I joked about my #newyearsresolution a few days ago, but jokes aside, I do have a real #resolution and I think it is worth sharing.
@girls_can Thanks for sharing. Is taking sabbatical an option for you? I am currently finding it very useful to have stepped away physically from my university to think through what to prioritize.
I am still busy in a lot of ways (the lab has to continue on), but it is a great experience.
A key realization I had a few years ago was that with tenure, was that my career should now focus on helping others with their careers.
@DavidLowry I just had my first sabbatical that got extended by a term with an award 😅. I think that contributed to this watershed moment, because I am not coming out of that experience charged up and refreshed. Instead of taking that luxurious year and a third to pause, I just kept ramping up. The admin work and COVID life swallowed most of the time.
@girls_can I had ambitions for a short time to try to write a book during sabbatical, but then reality set in that I had too many commitments to try to pull that off. Maybe I’ll try again when my kids are older.
Probably the best realization for me during sabbatical has been that I like to be busy, but that I don’t need to try to do everything. Everyone has their own right level of being busy with work and figuring that out and trying to maintain at that right level is a challenge.
@DavidLowry Now that I’ll be teaching again, I just don’t see how I can squeeze it all back into a work week. I seem to grow compulsively to fill any available slack with new projects until I’m fit to bursting. I just love starting on new adventures (finishing is a challenge though!), but if I scratch beneath the surface there is also a lurking terror that the well of ideas and funding and students could run dry. I think it’s conditioning from the job market and pre-tenure period
@girls_can Yes, all of this resonates with me. Best of luck.
@girls_can I’m really sorry to hear that. It seems that if you have a large lab and ongoing administrative commitments then sabbatical is still going to be a lot of work. At least that has been the case for me. Being in Australia has helped as I can say no to a lot of meetings because I am sleeping, but then I have just ended up waking up early a lot to take meetings.