of course, Jason would tell you to listen to The Hold Steady.

What’s critical to your academic workspace? Let us know in the comments!

[Creative Commons licensed photo by Flickr user cote]

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Vector illustration of large open scissors  with several workers in seats dangling by white lines
Iced Out
Duke Administrators Accused of Bypassing Shared-Governance Process in Offering Buyouts
Illustration showing money being funnelled into the top of a microscope.
'A New Era'
Higher-Ed Associations Pitch an Alternative to Trump’s Cap on Research Funding
Illustration showing classical columns of various heights, each turning into a stack of coins
Endowment funds
The Nation’s Wealthiest Small Colleges Just Won a Big Tax Exemption
WASHINGTON, DISTICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES - 2025/04/14: A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator holding a sign with Release Mahmud Khalil written on it, stands in front of the ICE building while joining in a protest. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally in front of the ICE building, demanding freedom for Mahmoud Khalil and all those targeted for speaking out against genocide in Palestine. Protesters demand an end to U.S. complicity and solidarity with the resistance in Gaza. (Photo by Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Campus Activism
An Anonymous Group’s List of Purported Critics of Israel Helped Steer a U.S. Crackdown on Student Activists

From The Review

John T. Scopes as he stood before the judges stand and was sentenced, July 2025.
The Review | Essay
100 Years Ago, the Scopes Monkey Trial Discovered Academic Freedom
By John K. Wilson
Vector illustration of a suited man with a pair of scissors for a tie and an American flag button on his lapel.
The Review | Opinion
A Damaging Endowment Tax Crosses the Finish Line
By Phillip Levine
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan keeps his emotions in check during a news conference, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 in Charlottesville. Va. Authorities say three people have been killed and two others were wounded in a shooting at the University of Virginia and a student is in custody. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The Review | Opinion
Jim Ryan’s Resignation Is a Warning
By Robert Zaretsky

Upcoming Events

07-31-Turbulent-Workday_assets v2_Plain.png
Keeping Your Institution Moving Forward in Turbulent Times
Ascendium_Housing_Plain.png
What It Really Takes to Serve Students’ Basic Needs: Housing
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin