The title of this post is a little misleading coming from my perspective because I am not a parent (and I am especially not a dad). Still, I was derailed from another task by this article on UT's homepage. It is written by Aaron Rochlen, one of my former professors from the Counseling program at UT who conducts a lot of research on men's issues (depression, parenting related to gender roles). While men are often in the majority (see money or power for a review), Dr. Rochlen has uncovered several areas where men receive less attention and may suffer as a result of the lack of awareness. I find his research pretty interesting in general; if you have a minute, give it a read: http://www.utexas.edu/features/2012/01/09/faculty_dads/
TL; DR (A Reddit-ism I learned from..well...Reddit which means too long; didn't read):
In sum, striking a work/life balance is increasingly tricky, especially in an unforgiving career such as academia. Jason and I were just talking about this a few days ago. While we want it all, it seems very difficult to achieve that.
Solutions:
1. Get rich quick (ponzi? write a book? become famous?)
2. Have lots of friends with babies (still reap cute benefits and you can return them)
3. Have a minimally successful career with a flourishing family
4. Graduate and worry about it later
If this is something with which you struggle, what strategies do you employ as you work towards having it all?
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