I have always enjoyed reading Stephen King novels; one line from his thriller The Shining resonates with me to this day: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. There is something to be said about this infamous quote; I actually referenced it when offering some advice to AuD and Speech-Language Pathology students during the University of Cincinnati’s Spring Banquet this past April (see #10 in my blog post Advice to Audiology & Speech Language Pathology Students).
As a recovering workaholic (I used to work all the time!), I made a conscious decision this past New Year’s Eve to plan for more fun and to experience personal challenges that had nothing to do with Audiology. Gasp! Did I really say that? Yes, I did! I will admit, sometimes planning for fun can be a little work but it has definite pay-offs. So, in the spirit of finding balance in life, rather than offering an Audiology ToTT (Tricks of the Trade), information on a new hearing assistance technology, or infection control insight, I offer you a glimpse into my personal life as offered in my other blog called A.U.’s Adventures.
It all started with a life-changing trip to Sri Lanka in December of 2012 followed by an Oscar Adventure, and the Whole30 Adventure amongst others. This past weekend, I started my Alaska Adventure; this is something I always wanted to do and never followed through until now. I hope that when you read about some of my adventures, you will commit to making sure you make time for some of your own, outside of work. This personal exercise has made me not only a better person, but a more productive audiologist.
