I’m thrilled to introduce today’s guest poster.
If you’re currently riding the hormonal roller coaster known as perimenopause, allow me to introduce your new best friend: Dr. Gillian Goddard. Gillian is an endocrinologist based in New York City and a trusted voice when it comes to women’s hormonal health, especially in the post-reproductive years.
In addition to seeing patients, Gillian writes a weekly newsletter called Hot Flash.
(Let’s all pause for a moment and give her a standing ovation for that name!)
Hot Flash covers everything: hormone replacement therapy, sleep (or lack thereof), weight loss drugs, breast changes, periods, diabetes, PCOS, and the mysteries of perimenopause and menopause. She even takes reader questions. So…if you’ve ever yelled “IS THIS NORMAL?!” into the void, Gillian’s your person. As luck would have it, she’ll be hosting a live AMA on Substack tomorrow (Wednesday, 9 July) at 1 pm ET.
She’s also finishing up her first book, The Hormone Loop, which will dive into the science and lived reality of hormonal health.
But Gillian doesn’t just write about women’s health, she’s living it. She’s a married mom of four, currently in the thick of perimenopause herself, and somehow she still finds the time (and energy!) to make sense of it for the rest of us.
Given her blend of clinical expertise and personal experience — and the fact that she identifies as an optimist — I was curious is she sees a connection between gratitude and women’s health. And, does gratitude influence how women respond to symptoms or advocate for themselves?
Today, Gillian shares her thoughts…and correctly answers my trick question about toilet paper.
Q. Would you consider yourself an optimist, a pessimist, or a realist?
Oh, an optimist 100%. [I’m a grab bag: 30% optimist, 50% pessimist, and 20% realist. Only a true optimist would confidently go all-in at 100%!]
Q. If you could send a thank-you note to someone from your past (a mentor, friend, or family member), who would it be and what would you thank them for?
I would love to be able to send a thank you note to my grandmother. She lived an amazing life and just died a couple of years ago at 99! She was an excellent grandmother in that she did a lot of things with her grandkids that made time with her special. It took an investment from her to do that, there are 16 of us.
But I would also thank her for being a really great example of a life well lived. Whenever I am asked about how to live a long healthy life, I always cite her and I do try to emulate many of the things she did. She used her brain every day. She surrounded herself with friends and family and maintained rich social connections. She never believed she was old. [My own grandmother also lived into her 90s and was, hands down, the most joyful person I’ve ever known. She laughed from her belly, like a female Santa Claus, and used to pop out her dentures at bedtime just to make me laugh. There’s a quote I once read: “A cup brimful of sweetness cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, no matter how suddenly jarred.” That was Grammie. Widowed young, she raised three kids alone while working full-time — yet somehow only seemed to spill out kindness. The world could use more people like our grandmothers!!]
Q. Is there something you’ve come to appreciate more with age that you once overlooked or took for granted?
Sleep! I am told by my parents that even as a baby I didn’t like to sleep much. I stayed that way through my teens and 20s. But having my kids during medical school and residency often left me feeling epically sleep deprived. It also made me appreciate sleep and how great I feel after a good night of sleep.
Now my patient schedule requires that I get up at 4:45 two days a week. I really appreciate climbing into bed on those nights. [A little piece of my soul is wilting at the mere mention of a 4:45 am wake-up call.]
Q. How does gratitude shape the way you support women as they navigate health concerns in midlife?
I think gratitude informs my empathy and I think being empathic is one thing that makes me a great doctor. I know there are brilliant researchers out there and visionaries who will change the course of medicine. I am not that. But, I am an excellent listener and communicator. I can explain complex ideas simply. When a woman leaves my office I think she feels heard. And she is confident that she understands and is comfortable with the plan. That is my first goal for every patient I see. [Having been through a complicated pregnancy and years of battling menorrhagia, I know firsthand how transformative it is to have a doctor who listens — it’s a kind of medicine in itself.]
Gratitude also really helps me focus on the positive aspects of a patient’s situation. Suppose she has prediabetes and she is struggling with her weight. I am grateful that she was diagnosed before it progressed to diabetes. I love that we have data to guide our decision making. Modern medicine is incredible and it is getting better all the time.
My focus on the positive helps me point out to a struggling patient that she is already doing a lot of things right. She just needs to build on the good habits she already has to get things going in the right direction.
Q. Can you give a simple overview of what’s happening hormonally during perimenopause — and how those changes commonly affect mood and energy levels?
Girls are born with all the eggs they will ever have. From puberty onward we are maturing and ovulating those eggs more or less every month. By the time we get to our mid-40s the number of eggs left is low and the eggs that are left aren’t the best quality. So, it takes more stimulation from our pituitary gland to get an egg to mature and ovulate. That increased stimulation drives estrogen levels up very high and then they plummet.
As our eggs dwindle, usually in our late 40s, the organized rising and falling hormone is disrupted leading to erratic ovulation. So now our hormones are rising super high and falling super low but not in a predictable way.
Steep drops in estrogen cause hot flushes and night sweats. Night sweats disrupt our sleep. If you don’t sleep you are going to feel tired and your thinking might be foggy. Estrogen changes how our brain uses dopamine so we can be irritable and depressed.
This can all sound pretty dire, but women experience perimenopause differently. Some people are pretty symptomatic. Others sail through, no problem. There is also no need to suffer through all of this. There are effective hormonal and non-hormonal treatments for perimenopausal symptoms.
Q. What advice would you give to someone who’s looking to cultivate gratitude but doesn’t want to feel pressured to “stay positive” all the time?
Start small. When one of my kids was in preschool, he was going through a really challenging time with his behavior. It felt like all I ever did was scold him or put him in time out. My sister, who is a developmental psychologist and behavior analyst, gave me some great advice. She told me to find one thing each day to say to him that was positive. [Wise advice. It’s so easy to default to criticism but sometimes all it takes is a single positive comment to change the energy in the room. So much of gratitude is about paying attention and sometimes we have to work harder to see the “good”.]
Some days it was really hard to find one positive thing to say. But as time went on my shift in attitude toward him led to a shift in his behavior. If you can find one small thing to be grateful for each day it will shift your attitude and maybe your behavior or the behavior of those around you.
The other mistake I see patients make over and over again is getting thrown off by breaking a streak. They miss a workout on a holiday, but they don’t get back to their workout routine the next day. The key with any habit is to get back to it as soon as you can. I track a number of things on a daily basis including a regular gratitude practice, but I often miss tracking on the weekend. No big deal! I just start again on Monday. [Once I break a streak, I usually spiral into “oh well, I’ve ruined it” mode. There’s real freedom in simply starting again, but I definitely struggle to get back into the habit.]
Q. In a culture that resists aging, what might it look like to be genuinely grateful for a body that’s softening or slowing down?
This is one that I struggle with myself. I can definitely fall into self-criticism. I grew up in the ballet world where physical perfection was the goal. In the 30 or so years since I stopped dancing I have grown to appreciate movement that isn’t done in front of a mirror. It allows me to focus on how the movement makes me feel rather than how I look when I do it. I run 3-4 times a week outside. The only goal for those runs is to get outside in nature and move my body in a way that feels good.
But the best thing I have done was start pilates. I started in January of 2023 and I try to go twice per week. What I love about it is that Pilates has all the precision of ballet but it is a practice. There is no expectation that you will be perfect. The goal is just to get stronger. After four pregnancies the skin on my stomach is loose and crepey. That isn’t going to change. But the muscle underneath is strong and allows me to do a lot of things including move through the world pain-free. I am grateful for that.
Q. When you think about self-care in midlife, what do you think it would ideally look like — and how can gratitude help women let go of guilt around prioritizing themselves?
I don’t only write about midlife and take care of patients in midlife. I am 47 which makes me a middle-age woman. Self-care should be about taking care of our needs so that we feel our best when we are out in the world living our lives. It can often be about meeting very basic needs. Sleeping. Eating food that gives you energy instead of sapping it. Moving your body. Going to the doctor to get treatment for the symptoms that are draining you.
For me right now self-care looks like getting adequate sleep (for me that’s 7 ½ hours per night on average), moving my body 4 to 5 days per week, doing work that’s important to me, and (possibly controversially) wearing clothes that make me feel good. I love clothes and there is nothing that makes me feel more cared for than a great outfit. [Yes to this! I’ve had a few doctors who showed up looking like runway models and I loved it. There’s power in dressing in a way that reflects who we are.]
When I am doing those things regularly, I feel good and that carries over to my interactions with all the people around me. Instead of feeling irritated by my family, my co-workers and my patients, I feel grateful to have them in my life. It is so much easier to feel gratitude when our own physical and emotional needs are met. [This one hits home. Women tend to be raised/taught to prioritize everyone else’s needs first — and then feel guilty when we finally claim space for ourselves. But the “oxygen mask first” advice exists for a reason. Sometimes the trick is figuring out what gives us oxygen.]
Q. Can a gratitude practice help women tune in to their symptoms and empower them to advocate for their health more confidently?
I love this question. One of the key tenants of my book is that information empowers you to be a better self-advocate. As part of that, I recommend tracking symptoms ahead of an appointment with your doctor — essentially collecting some data on yourself. This requires being mindful. [As someone who brings a notebook to most doctor’s appointments, I’m reassured to hear this is appreciated…]
There is a connection between being mindful and being grateful. What do I mean by that? Recently, we have been having a heat wave in my corner of New York (and in a big swath of the rest of the U.S. and Canada). I have to stop myself from writing that I am grateful for central air conditioning everyday. I rarely write that I am grateful for central air conditioning in January. The gratitude practice can reveal your current discomforts. [Right this second I’m tremendously grateful for air conditioning; in frigid winter months, I’m tremendously grateful for heating sources. In fall, I’m thankful it’s finally the truly perfect season where I need neither air conditioning or heating and I wonder why I can’t live in a climate that gives me the bliss of fall 365 days a year.]
Another example: I get vicious hormonal headaches. I first realized they were a problem and started tracking them because I was constantly grateful for ibuprofen, caffeine, or even the lack of a headache. That made me aware that the headaches were pretty disruptive in my life. I started tracking them, identified the source (my menstrual cycle) and spoke to my doctor about them. Now, I have a better plan for treating them.
Q. What aspect of your current life would most surprise 20-year-old Gillian?
20 year old Gillian was a journalism major, so I think the fact that I am a physician would really be surprising. I didn’t start medical school until I was 27 years old. After college I had a career in healthcare public relations before I decided to go back to medical school. I had to spend three years doing prerequisites, taking the MCAT and applying to medical school. During that time I also worked in a clinical lab conducting exercise testing and traveling to other labs to teach them how to conduct the type of testing we did. [I had no idea your road to medicine began in journalism. This is a good reminder that our path can zigzag and still lead us exactly where we’re meant to go.]
Two years ago I started writing again. So things have really come full circle. I do think my journalism background makes me a better doctor. It taught me to communicate complex ideas clearly and simply — a skill I use every day.
Q. What’s the most useless piece of trivia or skill you’re secretly proud to know?
Other than humans only a few species of animals go through menopause — a couple of species of whales and one particular group of chimpanzees. Menopause doesn’t make a lot of sense. Wouldn’t it be better for the propagation of the species if we kept the ability to have babies until we die. The vast majority of other animals do. [I did not know this! I’m going to a wedding next week with a trivia competition at the reception. I hope this question comes up and I can wow everyone.]
Q. What’s the most oddly specific or ridiculous thing you’re grateful for right now?
I am so grateful for Smith Teamaker hibiscus mango iced tea. I drink it at home all summer long. I look forward to drinking it again all winter. It’s more exciting than water and it’s not fizzy and it doesn’t have caffeine. It has the added bonus of being a cheery bright red. My only concern is that people will think I am drinking a giant tumbler of wine all day long. But I love it so much I’ll take my chances. [Had to look this up immediately — it looks like summer in a cup.]
Q. Name two things you’re objectively terrible at — one you wish you were good at, and one you’re fine never mastering.
I am terrible at both tennis and at skiing. I really enjoy tennis and I would love to get better at it. For a while I took lessons and saw a little progress. Maybe, I’ll get refocused in the future when I have more time on my hands.
As for skiing, I am completely fine never putting on another pair of skis again. I am fantastic at reading in the lodge and participating in apres ski activities and I am comfortable with that. [It’s a hard job, but someone’s gotta do it. How lucky you’re perfectly qualitied!]
Q. If you could teleport anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?
Pretty much anywhere in France. I am a staunch francophile. I love the language (je parle un peu de français), the food, the style, the culture, the little children in muted colored clothing and leather shoes, the women dressed for work riding bikes in heels, the bureaucracy. [Yes! Heels and dresses on bikes, yet not a hair out of place. What magic is this?!]
Even the humor at my expense cracks me up. Once I asked the proprietor of a restaurant in Paris where the toilet was en francais (this is considered gauche, but how is one supposed to find it otherwise?). He responded, also en francais, that it was on the sixth floor of a two story building. The sixth? I asked him, still in French, and with my best cocked eyebrow and he burst out laughing. He had been caught in his very French practical joke.
Someday I would love to spend an extended period of time there. But for now, I live vicariously through Instagram where a big chunk of the accounts I follow are expats living in France and French style influencers.
Q. Toilet paper: over or under? (This is important to some of my readers me!)
Oh over of course! What sort of heathen would have it go under???!!! [I was holding my breath, but you’ve passed the test with flying colours. Over is indeed the correct answer!]
Thanks so much for sharing your time, Gillian.
If you’re in the thick of perimenopause (or just curious about what your hormones are plotting), I can’t recommend her newsletter Hot Flash enough — it’s smart, funny, and highly relatable.
- Any questions for Gillian? (Don’t forget, she’s hosting an AMA tomorrow at 1 pm ET on Substack!)
- What part of midlife self-care do you find easiest to prioritize — and what’s the hardest?
- What’s your oddly specific or ridiculous gratitude item right now?
- What’s one thing about your body now that you’ve come to genuinely appreciate?
- Favourite summer drink?
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This was such an enlightening and refreshing read! Dr. Goddard’s take on gratitude as a tool for self-advocacy really hit home. I’d never considered that we’re often grateful because something isn’t working, but of course that’s true. And your point about bringing a notebook to doctor’s appointments is great – I should start doing that.
Clearly, I now have two tasks: try that hibiscus mango iced tea and subscribe to Hot Flash.
Thanks for the fantastic interview, Elisabeth!
I’m glad you enjoyed the interview!!
Isn’t that tea such a gorgeous colour?!!
This was a great interview, Elisabeth! Thanks for introducing me to Gillian. I’m now a subscriber to Hot Flash and have just read a bunch of her more recent posts. (The one on OCPs vs HRT was fascinating to me, as my gyn has told me that there’s no point in pursuing HRT since I already take a hormonal OCP.) I’m looking forward to reading more!
I love the idea of gratitude helping identify needs in your life. Sometimes it feels like “being grateful” is all about acknowledging the good despite the bad… which can sometimes feel a little dismissive. Gillian’s perspective puts gratitude to work in identifying problem areas with the potential to find solutions. I love that.
My favorite summer drink is an iced chai. I have one every morning and it’s so decadent and delicious.
I love chai, but I’ve never hopped on the cold (caffeinated) beverage wagon. I think you’re convincing me I really need to try it, Suzanne!
What a great interview! I love this woman already and just signed up for her newsletter. Also it’s been forever since I had hibiscus tea and now I have a craving for it.
Her self care feels similar to my self care – movement, clothes that fit, SLEEP. I had to laugh at her “I don’t like to sleep” attitude as a young person – these things come back to bite us! I was like that as a child too. I feel seen!
Nicole, I KNEW you would love this interview. And you know I am very stingy about subscribing to newsletters. So for Hot Flash to make that list, you know I really love it!
Wonderful interview! I LOVE how peri menopause and menopause are getting much more attention these days, and treated as a valid women’s health concern. I also am a big fan of the “wear clothes that fit” form of self care. I’m also an optimist, and I love the emphasis on gratitude for modern medicine, early diagnosis, and new treatment protocols. Yes, there’s a lot that can go wrong, but we’re lucky to have so many options.
Thank you Elisabeth for your Gratitude series- I love all the interviews.
Thanks, Jenny <3 I've loved hosting all these interesting guests that come to the proverbial table with unique perspectives. I feel like my gratitude muscles are getting a great workout!
I have questions!!
– You mentioned being a good listener. What do you wish more doctors understood about what midlife women are really saying? Any surprising signs or symptoms of perimenopause that many women (or their care providers) don’t realize might be related to hormonal shifts?
– You’ve talked general movement and Pilates — is there a fitness trend or health practice you think is overrated (or underrated)?
– What’s your take on GLP-1s?
I think joint pain and muscle aches are some of the most underappreciated symptoms of perimenopause. People chalk it up to getting older, but it is hormonal.
Yes, I LOVE Pilates. I think HIIT is overrated. The intensity of the exercise can spike cortisol levels in some women. It really increases people’s appetites and I just don’t personally enjoy movement with that level of intensity.
I have written extensively about GLP-1 receptor agonists. My feelings about them are too complex to get into here but you can read all about it here. https://savvypatient.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/164265056?referrer=%2Fpublish%2Fposts
This is so validating. I feel like I’m too young for to be achey in the morning…but now I’ll chalk it perimenopause.
When my kids were teething I blamed just about any behaviour or whining or sickness on their teeth. I think I might take the same approach with perimenopause!
And I appreciate your take on HIIT. It feels like it’s lost some of its luster in the last year or two…
Do you have to be a subscriber (paid or otherwise) to access the AMA session tomorrow?
No! I’ve asked Gillian about this. It’s open to any and all.
What a cool interview! Gillian,, were all your children born after you started med school and residency?
I have no self- care – survival mode only right now. I’ve even regain the weight I lost last year and have to face buying new pants. Sigh. Cold diet Coke is my summer drink of choice. ( I often just drink it at room temperature in other seasons.)
I donated a dollar at the store and got a squeaky cow as a thank you. It makes me so happy for no reason. Co pilot cow will ride in my car with me – grareful for this silly little toy!
I have 4 kid who are now 17 11/12 (yes I am about to be the parent of an adult!), 14, 12, and 9. I actually had one kid in each step of my medical training. One in Med school (beginning of 3rd year), one in residency, one in fellowship, and one when I was in practice. Number 2 and 4 were the hardest for different reasons. I returned to residency when my daughter was 6 weeks old just before Christmas. It was pretty tough. I had my 4th 18 months into starting private practice and it really set my practice building back a lot. But he was worth it!
Wow! Just…wow!
Sometimes the littlest things can be the most rewarding. I love that you have a happy companion (which is more than can be said about sullen teens sometimes, right?)!
I am a huge fan of Gillian! She came into my life in 2 ways – first, I’m a superfan of Emily Oster so I was introduced to her Hot Flash newsletter since I subscribe to Emily Oster’s content. Oster’s content has become less relevant to me as my kids have gotten older so the timing of Gillian’s newsletter was perfect as I’m in my mid-40s and entering the perimenopause stage of life. Secondly, she’s a member of the best of both worlds patreon group so I get to interact with her there. I’ve learned so much about menopause/perimenopause from her. She was also so kind and contacted me when I was lamenting the impact to my weight of being on prednisone and validated that I was on a high dose that really does impact your weight/how you feel/etc. It was nice to get that outside validation!
The easiest thing for me to prioritize is sleep. I am useless if I do not get enough. I am a very disciplined person so am good about following a bedtime and I also nap often on the weekends. The hardest thing to prioritize is making time for seeing friends. With how much I travel, I feel like it’s too much to ask for additional time away from my family. I miss seeing my friends and feel a bit lonely at times but until our kids are at more manageable ages, it’s very hard to make time for friendships as sad as that sounds…
One thing I’m grateful that my body can do is run. There have been many prolonged periods of my life when I couldn’t run (RA dx, pregnancies due to bleeding complications and my RA being so terrible, recovering from hip surgery, recovering from hand surgery, etc etc). So when the stars align and I can run, I really appreciate it and I try not to complain about my runs, even when the running conditions are awful!
Thanks Lisa! So happy to be helpful!
First, I am just so, so glad you are finally off prednisone. What a long, difficult journey that was! It’s so tough to be battling RA and perimenopause, so it’s really wonderful there is a trusted voice you can turn to for advice and reassurance.
I think there are seasons for just about everything in life. And the little years of parenting (which is overlapping with so much work travel for you) are kind of about survival. We’ve talked about this ad nauseam offline, but easier years are definitely ahead!!
I’m curious what you do for fun? Any specific hobbies you really enjoy?
Before I was writing so much I read a lot. I am writing so much now I am finding it hard to read. I enjoy cooking. Not week night must get dinner on the table cookie, but Sunday afternoon alone in the kitchen with a glass of wine cooking. I sing in my church choir and do some volunteer work at church as well. And I love to travel. Those are the main things I do for fun.
Any favorite travel destinations?
What are your go-to Sunday meal ideas?
Do you have a nanny or someone else to help cook during the week? I imagine your days are full to the brim with activity and it’s hard to make time to cook (and get groceries…cooking is never just about cooking, there’s so much more to it).
I will happily go almost anywhere. I have been to every continent except Antarctica and Africa (I will be checking Africa off the list this year though given its size and diversity more the one trip will be needed). I have such a soft spot in my heart for France and would go there over and over again.
Sundays I have a Ottolenghi chicken recipe (from SIMPLE) that I make a lot. In summer we grill. I make a lot of Melissa Clark and Food52 recipes. We eat a lot of chicken because I have three very hungry boys, but we are pretty omnivorous.
We had nannies and then au pairs from the time my 18 yo was born until last summer. For the last year we have had minimal household help. It is not ideal but such is life sometimes. Currently we have a dinner rotation. Monday my husband cooks, Tuesday we have pasta and even the kids can make that, Wednesday I make something simple, Thursday we have leftovers or cheese and crackers and a green salad, Friday is pizza night (we order it in, living in NY there is no reason to make pizza).
Gillian, thank you so much for guest posting today!
Would you believe after my “interview”, I still have more questions!
I’m wondering about personality types in families. Did you grow up in a family of optimists? What about your kids? Husband? I’d classify my mother as an optimist, but my Dad is a pessimist all the way. I have one kid that’s an optimist and one that’s a realist bordering on being a pessimist. I have one sister who is a realistic optimist, one who is 1000% a pessimist, and another sibling who is a realist. I find it fascinating how gratitude tendencies run in families.
If you had it to do over again, would you do things any different in terms of pivoting into a new career in your late 20s? Any advice for people who might have invested time and resources in a specific program and then realize they want to pursue something completely different? How hard was the decision to go back to school?
Do you notice any difference in the timing and/or symptoms of perimenopause among women who have and have not had children?
Any supplements you think should universally be taken by women in their post-reproductive years? And what sort of strength training (intensity, frequency, etc.) do you think is best for helping support bone health?
Okay, okay…I’ll stop.
Interesting question. I would say I come from a family of realists. My parents are both very down to earth. My sister is definitely a realist although on the optimistic side, but I think my brother is more of a pessimist. My husband came from a family of pessimists. My mother-in-law just expected thinks to go wring and when they didn’t she would be looking for the next dark cloud. My husband is leans more pessimist. My kids are all over the place. My youngest is a HUGE optimist. His next older brother is as pessimistic as my MIL. He is an 80 yo man trapped in a 12 yo body. The older two are realists but the oldest leans optimist and the second one leans pessimist. Temperament is so interesting that way. How do the same gene mix and match in such different ways!?
As for the career switch, it was definitely the right move for me. I am very easily bored and I just needed LOTs of intellectual stimulation in a career. That is also the reason for the side gig the last couple of years. I need the challenge. That said it was a LONG road. I really treated medical school like a job and I think if you are returning to school as an adult that is a good attitude to take. Throughout med school and residency my mentors complemented my balanced approach and I think that approach came from treating the education process like you would treat any other job.
The only supplement I universally recommend is 500-600 mg of calcium.
Menopause is not different among women who have never been pregnant. They are at higher risk for breast cancer though, so definitely those mammograms.
The best strength training is the one you will keep doing. They have done studies on what type of exercise works and it all works, so do what you enjoy!
Okay… I think I got them all.
What a wonderful interview! I made it to menopause, and even though there’s an occasional hot flash or mood swing, it’s not nearly so dramatic as it used to be. And now that I’m getting my sleep back in order, everything feels even better. Whew!
The tea looks amazing!
Favorite summer drink. Cold water? How boring is that??
Thing I most appreciate about my body. That I’m ambulatory. I complain about aches and pains, but the sheer fact I’m able to get up and walk around and do most physical things as needed is a huge blessing.
@Gillian. I’m curious what a Day in Your Life looks like. Morning routine? You have two clinical days (I think I got that right)? How different are your routines for those days vs when you’re writing. Do you do the latter exclusively from home? How do you balance the two. Your days in the office are likely highly scheduled and regimented. I presume your days spent researching and writing have more fluidity to them? Do you ever see yourself going full-time into writing and/or returning full-time to clinical?
So, I basically have 3 different types of days. 2 days of the week I commute into NYC and see patients, 3 weekdays I work from home writing etc. and then weekends.
Tuesdays/Thursday I get up at 4:45, get coffee, plan my day, then I shower/dress. I am in the car around 5:45/6. My commute takes about 35 minutes. I am at my desk by 6:30 prepping for patients and doing admin. I seem patients from 7am to 5 p.m. Then I usually have about 30 minutes of wrapping up to do. I get in the car around 5:45. The drive home is slower and usually I have a kid to pick up some where on my way home. I am in the door by 6:30. We usually eat dinner around 7. From 7:30-9 or so I read or chat with husband kids. At 9 I prep for bed then I watch an episode or two of old TV (we are currently watching Friends) with my two middle kids and husband. Lights out at 10.
Monday/Wednesday/Friday I get up at 5:45 plan my day and do some work, usually editing. My kids leave for school around 8 and I head out the door for a run. W and F I finish my run at the Pilates studio and take a lesson from 9-10. I walk home eat shower and dress and aim to be at my desk by 11 (10 on Monday). Monday I really focus on head down work from 10-3 when my kids get home. Wednesdays are meeting days. I try to stack all meeting up in a row starting at noon or so. Fridays are again more writing focused. In the later afternoons I try to do work that can be interrupted by kids. I may have some carpool duties. From 7 on loops pretty similar to T/Th except on Wednesdays I have choir rehearsal from 7-9 pm.
Weekends I get up around 7. I usually run with a friend. Saturday mornings I go to the farmers market and grocery store with my husband. Most Sunday mornings I have choir rehearsal and then church and then coffee our. Both afternoons usually involve some driving kids around and some work. On Saturdays my husband and I will often head out for date night. On Sundays we have Forced Family Fun Time (ripped off from Rebecca Fike) from 4-6 then I make dinner and 7-10 looks pretty much the same as weeknights.
Lather Rinse Repeat…
I am exhausted just reading this…but also so, so inspired!
Forced Family Fun Time. That’s hilarious.
I have good news! Rebecca is going to be guest posting soon! Her schedule is also mind-blowing to me. I should think to ask her to tell everyone about Forced Family Fun Time…
Rebecca is amazing! I am also in awe of her schedule…. I’m not sure she knows I ripped off FFFT but I credit her every time! 😉
Loved this! Gillian seems so great, from what I know of her and the interactions I’ve had. I know we aren’t actually that far apart in age actually but she always gives me the impression of being the kind of real “grown up” (organized, calm, level headed, professional, put together, well spoken, etc.) I aspire to be “when I grow up”! lol!! (Hopefully that doesn’t sound weird and makes sense. Obviously I AM a grown up, but I sometimes feel like I spend more time floundering around than I should at this point in my life. hehe.)
I totally get this! I’m with Engie…still looking for that adulting manual and some people (Gillian included) seem to have done a good job finding it!
Awww, you guys are too sweet. I have my moments when I don’t feel like I have it all together. We all do.
It always reminds me of this quote: “You see the woman across the room, you think, she’s so poised, she’s so together. But she looks at you and you are the woman across the room for her.”
Though, to be fair, some women across the room really, really seem to have it so together!
Love this and just subscribed to the newsletter. I am seeing a menopause specialist, and I am not being ramatic when I say it has changed my life. I am so happy that you are practicing and helping all of us middle-aged ladies (shout out to being 47!) live our best lives.
dramatic, obvi 🙂
You’re going to love this newsletter, Sarah.
Also, at first I thought you were writing “romantic”…and then I realize it was dramatic. I mean, it could be romantic that it’s changed your life! I’m so glad all the recent changes have brought forth such positive results.