Well. Thus far, this week is turning out to be actually . . . okay! My parents have been SUPER helpful and it has been fun getting to spend time with them each evening. Call also hasn’t been tooooooo bad, compared to my last couple of weeks which were just jam-packed. I am somewhat behind at work (all it takes is a day or two off, and I end up in a hole which can last a week) but have remained calm about it. Today I hope to catch up — and if not today, there’s always the weekend.
I am so inspired by Laura Vanderkam finishing a year of time logs! I have trouble doing this for even more than one day. One thing I am struggling with currently is the competition of urgent vs important, especially at work (but probably in other areas of life as well). I find that learning/thinking time, and even more long-term project time always seems to get the shaft in my work day, simply crowded out by patient volume and tasks like returning phone calls and renewing RXs and dealing with (at times, mind-numbing) logistics. This is particularly difficult lately because of my role in our up and coming residency program*. I think I am really going to have to figure out how to protect my time and advocate for myself in the coming months . . . any tips are welcome.
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On another note, here are two music picks from me today:
1) Kurt Vile, “Pretty Pimpin”
This song is just haunting to me.
2) Kacey Muscgraves, “Biscuits”
Okay, so I’m late to the party (which happens to be one of her song titles!) with this artist. In my defense, I don’t listen to much country so she just wasn’t on my radar.
She has such as silky voice and clever lyrics — I could listen to her all day.
Music suggestions? Who else am I missing out on because of not listening to a specific genre (country / R&B / ??)
* yet to be officially ACGME approved, but hopefully soon!
6 Comments
Hmm I hadn’t heard that Kurt Vile song before (and actually that’s a new artist to me!). I think our musical tastes tend the same way – something I’m really into right now is the Discovery Weekly Playlist on Spotify every week. Some weeks it is perfect, others I get three covers of a random song. My favorite song of the moment is "Genghis Kahn" by Miike Snow.
Unfortunately I don’t listen to a lot of country or R&B these days but I always enjoy Florida Georgia Line.
Very random, but a friend recently introduced me to some of One Direction’s better songs. I’m not normally a boy band (or generic pop, really) fan at all, but some of their non-singles are really good and much more rockband-ish! Try "Through the Dark" for a very Mumford & Sons sound, "Fireproof" for a Fleetwood Mac tribute, or "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "Stockholm Syndrome" if you like 80s music.
The same friend also introduced me to a very intriguing conspiracy theory with 1D called "Larry Stylinson," but I suspect that would be less up your alley! 🙂
Country is my favourite. A very similar Kacey Musgraves song is "Follow Your Arrow". I have a feeling our musical tastes are quite different, but try "Where It All Begins" by Hunter Hayes/Lady Antebellum. And have you heard of Dave Barnes? He’s another amazing singer-songwriter.
My husband doesn’t work in medicine but he does have A LOT of problems in his work place like you described. The phone calls, meetings that carried on extra long, dealing with the needs and questions of the people he supervises, bosses that vastly underestimate how long tasks can take etc, can get in the way of his long/medium term projects. The only thing he’s been able to do during the work day is shut him self up in his office a couple times a week, even if for only 20-30 minutes with the understanding that unless 911 is involved he’s not to be bothered.
Something else he occasionally does is to go into work extra early, before anyone else. He says it can be calming to start out as the only person in the office and get some work or organizing done before the chaos starts.
And then unfortunately, there’s the "if you can’t get it accomplished at work, do it at home" option. Which sucks, but can sometimes feel more productive.
Thanks for mentioning my time log project! It was something but I’m glad I did it. I enjoyed looking back through the year on an hour-by-hour basis.
Interruptions are the bane of just about everyone’s workplace existence — at least in medicine there are often actual emergencies, as opposed to the stuff people deem urgent in the average office.
My schedule is relatively chill compared with yours, but I found I was often carving out time during "non traditional" work hours for big projects: on a train ride or plane ride, one week night a week, or during time on weekends when my husband or a sitter had the kids. Since I often was covering kid stuff that came up during the week, I figured it all came out in the wash, and since it was "extra" time in my mind it was easier to devote to "extra" stuff.
Those are really nice songs, I must say! Kacey Muscgraves definitely has a silky voice that everyone will love. Thanks for sharing!