for you.

Finally, the really hard part: get someone else to read it. Your mission statement is for you, and you don’t have to declare it publicly or put it on the internet or anything like that– but again, it resembles teaching in that the more clearly you can explain it to someone else, the more clearly you yourself will understand it. So share what you’ve written with a close friend, or even make a pact with a good colleague to work on this together. Can you explain what you mean to them? Do you understand it yourself?

One final word on mission statements: they can change, and they can evolve. Always let what you’ve written guide you without constraining you. Your mission statement should be a lighthouse, not an anchor.

Make Conscious Choices
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Life as a postdoc is a time of opportunity, decisions, and the massive amount of stress that accompanies both. You probably have a lot more freedom than you did as a grad student– you have more choice in what you work on, who you work with, what conferences you attend, and ultimately, what jobs you apply to. The downside is that choices can be overwhelming, 