I have a new goal in mind. This will actually be my new habit for the upcoming month. This is partly inspired from reading blogs like "Success for Today". My long term goal for the moment is to finish reading The Kidney by Brenner and Rector. However, there is no free time in my schedule. In order to free up time in my schedule I will need to wake up earlier. Here is my plan

First month (I will be on ICU)
Goal for the month: Wake up at 5:30 in the morning except when I'm post call
Ways to accomplish this goal
1. Wake up immediately when the alarm goes off
a. Create a subconscious loop in my head that I will automatically get up. (Creating a habit)
b. Start jogging for 10 minutes immediately after I wake up
2. Get to work by 6:15 in the morning
3. After 30 days, gradually shorten the wake up time by 15 minutes to 5:15, and get to work by 6:00 in the morning
4. After 30 days wake up by 5:00 in the morning. Increase exercise time to 20 minutes

Now I'm in July on a consult month (Renal Transplant)
Read 30 minutes of Brenner and Rector on renal transplant. Get to work by 6:30 am.
Read 30 minutes of Brenner and Rector at night.

I'm on my way to reading 3000 pages (300 hours work of reading) for the year. Thus it all starts with waking up early.

J
P.S. I still need to do MKSAP questions and Medstudy reading as well. AAARgh!!!

I had an awesome trip back to California. My goals for my short time there was to learn 5 new dishes and get lots of sleep.

I have to thank my friend Dave for teaching me two new dishes. The first dish was a combination of straw noodles and eggs. The second dish was a tofu dish with Yu Chai. At first I said that it was Yu Choi, but my wife got totally confused. I was mispronouncing the name of the vegetable ;)

The rest of the dishes that I learned was wonton soup, fried noodles, and another tofu dish. It is a good thing that I got the recipes in writing, otherwise I would forget how to cook it.

I also spent the majority of my time sleeping and also viewing trips about Europe. I will blog about my tentative trip a short time later.

John

SWANSON'S UNWRITTEN RULES 1: Learn to say, "I don't know." If used when appropriate, it will be used often. 2: It is easier to get into something than to get out of it. 3: If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much 4: Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what's there; few can see what isn't there. 5: Presentation rule: When something appears on a slide presentation, assume the world knows about it and deal with it accordingly. 6. Work for a boss to whom you can tell it like it is. Remember, you can't pick your family, but you can pick your boss. 7: Constantly review developments to make sure that the actual benefits are what they were supposed to be. Avoid Newton's Law. 8: However menial and trivial your early assignments may appear, give them your best effort. 9: Persistence or tenacity is the disposition to persevere in spite of difficulties, discouragement or indifference. Don't be known as a good starter but a poor finisher! 10: In doing your project, don't wait for others; go after them and make sure it gets done. 11: Confirm the instructions you give others, and their commitments, in writing. Don't assume it will get done. 12: Don't be timid: Speak up, express yourself and promote your ideas. 13: Practice shows that those who speak the most knowingly and confidently often end up with the assignment to get the job done. 14: Strive for brevity and clarity in oral and written reports. 15: Be extremely careful in the accuracy of your statements. 16: Don't overlook the fact that you are working for a boss. Keep him or her informed. Whatever the boss wants, within the bounds of integrity, takes top priority. 17: Promises, schedules and estimates are important instruments in a well-run business. You must make promises — don't lean on the often-used phrase: "I can't estimate it because it depends on many uncertain factors." 18: Never direct a complaint to the top; a serious offense is to "cc" a person's boss on a copy of a complaint before the person has a chance to respond to the complaint. 19: When interacting with people outside the company, remember that you are always representing the company. Be especially careful of your commitments. 20: Cultivate the habit of boiling matters down to the simplest terms: the proverbial "elevator speech" is the best way. 21: Don't get excited in engineering emergencies: Keep your feet on the ground. 22: Cultivate the habit of making quick, clean-cut decisions. 23: When making decisions, the "pros" are much easier to deal with than the "cons." Your boss wants to see both. 24: Don't ever lose your sense of humor. 25: Have fun at what you do. It will be reflected in you work. No one likes a grump except another grump! 26: Treat the name of you company as if it were your own. 27: Beg for the bad news. 28: You remember 1/3 of what you read, 1/2 of what people tell you, but 100% of what you feel. 29: You can't polish a sneaker. 30: When facing issues or problems that are becoming drawn-out, "short them to the ground." 31: When faced with decisions, try to look at them as if you were one level up in the organization. Your perspective will change quickly. 32: A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person. (This rule never fails). 33: Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, an amateur built an ark that survived a flood while a large group of professionals built the Titanic! Postscript: The qualities of leadership boil down to confidence, dedication, integrity and love.

My grand project for my third year will be to finish Brenner and Rector's, _The Kidney_.

This might be the most monumental project that I've ever done. Basically encapsulated within those 3072 pages is the state of human knowledge on the kidney. I figure 1 year is a doable goal if I read at least 10 pages/day.

Things to do to accomplish this goal:

1. Publicize it on my blog. Done!

2. Find the book
Ok, here's the hard part. The book costs $420 and there is no copy in the library. My goal is to find a renal fellow who would let me borrow the book for the year. Another thought is to try to convince the drug reps to buy the book for me.

3. Wake up early in the am to read.

4. Start by doing another doable goal. For example, for this past month I've been very diligent in reading the bible. I have a reminder system by email to remind me to read the bible every day. Prior to finishing this book, I plan on finishing immunobiology within a month. I've already read a third of the book.

5. Since the book is in electronic format, I will try to read random chapters when I'm bored.

J

Due to overwhelming popular demand, I'm going to post on a more regular basis :)

After my licensing exam, I will be going back to California for a little R and R. Unfortunately, my wife is busy working at Goldman Sachs doing American taxes on European investments.

To do list for Step 3

1. Finish 5 practice exams (done with 4.5)
2. Review Ob Gyn again.
3. Reread pediatrics
4. Look at urology and orthopedic surgery
5. Do all the computer exams

To do list in California
1. Do nothing!
2. Look at Rick Steeve's videos on France, Italy and Greece
3. Learn how to cook 5 new dishes

J