Excerpt from “Finding Your Way in Science”
Self Sacrifice
Productivity is not the leading force in your career, but only one of several important cores of professionalism. Accepting this principle leads to the inevitable, illuminating, and liberating corollary that there are times when productivity should be de-emphasized.
The recognition of productivity’s importance does not make you its slave. Many junior scientists, eager to start off on the “right foot”, create an environment that maximizes productivity, permitting them to mass-produce experimental reports, manuscripts, and presentations. The difficulty with this unbalanced approach is its un-sustainability. As long work days stretch into the evening, family life suffers. As five day work weeks stretch to six and seven day work-marathons, the natural leisure of a restful weekend is squeezed out. Holiday periods are compressed, and the restoration of vacation is squandered by constantly checking email and calling the office for updates. Thus, productivity is maximized at the expense of personal development.[1]
Thus, the “productivity at all costs” environment degrades as your personal damage grows, and the self-sacrifice becomes the driving force of self-destructive. Ironically, the environment created to maximize productivity ultimately poisons the plant it was designed to support.
Alternatively, build an environment and a work-style that focuses on creating and energizing your attitude and sharpening your talent. Specifically this means first creating the internal attitude, then the external environment that allows you to bring the best of your talents to bear on your research issues.
Take the time to develop your best judgment. Take the time to create good standards. Take the time to generate a finely tuned ethic. Each of these come from careful thought, reading, and consideration.
| Take the time to develop your best judgment. Take the time to create good standards. Take the time to generate a finely tuned ethic. Each of these come fromcareful thought, reading, and consideration. |
A useful metric is ask yourself when working “Am I giving the best effort, attention, insight, and intellectual force to this?” If you can’t do that because you too tired, or too hungry, or too angry, or emotionally spent, then you have no business trying to write a grant, finish a presentation, or create a manuscript. Fix the attitude problem first, then return to work.
Building this attitude and environment takes consistent effort, requiring you to take a productivity pause while you instead focus on your actions, motivation, and values. Consistent effort here sharpens your skills, permits the best application of those skills, and thereby generates the best work from you.
In addition, this atmosphere, unlike the previous environment, is actually good for you. The fact that you have chosen not to sacrifice your best nature to productivity, but instead are willing to sacrifice productivity so that you can use the best of your talents to be productive reaffirms the natural authority that you have over your life. You aren’t being productive to gain value. You are productive because you have value.
| You aren’t being productive to gain value. You are productive because you have value. |
Unfortunately, there are still some bosses and division chiefs who are perfectly happy with your uncontrolled productivity. Indulging themselves in the self-serving notion that “if you’re willing to kill yourself, why should they stop you,” is the snide justification that permits them to profit from your self-destructive work effort.