Move writing to the top of your to-do list

Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, WA
Photo by Gail M. Pfeifer, RN, MA 

Writing is something very important to me, yet it often falls to the bottom of my list. Sound familiar?

While I have learned that lists keep me organized and help me get things done, sometimes I let them overwhelm me. When that happens, I often refer back to a book I read some years ago: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey. For me, the most useful thing Covey does in this book is to distinguish between what’s important—those things that contribute to one’s long-term goals (the big rocks in the jar, he calls them)—and what is urgent—matters that seem to require immediate action but end up being mere distractions (those pebbles that could really fit in anywhere). At times these two categories converge, but as he points out, most often urgent matters are not the same as important ones.

Think about this when you feel inundated with things to do, and you put aside your goal to write. Then make some decisions about what’s really important in your life. If writing is one of those things, it does not have to be urgent, but it does belong in that important category, which demands that you make some space for it. And it should go on your list first. After all, it's a big rock.

What have you found useful for moving writing to the top of your list? Do you have a tip to share?

Portions of this blog entry first appeared in my column, “Your Space—Taking Care of You,” in the June 2010 issue of AJN eNews.

The tattoo: a story all its own

Virtual body art via Photobooth
by Gail M. Pfeifer, RN, MA

I recently completed a news piece on the issue of tattoos and piercings in health care professionals (HCPs). It seems that younger folks entering the health care professions tend to be more inclined to have tattoos than older folks, like Baby Boomers. As younger HCPs care for older patients (those Baby Boomers), what will the repercussions be? While researching the topic, I learned that the workplace issue is not specific to HCPs, but runs the gamut of professions, from chefs to casino employees. Several Web sites offer advice on the etiquette of tattoos, piercings, or both, in the workplace. (See one such site here.) As a nurse, what is your opinion on displaying body art? What should take priority, your freedom of expression or your patients’ feelings and preferences? What is your experience with management on this issue in your workplace? If you display body art, how do your patients react to it? Now there’s a story to tell.