Focus!

It's been a crazy week in lab, it actually just continued from last week: I am starting to think about putting together all my data for this "paper" that will hopefully be submitted sometime this year (is what my adviser said in our meeting this week, but I'd really like it to happen before the end of the summer actually). Not only do I have to fill in many holes in the results - meaning more experiments, meaning more time spent with benchwork and much less time to think and write and all that other stuff that should go into writing an article - but the task of writing a scientific paper that will be submitted to a real - although not very good - journal is rather daunting. I don't feel like the qualifying exam I have written 2 years ago prepared me at all for this task. And it's easy for my adviser to say "start writing this paper" and when I express my anxiety for him to brush it off by saying that he's sure I'll be a good writer. Anyhow, I think once I get started and get some feedback, it'll be easier and less stressful.

I haven't gotten to run very much this week although I had great plans for it. I don't seem to be very productive in lab and be able to run according to my training plan at the same time. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do it all. At least, last night I made it to fencing: hitting people with my foil always releases stress, although the bruises I have today may not have been worth it at the end. I have no expectations for my 10K race tomorrow morning, although I wanted to do really well in it, but with not much training and being sore from fencing, I doubt it'll be a fun run. It's also supposed to rain :(

I think I can never be one of those hard core runner types. I don't want to fall into the same routine I had with fencing for so many years: only doing that one thing day in and day out. I want to go to my weekly yoga class, I want to go swimming every once in a while, I want to get my bike out soon and start riding, and I want to keep up my once a week fencing too. How the hell will running fit into this?

Oh multitasking!! I wish I could run/ride/swim/fence all at the same time! I mean I am pretty good at this: I can run 2-3 experiments, still write emails, check Facebook, write a blog entry, work on figures during incubation breaks, meet a friend for lunch, then take a coffee break in the afternoon and read a paper or a book and some days I even manage to get in a quick run or visit to the gym during the day. Can I really concentrate on ever one of these tasks though? I think not. They say that men, in general, have a better ability to separate different tasks and thoughts from each other in their minds, while in women's minds, everything is all tangled up, interconnected and well, let's face it, messy! Something about using grey versus white matter more...



And: "Men tend to recall information in a very “matter-of-fact” and clinical way, whereas women will recall the same memory in a more detailed and emotionally-rich manner. The reason? Men and women store images on opposite sides of the brain." Ha! This explains everything!



While I am isolating RNA from my cells, I am thinking "will I have time to finish all my other experiments today?" and "shit, I am already late for my lunch date!" or some great idea comes in my head that I want to write down right away and then remember that I forgot to reply to a really important email regarding getting payed for refereeing. When I am already preoccupied b something, then it's almost hopeless to concentrate.

So, in an attempt to be more productive not only in the lab, but in all aspects of life, I am working on being more focused and completely present in everything I do. When I am doing an experiment, I will try to just focus on that and put aside other experiments for the moment as well as checking emails and blogging. (Right now it's ok, I am having my afternoon coffee which is part of being productive :) When I go for a run, I will try not to worry about what I have to do afterwords and whether or not I will have time to finish the distance I had set out for myself. When I sit down to read a book, I will turn the TV and the computer off and immerse myself in the book. When I spend time with friends, I will not check my phone and will not write texts and will try to be completely present to spend time with them.

Ok, enough of making resolutions, now I will go back to my experiment and will not check emails until it's DONE!