Confessions of a researchaholic

A few discoveries I have during the pandemic lockdown include:

Podcasts, some of my most favorites include NPR Planet Money, the (Wall Street) Journal, Economist Radio, Freakonomics Radio, and HBR IdeaCast.

A lot more hiking in nearby natural spaces.

A lot more home cooking.

How lucky I am to have bought the right home and married the right person.

Ever since I accidentally dined in a very high-end sushi restaurant (lack of judgement caused by time rush), I have been receiving these (complementary) magazines advertising luxury products and life styles.
The contrast between fancy design and unnecessary consumption is always a wonder to me, and I guess perhaps this is the entire point of luxury goods.

I was sitting on the fence to decide whether to join the reopening preparation efforts for a studio that I have been a member of; on one hand I like to volunteer in a community service, but on the other hand it isn’t the best use of my time (opportunity cost).
Then, today, a session was canceled at the last minute without on-time notification that put me waiting for nothing, and thus resolved my moral dilemma.

Once upon a time, a conversation happened between two paper co-chairs for an upcoming conference:

It is great to hear that you would be one of the papers co-chairs.
I am rather stretched with commitments over the next year including a startup and hence I would be much happier to take on this role knowing my co-chair is willing to share the load equally which I hope you are.

Forcing me to invest in your startup can be a good way to incentivize me to put in enough effort for EGSR. (Otherwise, you will have to spend more time on EGSR, which means less time on your start-up, and eventually less return of my investment.)
😈

That is a brilliant idea 😀
I might take you up on that for the next round of funding 😉

So the Oscars were invented to glamorize the movie industry when it was looked down upon during its infancy, which begets a question: is it wise to care about awards, especially in our own professions?

Work-life balance is not really about how many hours we spend each day for work or leisure. Rather, it is doing what we really want to do, instead of being controlled by external sources, being other people or our own habits.

We tend to be more creative when we are physically and mentally healthy: sleep well, exercise enough, eat healthy food, maintain focus and presence, have a positive mood, and explore activities that might not seem to directly contribute to the current bottom line.