Vol. 8 - Writing, uh, finds a way
Stomach bugs derail my plans for a productive week, but reminds me that there is value in putting things into perspective.
Last week was reading week, and I really wanted to take some time to unpack some thoughts about outreach, the ways we expect scientists to do it, and the assumptions we make when we use it as a tool for assessment.
Then one of the kids started throwing up.
Then another.
And then another.
Stomach bugs are fun like that.
What was supposed to be a chill week of family activities, and some time to write and catch-up, turned out into a days-long session of emergency laundries and pedialyte. And what was supposed to be a reasonably coherent (and deeply personal) post about outreach is turning into... this.
It's 9pm on a Sunday, I'm sitting on the couch between two laundry baskets, and I have decided to use 30 minutes out of the three hours of work time this week to unpack... some sort of lesson?
An entire section about the lab values is dedicated to the fact that many situations in which we feel the need to apologize, rarely require an apology - because they are not faults. Sometimes, life finds a way to disrupt the most carefully crafted plans, and we can't expect anyone to ignore this (I have this conversation with students several times every term).
Losing a week of potential work seems like a lot when we're right in the middle of it, and this is why putting it into perspective is so important. It's not a whole week: it's one twentieth of a percent of a thirty-years career. It's such an insignificant amount of time.
Time management as an academic can be difficult, precisely because we are overwhelmed with dozens of daily tasks and obligations. But there's always something more important that can push them aside for a while. Sometimes time management is not about management: it's about perspective.
Accepting that I can't time manage my way through every situation is a work in progress. Taking a few minutes this week to write this is maybe a little act of rebellion, a way to assert a little bit of control before a new week starts.
And with all that said, stay tuned for Vol. 9 next week, where I will (for real, this time) Have Opinions about outreach (and why it is over-rated).