Inspiration, If You Take It the Right Way…
I’m reading a book, The Three Pound Enigma, about the function of the human brain, written by a medical student.
While she was in medical school.
And I was pretty impressed with myself because I’m reading a book about the function of the brain. (It’s quite interesting so far, if you have time to read something non-student-affairs-related.)
My Internet research tells me author Shannon Moffett is now married to a man with a demanding job of his own, has young twins and a residency as an emergency-room M.D. in an inner-city hospital. In an essay written when her twins were toddlers, she says “It seems to take me twice as long to ‘get’ new concepts as it used to, and I never feel like I’m functioning at top speed.” So that’s what it takes to slow such a highly productive person down. In that case, twins might leave me unable to eat food unaided.
I was ruminating on this, and my own lesser productivity, when I ran across this article, about Carmen Twillie Ambar, president of Cedar Crest College in Allentown, P.A., and mother of triplets. Her husband–no slouch himself–says his wife wakes at 5 a.m. to exercise and doesn’t even drink coffee. She has assistants and the couple hired a daytime nanny, but still…coffee. There are times I’d tell family secrets for another cup of coffee. (Sorry Mom and Dad!)
Of course, I thought of ACUHO-I members too. Student affairs and housing are 24-7 occupations, even without considering duties for professional associations, such as ACUHO-I, work within one’s institution, and, of course, a personal life.
What are the advice and lessons we can pull from stories of high-achievers? Moffett slowed her progression through medical school to allow time for her book. Ambar relies on schedulers and other assistants, and a little flexibility in her schedule. If she can’t do something at 4 p.m. because of childcare duties, she’ll move it to 2 p.m., or 7 p.m. It will get done at some time in the 24-hour cycle.
What helps you manage it all? Did a mentor show you the way? Was there a book that helped? Have you always been a go-go-go sort? Let us know.
