I am writing this note to the greatest dummy in the world! ME! Sometime I got to remind myself of the important things.

Yes paperwork is important. We must do good things! And part of doing is paperwork: grant proposals, emails, etc, etc. Especially now, as the world is teetering on chaos. We need people to do things.

But people are more important. People are the benefactors of our good work. We have to make sure that we take care of people in orbit.

Over the past year, I feel I have been more and more unavailable. I sneak away when ever I can. I have been hiding out, working on mountains of paperwork. I have been foaming at the mouth to complete my laundry list of things that need done rapidly in sequential order.

That has to stop. The paperwork doesn’t have to be so rapid. Its not so important. I need to remember to spend more time listening. I have to swing my chair around and be more available, more kind, more helpful.

Yesterday a student was trying to tell me something. I was so wrapped up in what I was doing I didn’t really stop and listen. I thought he was saying something else. And there was some funny confusion. No big deal as none of it was important. But that is the kind of subtle mistake that can really be problematic when it is important. And with the students coming back there will be more of those conversations.

I have been rewatching “The Expanse”. (Its an awesome sci-fi show. ) In last night’s episode an important character didn’t really listen to some one and bad things happened. I was like “damn, that hit home!”

So this is a reminder to myself to take time and really be there for the students, staff, and faculty in my orbit. Take time and really listen. Usually that’s enough. And that is more important than any of the paperwork.