Writing workshop

"Well, you know, I'm a physicist, so I thought about stuff...I wrote some of it down."

- the TV show The Big Bang Theory

Every scientist has a backlog of papers they want to write. Every. Single. One. In fact, for as much as I adore The Big Bang Theory, the #1 thing that show gets wrong is how much free time the characters have. If the show were realistic, they would never have gaps between projects. Ever. Sheldon and Leonard would spend every episode in meetings, writing proposals, managing budgets, mentoring students, and desperately, hopelessly scraping together a few minutes to write papers here and there. 

Sometimes, you just have to be selfish. Sometimes, you just have to shut your office door and work. Or better yet, don't work at the office so nobody can find you. 

I'm not pointing any fingers here, but there may be a certain scientist working at an undisclosed off-campus location today. She might have decided to work remotely for personal reasons, but then she might have realized how great of an opportunity she had on her hands to actually get work done. Maybe she told her colleagues she was going to be gone, maybe not. Maybe she just needed a little peace and a writing workshop day. Maybe she's not sorry for prioritizing her own to-do list and even skipping out on a seminar. 

Maybe she's going to log off the blog now and write her paper. 

Maybe she's happy about that.