Balance in everything...so stop.

I realize this blog is late, but I think hospitalization is an adequate excuse. More on that at a later date.

Balance is a critical element, and it has been taught by many great minds throughout history. I don't need to repeat it.

The Greeks believed our entire health resided in the balance of just a few chemicals in our body....

But the balance that Boice has interested me with is time on and off work. Some of us work too hard, and others not hard enough. At OSU, when I taught academic success, I would suggest students aim for a Sabbath - and I think it's a great practice for graduate school, too.

Now, I'm not talking about a religious sabbath - that is a very different sabbath. I'm talking about a day of rest, which is what we commonly think of when we think of the Jewish sabbath (not really what the Hebrew sabbath was/is). A sabbath for us is just a day to NOT be a student.

It takes actually seems harder at first. You must work hard enough for six days that you can take a seventh day off - and you try to refrain from any work, especially that work that pertains to whatever your job is (for us, studying).

In the book for our 8005 classs, Semenza suggests a 60+ hour work week. If you take a day off, this means putting in six ten hour days.

You can choose the day. I pick the traditional Saturday night, and follow the Jewish custom of Saturday beginning on Friday night, because it let's me cheat a little. At Sundown on Friday I stop working, and, honestly, at Sundown on Saturday I probably have plans with people so unless I'm really behind I usually don't sit down and begin working immediately until Sunday morning.

I encourage you to try this practice. I already do it for religious purposes, but I've had many students who wouldn't consider themselves spiritual give it a try, and they all love it.