Tuesday, February 23, 2021

February 23

We have been dealt a tough hand. Starting a research group is hard without a reliable set of group members from whom to choose. 

Times are difficult for J and me and the rest of us right now. Many people have it much worse than we do. But it's still tough. Highlight of the day: when I said "sweeping pills" and we had a good laugh. That broke the somewhat tense air that was there before.

I feel like I'm continually trying to get started on getting my research program when something comes up. The Amir debacle. The humidity issue. Shrishti's mental health and physical health challenges. COVID. The PhD program getting rejected...again. 

But I'm not stopping. I will adapt and recover and move on. I will refocus my energies on cranking out as many "good-enough" proposals as I possibly can, with a focus on projects that could support Bioengineering PhD students. I will attend all the grant writing webinars I can. 

This week's exercise of tracking my time has shown me that I spend, max, about 2 hours a day in the zone. What could I do if I doubled that number? 

I will cultivate the killer instinct. I will reread Tenure Hacks. I will use this year (and it could be a crucial extra year) to get on track. As Pawel put it on a Skype call a while ago, I'm effectively midway through my second year as a faculty.

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