Work can be paid or unpaid. For paid work, time is exchanged for income. While ideally it has features that overlap with unpaid work, it is ultimately done in response to the external need to pay the bills. It often involves some degree of stress as well as answering to others on their terms and at their convenience. Unpaid work …
My Kids Work Harder Than I Do
This is life in my 50s: I have a half-time job I enjoy. I go on date nights. I see friends and make an effort to stay in touch with older family members. I spend time on fitness, even as the betrayals of the body come at me in a crescendo. I have a decent amount of time on my …
Professional Boundaries
It’s now three and a half years since I left clinical medicine and leapt at the opportunity to put my population health hat on for an administrative position within the hospital system that I’d devoted my clinical career to. What does my life today look like? How have I navigated going from what was 6 shifts per month to a …
Character And Drive
I am fortunate to count among my friends a few people outside of my cohort. One older friend is a physician colleague I’ve known, liked and trusted from my prior life in the ED. We grew closer as we worked together in administrative roles over the past several years. This friend has known financial success and now pals around with …
Optimizing Income Or Balance?
This is the reality of hitting your peak earning years: every step you take toward autonomy, flexibility and balance comes with a very real opportunity cost. That cost is the largest you will ever consider paying. Last night was Game Night, and over the usual beers and taunting, a fascinating conversation developed. One of us (a non-MD; I am the …
Reverse-Engineering My Life
I recently reinvented my work schedule. It was an idea that began to marinate months ago as my father faded away in front of me, gaining momentum in his final days. It required taking a big risk, and being willing to live with the consequences if things did not go my way. The decision to act was rooted in the …
Diversifying My Portfolio
A little over two years ago I left clinical medicine completely for an administrative position involving population health. The position has been a wonderful Act Two that allows me to use my brain in new ways, problem solve creatively with a team I really appreciate, and is orders of magnitude less stressful than the emergency department. At the start of …
Reflecting On Five Years Of Three Week Vacations
Six years ago I cut back drastically on my clinical shifts in the ED. I asked the person in charge of planning our schedule if I could batch my shifts such that it would allow me to travel for 3 weeks in the summer with family. I got the green light, and never looked back. When I reinvented my career …
I Gave Up Half My Income For These Five Minutes
This weekend my teen daughter was honored with an invitation to sing at a morning service at our place of worship. It was an honor few kids are offered, and she enthusiastically accepted this call to serve. A weekend service typically runs 2.5 hours. I identify and affiliate with my community and find it a source of comfort and connectedness, …
I’m Getting Too Old For This Shift (Part 2 of 2)
One of these things is not like the other ones…In part 1, I laid out my perceived options for getting out of night shifts. Here, in part 2, I’ll let you know what actually happened at that time. Dear reader, let’s travel back in time several years. Even accounting for the reversal of aging we’ve just agreed to entertain, I’m …