A “Typical” Tuesday at Harvard
My colleagues in higher education and I have some of the best jobs in the world. They are demanding, for sure, but we get to pursue our passion in support of worthy institutions devoted to teaching, learning, and research. Even on the worst days, we can rest assured that what we do matters, and the places we are privileged to do it make a real difference in the world.
It is in that spirit that the first thing I say to myself when I get out of bed on a Tuesday, or any other day, is “it’s going to be a great day!” and then I smile (credit to B.J. Fogg and his book Tiny Habits).
As others have observed, my Tuesdays are more “typical” than I might have guessed before spending some time reflecting on them. So, I’ll take you through a recent one, knowing that others aren’t all that different, at least when you abstract the specific topics to themes.
I’m a creature of habit so, while many things have changed as a result of the global pandemic, many have not for me. I’m out of bed by 5:45 and right to the shower. After that, I’ve had to adjust a bit. Instead of commuting to work, I walk my dogs. My wife joins me for the first part of the walk, which is a nice change from the solo drive to the office. The second part of the walk is time to catch up on podcasts as I would in the car. The Internet Storm Center is always first of the day and after that it varies, with some highlights being Risky Business and the Total Soccer Show.
Depending on how far we walk, I’m usually able to start work in earnest a bit after 7 and always before 7:30. The temptation to start by catching up on emails is strong. But I know that I tend to do my best thinking in the morning, and I try to reserve this wonderful meeting-free time for higher-level thinking.
I’ve settled in on a routine that seems to work pretty well for me. I triage email to make sure there’s nothing that can’t wait. Then I update my “backlog” to ensure it reflects current priorities and to make sure I know what I need to focus on. Then it’s onto whatever’s first on the backlog. Today, it’s working on a template for how to describe/communicate strategy for our projects. I test it out on one that I need to do a better job communicating.
By 9, it’s time for meetings. A wrap-up on a security project run by our colleagues DevOps is first of the day. I’m excited about this because: a) it’s done; b) it represents important work that really reduced our security risk; and c) it was almost entirely done outside of Information Security. These are the kinds of projects that allow us to scale beyond our team and make a much larger impact across the University.
Up next is our bi-weekly leadership meeting. As we’ve experienced an uptick in meetings with the move to remote work, we’ve focused on ways to make them more productive. I realized this was a real opportunity for improvement for me and have started focusing on producing tight meeting agendas, with real outcomes/goals and expected time up front. It’s a little thing, but that’s making meetings like these so much better. Rather than trying to do a lot of different things and running out of time, today we focus on a single strategic priority and leave the meeting on time, having met our goal.
Next is a one on one with a member of my team. I really miss not having these in person as it’s just not as easy to tell how people are doing — and at a time when it’s so important that we all take care of ourselves and each other. Still, we’re making the best of it and I truly value the time I get to spend with my team regardless of the format it takes.
Then it’s time for lunch. One of the joys of working from home is being able to heat up leftovers for lunch. I really mean that — it saves money, is as healthy as I want it to be, tastes great, and ensures nothing goes to waste. This is a habit I really hope to continue. And it saves me time, too, which means more time catching up on email and re-ordering the backlog depending on how priorities have shifted.
After lunch, it’s back to meetings. A check in on our awareness program focusing on how to continue pivoting to a remote campus is next. The team has viewed this as a challenge and an opportunity, and two of their creative solutions have been a security-themed summer cookbook and Zoom virtual backgrounds with our logo and campaign themes. It’s another reminder of the great people with whom I get to work within and beyond my team.
Then is a last-minute call with a researcher who has questions about protocols for a project. I really love opportunities like this because it gets me directly in touch with the mission of the University and gives me the chance to help someone directly. I commit to creating a short writeup to go along with their proposal that I think I can create later in the week, and sounds like it will be helpful to and appreciated by the researcher.
After that is a catch up with one of our school security officers. I have a lot of these, and they differ by school and vary in length and content from month to month, but are always valuable. It’s such a great opportunity to make sure that our colleagues in the schools know our priorities, projects and concerns — and to make sure that I get to hear firsthand what theirs are. I often find that the best parts of these conversations start with “Oh, there’s one more thing…” This one is straightforward, but we’re able to connect on a patching initiative in which it turns out there is mutual interest.
Next is a call about an incident. It reminds me how fortunate I am to have a great team. They’ve done all the hard work and analysis, and my role is to listen, support, and make sure that I agree with the next steps — which I do.
Finally is a meeting about supporting return to campus. In hindsight I probably shouldn’t have been surprised at how much work this has been and is, but I was. I have been amazed at the volume and quality of work being done by my colleagues across our IT organization and beyond. It is nothing short of incredible and their dedication is unquestionable. This meeting focuses on how we can communicate clearly and transparently about the data that’s being used — and how and by whom — to ensure that we make the return to campus as safe as possible for our community, and preserve everyone’s privacy as we do that.
It’s already 5PM and time to pause work for a while. I have a “reservation” for a lap lane at the pool in a bit and then time to work out after that. Not only do I treasure this time, it is what makes the preceding part of the day possible on an ongoing basis. There’s always more to do, and I could easily work right through it in the short term, but the time spent getting all of the thoughts, concerns, etc. out of my mind for a while and only being able to focus on the next stroke, the next lap, or the next rep is what helps me “hit reset” and be ready for whatever the evening or the next day has in store for me.
After that, dinner with the family. That happens late on Tuesday because my kids have swim practice (socially distanced and all). We’re pretty informal and there’s as much joking around and giving one another a hard time as serious conversation.
Once that wraps up, it’s time to catch up on whatever else has transpired and prepare for the next day. While I would like to be able to tackle strategic items from the backlog in the evenings, I’m much more effective at that in the mornings — so evenings are spent on other things. Tonight, it’s catching up on emails and reading a presentation for a meeting the next day.
Depending on the time, I like to spend a little with the laptop away and unwinding before bed. That often means pretty mindless TV. National Geographic is showing “Sharkfest” — perfect! Time to call this one a day.
Reflecting on this “day in the life” reminds me of just how lucky I am. I’m lucky to work at a place where what we do really matters. I’m lucky to have an incredible team and terrific and dedicated colleagues across our IT organization and the University. I’m lucky to work for leaders who have principles and values, and are willing to stand up for them. I’m lucky to have a family that I love and with whom I get to spend just a bit more time these days.
My colleague David Sherry talked about “paying it forward” and he could not be more right. May we who feel this lucky all do our part to make this tent as big as we possibly can, and to remember that the more diverse people, experiences, backgrounds, perspectives, etc. that we can bring into the profession we love, the stronger it will be.
