Start a List

I encourage you to make a list of where you want to be, in a big fat conceptual way (chopping onions in a kitchen with warm track lighting) or in specific places (at the headquarters of Texas Instruments). Divide your list so that the things you want to do every day, like exercising or spending 30 minutes writing in the morning, don’t get mixed in with the finite goals, like applying for a specific grant or running this year’s Boston Marathon. Hang your list somewhere visible or attach it to your (nonhuman) coffeemaker with tape. That way, it will be in your face every day, as opposed to something you peruse when you clean out the drawer of your bedside table.

What Makes You Thrive?

Another good list to make has to do with the conditions under which you flourish. Some people really thrive on being in an environment where there’s a lot of energy. They do their best work in a brainstorming, collaborating, risk-taking, positive-feedback-giving group. (Sounds a lot like San Francisco, doesn’t it?) Other creative people think best in isolation, plodding away on a project until it’s complete. Just because you’re creative doesn’t mean that you’re a social creature. You might require the isolation of working at home because you can’t deal with coworkers who say things like, “Somebody’s got a case of the Mondays,” and expect you to laugh.

See also:

Grad School: Steer Clear
Exhaust Yourself with Research