In Defense of Not Doing Your Best

This post is part missive against overworking and part belated Boston Marathon race report. As the title suggests, I’m encouraging folks to be more chill about mediocrity. As a teacher and parent, I see a lot of overworked young people: students working full time, taking a heavy course load, doing several extracurriculars, and having allergic…

Pandemic Malaise Recovery

Something exciting happened in the last few weeks. I started to feel energized rather than absolutely drained at the end of a teaching day. I’m excited to prep a new class for fall. Research has called out again. My thoughts have turned to long-term projects. In sum, the pandemic malaise has lifted. I wrote about…

Burnout Recovery

At the end of June, I was a marshmallow aflame. I was 1993 Michael Jordan. In other words, I was burned out. The many months of additional childcare responsibilities, changing expectations at work, and heightened anxiety about health and humanity definitely took their toll. The loss of in-person connections and social support made it even…