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Dear friends,
Lately I have had a number of conversations about how to manage transitions. For the parents on this list, our kids are entering a new grade and perhaps a new school this year, and many of us have new roles ramping up at work as well. Here at ZSFG, we’ve had a massively disruptive innovation: implementation of a new electronic health record, EPIC. At this time of year, change is in the air, and it can test our resilience.
A number of my mentees have recently talked with me about feeling overwhelmed or unproductive. To them and to you, I say – this is normal! My experience is that every 3 years or so during my academic career, as my work has changed, my strategies to manage my work and life have stopped working. Every time, I don’t realize I need some new approaches until I am already feeling stressed and behind. If you’re starting a new career stage (as a new faculty member, a new fellow, a new associate professor, for example) or even at a point where you need to think about the next stage, then it is time to rethink your daily work. Below I have a series of questions that I hope will prompt some productive reflection. I’m not laying out a ten-point, ordered action plan. Rather, I believe you will read this email and recognize which of these suggestions will be most helpful for you.
Self-reflection is a useful starting point. Has your professional mission changed? Your professional mission is the reason you do your work instead of something else. Most people feel invigorated when they write out their professional mission, and if that is no longer the case for you, it’s worth the time to write out a new mission statement or draw a new conceptual model of yourself. Re-examine your professional priorities. Your priorities help you decide what to do with your time. As an example, my priorities at work are: (1) move my funded projects forward; (2) move my mentees’ work and careers forward; (3) seek future funding; (4) seek leadership opportunities; (5) academic altruism.
Data collection is the backbone of change. Track your time for a week. I talked about time-tracking in a prior post, and author Laura Vanderkam’s website has time-tracking spreadsheets in variety of formats to get you started. Now, the important part: for each work activity you tracked, write down which of your priorities it represents. This allows you to see if your stated priorities and your time investment match up. For example, if you prioritize moving your current projects forward but are spending all your time writing grants, it is time to discuss the mismatch with a mentor, a trusted colleague, and your team, and realign.
Now it’s time to make a plan. Based on your re-vamped mission and priorities, knowing how you need to spend your time, consider planning a 12-week sprint. My team has been doing this for almost two years, and it has vastly enhanced our productivity compared to when we did annual planning. I find that fewer things fall off the radar when we use a shorter timeline.
I love to amplify your work with my circle and via social media. Don’t forget to share your accomplishments so I can brag! Finally, if you know anyone who would like these posts, they can sign up here at the bottom of the page to receive the monthly messages. We don’t share your email addresses at all, of course. Thank you for reading!
Warmly,
Urmimala