Why not š ?
1- On call things. My call week will end on Tuesday morning, and I am actually rather proud of my (relatively) positive attitude through this week. Even if I did not try classical conditioning with chocolate chips every time my pager app goes off (though it is still tempting). My attitude may have been buoyed by a rather light census (and copious child care!), but still! Progress.
Once I get to Tuesday I will have no overnight or weekend call until FEBRUARY! This is a longer gap than most of my maternity leaves. This magic is happening because I was relatively front-loaded in the year, and also because next year my call is going to be proportional to my clinical role. The kids (Annabel in particular) are happy about this.
2- Half marathon training has officially begun — today I snuck in a 6 mile long run before rounding in the hospital. It was . . . hot and humid. I am looking forward to December. I do enjoy the challenge of increasing mileage again, though. I think a half is the perfect distance for me right now. Once a year, anyway.
3- Weekly review. I spent ~90 minutes this morning clearing the decks. (I also have determined that the HOME weekly review can be separate from the WORK weekly review, but for optimal effect they both need to happen weekly!). I can’t overestimate how good it feels to know exactly what is on my plate and what is up ahead. I do not do as much axe-sharpening as this guy (Trent Hamm // The Simple Dollar) — but I sort of get it. Regular reflection and review pays off in dividends and the resulting mental freedom feels so much nicer, too.
4- On that note, I am considering using November as a NaBoProMo – ie, a month-long push to work on my book proposal! I have had ideas for a planning-focused book on my mind for years now, and I’d like to start moving towards . . . well, actually writing it! I have a (draft) chapter list in rough outline form, and much of what I want to say has already been said here on the blog — in one form or another. If I had time to post here daily in September, I could probably do 30 minutes of focused drafting time in November. I will keep you all posted!
5- LINKS
Two versions of a perfect day by Leanne Sowul (I love thinking about perfect days . . . and also perfect weeks, months, and beyond. Of course perfection isn’t achievable, but how do you know what you are shooting for if you don’t think about it!?)
Physician on Fire’s take on spending money on happiness. I agree with some of this. Not sure about #8, though!
Trent Hamm’s article on goal-oriented planners. (My favorite that I tried out last year – Tonya Dalton’s Inkwell Press Goal-Setting Inserts)
One of you commented and mentioned Denaye Barahona at Simple Families. I listened to her podcast on my run this morning and really enjoyed a few of the episodes (and am motivated to cull our toy collection — again. SIGH). I did NOT however have any envy when she described her family’s trip to Greece – literally sounded like my personal version of hell. To each their own š
Happy weekend!
10 Comments
The thing I thought was strange about the Physician on FIRE article was how in #1 he said he values experiences over things… which is why he doesn’t have a dining room table. The FIRE movement has jumped the shark for me if a kitchen table is considered a luxury consumer good. I mean, what does he do? Eat on the floor? The couch?
Maybe I’m just annoyed generally by the whole “buy experiences, not things” line. I’d love to buy more experiences, but instead I have to buy *things* like a place to live, a new starter for the car, a new water pump for the washing machine, childcare, milk, more milk, and contributions to the latest financial need at the preschool or elementary school. Argh.
PS – Good luck on the half marathon training. I’m planning on running one at the beginning of December and am crossing all my fingers and toes for cooler, less humid weather soon!
I am definitely not above per-patient bribery – sometimes peanut M&Ms is how I survive the last 2 hours of night shift. Loved your half plan – Iām stealing the mileage progression for my return-to-half – thanks for sharing! Iād love to do the speed work but Iām just trying not to walk right now. š¬ Good luck on the remaining few days of call!
I 100% treat myself, in general, while on call š My favorites are starbucks baked goods (usually 1 or 2 mornings) and the occasional ice cream treat. I feel completely entitled!
Thank you for the feature, Dr. SHU and for the comment, Chelsea.
The linked post was written by Dr. Dahle, the White Coat Investor and reposted with an introduction by me, Dr. Dahleen a.k.a. Physician on FIRE. Confusing, I know.
Personally, we do have a dining room table and have always made dining together as a family a priority. It’s made of solid wood, part of the Lane Acclaim collection from the 1960s and it matches a hutch, end tables, and coffee tables that we’ve collected.
The Dahles were apparently without one for a while, but eventually they bought an expensive solid cherry dining set. If you follow the link on the article, it leads to his “loosening the purse strings” post in which he details it. I’ve sat at the table a couple of times — it’s quite nice! But personally, I cannot imagine dropping 5 figures on a dining room set.
I’m not sure about #8, either. I think the point is that certain products are popular for a reason (high quality or good value), but following the herd doesn’t always end well.
Cheers!
-PoF
Hi and thank you! We are actually in the IKEA camp — maybe not the most common for a 2-physician couple, but I’m quite content with it. Furniture/decor/home is an area I am naturally quite frugal in š (But having no table at all is a bit beyond my level!!). I don’t think I will ever spend 5 figures on any furniture piece. Probably ever š
I am dying to read a more comprehensive description/explanation/how-to of your planning process! Totally agree with what you said about setting aside 30min a day to work on the proposal — I think you can do it! Rooting for you in getting this done in November/soon. š
I wonder if you’d consider updating your blogroll on the right. I love the links you share here weekly and you obviously have a great list of blogs you visit regularly. Would love to have some more personal / in-depth blogs to read – am feeling a bit stagnant with the blogs I go to on a regular basis and I know there’s great stuff out there!
good idea – will work on that at some point!
Sarah, thank you for linking to my post! It was part of my week-long blog challenge which (I’m now admitting) was inspired by your month-long challenge. It’s fun to write every day when we can. Good luck with the book proposal!
Iād love to see what pre set up you do for your planner at this stage, would be a great post for us planner lovers!