The end of my postdoc, and the start of my maternity break, is approaching at breakneck speed. For the first time in my life I don't have anything specific lined up, careerwise, and I admit to having some (lots of?) anxiety about this. On the one hand, I feel very fortunate that we are financially in a situation where we can afford for me to to take an indefinite-length pause, and I feel more than a little relief when I think of not having to try to immediately coordinate outside work with the physical and emotional demands of parenting an infant and a 2-year-old. (With Lilia, even with the flexibility of my postdoc position, it was really difficult to return to full-time work, especially since she pretty much stopped sleeping nights about the time I went back to the lab.) On the other hand, I am worried about what it will mean to my sanity and stability when I don't have several hours a day to spend around other adults letting "grown-up" thoughts percolate through my head. I realize that I probably need to spend some energy strengthening my non-work-related friendships, especially here in Heidelberg, and also to make an effort to keep in touch with work friends once I am staying home . . . not least to make sure that I get out of the house once in awhile (and not just to the playground.) I think I also need to be sure to retain a couple of intellectual outlets . . . but what these should be, and how I should manage to make time for them, I don't quite know.
Anyway, I would be happy to hear feedback and suggestions!!
1 comment:
I realize perhaps this is a luxury that is more specific to ecologists...but I have a crapload of data just waiting to be written up into papers--if only I had a chunk of time to work on them. Maybe you also have a backlog of data that could be written up?
Now I realize that having an infant and a 2-year-old isn't exactly having a "chunk of time" to write. But maybe it would be possible for you and Thorsten to hire some help for even one afternoon a week? Maybe there is a great coffee shop somewhere in Heidelberg where you could go and write? I think you'd be amazed how much you could get done if you were away from the lab, colleagues, children, etc. And it doesn't even have to be scientific writing...maybe you could start a collection of short stories and return to your English-history past life?
I guess what I'm really saying is that if you even a few hours a week as "me" time that you could use however you think would benefit you the most--whether writing or visiting colleagues, etc.--perhaps that would help to ease your worries?
Love,
Beth
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