A simple metaphor for time and capacity management.

As an established researcher, the challenge is rarely a lack of opportunity. It is managing too many meaningful, worthwhile requests within finite time and energy. Advice to “just say no” often feels unrealistic given the relational, reputational, and leadership dimensions of academic work.

The Ferris wheel offers a practical way to think about capacity.

Imagine yourself as the Ferris wheel operator. You are responsible for a ride with a fixed number of carriages. Each carriage has a clear capacity. Once they are full, adding more people isn’t generous or helpful. It’s unsafe, uncomfortable, and leads to a poor experience for everyone already on board.

Overfilled Ferris wheels are often the result of saying yes to things you genuinely want to do: interesting projects, good collaborators, work that matters. This metaphor isn’t about disengagement. It’s about realism, including recognising that sometimes you have to say no even to opportunities you value. (This links closely to the idea of fishing sustainably from a river: you have to let some fish go).

A good operator doesn’t overpromise when the wheel is full. They explain the risks of boarding and the wait time, allowing passengers to decide whether to queue or choose another attraction.

Applied to academic life, saying yes without capacity carries risk:

• to your own sustainability and wellbeing
• to the example you set for your team/ colleagues
• to collaborators who may not receive your best time or thinking

Often, a clear “not now” is kinder than a promise you can’t realistically deliver.

Keep a spare carriage
Many experienced researchers deliberately keep one carriage empty. This represents blocked diary time for work that runs over, unexpected issues, or genuinely high-priority requests.

Create a VIP lane
Not all passengers are equal. Some people or projects matter more at particular moments. Keeping flexibility allows you to respond without destabilising everything else.

Build capacity deliberately
Recruiting staff or expanding your group is like adding extra carriages. This increases capacity over time, but it also creates new demands. Future capacity can’t be spent before it exists.

Know how big the carriage is
If you don’t know how much space a request will take, ask good questions. Clarify what “done” means, where the hidden work sits, and who else is involved. Past projects are your best data.

In a related Nature article, The Thesis Whisperer describes tracking tasks so she can make realistic decisions about future commitments. If you dislike working evenings or weekends, simple time-tracking tools (including those discussed in the article) can help turn instinct into evidence.

For established researchers, capacity management is not just self-care. It is leadership.