By Betsy Q. Cliff

Being productive feels like the key to success for any health economist.  But we’re all human: often tired, disorganized, inefficient or just plain burned out.  That’s why we at the ASHEcon Newsletter decided to start a regular feature, asking some of our favorite health economists how they view productivity.  We hope to run this regularly – and really hope you’ll find it, well, productive.

Our first interview is with Sebastian Tello-Trillo, an associate professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia.  Sebastian is also co-host of the popular podcast Hidden Curriculum, where he talks with Alex Hollingsworth and guests about all the things that you should have learned that weren’t on your syllabus in graduate school.

The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.

How is productivity judged in your job?

At my school, performance is evaluated based on progress in research, service, engagement, and teaching. However, I don’t try to focus on productivity itself. I try to focus on the things I care about and trust that, as a byproduct of doing things I enjoy, I will be productive. I try to set up systems so that productivity is a symptom rather than something I strive to achieve. For example, I’m spending a lot of time doing family-related things right now because I’m on parental leave. From the outside, it may not look like I’m being productive, but I feel that I am because I’m being productive at home by helping care for my little ones.

How do you decide what to work on each day or week?

For research, I usually have either internal deadlines with co-authors or I prioritize based on how long it’s been since I last worked on something. I try to prioritize things that are close to being done first or those with an external deadline (e.g., a presentation). For professional non-research work, I prioritize according to given deadlines. However, many things (like emails) pop up each day, and sometimes those are urgent matters that derail other important but less urgent tasks.

You have a workday with minimal meetings. How do you structure it?

I usually like to minimize the number of things I do in a day. If I don’t have many meetings, I’ll spend the whole day working on one project (a set of tasks within that project) or keep working until I hit a roadblock. Then, if I have the energy, I move to another project, but more likely I’ll shift to professional work (emails, teaching, referee reports, etc.).

Flip side: you have a really busy month with nonstop obligations. Are you still making time to do research? If so, how and when?

If these are things I need to do or have already said yes to, I absolutely don’t do research. I try if I can, but based on past experience, there are times when I don’t do any research because all my time is filled with other things. This often happens during my teaching semesters. However, it once happened during a non-teaching semester, and I started a journal called “Why I Didn’t Do Research Today?” because I wanted to understand where my time was going. It turned out that personal life and professional service (planning a conference, helping with APPAM health submissions, etc.) were taking most of my time. This helped me realize I needed to say “no” more often.

Do you have a favorite productivity tool? If so, how do you use it?

I organize my life and work tasks with Todoist, which integrates with my calendar. I’m also an inbox-zero person. Finally, I organize all of my work life (and personal life) with Notion — I even host my website there!

How do you avoid burnout?

I don’t! Haha. I don’t think I have great insights here. For me, getting organized and taking a step back every so often to plan my time helps me avoid burnout. I’ve noticed that I may have two weeks where my time is spent very similarly, but in one week I choose those things, and in the other they just happen. I experience more burnout in weeks when things feel like they’re just happening, as opposed to when I’ve chosen them. What this really means is that when I organize and choose what to do, I end up doing less overall — mainly because when I plan my time, I realize I don’t have time for a lot of things.