buckling down
this is a total working weekend for me. at least i’m not the only one! it’s crunch time for lot of students out there, and anyone who has year-end deadlines.
i am actually thrilled to see it looming so close! i want to be done.
we have an endocrine service chock full of new diabetics (they always seem to come in waves!), so this weekend is going to be pretty much devoted to just . . . work.
but i refuse to be miserable.
✔ i am still going to fit in workouts & a sunday long run (accompanied by my buddy the pager, of course)
✔ i am going to enjoy the feeling of wrapping up a HUGE project. while it is by no means a perfect submission (ie: i do not anticipate that i will actually GET this grant), it was a) a good effort and b) a great learning experience, in terms of project management in addition to the science itself.
✔ i am going to maintain unwavering calm while rounding in the hospital and on the phone. stevo: i will practice pager zen!
✔ i am not going to worry about what everyone else is doing. luckily, i am old and no longer really care how much the cool kids are partying tonight. i can have a grand old time with a mug of tea, 15 assorted word document drafts, and giant grant binder.
some nerd-spiration
katie thoughtfully sent me this guide on how to fit hard thinking into a busy schedule, which is exactly what made working on this grant so difficult. i found the advice spot-on.
this led me to checking out the rest of the study hacks website — what an amazing collection of articles and resources! i wish i had gotten to read something like this while i was still truly a student, although i feel like over the years i have honed similar strategies in parallel (convergent evolution?), just with my own style.
i absolutely ADORE cal newport’s philosophy — and support his belief that it does not take sleep deprivation or sacrifice of the things you love in order to achieve success.
i will write more on some of the specifics that i found particularly inspiring, but if you are holed up in nerd-ville this weekend like i am, check out a few of these excellent posts:
■ building an auto-pilot schedule
■ follow a sunday ritual (i totally already have a sunday ritual — i’ll write about it in more detail in another post).
■ the value of hard focus . . . in which cal quotes my beloved murakami.
■ fixed schedule productivity definitely translates to both the medical and science worlds. it is amazing how much some get done in a defined time frame . . . and how other seem to compulsively crave the feel that they are ‘achieving’ just by spending an excessive amount of time at work.
happy saturday, whether you are spending it on a louge chair or at a desk!
6 Comments