Summing up the work year 2025

I have just summed up my work year in 2025 based on my log of working hours. 2025 was my second shortest work year in living memory (with my work log going back to 2009), with an average work week of 46,2 hours all weeks in the year included. This amounts to 2409 work hours, which compares to 143% of an ordinary work year. 

This year I also summed up my work/life balance, focused on sleeplessness, karate training and meditation.

Overall, the work year was characterized by making room for finishing the manuscript for my book originally titled Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement and now titled Carbon Capture and the Future of Environmentalism. I so did, in early August 2025. In my work log, this is reflected in the fact that book projects had the highest share of total work on record, and ended up as the largest category of work for the first time. Moreover, the share of my work time I spent on research plus book projects was the highest ever. Book projects was also the category whose share of all work hours increased the most from 2024. 

See also:

Summing up the work year 2022

2024: Shortest work year in living memory, at "only" 138% of normal work year

2024: Shortest work year in living memory, at "only" 138% of normal work year

I have just summed up my work year in 2024 based on my log of working hours. 2024 stands out as the shortest work year in living memory (with my work log going back to 2009), with an average work week of 44,7 hours all weeks in the year included. This amounts to 2335,5 work hours, which compares to 138% of an ordinary work year. I worked 180 hours less than in 2023, which was at that point my shortest work year in living memory. This has contributed to a better work/life balance, with more time for karate training and relaxation; since the summer of 2024 I have also taken up daily meditation. And I still got quite a bit done in my working hours - though I got to attend fewer international scientific conferences in person than I´ve been used to, due to budget cuts at University of Stavanger.

Even though it went down from 2023, the share of my work time I spent on research in 2024 was the second-highest in living memory (after 2023). Similarly, the share of my work time I spent on research plus book projects was the second-highest ever, after 2023. Research was the largest category in terms of work hours in 30 weeks, vs. 17 for teaching, supervision and grading etc., and 6 for book projects. Book projects was the category whose share of all work hours increased the most from 2023, in result of my prioritisation of getting Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement finished by Summer 2025.

The work year 2023 by work hours

I have just finished reviewing the work year 2023 in terms of work hours logged. The year stands out as the shortest work year in recorded history, with 2.518,5 work hours logged, which amounts to 48,3 hours per week in average (holidays not subtracted), or 149% of a normal work year. In comparison, my average work week in 2009-2022 was in the range of 50,8-62,0 hours per week.

Among other key developments, the share of my work time I spent on "research" was record-high, at 41,4%, as was "research" and "literature" (e.g. book projects) combined, at 55,3%. "Research" was what I spent most time on in 36 weeks, while I spent most time on "UIS" 14 weeks. Of book projects, I spent the most time on Utslippsfrie nye verden? in the 1st tertial, Regnskap in the 2nd tertial, and Captured in the 3rd tertial. 

See also:

The academic year 2023 in review

Summing up 2021 in terms of work hours

In 2021, I logged 3.114 work hours. This compares to an average work week of 59,7 work hours (holidays included).  This is my third-longest work week ever, beaten only by 2011 (when I finished my ph.d.) and 2012 (my first year as an associate professor and about the time up until I became a father), and compares to 184,5% of a normal work week.

Other highlights: As expected, the category "UIS" increased the most and reached record levels, while research and book projects had a significant decline. Also the broad category "academic" reached a record level, at the cost of literary projects and "other tasks".

2020 work year redux

In 2020 I logged 2.790,5 work hours. This corresponds to 169% of a normal work year, and is the least I have worked since 2013, the first full year that I was a father. This was due to a combination of covid-19 circumstances and a month´s sick leave. My average work week was 53,4 hours, 5,5 hours less than in 2019.

I spent the most time on University of Stavanger tasks, ahead of research and "litterært" (book projects). The share of UIS tasks and "litterært" were both the highest in recorded memory (which goes back to 2009).

Summary of work year 2019

In 2019 I ligged 3.073,5 work hours, which is 186% of the normal work year in Norway. My work week was on average 58,9 hours, up 2 hours from 2018 and up 4 hours from 2017. This is my longest average work week since 2012, and in other words my longest work week/year since I became a father.

About 31% of this time was spent on research, down 3% from 2017. Work with book-long texts was stable. UIS work (primarily as Vice-Dean of Research) was largest category, with 32% (+9%). I spent less time than ever on "other tasks" (4%); 77% on academic work; 19% on literary projects.

New, healthier email routine off-work

Since work this autumn commenced after the summer holidays, I have had a new afternoon routine, in-between getting home from work and putting kids to bed, not checking email in this period. On days where I write on my novel, or write (only) on my climate change book in the evening, nor do I check email in the evening, meaning that these days I do not check email between 4.30 pm and next morning.

Work hours logged in 2018

In 2018 I logged some 2955,5 work hours. This results in a weekly all-year average of 56,7 hours - the most since 2012 (when I became a father). 

The most significant repriorization concerned quitting elected positions in the Green Party of Norway, bringing time spent on research back to normal, and spending more time on book projects than ever before in the time covered (starting with 2009) - namely 20% of my work hours. I have also spent slightly more time on my role as Editor-in-Chief of Biosemiotics, after I took over as Main EiC this last summer.