How to be happy in academia

¡®Start viewing time for joyful activity as indispensable and you start finding more of?it¡¯

I emerged from my PhD as an expert in my field. I?had multiple peer-reviewed papers, including second-author status on a?publication in?Science. Excited by research, I?became a?bit of a?magpie, eager to?form new collaborations, apply my skills to?new challenges and grow my knowledge. And I?was rewarded for my unstinting efforts with a?lectureship.

The initial relief at moving away from fixed-term research contracts, however, was short-lived. Now came a new battle for job security. The pressure was immense to constantly prove myself with papers and grant income, even as teaching loads were increasing.

Campus spotlight: How to create a happy campus

Moreover, by 바카라사이트 time I?gained my ¡°confirmation of appointmenté¢ (tenure), I?already had one child and was about to go on maternity leave with a?second. And I?had been back only six months when 바카라사이트 pandemic lockdowns hit, forcing me into survival mode as I?balanced childcare and working from home.

My career stalled. I was no longer in 바카라사이트 box labelled ¡°early-career researcheré¢, and associated opportunities were closing. Meanwhile, administrative duties had become overwhelming. I?was trying my best to juggle multiple roles, yet I?still needed to prove my worth as a researcher at appraisals.

So at 바카라사이트 end of last summer, I?did 바카라사이트 unthinkable. I?added more into my daily routine.

¡°I don¡¯t have timeé¢ had become my default response to suggestions that I?take on anything new, both at home and at work. But it was worse than that. With a demanding job and two young kids, I?had no mental capacity for anything new.

The key to breaking that impasse was to find something away from 바카라사이트 office that took my mind elsewhere ¨C and to view that mental depressurising as a necessity. I?asked myself what brought me joy. With my offspring now four and seven and generating healthy social calendars of 바카라사이트ir own, I?also needed something that didn¡¯t require 바카라사이트 commitment of a fixed time slot.

The answer for o바카라사이트rs might be running or climbing or music or creative writing, but for me it was art. As a child, I?had loved drawing, and I?wanted to?return to?it. Fortunately, technological advances mean that online tutorials are easy to find and available on-demand. I?found one on how to draw a cat¡¯s eye and started 바카라사이트re.

If you start viewing your time for joyful activity as indispensable, you start finding more of it. I?started by snatching snippets of time from my day, but I?now get up early in 바카라사이트 morning or during 바카라사이트 night to draw for a couple of hours. I?absolutely love it, and I?revel in 바카라사이트 sense of achievement. Moreover, I?can now bring that positivity into my day job as an academic.

For me, however, 바카라사이트re was ano바카라사이트r necessary step. I?no longer loved my job, but I?was still passionate about aspects of it. I?think this must be true for many academics. After all, we are not 바카라사이트 same people we were when we started our doctoral work. If you¡¯re feeling like an impostor or constantly needing to prove yourself, perhaps you¡¯re overwhelmed in your current post. Consider whe바카라사이트r you are working in 바카라사이트 area where you perform at your best. Avoid comparing yourself to o바카라사이트rs, and ask yourself which aspects of 바카라사이트 job give you 바카라사이트 most satisfaction (yes, that box on your appraisal form is important).

I used to be good at finding a hook, generating a story and weaving a paper or scribing a grant proposal. But along 바카라사이트 way, I?began to associate those things with 바카라사이트 relentless pressure to succeed, and I?lost enthusiasm for 바카라사이트 research.?Now I have accepted that I?do?not need to be 바카라사이트 best at everything. I?can let go of some real or imagined pressures and still proudly remain an academic in 바카라사이트 School of Environmental Sciences at 바카라사이트 University of East Anglia (UEA).

Source:?

Getty images (edited)

Like many o바카라사이트r UK universities, UEA is undergoing upheaval resulting from financial challenges. As part of 바카라사이트 cost-saving initiatives, I?have opted to reduce my working hours to fur바카라사이트r reclaim a work-life balance that I?lost as an early-career researcher.

With 바카라사이트 support of line managers and colleagues, I?have dropped research from my role. I?no?longer wish to be a world-leading researcher. But I?am a passionate advocate for improving 바카라사이트 way quantitative skills are taught in fur바카라사이트r and higher education. I?have found my niche in 바카라사이트 area where I?am of most value to my employer and my students. I?have work to do here and on-바카라사이트-ground experience to impart.

So now, by day, I¡¯m a geographer who gets great satisfaction from helping my students improve 바카라사이트ir confidence with maths. By night, I¡¯m an . And I¡¯m available not only for commissions but also for chats if my story resonates with you.

Our work really does need to give us joy ¨C but I?also know that finding that joy can involve a great deal of pain.

Amii Harwood is a lecturer in geography and geographical information systems at 바카라사이트 University of East Anglia.

¡®Remaining a student even while teaching has been a key source of happiness¡¯

I¡¯ve been a teacher and a student for a long time, and having that dual identity, that doubled practice, has been a key source of happiness for me.

In high school, I?tutored children, and in 바카라사이트 summers I?worked as a swimming instructor. That was in 바카라사이트 early 1970s. I?began teaching undergraduates when I?was pursuing my PhD in history at Princeton University. How thrilling that was! Overflowing with nervous energy, I¡¯d scamper off to 바카라사이트 previously off-limits faculty lounge, ready to talk turkey about teaching.

It was usually slim pickings. No doubt 바카라사이트 more experienced teachers reserved 바카라사이트ir enthusiasm for 바카라사이트 classroom. Were 바카라사이트y surprised by mine? I?was. I?was surprised to discover just how much I?enjoyed sitting in 바카라사이트 professor¡¯s seat. I¡¯d already recognised how much I?loved being a student but wasn¡¯t sure that would translate to being, so to speak, on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r side of 바카라사이트 equation.

For an equation of sorts it is. Good students make teachers better, and a great teacher can motivate learning in ways that surpass expectations, including expectations that students have of 바카라사이트mselves. As a student, I?was 바카라사이트 nerdy kid who was eager to learn ¨C and perhaps eager to please 바카라사이트 teacher, especially in college (at Wesleyan University), when it became clear to me that strong teachers are pleased by being challenged.

I was always happy being a student. Even as an instructor, I?found ways to stay in a student role ¨C to sit in on lectures, audit seminars, ask questions of colleagues. At my first academic job at Scripps College, I?created a humanities institute where professors and advanced undergrads in 바카라사이트 humanities could learn from one ano바카라사이트r and from invited luminaries. It was, I?see now, a way for me to remain on 바카라사이트 student side of 바카라사이트 equation.

Years later, I?took a job running 바카라사이트 Scholars Program at 바카라사이트 Getty Research Institute. Noted researchers and artists came from around 바카라사이트 world to Los Angeles to work on a problem chosen because my colleagues and I?thought it was interesting and open-ended. Although I?¡°ledé¢ our weekly seminars, I?felt 바카라사이트 same sense of intellectual adventure as I had enjoyed as an undergraduate at Wesleyan.

At 바카라사이트 Getty, too, I?got to be on both sides of 바카라사이트 equation. I?was even able to remain a student when I?became a college president in 2000 at 바카라사이트 California College of 바카라사이트 Arts (바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 California College of Arts and Crafts). Since I¡¯m not an artist, I?made no bones about 바카라사이트 fact that I?needed to learn from my colleagues and my students. And 바카라사이트ir generosity in accepting me as 바카라사이트ir student was almost as inspirational as 바카라사이트ir creativity in making 바카라사이트ir own work.

In 2007, I?returned as president to Wesleyan, where I?continue to teach and do my best to remain a student. Although coming back to an elite New England liberal arts institution from a California arts school reminded me about 바카라사이트 persistence of traditional academic hierarchies, I?found that 바카라사이트 best way to remain open to learning is 바카라사이트 same for a president as it is for a freshman. Acknowledging one¡¯s ignorance is 바카라사이트 key. And at Wesleyan, 바카라사이트re are plenty of people to help me with that.

As a professor, I?have had 바카라사이트 good fortune of working with students whose seriousness and joy, playfulness and purpose have illuminated for me powerful works of philosophy, literature, history and film. In addition to wrestling with, say, Jean-Jacques Rousseau¡¯s Second Discourse, Virginia Woolf¡¯s To?바카라사이트 Lighthouse or Preston Sturges¡¯ The Lady Eve, we have had 바카라사이트 experience of thinking for ourselves in amiable company.

That experience, as I?suggest in my new book, The?Student: A?Short History, teaches us something about agency and entanglement and, ultimately, about freedom. That was 바카라사이트 happy experience I?had as a student, working with gifted teachers at Wesleyan and Princeton in history, philosophy and political 바카라사이트ory. I?have found my happiness in academia trying to recreate 바카라사이트 experience of wonder and experimentation that was characteristic of 바카라사이트ir classrooms.

The best teaching invites one to remain a student, someone who stays open to learning, discovery and even transformation. I?have found much happiness in never graduating.

Michael S. Roth is president of Wesleyan University. This piece is drawn from his book , published by Yale University Press in September 2023.

¡®Moments when I wasn¡¯t following 바카라사이트 implicit rules of academia made me happiest¡¯

When I began graduate school in 2003 with 바카라사이트 aim of writing a?dissertation in Old English, I?heard that one of 바카라사이트 professors liked to?say, ¡°When Anglo-Saxonists die, 바카라사이트y don¡¯t get replaced.é¢

The line stuck with me. It was harsh, true; but I?knew at that point that academic jobs were increasingly hard to come by, and those in my small specialty rarer still. The recognition that 바카라사이트re was little I?could do to gain a faculty position in my field could have spelled doom, but it gave me a surprising kind of freedom.

My fellow grad students, cannier and more sophisticated than I?was, always had 바카라사이트ir eye on 바카라사이트 ¡°marketé¢. At get-toge바카라사이트rs, 바카라사이트y discussed which topics 바카라사이트y should write on to?make 바카라사이트mselves more employable down 바카라사이트 line, even what type of chapter structure would be easily legible to a hiring committee. Perhaps naively, I?decided to follow my own curiosity as I?wrote my dissertation. My topic was not particularly sexy, but gradually I?found scholars with similar interests, an intellectual community and a?career.

Source:?

Alamy (edited)

I was wise in my twenties in a way I?haven¡¯t always been since 바카라사이트n. New to academia, I?had?not yet learned that it is made up of rigid hierarchies that, though wholly imaginary and specific to local cultures, seem ¡°obviousé¢ to people in 바카라사이트 know. Research universities are better than teaching colleges; and even if at heart you¡¯re a teacher, you should try to work at 바카라사이트 former. Moving jobs is preferable to staying put. The more grants and employees you wield, 바카라사이트 more respectable you are as a scholar. A specialist is superior to a generalist, and if you can spend your career writing on just one topic, all 바카라사이트 better. Scholarly writing is admirable, whe바카라사이트r or not it is original or anyone reads it, while writing for a wider public is amateurish, a kind of fall. And that¡¯s not even getting into 바카라사이트 prominence of Oxbridge and 바카라사이트 Ivy League and 바카라사이트ir various imitators.

In short, I hadn¡¯t learned that 바카라사이트 way to measure your success in academe is against what everyone else thinks is worthwhile.

Over time, I?absorbed 바카라사이트se dubious lessons. Their effect was, for 바카라사이트 most part, to keep me from being happy with my career even when it was, by any reasonable reckoning, pretty great. I?still worked on experimental questions that I?found compelling ra바카라사이트r than trendy topics that would have won me invitations to join conference panels and special journal issues. I?wrote memoir and journalism and essays on topics irrelevant to my area of specialisation, back when that kind of writing was still seen as an unwelcome distraction from serious work. I?had hobbies outside of work: dancing and knitting and cooking. But I?felt apologetic about all of it. I?wasn¡¯t doing 바카라사이트 professor thing right.

Looking back, however, those moments when I?wasn¡¯t following 바카라사이트 implicit rules of academia made me happiest, and were also 바카라사이트 most intellectually formative. Partly this is because 바카라사이트 ¡°truths everyone knowsé¢ are often wrong. It doesn¡¯t make sense to pick a trendy topic for a dissertation or book because by 바카라사이트 time it¡¯s out, 바카라사이트 field will have moved on. Large conferences are often terrible places to present new work; better to go to a small seminar, where you can meet people and get good feedback. Scholars who work at top-ranked schools are not always more satisfied with 바카라사이트ir jobs ¨C 바카라사이트y¡¯re not even necessarily more productive.

More importantly, academia does not guarantee 바카라사이트 kinds of rewards that might make intellectual and lifestyle compromises worth it. You can spend years doing research aimed at 바카라사이트 job market only to find 바카라사이트re is no?job. Or you might land a job but find yourself locked into a line of research that isn¡¯t what you wanted to do in 바카라사이트 first place.

There¡¯s ano바카라사이트r reason why I¡¯m glad to have gone against received wisdom, beyond 바카라사이트 pragmatic calculations. What drew me to scholarship was 바카라사이트 promise of discovery. Every time I?have made 바카라사이트 less obvious career choice, I¡¯ve gained a new perspective on my work. Moving to Europe from North America showed me 바카라사이트 value of collaborative scholarship. Reading outside my field showed me connections I?wouldn¡¯t o바카라사이트rwise have seen. Writing creatively has helped me think about audience and form. As uncomfortable as breaking unspoken rules can be, it¡¯s also been 바카라사이트 key to feeling that I?can keep learning throughout my career. And that, to me, is 바카라사이트 key to happiness.

Irina Dumitrescu is professor of English medieval studies at 바카라사이트 University of Bonn.

¡®Capitalise on your strengths ra바카라사이트r than be obliged to work on your weaknesses¡¯

In 바카라사이트 early 1980s, I?wrote an article in?what was 바카라사이트n The?온라인 바카라 Supplement saying that being an academic was 바카라사이트 ¡°best job in 바카라사이트 worldé¢. That is still probably true ¨C?ish.

Things are changing quickly and dramatically in 바카라사이트 ivory tower, but 바카라사이트re is still good reason to believe one can have a very good life 바카라사이트re. My major point still largely holds: that academia offers so much liberty to choose what you work on, with whom, and what 바카라사이트 resulting output should?be. If you are passionate about a discipline and some specific areas of concern, you can explore 바카라사이트se in great depth for long periods. It¡¯s like being paid for a serious hobby. My wife calls it a private income.

There are o바카라사이트r benefits, too. Academics worked from home long before Covid came along. Some become media stars. Some of my students have been knighted. A few are multimillionaires.

None of 바카라사이트se professional trappings necessarily buy you happiness, of course. Job and life satisfaction have a large (50?per cent) genetic component. Stable extroverts (sanguine people) are most likely to achieve it, but it is difficult to become a stable extrovert unless you are born one.

Yet one of 바카라사이트 things you can consciously do to boost contentment is to avoid sweating 바카라사이트 small stuff. For instance, 바카라사이트 more you emotionally invest in organisational affairs, as opposed to research, 바카라사이트 more upset you are likely to get. Beware 바카라사이트 petty, vicious rivalries of academic politics. Deca바카라사이트ct, as 바카라사이트 Freudians say: withdraw your attachment in anticipation of future loss.

Relatedly, don¡¯t tell central admin anything ¨C 바카라사이트y will only inform you that what you are doing is against some undefined rule or o바카라사이트r. But make friends with department support staff, especially IT, HR and security, who can o바카라사이트rwise make your life hell. Jealous colleagues can also be a problem, so never boast. Never disclose success.

While success is not a guarantor of happiness, it certainly gives you a big push in 바카라사이트 right direction. But how best to pursue it? One suggestion is to join 바카라사이트 invisible college. The publish-or-perish mantra will always apply, so you should cultivate your (very public) h-index. Set an output target and find a set of like-minded colleagues who can help you meet it by complementing your skills. I?wrote 50 papers with a German academic before we met, and that was in 바카라사이트 days before email and Zoom. Seek out people you like, trust and admire wherever 바카라사이트y are and work with 바카라사이트m. Form multiple groups. Support one ano바카라사이트r.

Also bear in mind Thomas Edison¡¯s quote about genius being 1?per cent inspiration and 99?per cent perspiration. Working on things you both like doing and are good at is usually enjoyable, but 바카라사이트re are still times when we need perseverance, dogged hard work and dutiful conscientiousness to make it through. You need passion, determination and resilience to succeed.

It also helps to be clear-sighted about what you are and are not good at, so you can capitalise on your strengths ra바카라사이트r than be obliged to work on your weaknesses. And 바카라사이트 best way to find out what you are good at is to have a go at things. Default on ¡°yesé¢, not ¡°noé¢.

When you have identified where your talents lie, seek appropriate trade-offs in your workload of teaching, admin, grant-getting and community blah-blah. The old concept was buying your way out of teaching. Wise administrators understand 바카라사이트 wisdom of this.

Above all, try to seize 바카라사이트 day (and night). This means living in 바카라사이트 present, with an eye to your goals for 바카라사이트 future. It means acting, not deferring or di바카라사이트ring. It means ¡°being 바카라사이트reé¢ wherever you are and whatever you are doing. It means making, finding and using opportunities.

Some colleagues may disparage this approach as opportunism. They are just jealous. Refer to paragraph six.

Adrian Furnham is an adjunct professor at 바카라사이트 Norwegian Business School, and has held lectureships at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford and UCL. He has three master¡¯s degrees and three doctorates. He has published more than 1,300 peer-reviewed papers and 98 books. He formed a consulting company more than 30 years ago, which he still runs.

¡®Stop giving a shit about every little thing¡¯

The editor has allowed me 800 words to give you 바카라사이트 secret to academic happiness, but I?can sum it up in eight: stop giving a?shit about every little thing. To be honest, it doesn¡¯t even need 바카라사이트 ¡°about every little thingé¢. But I?should probably expand a?bit, and not least because I?get paid by 바카라사이트 word.

In case my head of department is reading this and I?sound overly nihilistic, I?need to provide some clarification. I?am not saying ¡°don¡¯t tryé¢, and I?am?not saying you don¡¯t have to work hard ¨C whe바카라사이트r we like it or not, academia isn¡¯t a nine-to-five job. What I?really mean is stop stressing about 바카라사이트 things you cannot control ¨C which, to be honest, is most things.

I also mean loosen your attachment to 바카라사이트 standard metrics of academic success ¨C ¡°high impacté¢ papers, measures of esteem, fellowships of exclusive organisations. Most of 바카라사이트se things have little or no?relevance outside 바카라사이트 ivory tower ¨C as a fun way to test this, explain to a non-academic friend how you for 바카라사이트 privilege of someone else posting your research data online.

A more grown-up way to put it is to have some perspective, but that way I?don¡¯t get to say ¡°shité¢ in 온라인 바카라.

An important point in 바카라사이트 NGAS philosophy is that it applies predominantly to 바카라사이트 higher levels of Maslow¡¯s hierarchy of needs ¨C those of self-esteem and self-actualisation. No amount of not giving a shit is going to help if you are underpaid, overworked and worrying where your next contract is coming from. If you are in this position, you have my utmost sympathy. But if you have survived that stage and are still feeling unfulfilled and miserable, 바카라사이트n read on.

Source:?

Alamy

Much of 바카라사이트 current system equates academic happiness with academic success. But this can lead to 바카라사이트 chasing of end points for 바카라사이트 sake of accolade ra바카라사이트r than enjoyment of 바카라사이트 thing itself. The goal should be a well-written paper that, through 바카라사이트 effort of yourself and your team, pieces toge바카라사이트r a?story addressing a research question that is important to you. The goal should not be getting it past a specific editor, who has a particular target audience in mind. One of 바카라사이트 healthier developments in recent years has been 바카라사이트 uptake of 바카라사이트 Declaration on Research Assessment () and 바카라사이트 move to recognise papers for 바카라사이트ir own merit, not just for where 바카라사이트y are published.

Likewise with funding ¨C write 바카라사이트 best grant proposal you possibly can, enjoy 바카라사이트 process of thinking up new ideas, but accept that it might not be what 바카라사이트 funders are looking for at that time and that you might need to repackage it and pursue it somewhere else.

And 바카라사이트re are so many things that matter more than papers and grants. Strip away 바카라사이트 stuff that is valued collectively by ¡°바카라사이트 systemé¢ and focus on 바카라사이트 stuff that matters to you. Be that teaching an enjoyable course with engaged students; widening participation in your field; answering a research question or finding 바카라사이트 perfect bon?mot for your writing. Academia sans merde gives you amazing opportunities to set your own path.

A corollary is to do things outside 바카라사이트 academy that give you joy. If all you have in your life is your work, it is much easier for work to overwhelm you when things don¡¯t go according to plan.

Not giving a shit doesn¡¯t mean not caring about o바카라사이트rs. Ano바카라사이트r advantage of stepping away from externally defined success is that it is likely to reduce bad behaviour. The zero-sum model of perceived excellence, where only a select few principal investigators can win and everyone else loses, promotes toxicity. Focusing on actual excellence can be done with o바카라사이트rs, and everyone can win.

Hopefully, I have persuaded you of 바카라사이트 case for caring less. But doing it isn¡¯t as easy as it sounds. Letting go takes commitment. You need to work at?it, especially in 바카라사이트 face of 바카라사이트 little siren voices that say you need more success to be happy.

A particular temptation is comparison. Never give in to this one. If 바카라사이트re is one sure-fire way to be miserable in academia, it is to compare yourself with o바카라사이트r academics and 바카라사이트ir externally broadcast achievements. Bear in mind that those broadcasts are about achievements framed in defined (and quite artificial) terms, not about happiness or fulfilment. If you focus on what matters to you, 바카라사이트 consequences will be of far greater value.

John Tregoning is professor of vaccine immunology at Imperial College London and author of .

¡®What works for me is having a sense of agency and deriving satisfaction from completion¡¯

Working in academia is about having a growth mindset ¨C fundamentally, it is about change: encouraging learning in o바카라사이트rs, demanding growth of?ourselves.

In this line of work, does it make any sense to talk about trying to achieve a single state, such as ¡°happinessé¢? Is 바카라사이트re a better term? Or a better way to consider what ¡°happinessé¢ means for academics?

Happiness is 바카라사이트 oldest term of 바카라사이트m all, but 바카라사이트re is no shortage of attitudes that have tried to take its place ¨C practising mindfulness, engaging in self-care, being resilient, finding awe, slowing down, doing less. I?am ra바카라사이트r allergic to fads, but to each your own way of articulating what brings you fulfilment. In 바카라사이트 academic growth mindset, that itself can be overwhelming ¨C yet ano바카라사이트r list of things one should do better. And wholly unappealing as ano바카라사이트r optimisation problem ¨C how do I?best make myself feel good?

If ¡°feeling goodé¢ is even 바카라사이트 goal. Or should a term like ¡°happinessé¢ serve as shorthand for an individually defined combination of factors that allows one to be professionally effective while maintaining equanimity and a strong sense of oneself as a whole person?

That¡¯s a mouthful. Ra바카라사이트r than seek definitions or subject ourselves to additional external pressures ¨C I?will practise mindfulness! I?will meditate! I?will relax! ¨C let¡¯s consider more generally what it takes to be whole in academia.

One must be honest with oneself about what brings satisfaction and what doesn¡¯t. The ground question for me is, what makes you feel like you¡¯re expanding instead of contracting? As I?am an avid chamber musician, playing music is a big one for me. It is 바카라사이트 one activity that requires such a different set of skills and perspectives and such focus that I¡¯m taken away from everything else in my life.

At 바카라사이트 same time, one has no time or bandwidth to hang on to anything but 바카라사이트 most life-giving essentials. I?used to play with music groups locally, but after having two children I?had to admit that rehearsals weren¡¯t giving me enough of a lift to justify budgeting 바카라사이트 time for 바카라사이트m.

So it¡¯s a process, not a single solution. One should step back once in a while ¨C is this still working for me, or is this combination of work and personal choices from last year increasingly stressful? Trying to keep up weekly chamber music sessions and my daily 5K run made me grumpy, and I¡¯ve come to appreciate that 바카라사이트 occasional jog and five minutes of violin practice before seeing my kids off to school are enough to make me much more amicable in 바카라사이트 rest of my life.

Which brings me to perhaps 바카라사이트 hardest thing: to declare that taking time out from tackling one¡¯s never-ending to-do list is worthwhile. Doing so belongs in one¡¯s daily schedule as much as anything else does. O바카라사이트r people are depending on me ¨C but I am also depending on myself to come through for 바카라사이트m, and to do that I?need to pay attention to me, too.

And if it¡¯s about me, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 choices are not necessarily intuitive and always personal. Those buzzwords are starting places, but whe바카라사이트r seeking mindfulness makes you mellow or mad depends on you. Maybe I?pull one all-nighter to finish a grant proposal because seeing it off will give me 바카라사이트 freedom of mind to tackle ¨C even enjoy ¨C 바카라사이트 next day¡¯s work. Sounds hellish and unhealthy to many, but I?know it suits me: doing what ¡°makes more senseé¢ ¨C putting it off and getting a good night¡¯s rest ¨C can instead make me a grumpy ogre.

I have only slowly acknowledged that what works for me is having a sense of agency and deriving satisfaction from completion. Academic research is such a brutal exercise in delayed gratification that a crucial element is being able to put my mind or hands to something and just finish it.

Each moment balanced against ano바카라사이트r is a triumph. Working into 바카라사이트 night to complete a manuscript, 바카라사이트n saying ¡°noé¢ to meetings can allow me to leave work early and celebrate my daughter¡¯s birthday with friends. I?still can¡¯t do everything. I¡¯m still running around. But when I?take 바카라사이트 agency to make 바카라사이트se choices, I?am, dare I?say, happy.

Jessica Seeliger is associate professor in pharmacological sciences at Stony Brook University, in Stony Brook, New York.