Be Selfish of Your Time Posted on November 13, 2007 Charles L. Bowden (bio) cautions researchers to be careful in the use of their time.

A balance in a career, especially early. Well, I don't know. Here I am, late in my career, and I still think it's a difficult issue. In part because, the excitement and the need, frankly, can expand to take up an infinite amount of time: 100 hours a week. That's not good.

Part of your work can be play, but there needs to be time where you're freed up from that. So one of the strengths of our center is that it's physically a center, but even that comes at a price. If you have your door opened all the time, your best colleagues can be part of the problem. You have no time to yourself even at work.

So I think the need to compartmentalize to do things that are focused on your family, that are focused on your own health, that are not driven by dollar or by your chairman or your division head or your own drive, even to recognize that the blandishments of consulting arrangements, national committees — be very careful about how much of that one lets that take up of his time. As they say, of course, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so be selfish of your time.

I'm not sure that I would be the poster child for that, because I've not always been sufficiently selfish, and I've at times let myself get away from what I have real skills in. It's easy to be lured by a new funding mechanism or a new colleague. Think long and hard before you let yourself get away from the relatively narrow area that's your real area of expertise, but then once you do commit to it, stay with it.

« Back to Article