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Dear friends,
Hope this message finds you well. This month I want to share some recent thoughts about how to manage the unexpected things that collide with your best-laid plans. Sometimes an unexpected opportunity comes along- it could be a funding opportunity with a short turn-around, an invitation to give a talk, or a special issue in a high-impact journal that fits with your work. At other times, your bandwidth shrinks, because you or someone in your family is sick or needs you, or maybe a collaborator or staffer leaves and you have to figure out how to get the work done. I struggle with this myself and have made lots of mistakes in trying to reconcile plans with reality. I’ve organized these ideas by timing. For example, what you can do to prevent surprises from breaking your plans, what you can do in the moment, and then how to look ahead when you see that a disruption will be ongoing. I would love to hear more strategies from all of you!
Build in a buffer. Just expect that you will be able to accomplish less in a given week than you “should.” Try making a list at the beginning of the week and crossing one thing off, to ensure that you’re not being too ambitious with your time. I also build in some slack time into my week- several hours on Friday are reserved for catch-up so that I can usually go into the weekend feeling productive. On those weeks when I lose work time because of some random circumstance (like a kid who breaks his braces and needs to see the orthodontist), I can use my Friday time to make sure that I am at least treading water.
Done is better than perfect. If you’re planning out your day and then something happens (in my case, our babysitter called in sick), then honestly look at what you have planned and how you can get something done. For me, I lost the block of time I’d planned to work on my latest grant as well as my much-anticipated long gym session. I could have just canceled both, but instead, I squeezed in a short at-home workout and jotted down some notes. Am I where I wanted to be, either with my grant progress or fitness? Nope. Is something better than nothing? Definitely.
Most things are optional, on a given day. When you look at what you have to do, some things, like cooking dinner, seem mandatory, but really aren’t. If you need to get takeout, it’s OK, even if the ingredients end up being wasted and you’re feeding you family in a less-than-ideal way (sorry, Mom!) for one night. Similarly, did you say you’d send edits to a co-author and then end up stuck with a competing crisis? It’s OK to take longer than you said you would to get it done.
Put everything on the table. Really look at your existing commitments. What are your quarterly goals? Maybe since you’re responding to this cool surprise RFA, you won’t write that other grant you planned. Look at all your roles in life, and ask where there is some flexibility. Also consider whether this unexpected thing is optional. It can be OK to decide that your data may not make it into that special issue but will still find a good, high-impact home. If you have a disruption that will be ongoing, manage expectations across all your life roles.
Ask for help. Maybe you could make that special issue if you had more support. Can you pull someone in as a co-author or ask a colleague or mentor for statistical support? If you’re challenged on the personal front, can you leverage your social support to help you?
Daily crises = inadequate planning. If you feel generally like your work and life are coming at you and it is out of control, stop doing everything right now. You need to take stock of all the demands on your time and make a workable plan. For me, this happens on a periodic basis. Don’t feel bad about it, just pull out your current plan and pull out your metaphorical red pen. Make friends with reality. It isn’t going anywhere.
Intentions are more important than goals. We talked about goals in an earlier email, and I do think having specific goals fosters productivity. Of course, productivity is important, but well-being is more important. So, think beyond goals towards intentions. I think of an intention as the spirit with which I approach one of my roles in life. As an example, I have specific goals for my work, including to secure new funding for the next phase of projects that I am current wrapping up. I also have a general intention for my work, which is “keep it moving.” As long as there is forward progress, however incremental, I feel true to my intention. This helps immensely when I can’t meet my specific goals because of an unexpected obstacle.
Please do share good news and suggested topics for future emails. I look forward to hearing from you!
Warmly,
Urmimala