The Accountability Project: 2022

By Marjolijn Bijlefeld, Editor, Women In Optometry

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning during the summer, I roll out of bed at 5:35 a.m. and am at the local community pool by 5:48 to meet a few intrepid lap swimmers. I’ve been doing this for the past decade or more – and my single biggest motivation when the alarm goes off is this: I have the keys to unlock the gate.

Once I’m in the water – or toweling off – I can appreciate the wonderful start to the day and the cardio benefits and the companionship and competition that drives me to push myself hard. But at dawn’s first light (and in darkness by the end of the summer), the idea that people are counting on me is the only thing that propels me out of bed.

SPEAK INTENTIONS INTO EXISTENCE

Stating our intentions is perhaps the biggest motivator for making something happen. Long, long ago, when I was a freelance writer and had a community of other self-employed friends, we held “staff meetings” on Monday mornings, after the kids got on the school bus. Really, we met for coffee at someone’s house. But as part of our 20 minutes together, we would each speak a goal for the week. Writers, editorial cartoonists, graduate students – we were not accountable to each other. But simply saying what we planned to accomplish forced some organization – and the following week, we did hold each other to account.

Can that same concept of intentionality and accountability work in the online community of Women In Optometry readers? I think it can. So let’s give it a try. Send us an email – or leave a comment on our social media pages of what your goals are for the year. Speak them into being — and we’ll check in periodically throughout the year to see how you’re doing.

All goals count; they can be professional or personal. They can be nutrition- or exercise-oriented. They can be as simple as “This is the year I’m going to organize the contact lens room or playroom.”

I promise you that once you’ve typed the words, they become a solid force.

I’ll start:

I’m going to put the phone down for work from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. For any one of you who gets an email response from me at 3 a.m., call me out.

Be more diligent about taking care of myself. I’d give myself maybe a B+ on that score – but I can do better. I’m open to hear your tips.

Share your intentions in our online forums or email me at mbijlefeld@jobson.com

Happy new year. Let’s make 2022 better together.

Read other WO 2022 Accountability Project responses here. 

Dr. Tina Douroudian hopes to double the number of children to whom she provides myopia management services.