I had a research advisor explain that the timesheets are a formality if you are productive: You might mentally write your abstract in the shower, think about th

I had a research advisor explain that the timesheets are a formality if you are productive: You might mentally write your abstract in the shower, think about the research problem in the bus, get distracted while you're in the lab, rehearse parts of a talk with a friend between classes... Which of these counts as work time? One of my favorite professors came in only on Fridays (except when the department would meet). They met with the research group, taught, had office hours, and then went home. I don't think they did nothing the other 6 days, but they also never sacrificed mental health for the sake of appearing busy.