Dear friends,
Does it feel like spring yet? I’m writing this on yet another cold and rainy day, cheering myself up with a cup of tea and wildflower daydreams. I hope April brings sunshine to all of us!
Understanding that we as humans have seasonal rhythms, and taking these into account, has made me both happier and more productive. The pace of work slows down in summer to accommodate vacations, social gatherings, and weather that lures us away from our desks. Instead of setting goals that don’t match this reality, I suggest a work retreat.
How are you? It’s been a long, hard pandemic slog, but June- Pride month- is great time to find our optimism. As a Gen Xer, I’ve seen a revolution in my lifetime in how we think about our LGBTQIA friends, neighbors, and colleagues, and it gives me hope that we can make progress towards racial and gender justice. I’m starting to feel like I can see my way through the fog of the past 15 months, and it’s a good time to take stock.
This month’s topic was inspired by a mentee question about managing simultaneous deadlines. What do you do when you have multiple papers and a grant to push out the door? How do you efficiently work on more than one writing project? The more senior you become, the more critical it is to master this way of working. I don’t have a perfect solution, but I can share a few strategies.
March was a tough month, wasn’t it? This month I want to talk about time away from work. Whether it’s for parental leave or sudden family needs of a less joyful nature, time away can cause stress for the person who taking time off, their colleagues, staff, and mentors. My underlying assumptions: (1) People experience life events in very different ways; (2) It is not a job requirement to have exemplary coping skills/ resilience in the face of life challenges, let alone personal tragedy.
Dear friends,
It’s rainy, cold, and gray as I look out the window of my home office, and I find myself searching vainly for some inner sunshine. I expect I am not the only one looking forward to longer, warmer days! I hope this March finds you thriving, or at least getting by. The title of this month’s post comes from a saying in Bengali, my first language, which translates to, “If you do people favors, you’ll be eaten by tigers.” Let me tell you the story that brought this colorful expression to mind.
Hope the cold dark winter days find you warm, cozy, and safe! I find the month of December to be particularly challenging, as everyone tries to clear their to-do list before taking a break. Over the years I have tried several strategies to mitigate this year-end game of hot potato. Here are three practical ideas: (1) block off some work time pre-vacation; (2) put your auto-reply up a couple of days in advance of leaving this office; (3) set a turn-around time with your team and collaborators (e.g., any requests I receive after December 12th will be addressed in the new year.)
Dear friends,
Well, the new (school) year is here, and it’s time for fresh starts and new ideas! Wishing you well as work picks up after the summer. I recently took on a new role at work, leading a successful program with a long and illustrious history. I’ve been really excited about this new gig, partly because I think the best time to make change is when things are going well. When we decide not to fix things because they’re not broken, we fail to reach our potential.
Dear friends,
Hope you’re enjoying the last long days of summer! I am in that pre-vacation rush, fighting to get as much done as possible before I leave. I’m going on a hiking trip, and I have been training for the last couple of months to get ready physically. In increasing the duration and intensity of my exercise, I had two realizations that apply to intellectual work as well.
Dear friends,
Hope this message finds you being kind to yourself amid all the tumult in the world right now. Can you believe 2023 is half over? I find myself thinking that time is too short to spend on trivialities. Let’s keep committing to the work we are called to do, every day, in the second half of 2023.
Dear friends,
Summertime is here! Can you believe it? For a minute there I wasn't sure I would make it through the always-hectic month of May. I hope all of you have time away planned this summer. I've written before about how important it is to pay attention to, and align our work plans with, seasonal rhythms that affect our body and mind.
May is upon us, and it’s still raining in San Francisco! The weather is reflecting my mood as I am still trying to shake off the cold, dark, long winter. I hope all of you are embracing spring and seeing some wildflowers. My recent travel to the American College of Physicians meeting last week inspired this post. At the meeting, I had informal and impromptu discussions with two midcareer physicians who are interested in working at UCSF.
How are you? I am looking optimistically towards spring, and I hope you are too. This month I am going to talk about buying towels. Not kidding! I promise there’s a career lesson in my recent quest for new linens. In discussing this purchase with my spouse (scintillating conversations in my house, I know!), he suggested that it would be more efficient to buy towels online. While I saw his point, the idea of sitting down in front of my computer to search made my heart sink. Our contrasting approaches made me want to dig deeper.
Here we are, February 2023. I am sending solidarity to all of you as we contemplate mass shootings, anti-Asian hate, and the terrible police-perpetrated murder of Tyre Nichols, among other injustices and crises. There are no words- just remember that you are not alone. Reach out to me anytime, be kind to each other, and be patient with yourself. Everything going on in the world continues to make it hard to focus on work.
I hope all of you had an opportunity to take a break at the end of 2022 and are as well as possible. This time of year, with cold weather and short days, can feel challenging. For me, it is not a natural time to make resolutions or feel motivated. I feel out of sync with the culture- everyone is packing the gym or setting out to maintain their daily meditation streak, and I just want to read in bed with a cup of tea.
It’s December, and if your workplace is anything like mine, everyone is scrambling to meet year-end deadlines and hand over work to colleagues before heading out to winter break. In past years I have tried to manage this increased workload and stress by asking mentees to send me work earlier in December, by blocking off meeting-free time, and by planning way ahead for time-consuming holiday tasks like addressing Christmas cards. This year, I am opting out. I recently read Rest is Resistance, by Tricia Hersey, and it has given me a new understanding about incessant work demands.
