Personal Growth, Summer 2017

Irene Italia
Jul 28, 2017 · 2 min read

Why have I been procrastinating, what is holding me back?

I am unhappy with my living situation and haven’t found passion for what I am currently working on. I don’t want to be living where I am, and I would like to work on my own work, instead of someone else’s ideas. Those are the most difficult aspects of my current job. If I wasn’t within driving distance of family, the isolation I am feeling would be unbearable. And I have aspirations for projects of my own, but my paycheck is coming from working on someone else’s project. They don’t tell you how frustrating that will be.

I need to move on, stop beating myself up, because what’s simple isn’t easy; and most of what I want in life isn’t simple, either.

What is my biggest long term goal at the moment?

I can become a more competitive candidate for the jobs I want by increasing the number of publications I have. My h-index is currently 3, if I could increase by a point or two before this job ends, and get it up to at least a 5 in the next couple years I will be in better shape to apply for a permanent faculty job.

The plan: what do I have to DO and what do I have to LEARN to achieve my goal?

Even though I’m not excited by the project I’m working on, I should be able to get at least 2 manuscripts out of it in the next 6–7 months.

I need to learn more about the natural history of the animals I’m working on to better inform my modeling and writing.

I should write up my current project, even if may change. I want this off my desk by the end of August.

I need to start the next part of the project while I’m still at this job. Have the analyses started by September.

Irene Italia

Written by

Paleontologist, Dabbler in other things

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