Juggling Family & Career Is Tough, Even If You're Not A Parent

I read tons of entrepreneurship books, blogs, magazines and other resources, and I get sick of seeing the same theme, over and over again.

That work-life juggle portrayed as only an issue if you’re a mum.

Um, hello???

What about those who are carers?

Who are single but have other dependants?

Who are in long-distance relationships?

Who are the sole breadwinners?

The list goes on.

Just wanting to post this so the “silent carers” out there can also be acknowledged.

You’re doing a Great job.

Doing what you can, realising that no two days are alike.

Trying to fit into a “typical” day situation isn’t fair to you when you’re actually sliding along the continuum of Work and Home Life.

Let’s do this together!

Book Review: "Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less" by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

Many of us in medicine struggle to justify why we should slow down and give ourselves a break.

We’re used to putting others’ needs before our own.

We’re used to unrelenting unrostered overtime; oncall callbacks at 3am; weekend shfits trickling into birthdays and holidays; and working through illness.

If only there was a book that helped us justify to our evidence-based selves WHY we need to rest.

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang does this brilliantly in his easy-to-read manual, “Rest.”

Alex is a Silicon Valley consultant used to seeing that other modern group of trophy chronic overworkers - tech workers.

No longer is “hustling,” “crushing” and “burning it” a badge of honour for your work.

And no longer are you badgering yourself for not “working hard enough”. You probably already are. This book teaches you how to work SMART.

Doctors know well (or should know!) that as physiologic stress hormones, chronic raised adrenaline and cortisol (which are essential hormones that help regulate our daily functions in normal health, not an evil in themselves!), can lead to raised blood pressure; heart disease; higher stroke risk; obesity; cancers; some thyroid disorders; some autoimmune conditions; and other conditions. As part of the body’s natural homeostasis/resetting, we all need sleep; good nutrition; regular exercise; and unregulated downtime- sitting and doing nothing, allowing ourselves to drift to boredom and creativity. (They say having bouts of boredom in our lives actually helps fuel creativity and innovation- hence why people struggle when they try to find a “job they love” that never bores them 24/7- the fact is, those peaks and troughs even in your dream pursuit, help you stay stimulated, curious and engaged with your passion!)

When we set that homeostasis out of whack due to shift work; chronic long hours (and everyone has a different set point for when they feel tired after a certain number of hours - your 40-hour week may be someone else’s 100-hour week!); irregular sleep habits; poor diet; and basically being “on” all the time; eventually, our bodies catch up and physically can’t take it anymore without an even longer rest, if it ever recovers.

Workplace burnout has recently been recognised by the World Health Organization as a “workplace syndrome” classified by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11. This makes it even easier for us, whether we’re in medicine, tech or otherwise, to recognise signs of burnout, and the need to switch off and rest as part of our work/life routine.

Alex’s book gives tips from his research and work on this subject, and illustrates it with anecdotes from scientists who’ve raised productivity through napping; Stephen King’s writing routine; the benefits of walking; and other simple, inexpensive and time-effective measures for longevity in your work-life continuum. Like most books we recommend, it’s easy to read on the train, in bite-sized pieces, or all at once during your favourite reading time.

So, no more excuses. You deserve to Rest!

(The Medical Startup is an affiliate for Book Depository.)

Is #BalanceForBetter? International Women's Day 2019

This International Women's Day, and for all the days after it:

- I pledge to be kind to myself, because I know I haven't been; 

- I pledge that I will look after my health and wellbeing as well as I look after others'

- I will cheerfully accept that as women AND men we can't "have it all" or "do it all" at once, and enjoy knowing there's a season for everything

- I will take more walks, see more trees, swim more seas, and relax with Mother Nature

- I won't worry about the future; it hasn't happened; the past was a kind teacher, but the present is where we need to be

- I relish the journey, and enjoy each minute, being patient for the destination;

- I see "balance" as a continuum, as not equal halves or thirds or quarters in life, but more as a "flow" and that relieves pressure for women everywhere; 

- I am content and happy, and hope that you all are, too.

Happy International Women’s Day, everyone!

#BalanceForBetter  #IWD2019

Empowerment through eLearning in Medicine

You may have noticed on Instagram- I’ve been working on developing online courses.

The courses will have a difference to what’s existing already. There are literally thousands of fantastic courses online that will help you learn to code, sew, speak Spanish, and more.

But nothing out there exists specifically for medical workers and the entrepreneurially-minded out there, from a medical perspective, from real experiences.

How does startup thinking apply to you as a doctor, nurse, physio, engineer and so forth?

Where do you start when a great idea comes to mind?

What’s the truth about how clinicians really feel at times- burnt out, exhausted, demotivated, self-loathing even? How is this similar to how entrepreneurs in other industries feel? And how can all of you learn from these experiences and overcome them, or at least start to tackle them when you’re on the go, on rotation in the middle of nowhere, a busy parent on night shift, or taking a gap year overseas?

I realised that, by exploring all these topics the last three years, even when it wasn’t clear to me at first (this whole blog started by accident, after all!), the whole journey has helped me in my own personal and professional life.

I went through all of this myself, was burnt many times, and know what lies are out there, what superficial constructs have been built supporting the “Silicon Valley mindset”, how toxic this can be to you as a compassionate person who works in healthcare or wants to start in healthcare, and how the medical world is similar to this.

And also, what’s changing about these worlds, to accept more human elements, more authenticity, more vulnerability, and more real sharing of experiences and ideas.

Thinking of your path as your own Startup is one way to start healing yourself, to build resilience, and to encourage yourself when you’re alone, when you feel misunderstood, and things seem tough. Even if you never start your own tech company, it doesn’t matter. We can all learn from startup thinking, even if your pursuit is actually in art or music or sport.

And that’s the thing. From Day 1, I was keen to feature people who are like me- creative as well as in STEM- to help transform the dialogue in medicine, that we are just what our job roles say- RMO, RN1, Dietitian, and nothing else beyond that. What happened to the extracurricular activities we loved in school, and how they were promoted as part of our curriculums there?

I felt ridiculed and even stupid for having a strong creative passion from childhood, and trying to marry this with medicine, which I also enjoy. Really, we all use creativity to some extent in our daily lives. From showcasing interviews with photographers, magicians and jewellery designers, to gaining confidence for my own journey in the creative industries, and to being approached to help start other ventures, this journey has been incredible and taught me a lot that I can share with you, too.

I’ll keep you posted- best is to sign up to the Mailing List at the bottom of this page, and/or follow on social media; if any questions about what particularly you’d like to learn or are struggling with, please send me an email at info (at) themedicalstartup.com.

Thank you for being part of our journey throughout, can’t wait to share more!

Cheers,

Louise

Success At All Costs?

I touched on this briefly in my New Year’s post.

What saddened me when I dug deeper into medical startups in 2016 was that, quite often, success was seen as something to achieve at all costs, with no respect for customers, colleagues, or the wider community.

Even if a brand has a carefully constructed facade, it will all fall apart behind the scenes if you don’t genuinely care.

Coming from the similarly ruthless world of physician training, I found it very disappointing, especially when startups and the entrepreneurial world are trying to attract more clinicians.

Most clinicians are attracted to healthcare because of the caring aspect. They genuinely want to help make a great contribution to people’s lives, through direct patient-clinician contact.

That compassion and vulnerability can be misused by unscrupulous individuals and companies, and even with a strong Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, the WHY behind the company can be lost.

Is any industry safe from this?

No.

But it’s up to us, the individuals, to keep our values in mind, and live them.

For real.

Are you living your Mission Statement?

Confidence

You can be confident when you succeed.

You can be confident when you present.

You can be confident when you pitch.

You can be confident when you fail, too.

Because that’s growth.

That shows humility and strength.

People admire that.

Course Suggestion: Machine Learning on Coursera

Who wants to learn some tech skills in a flexible, free/low-cost learning environment?

Taught by Andrew Ng of Stanford, the Stanford Machine Learning course on Coursera is one of Coursera’s most famous courses; it actually launched the famous Coursera platform! Easy to learn and quick to understand, it’s a great course for learning ML concepts quickly and effectively. It’s a course I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and finally, I have time for it.

Start at https://www.coursera.org/learn/machine-learning/home/welcome.

What other tech courses have you done online?

Don't Be Afraid

Don’t be afraid to say no to a deal that isn’t fair.

Don’t be afraid to walk away from teammates who don’t support you, despite false words and appearances.

Don’t be afraid to walk away from those who discredit you and your hard work.

Don’t be afraid to call out what’s wrong.

Don’t be afraid to believe in you.

Don’t be afraid to persist.

Don’t be afraid to wait to figure out your next move.

Don’t be afraid to walk away from that which doesn’t nourish you.

Don’t be afraid of time.

Don’t be afraid of change.

Don’t be afraid of success.

Don’t be afraid of happiness.

Don’t be afraid of your dreams.

Don’t be afraid to put your health first.

Don’t be afraid to put your loved ones first.

Don’t be afraid to say what’s tough.

Don’t be afraid to have values.

Don’t be afraid to care.

I hope this helps you.

Book Review: Programming Your Mind For Success Through “She Means Business” by Carrie Green

First published March 15, 2017

We came across Carrie Green and The Female Entrepreneur Association via Facebook awhile ago. Having benefited from being a part of their community, and having experienced Carrie’s work firsthand, it was a delight to see that her book is now available worldwide.

Carrie’s book “She Means Business” is available at Australian and international bookstores as well as online. Pic: The Medical Startup

We gain a lot of medical startup lessons from other industries, and Carrie has built an industry-agnostic community based on her experiences as a sole female founder of a tech company. She did this while studying Law in the UK, creating a mobile phone-unlocking business back in the pre-smartphone era. She taught herself how to build a website, and showed how just launching (even when she felt the website wasn’t that attractive) helped her business progress faster. (“Done is better than perfect” in many cases!) According to “She Means Business,” her business turned over $50,000 a month. But she was unhappy, and realised meaning was missing from her life.

After several months of personal exploration, Carrie realised her mission was to empower female business owners worldwide, and to connect with others sharing her experiences. It’s well-known that women (generally speaking) connect in business differently to men. Sheryl Sandberg covers great ground in her book “Lean In” about those differences, and how women and men can support each other in their journeys to leadership and fulfilment. Carrie uses her own personality and lessons from exploring the mindset of business success to empower over 100,000 women across the world, now generating more than $90,000 a month in revenue through the Female Entrepreneur Association.

Yet, it takes time to build a success. Carrie says it took five years for this revenue target to be achieved. She mentions that as recently as 2012, the FEA was growing, but was not financially sustainable. Being frank about these realities helps readers remember that we’re all human, and that time is the biggest investment in a successful life, no matter what success means to you – financially, spiritually, or otherwise. And because we’re all limited by time, what would you most want to spend your greatest asset working on?

The Female Entrepreneur Association differs from other business groups by focusing first and foremost on Mindset. The Mindset of Success and empowering your self-talk is what will get you through the hard times; the moments of self-doubt; the crippling anxiety of “will it fail?,” and the push to quit versus persist. Carrie shares her many tools and tricks, which you’d normally have to pay a monthly Member’s fee for access to, in a very readable and enjoyable book, written in her warm, conversational voice. For men who are thinking this book isn’t for them, Carrie reveals that many of the mindset tools she’s equipped with come from her dad’s books and audio collection. Her dad even sent Carrie and her siblings (brothers and sister!) to classes on resilience and positive thinking when they were kids. Carrie speaks often, including on TEDx, about “programming your mind for success,” and while reading this book, you’ll realise that your greatest tool for startup success is your mind.

Purchasing the book also unlocks a 28-day “She Means Business” challenge, with actions guided by Carrie throughout the book as well as bonuses online.

You can purchase “She Means Business” through Book Depository or your favourite booksellers.

*note: affiliate links in this article- we may earn commission from the bookseller.