A fine balance between research and teaching is very important for educators, enhancing both professional growth and academic quality. Strategic time management and integrating research into teaching can help overcome the challenge of limited time.

En mi experiencia la actividad docente y la investigación no se contraponen. Al contrario, se armonizan. He desarrollado una forma de trabajo que establece núcleos concordantes que se retroalimentan entre sí. Elementos de la actividad docente contribuyen con la investigación y ésta enriquece la docencia. Esta dinámica se ha nutrido, además, con el intercambio permanente con profesionales de otras disciplinas, quienes aportan perspectivas que contribuyen con mi actividad académica. El intercambio contribuye a encontrar elementos tanto para la docencia como para la investigación que, algunas veces, no conseguimos en nuestro quehacer en solitario.

Balancing research and teaching can be a daunting task. Disharmony between the two can be stressful. It's crucial to have an elaborate plan, well structured approach, or a thoughtful schedule to prevent burnout, which can sap your energy and make you feel demotivated. Make a list of tasks and prioritise them on the basis of importance and urgency. Use time management skills. Ensure research and teaching tasks don't overlap. Allocate time blocks for both. You can use digital tools and apps to minimise workload. By assigning less critical or repetitive teaching tasks to your colleagues you can save chunks of time for research.

Establish specific time blocks for teaching prep, research, and personal downtime. Knowing there’s a structured time for each task can reduce stress and prevent the feeling of constantly “juggling.” Try to cluster related tasks like grading or responding to emails so you can focus on research or teaching without constant interruptions.

I personally find conducting research a really excellent way in which to teach. Students need concrete methods and modalities to understand and then process information. I find it incredibly rewarding to share my research with my students.

I can speak to research and teaching within the performing arts field. I’ve found it both possible and helpful to have the two areas feed into and inform each other. For example, creating an original musical (as my research) and workshopping it with a student cast (as part of the curriculum) was mutually beneficial to me as the researcher, to me as a curriculum creator, and to the students as performers and learners.

Knowing your boundaries and priorities is key to balancing research and teaching. If you, like me, found teaching more rewarding and interesting than research, do not be afraid about saying so. Higher education institutions place too much weight to research as a career determiner. If you enjoy more an activity over the other, do dare to say so. Publishing might be personally rewarding, but teaching is far more useful to society, as it spreads knowledge far more widely than a published paper would ever do on its own.