Interlude: Respectively, To-Do Lists, and Issues With BMI
Language matters. Even in the little things, like our to-do lists.
I like to craft each item on my to-do lists like I write aims for a grant: use strong verbs and be really specific.
I like to start each item with a strong verb that gives the task a little more energy (ie, action) to fuel my motivation and focus my attention. For example, rather than write "LinkedIn post," I'll write "Draft LinkedIn post."
I also like to be really specific to make the task more concrete (ie, achievable). So rather than write "Email Jane," I'll write "Email Jane about her JAMA submission."
But not everyone likes this approach. In this blog article, the author describes this approach as giving commands to your future self. Instead, she encourages people to make kinder to-do lists to practice kindness and self-compassion.
Although I have not tried kinder to-do lists, I like the idea of using your to-do lists to help you improve a skill, such as fueling your motivation.
What is your approach to creating to-do lists?
💌 Round-up
💻 From My Desk
Avoid the Word “Respectively” for Clear Writing
Many scientific and medical authors use the word "respectively" in their writing. You might think this word is an easy way to write concisely. But this word actually creates more work for readers and hinders their understanding.
👓 Reading
Science funding agencies say no to using AI for peer review
"On 23 June, NIH banned the use of online generative AI tools like ChatGPT 'for analyzing and formulating peer-review critiques'...In a similar move, the Australian Research Council (ARC) on 7 July banned generative AI for peer review after learning of reviews apparently written by ChatGPT."
AMA adopts new policy clarifying role of BMI as a measure in medicine
"The report also outlined the harms and benefits of using BMI and pointed to BMI as an imperfect way to measure body fat in multiple groups given that it does not account for differences across race/ethnic groups, sexes, genders, and age-span. Given the report’s findings, the new policy supports AMA in educating physicians on the issues with BMI and alternative measures for diagnosing obesity."
🧰 Tools
Scholia
This service creates visual scholarly profiles for researchers, organizations, publishers, research topics, and more by accessing data stored in the open knowledge base Wikidata. You can see a variety of visuals, including publication timelines, topics of authored works, citation timelines, and much more.
📝 Challenge
Open your to-do list and review the language you used for each item on the list. Think about how you could change the language in your list to fuel your motivation, practice self-compassion, or otherwise improve a skill.
Thank you so much for reading.
Warmly,
Crystal
