Avoiding Burnout in Medical Writing - Part 2 (Goals, Priorities, and Ideals)

In Part 1 of the Avoiding Burnout in Medical Writing series, I mentioned that we have control over how we spend our time. Have you ever noticed that 2 hours watching a great movie or being out with friends goes by WAY faster than 2 hours walking on a treadmill? Time is an interesting concept. We all have 24 hours per day, yet these 24 hours can go by fast or they can go by slow. They can feel easy and relaxing or they can feel almost unbearable. They can give you energy or they can drain you of energy. You can accomplish many tasks during a 24-hour period. Alternatively, you can accomplish nothing.

I have found that taking full ownership over how I spend my time is the #1 tool to ensure I am living my best, most fulfilled, and happiest life. It allows me to complete all of the projects I want to complete, exercise, relax, and still have time to play and explore or even time to do nothing.

Taking ownership over your time and using it to your advantage requires understanding your goals, priorities, and ideals (ie, your GPIs). By clearly defining your goals, understanding your priorities, and keeping your ideals in mind when deciding how to spend your time, you can manage your time to reflect all of these, which will minimize stress and help you avoid burnout.

Goals

If you’ve ever worked in a corporate environment, you’ve probably had to set corporate goals. I always hated doing this, because they weren’t really MY goals. They were the company’s goals. Or my manager’s goals. But since it was required and my annual bonus depended on it, I’d pretend they were as inspiring as leadership seemed to believe. Now that I have my own business, I can set my own business goals.

Regardless of whether you have corporate goals or your own business goals, don’t forget to set goals that are not work- or career-related! I call these hobby goals or fun goals. Goal setting should be fun – corporate goals aside, only set goals that YOU want to achieve! Don’t set a certain goal just because you feel like you have to or because it’s a goal many other people have. Also, ensure your goal is motivating and inspiring to you – not overwhelming, fear-inducing, or something made out of necessity. Your goals should be related to something you WANT to have or WANT to accomplish!

Setting goals provides an anchor for our priorities and ensures we’re making progress toward something big, and having fun goals will encourage you to prioritize these fun, non-work-related activities.

Just remember that life will not suddenly be better or more fulfilling once you achieve a goal, so make sure you enjoy the process of working toward it. Sure, you’ll be incredibly proud of yourself for meeting a goal, but is it worth 6+ months of suffering?

Priorities

Priorities are often based on needs. Many of us have children, so parenting is a priority. Hopefully most of us prioritize paying our bills and filing taxes on time. We prioritize grocery shopping when our refrigerator is getting empty. But you also probably have priorities based on wants. You may prioritize learning to speak a new language if you’re planning to travel soon, or prioritize practicing your guitar if you have a goal of playing at an open mic night. Maybe you are trying to get healthier, so you prioritize exercise and nutrition.  

Our priorities influence how we spend our time and should be aligned with our goals. Make sure you know your priorities and why, and ensure your priorities are reflected in your daily/weekly schedule. Make sure to also prioritize some of your wants – even when you’re really busy! I find that keeping certain “wants” as priorities in my life even when I’m very stressed help keep me balanced. For example, several months ago I joined Toastmasters International. It’s been a blast every other week at my local chapter meeting where I have met new people and gotten out of my comfort zone to work on my public speaking. It would be really easy for me to only participate in a limited capacity (eg, not volunteer to give speeches) or to skip meetings altogether when my other priorities are encroaching (eg, overwhelmed with work, messy house), but I have made my Toastmasters membership a priority. I do not skip meetings and I actively participate in each and every one. Yes, it takes time to prepare and time away from my family to attend meetings, but I enjoy each meeting and leave them feeling energized!

Ideals

You can define your ideals as scenarios in which all of your needs AND wants are fulfilled. I like to think about my ideal day, week, month, and year. What do each of these look like? For example, when the weather is nice, I like to spend some time outdoors. This fits into my ideal day. I also like to have a lunch date with my husband once or twice per month. Finally, I have a long-term goal of spending a month each year traveling/living/working remotely in a new country. This fits into my ideal year.

While not every single day or single week will match your ideal, plan your time so that the average is as close to ideal as possible. If you feel yourself deviating (ie, your average is moving further and further away) from your ideal, it’s time to reassess and get back on track. I’ve found this to be a great target to always benchmark against!

GPIs in Totality

Your calendar should reflect your priorities, which should reflect your goals, and should be aligned with your ideal day/week/month/year.

For example, if your goal is to run a marathon, you will need to dedicate months to training and prioritizing your nutrition and sleep. If exercise and nutrition are not typically priorities for you and you hate running, this may not be a great goal, because your days/weeks/months preparing to achieve this goal will clash with your ideal day/week/month. Yes, you’ll feel proud once you complete that marathon, but the process to get there will not be enjoyable!

I’ll also share a personal example. I have a huge goal of creating an accessible education platform that is not cost-prohibitive like many educational programs and that allows individuals to learn specific skills and best practices to succeed in this industry. Since you’re reading this post on my site where I offer courses and webinars, you are probably fully aware of this already! Despite this being something I am incredibly passionate about, I often catch myself being so “busy” with my actual writing work that I don’t prioritize my time in such a way to create more course content. When I look at my calendar and I’m supporting clients 8+ hours a day and not setting aside time to work on my courses/workshops, there is clearly a lack of alignment. When I become aware of this misalignment, I first check in with myself to confirm that this is still a priority. Yes, it definitely is! Then, I start brainstorming solutions. I can wrap up a few writing projects without accepting any new work. I can make sure I work on course content for 1 or 2 hours first thing each day before moving onto client work, or maybe I can set aside a full day each week to focus on this area of my business.

I am regularly doing this exercise of looking at my calendar and assessing how I spend my time to see if it aligns with my priorities/goals. I’m also assessing how my average day aligns with my ideal day. When everything is aligned, I typically feel productive, content, and at ease. I can usually feel misalignment before I even become fully aware of it. Regularly checking in with myself to confirm that my GPIs still resonate and that my calendar reflects my GPIs has been the most powerful process for me in being both successful and happy.

Go to Part 3 (Effective Calendaring).