Abstract
About 2
As my spouse watched me go through my nightly routine, she told me the exercises I was doing were part of the yoga classes she took. Thus, one of our lockdown/pandemic activities became regular yoga sessions using whatever free classes we could find on streaming/online services. I quickly realized the importance of physical balance in yoga. Whether it was the straightforward Tree and Chair poses or the more challenging Warrior three and Crow poses, I had to focus on staying upright, making adjustments, and of course, getting up when I fell.
As faculty, postdocs, and graduate students, our professional lives are also one of balance. In fact, almost every work day seems like a balancing act. Having research, teaching, and service responsibilities leads to having to balance our efforts between seeking funding opportunities, running research projects, writing (proposals, articles, evaluations, etc.), editing our writing and that of others, meeting with colleagues, meeting with and mentoring students and postdocs, preparing teaching materials, lecturing, running laboratory sections, grading, holding office hours, being an advocate for students, helping students through crises, serving on departmental, college, and university committees of all shapes and sizes, providing career guidance, recruiting new students, serving on professional society committees and boards (including AEESP!), reviewing articles and proposals, engaging with engineering professionals, providing input to policy makers, and any other number of tasks that I have not mentioned.
One of the great things about academia is the opportunity to have impact in so many different ways, but balancing all of these responsibilities, and doing them well, is a challenge.
Among all of this professional juggling, we also have to remember that we need to balance this professional high wire act with our personal lives. It is easy to get so wrapped up in the myriad of tasks that we forget that there are many other ways outside of work to find balance and fulfillment. Getting exercise, partaking in hobbies, helping your community, and spending time with friends and family are the critical components of work-life balance that allow us to take care of our physical and mental health needs. The pressure of academic expectations needs to be balanced with our general well-being as individuals.
In these times that have been particularly difficult, we also need to seek balance in our expectations. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic—laboratory shutdowns, remote work, disconnections from colleagues and collaborators, limited travel, and finding (or being) childcare to name just a few—have made our research and teaching enterprises more challenging. Although we can still expect quality work, we have to recognize that a tenure package or graduate thesis may not look exactly the same as it did 5 years ago. When students finish their degree or when a professional milestone, such as tenure, is reached, the goal should be for the person to be happy both professionally and personally. That is, there should be balance. If someone has sacrificed a beloved hobby, a friendship, or important aspects of family life for their degree or job, the person is unlikely to be content. My hope is that we will be able to look at this issue and offer each other ideas and support as an AEESP community.
I cannot say I have always been successful at striking this balance. That said, I do not regret leaving campus early to watch one of my kids participate in a Nordic ski race on a frigid afternoon or baseball game on a sunny day, spending an evening at a school band or orchestra concert, or consciously ignoring work-related tasks (or trying to) on a weekend to bike, hike, or read. Modern technology, especially that smartphone in your pocket, makes it more difficult to separate from work. My goal is to break my habit of letting the urge to check (and respond) to e-mail distract me from being present and focused on non-work life. I will definitely fall down, but then seek balance again.
You should have recently received a survey from the Membership and Demographics committee about the Global Mentorship Initiative. This has been a highlight of my participation in AEESP, and I encourage you to participate as a mentor or mentee to help each other find this balance. When I first started talking with my two current mentees, I thought I would be the one giving the advice, and while my mentees have not necessarily offered specific advice to me, hearing about their concerns about balancing commitments and activities has helped me better address my own issues in this regard. Even outside of this specific program, we have a mutual support network within AEESP in which I encourage you to participate.
We also need balance within AEESP as an organization. Specifically, we need to be sure that the variety of voices that are part of our organization are all heard and have opportunities. The strategic planning exercise was the first step. Our monthly Zoom coffee hours are another way we are gathering feedback and ideas. I have been especially impressed with the members from far away time zones that have stayed up late or gotten up early to participate! We are also working to ensure that there are more opportunities for people to get involved in AEESP activities by asking that committees have membership that reflects the organization and that there is a clear expectation for each member's length of service.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you are inspired to find some balance. I am off to work on my Crow pose.