There is a line of thinking in educational psychology and in pedagogy studies that teaching students to focus on what they know and do well will be more productive than focusing on correcting errors or deficiencies. In my classrooms, I have often used this line of reasoning with students who tend to dwell on their inabilities rather than capitalize on their strengths.
After reading your post – and about Bezos’ philosophy about focusing on strengths – it reminded me of a man I once heard talk about his learning math conceptually when in middle school. He talked about not having to ‘worry’ about arithmetic and instead focusing on the ‘way’ mathematical concepts worked and how it seemed to liberate everyone from always thinking about how to get the right answer, and instead focus on what understanding the concept(s) could help them do/figure out.
I wonder: if we (humans) had a perception of what access to the technology could help them do better or learn more of, instead of thinking how it could fill their immediate needs for attention and gratification if we could improve productivity overall?
Thanks for the rundown, Sofia. It is illuminating.

Brilliant, as usual, Sara. Thank you for taking the time to post this thoughtful chronology of your day. I remember being a young mother, and totally in love with my daughter, and very often thinking “how” did I manage to get through that day?” I wasn’t a student at the time, but was trying to run my own business attending to the needs of 5-8 very busy and demanding clients.
At the time, multi-tasking wasn’t a ‘thing’ yet: i referred to what I did as ‘maximizing the seconds’ – meaning I often ate while driving and listening to the news (15 minutes x 3 tasks = 45 effectiveness minutes, or something like that). And, you’re right, your executive functioning and ability to maintain focus does change over time – particularly when you have young children. It’s actually a biological way to keep you focused on caring for your child(ren).
I really appreciated your reflection on being mindful: I have been working on that myself, and just taking a minute to think about what I’m doing and why can help put me back on track … sometimes. But I am often impacted by those around me who are more interested in what I can do for them than how they can support me, which makes the mindfulness practice tricky.
I think one of the keys is keeping a sense of humor and maintaining connections with people who feed your soul creatively, energetically, intellectually, supportively and spiritually. I am a bit envious of your work group and the support you seem to be able to derive from it. Glad for you!!

Keep up the brilliant work. And, by all means, find the time to do what makes you happy. You’ll be glad you’ve developed those habits in the future.

Ooohhhh…. yeah. And don’t forget the ever-demanding email acct.(s). I feel like I need to put a footer on my emails that says “I only check emails once a day, if I actually have time, while eating dinner (if eating alone).” Such a conundrum this connectivity that enhances our ability to communicate and learn, but hampers our ability to communicate and learn.

If you figure out anything about studying for prelims., let me know. allright? I’m gonna’ be right behind you it looks like.
Thanks for posting, Jason. Always a delight to read.

I would like that Busting a Book guide also!
Thanks, Dr. N.

Genius! I think my kids use that app. also. Thanks for the reminder.

Thanks for addressing the issue of present attitude/thinking when it comes to presenting one’s views/actions on diversity, Zach. I have a hard time following rules, generally, so trying to write a statement that started with the past and ended with the future was frustrating and flat for me. When I thought about the objective and then wrote from my heart I did much better at capturing the values and thinking that motivate me to attend/address/look for diversity. I think I can go back now and craft a ‘statement’ around past actions and future plans.

So, the other part of your post that mesmerizes me is your research focused on learning through Yoga Nidra and with Transp0.se. I’m fascinated and want to know more! (I will try to get back to your link this evening after class …)

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Ooohhh… good points, Bethany. I haven’t read what Zach wrote below, but I think it is definitely a good idea to utilize guidelines and frameworks to create the *best* response/outcome for yourself. I’m kind of with Zach in that focusing on the past and the future doesn’t really provide much insight into who I am and how I think about diversity at the moment. But I also can see that reflection and projection would be an excellent way for you to create a profile that makes sense for you.

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You are so kind, Sara. And at the risk of being too gushy, I feel much the same way about you and your posts!
All we have is hope, right?