On September 9, Weinberg staff gathered in Harris 108 for the third session of WSAB Show and Tell. This session focused on productivity and work/life balance. Our presenters shared many tips, tricks, and meaningful insights.
After grabbing empanadas from Savory Crust, the audience settled in for a series of presentations followed by an open discussion. We heard about a variety of topics from our panelists, including Beth Clifford Smith (WCAS Human Resources), Jen Bivens (Weinberg IT), Laura Scheer Dimitrijevic (WCAS Events), Jane Corey Holt (WCAS Faculty Affairs), and Tom Burke (Kaplan Institute for the Humanities).
Beth Clifford Smith – Getting Organized in Work and Life: Adaptions from Getting Things Done
Beth started us off by sharing what helps her stay organized and thus be productive. She mainly shared strategies she has adopted from the book Getting Things Done, specifically sharing what works for her and why. She discussed her experience becoming a parent, how it changed her outlook on productivity, and how it led to further adaptions to her organization techniques.
Jen Bivens – Project Management: Big of Small? Agile or Waterfall?
Jen followed, discussing agile project management framework (and scrum). She discussed how this framework compared to “waterfall”, another commonly used framework. She then displayed a few different project management softwares and discussed how one might incorporate these tools into the day to day work we all do in our units.
Laura Scheer Dimitrijevic
Laura spoke next. Laura shared her experience completing her SESP master’s degree while balancing work, life, and raising a family. Laura discussed her experience through the ebs and flows of school, work, and home demands. She described different seasons of her life and how she managed her time through these many busy (and insanely busy) seasons. We got a glimpse into Laura’s shared calendar system, which she uses to track work, school, family, and social commitments for herself, her husband, and her son.
Jane Holt – Balance: trying to ensure that the demands of work, family and making music exist in harmony (pun intended)
Alongside Harold performs on the Chicago Riverwalk
Jane followed and discussed the transition from raising a family, to returning to work, to getting more time to explore her creative pursuits as her children grew up. Jane shared her experience making music and being in the band Alongside Harold, something she does with her husband and other friends. She discussed her experience making time for practice and playing across Evanston/Chicago with the band. Jane’s experience was inspirational and outlined how one can make time for creative pursuits outside of work and other demands.
Visit Alongside Harold Website
Tom Burke: Balancing Life with being an author
Tom finished up with a discussion about balancing life with being an author. He discussed his experience managing work, life, and family as he navigated the pandemic era and worked to finish his first novel. Tom provided tips for making time for yourself to be productive and creative while sharing space and leaving time for one’s family. He also discussed candidly his experience dedicating time to navigate mental health struggles. Tom ended by sharing an excerpt from his book, which was great btw!
We finished up with a great discussion, where colleagues asked questions and discussed their experiences/tips.
WSAB looks forward to hosting similar future events and we hope to see you next time. The opportunity to share with our colleagues has proven to be very valuable – I know we are learning a lot! As always, if you have any topics you’d like to hear more about, or any expertise you would like to share with your colleagues, please get in touch!