Before I started freelancing, I struggled a lot with work/life balance. Who am I kidding? I still struggle with it. But things are a million times better now that I have control over when and where I work. Before freelancing, so much of my time was wasted in getting dressed for the office (which involves dry cleaning and makeup), commuting to-and-from the office, and most of all...so much time of my time was wasted in meetings and participation on pointless committees.
This article by Anne-Marie Slaughter really struck a chord with me because of what she says about giving women freedom to make their own schedules. I think she hit the bulls-eye here. Our persistent "slacking" in the climb up the corporate ladder has little to do with ambition or commitment or bravery. It's about avoiding martyrdom and doing simple math. Here's what I mean. There are only 24 hours in each day. Doctors say we should sleep for about 8 of those hours. If children are in the mix, you can factor in at least 1 hour each day for meals, 1 hour for homework or some form of educational enrichment, and 1 hour for transportation. Add 1 hour per day to accommodate the doctor visits, dental cleanings, haircuts, teacher conferences, and lessons that accumulate each week. If a woman works only 8 hours a day, that leaves 4 hours for her to get showered and dressed, eat, use the toilet, commute, manage household stuff, and exercise. If everything goes PERFECTLY, then she'll be okay. But nothing ever goes perfectly, does it? The nonessential activities like exercise and eating properly and avoiding constipation are usually the first to get cut. And what about time we need for stillness and daydreaming? The rigors of corporate occupation are enough to burn a woman out, slowly,
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I'm a huge fan of the RadioLab podcasts. I like to listen to them while I'm at the gym, or if I'm running in the neighborhood. An hour-long episode is just right for meeting my daily quota of exercise and taking my mind off of the monotony of a cardio machine. This morning I listened to their podcast in honor of Dr. Oliver Sack's 80th birthday. I'll attempt to embed their player below so that you can enjoy it, too. Happy listening! One of my clients has asked me to write an article about the association between self-control in adolescence and marijuana use later in life. For background, they also sent a research article that discusses the Good Behavior Game. Have you heard about this?
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AuthorI write about curious phenomena around us. I also write about people who are passionate about their careers, hobbies, or life experiences related to science. This blog chronicles my journey. Archives
May 2021
Categories©Brittany Moya del Pino 2021. All rights reserved.
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