Sildes for workshop given at Postdoctoral Fellows Workshop. Topics include identifying goals, decision making strategy, working towards achieving work-life balance, commitment budgets, and saying no. The slides include prompts for 4 activities.

1. Career Path Strategy and
Work-Life Balance
Kelle Cruz
CUNY Hunter College

2. THE METHOD
▸ Identify:
• your own goals and guiding principals
• things which you want in maximize in your life
• things which you want to minimize in your life
▸ Use these factors to whittle down your options and
seek out opportunities
Frequent introspection is
required

3. My Guiding Principles (aka Boundary Conditions)
▸To be mostly happy most of the time
▸Have the option to be in charge
▸Have an impact on timescales longer
than my lifetime
▸Not to make money by making other
people money
▸ No babies, but maybe adopt later

4. Dedicate time &
energy to identifying
& refining your
guiding principals

5. Always be trying to
identify
things you like
and things you do not like

6. WHERE TO FIND THINGS TO MAXIMIZE & MINIMIZE
▸ Skills required
▸ Schedule
▸ Source and type of direction
▸ Income, earning potential, and rate of increase
▸ Workplace demographics and cultures
▸ Travel required
▸ Impact

7. ACTIVITY #1
IDENTIFY YOUR GOALS, BOUNDARY CONDITIONS, AND
ACCEPTABLE OUTCOMES
▸ 5 mins to think and write on
your own
▸ Try to rank them
▸ 10 mins to refine as a group
Goals:
-
-
Maximize
-
-
Minimize
-
-
Boundary Conditions:
-
-

8. WHERE TO FIND THINGS TO MAXIMIZE & MINIMIZE
▸ Skills required
▸ Schedule
▸ Source and type of direction
▸ Income, earning potential, and rate of increase
▸ Workplace demographics and cultures
▸ Travel required
▸ Impact

9. The present
decision
Past path resulting from
past decisions
RangeofAcceptableOutcomes
Cone of
acceptable
future paths

10. As you learn more
about yourself,
your cone will
change

11. The present
decision
Past path resulting from
past decisions
RangeofAcceptableOutcomes
Acceptable
future paths

12. Try to make
choices which keep
you in the cone of
acceptable paths

13. THE METHOD
▸ Identify:
• your own goals and guiding principals
• things which you want in maximize in your life
• things which you want to minimize in your life
▸ Use these factors to whittle down your options and
seek out opportunities
Frequent introspection is
required

14. ACTIVITY #2
IDENTIFY ACTIONS AND ACCEPTABLE OUTCOMES
▸ 5 mins to think and write
on your own
▸ 10 mins to refine as a
group
Small actions
-
-
Big actions
-
-

15. THERE ARE TOO MANY THINGS TO DO
CHOOSE ACTIONS & ACTIVITIES FOR A REASON
▸ Projects & Collaborations
▸ Talks
▸ Hobbies
▸ Family & Friends
What’s in it for me?
What goal is this moving me
towards?

16. THERE ARE TOO MANY THINGS TO DO
MAKE A COMMITMENT BUDGET
▸ work travel
▸ talks
▸ referee reports
▸ projects
▸ review panels
▸ student meetings
▸ work meetings/
telecons
▸ personal travel
▸ social engagements
▸ self care
▸ family time

17. ACTIVITY #3
MAKE YOUR COMMITMENT BUDGET
▸ 5 mins to think and write
on your own
▸ 10 mins to refine as a
group
Travel
-
-
Self Care
-
-

18. SAYING NO
THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SAY NO
‣ Stall. Ask for more information
This sounds interesting. I need
some more information before i
am able to commit. Could you
please tell me…

19. SAYING NO
THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SAY NO
‣ Validate the request
‣ No reason is necessary
‣ Don’t apologize
Thank you for thinking of me. This
sounds interesting. I’m afraid I am
over-committed at the moment
and must decline.

20. SAYING NO
THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SAY NO
Suggest someone else
Here are some other people you
might consider for this
opportunity:

21. SAYING NO
THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SAY NO
Postpone
Please keep me in the mind for
the future.

22. SAYING NO
THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SAY NO
Don’t respond

23. ACTIVITY #3
PRACTICE SAYING NO
▸ Work in pairs
Ask partner to give a special seminar
at your institution in a far away place.
Ask questions which help you
evaluate how the activity fits in with
your goals and commitment budget.

24. ACTIVITY #3
PRACTICE SAYING NO
▸ Switch roles
Ask partner to help write a funding
proposal.
Ask questions which help you
evaluate how the activity fits in with
your goals and commitment budget.

25. TEXT
▸ Identify:
• your own goals and guiding principals
• things which you want in maximize in your life
• things which you want to minimize in your life
▸ Use these factors to whittle down your options and
seek out opportunities
▸ Make choices deliberately and for good reasons
▸ Practice saying no.

26. Use
peer mentoring
daily
to help strategize