Think Small and One Step at a Time – But Do It Right

I love the book “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown. Stanford even hosted him a few years back, and his talk brought the concepts of his book to life. Fast forward a bit, and in another one of his books, “Effortless,” he was lamenting the struggles of writing a bestseller on the topic of saying “No” and avoiding distractions — you guessed it, like giving a talk to scientists at Stanford and many other places. So, even if you are the person coming up with a specific lifestyle and rules, it is often impossible to follow your own rulebook.

As someone deep in research and science, I can tell you that the pressure to publish our results and compete for funding makes the minimalist approach of focusing only on the enjoyable aspects feel damn near impossible. For me, those enjoyable things included planning new experiments, diving into the lab at 5 AM when I couldn’t sleep, and just wanting to make progress. But over the years, my focus had to shift. I realized my role in ensuring our lab's success wasn't just about sweating it out in the trenches anymore; it had to evolve to keep our little “business” afloat. This meant pivoting my focus to publications and fundraising—a total buzzkill, but I had to convince myself that it was worth the effort to pen papers and write grant applications.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve learned to actually enjoy the writing process and unpacking our experimental thought process. That's definitely the most rewarding part of my job now. Then comes grant writing, which has its own set of goals. Here, one has to take a convoluted set of plans—where pretty much everything can go sideways—and distill it into a reasonable plan that leaves little room for criticism. Honestly, that process mostly sucks and isn’t fulfilling, but I’ve realized it's a form of artistic writing. You need to sound convincing, but you can’t come off as an arrogant jerk who’s too full of himself—because you know at least one reviewer will end up hating your guts. Ah, the glorious art of pretending. With funding at an all-time low, it’s definitely a less-than-pleasant aspect of academic research. Plus, I get unsolicited suggestions from people I barely interact with academically, telling me to steer my research toward where the money is. But honestly, that’s not what I want to do. I’d rather chase what I think is best for my lab and our team.

Anyway, let’s focus back on the main point of this blog post. I really embrace the core message of Essentialism: focusing on “what matters most.” That means honing in on the tasks that truly matter for my lab and my folks. For the people in my lab, that translates to prioritizing what’s most important for their career progression and getting the work done. We’re all chasing a common goal, but let’s not forget we’re also out to advance our own personal careers. Tackling this as a team helps.

Quick side note: I’ve been preaching to my lab about the importance of teamwork in science—helping each other out can create a synergy that boosts our scientific output beyond what any one of us could achieve alone. Of course, that’s easier said than done. We all have different styles and approaches, and within the lab, we have bigger teams of 3-4, smaller teams of two, and individuals who prefer to tackle things solo. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. The bottom line is that it’s better to a) offer help when you see someone could use it and b) ask for help when you need it. That concept is solid and does not need a Kumbaya approach.

Alright, back on track. The essence of Essentialism is about learning to say “No” to requests that don’t fit into the “mattering most” category. But let’s be real, I can’t run my lab by categorically shutting people down when they ask for my input on projects outside my lab's focus. That would make me come off as the arrogant jerk I never want to be. What I’ve learned is that being realistic about my own time is vital; don’t promise anything that you can’t realistically deliver with top-notch focus. Well, I try to meet this concept, but I fail to follow this rulebook way too often. Perhaps a New Year’s resolution for me for 2025.

This leads me to today’s core message. While it’s crucial to be selective, it’s also okay to take on some tasks that contribute to maintaining “status.” Some things just have to get done to keep the lab, department, institute, etc., running smoothly. So, yeah, it’s vital to invest time in resubmitting grants that have failed twice—even when I’m still miffed at reviewer 3 for not giving me the benefit of the doubt. I’m ready to tackle the challenge of making fundamental changes to the grant to boost its funding chances. But let’s face it: writing the grant isn’t what truly matters most to me right now. For the sake of my sanity, I’m placing that task in the bottom 30% of my focus. I’m giving myself ample time—three months to write it—to avoid the stress of rushing. That way, grant writing becomes an acceptable distraction from my “top of the list” tasks.

Now, what’s that “top of the list” task? It’s what takes up 70% of my attention, and guess what? It’s purposely NOT something huge. It has to be a small, achievable step that I can knock out in a few days. My only requirement? It has to be done with the highest level of focus and quality possible. One step at a time! Another step will likely build on the previous one, so it’s crucial to put the big picture aside for a moment. Just zero in on that next step and deliver quality work with 100% confidence.

Back when I was knee-deep in the wet lab, that could have been running a series of triplicate experiments for a figure in the next paper—ensuring all controls are done, everything’s fully quantified, and I’ve got a perfect set of “representative” images. If that was what mattered most for my career, I’d dive in with full focus for days or weeks if needed. Everything else? That’s lower on the priority list and not essential. Now, in this stage of my “advanced career,” the same principle applies—likely focusing on a publication or a specific section of a paper that needs my undivided attention. Let’s nail that down, then move on to the next “top of the list” item.

And don’t forget, the “top of the list” doesn’t always have to be career-related. Life exists outside of science, too! If your top task is taking a 5-mile hike or simply taking a week off to recharge, do it! But remember, don’t do it half-heartedly!