Higher Vibrations in Higher Education

Overworked and underwhelmed: The 6 faces of burnout and what we can do about them

Dr. Jacqueline Kerr is in the top 1% of most cited scientists worldwide. But in 2018, she experienced severe burn out. To survive and start to thrive, she shifted out of academia. Now, she is using this burn out to fuel change in her career, her messaging, and what she's offering to other scientists, especially to moms in research. Some key takeaways are related to:
Advocating for multilevel burn out prevention
Embracing the “mediocre man mindset” for products
A vulnerable share related to her experience; validating the differences between being tired and overwhelmed and burn out
Knowing that there are six faces of burn out, do you see one of them in the mirror?
More offerings from Dr. Kerr here: https://www.drjacquelinekerr.com/
Her TEDxMcMasterU,  "How To Stop Burnout Before It Starts" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YY0gVnVPoQ

Samma Says is Zoom (literally?) killing me: Strategies for more ease in web-conferencing

The chemical factory that is my body is so stimulated. I talked to my husband for hours about how to fix my schedule. It’s only webconferencing that’s the problem. I can be endlessly fueled by my work if it’s not on back-to-back Zooms. I’m breaking the cycle going forward. But, in the meantime, when I have to be on I will:
Acknowledge that our bodies haven’t caught up with technology. When we’re on Web-conferencing and only seeing people from the torso up, it alerts our body to “are we f^@king or fighting?”
Stop performing, turn off self-view
Just laugh
Take breaks
Tune in for more with Fionna Boyle in an upcoming episode. Find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/maritimemomentum/

Paying it Forward: Embodying the tripartite mission of research, teaching, and outreach with Dr. Debby Good

Dr. Deborah (Debby) Good is tenured faculty of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech. She embodies the tripartite (three-part) mission of land-grant universities via her research, teaching, and outreach.
We dive into insecurities in being “on” (looks, words, deeds) in web-conferencing, in front of the classroom, and in any community with which we interact. The conversation walks us through the journey of not knowing what the scientific process really looks like and then becoming a key driver of discovery and training students over time.
 
Key takeaways are:
Don’t let someone else’s opinion get in the way of your flourishing
Check in on how much the construct of your identity is tied up in being a professor, an academic, a person with a PhD
Engage in undergraduate research (as an undergraduate scholar or mentor [grad student, post doc, PO])
Thank a professor who has meant a lot to you
Being a bit more casual with mindfulness is ok (an especially important reminder in new years, seasons, semester, jobs, etc.)
One of her favorite moments in research, “when you are the only person in the world who knows this discovery.”
One thing they don’t tell you about tenure conversations is that updates to the faculty handbook makes things looser and tighter over time.
More about TOUR scholars: https://www.hnfe.vt.edu/TOURS.html
More about Dr. Good's research: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GnJUkJoAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Your PhD program teaches you to think: Your heart and gut teach you how to live

Dr. Justine Dowd wants you to "heal from the inside out"...and it all started with her own journey. In this episode we discuss that:
- Your PhD teaches you how to think and earns you freedom
- There is a healing-- recovery and rest-- that most of us need during and after pursuing a PhD. Self-compassion can be a large part of that process
- We all might benefit from being careful with commitments so that we can create space for the things and people we love
- Sometimes we get invaluable guidance. Like this one to check in on: "What are your strengths and passions? Are you going into medicine because you want to be a doctor or because you like helping people?"
- We’re addicted to the cycle of grant, paper, work, reward. We're addicted to success as defined by a broken system
- More rest could create a culture of health
Dr. Dowd's holistic health coaching: https://www.justinedowd.ca/heal-from-the-inside-out

Personal Financial Wellness: Notice how little of it is about money

Dr. Luke Erickson is an Associate Professor and the Personal Finance Extension Specialist for the University of Idaho, where he intentionally blends his research, teaching and outreach towards holistic well-being. We talk through establishing our boundaries and finding ways to match our values with the esoteric concept of money.
I walked away with this:
- Too much of what you don’t want = burn out
- Finding core values—strategically through worksheets and reflection, more esoterically through lived experience.
- Knowing who you are allows you to let finances be a vehicle to live your best life.
- Money is a tool or vehicle to living your life according to your values
 
What do you find helpful? Listen on!
 
Northwest Youth Financial Education digital educational game initiative https://www.uidaho.edu/extension/4h/programs/nw-youth-financial-ed
 
https://www.uidaho.edu/cals/family-and-consumer-sciences/our-people/luke-erickson

Samma Says: Considerations for Applying for Grad School with Audrey Rowe

Audrey Rowe, an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech, prepared a few questions for me related to applying for graduate school, embracing change and the unknown, and any hot tips for application and decision making. We also sneak in a testimonial about the Translational Obesity Undergraduate Research program at Virginia Tech. Applications now open! Visit hnfe.vt.edu/tours.

Trip, fall, and leap into your next step, and let the transition time be gentle

Dr. Alyssa Gatto is a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University. We discuss how we are trying to do academia differently. We share our perspectives as two first generation college students and yoga teachers: How we want to live our yoga off the mat. Dr. Gatto specifically suggests opportunities for authentic connection as a change for academia. And, how to let transitions between papers, grants, huge academic mile markers be gentle instead of jolting into the next thing. How did we get here? Tripping, falling, and leaping. Enjoy!

Intentional social media to nourish the way you share your science

Morgan Gregg, MS discusses her role in the Family Nutrition Program of Virginia Cooperative Extension and intentional social media use.
"The way in which you choose to consume social media has the power to inspire and transform... but can also be detrimental.... Take a step back, analyze yourself, and be mindful about the ways you use social media." 
- Practices for nourishing your engagement with your feed. Focus on where you find inspiration versus exhaustion. 
- In terms of marketing materials or educational outreach: Meet people where they are and speak in jargon that applies to their lives.
- Don't ask, don't get: In terms of your roles and responsibilities at work.
- Remember social media is about connection, not the external/addictive likes.

Samma Says: Meet JANE for your peer review publication

In this episode I share how challenging it is to start a new project and to navigate peer review. Lots of discussion to come on peer review tips and strategies, in the meantime, it came to my attention that not everyone has met JANE: Journal/Author Name Estimator. Check it out at:
 
https://jane.biosemantics.org/

You Are Already Enough: Root Chakra Visualization,Breathwork, +Mantra

10 minutes of guided visualization, breathwork, and mantra related to root chakra imbalances in academia.
 
No matter how many papers or grant dollars you have (good or bad) you were and always have been enough.