𝗠𝗲, 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗥𝗜

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗥𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝟮𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆-𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁? 🧘‍♀️ No emails. No texts. Unreachable. Just stillness. Is it weird to say it was incredible?! More MRIs please!!! ✋

I’m pretty good about prioritizing activities that fill my cup—dinners with friends, choir, CrossFit. But building in time for truly uninterruptable, technology-free rest with just me and my thoughts? That tends to fall way down to the bottom of my list.

As Scientist Mothers, we live in a constant state of mental toggling—from lab meetings to bedtime routines, grant deadlines to meal planning, inbox triage to making sure everyone has clean socks. 𝗪𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆. What if I miss something urgent? What if my kid’s school calls? What if a co-author needs something right now?

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹—𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁. 🛑 And the cost of never unplugging is steep: burnout, decision fatigue, and a baseline stress level so high we don’t even notice it anymore.

Being completely unavailable, even for short bursts, is not indulgent—it’s essential. It’s how we reset, how we access creativity, how we remember who we are when we’re not reacting to the next thing. It’s also 𝗮 𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁—trusting that the world won’t fall apart in our absence.

So, I challenge you: How can you create your own MRI moment this week? A short, intentional, completely unavailable window of time—no screens, no demands, no interruptions. Just you, your thoughts, and a chance to actually hear yourself think.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲?

#RestIsProductive #MindfulLeadership #WorkingMothers #MothersinScience