Post-Tenure Life, Entry 3 - Letting Go of the Tenure Grind Mentality

There’s a strange thing that happens after you get tenure: your body stops sprinting, but your brain doesn’t get the memo.

I still wake up thinking I’m behind. Behind on writing. Behind on reviewing. Behind on replying to that email from three weeks ago (okay, fair, I am behind on that one). Tenure is supposed to be the permission slip to breathe. But what no one told me is that the grind mentality doesn’t just dissolve when you sign your new contract.

Letting go of the grind means confronting some deep-rooted beliefs: that worth = productivity. That success = constantly chasing the next thing. Sound familiar?

But here’s the truth: I didn’t go through all those years of performance reviews, teaching dossiers, and peer-reviewed purgatory just to keep hustling like I’ve got something to prove.

So, I’m learning to let go. Slowly. I’m practicing delight over deadlines. I’m saying no without writing a 400-word apology email. I’m making time for the things that don’t “count” on my CV but count deeply in my life—like mentoring students with intention, daydreaming about future projects, and remembering what it feels like to write because I want to, not because I have to.

The grind got me tenure. But it won’t get me joy.

And post-tenure? I choose joy.