Resa Lewiss MD

writing a letter of recommendation. It's very common in many workplaces that you are asked to draft your own letter of reference. And the first time my supervisor asked me to draft my own letter, I thought he was asking me to do something illegal or that he was being lazy. And I was just so confused. It came out of nowhere. I did it. And then I found out actually it's exquisitely common

writing a letter of recommendation. It's very common in many workplaces that you are asked to draft your own letter of reference. And the first time my supervisor asked me to draft my own letter, I thought he was asking me to do something illegal or that he was being lazy. And I was just so confused. It came out of nowhere. I did it. And then I found out actually it's exquisitely common

And my co-author and I flipped it and actually wrote an article about why we are actually the best people to write our own letter of recommendation. Unless the rules say you cannot and it's illegal. We know ourselves. We remember our relationship to this person. Often these supervisors don't remember when they met us or how we're related.

And my co-author and I flipped it and actually wrote an article about why we are actually the best people to write our own letter of recommendation. Unless the rules say you cannot and it's illegal. We know ourselves. We remember our relationship to this person. Often these supervisors don't remember when they met us or how we're related.

And also, if we're applying for a position, we know the details of the position, and we're best able to say why we're good for that position. And we very much emphasized in this article that it's a draft. You hand it to the supervisor. They make it their own. They can add superlatives like, she's the most competent, most da-da-da. But basically... It really makes sense.

And also, if we're applying for a position, we know the details of the position, and we're best able to say why we're good for that position. And we very much emphasized in this article that it's a draft. You hand it to the supervisor. They make it their own. They can add superlatives like, she's the most competent, most da-da-da. But basically... It really makes sense.

And in terms of helping them help you, you've actually lightened their load because you've created a draft for them.

And in terms of helping them help you, you've actually lightened their load because you've created a draft for them.

The true motivation behind not only those articles, but then what became the book was to make it easier for other people, to give them a copy of what I call like the workplace playbook. If we were to make a sports reference, teams will get a playbook. And I certainly felt along the way that I did not get a copy of that playbook.

The true motivation behind not only those articles, but then what became the book was to make it easier for other people, to give them a copy of what I call like the workplace playbook. If we were to make a sports reference, teams will get a playbook. And I certainly felt along the way that I did not get a copy of that playbook.

And I thought, all these, what I just, the example I just gave about letters of reference, if someone had just told me that, I would have, it would have made, it would have saved me a few years of learning and being less efficient. and allow me to be more efficient because I was less efficient until I learned that pearl, that lesson, that this is the way the workplace works.

And I thought, all these, what I just, the example I just gave about letters of reference, if someone had just told me that, I would have, it would have made, it would have saved me a few years of learning and being less efficient. and allow me to be more efficient because I was less efficient until I learned that pearl, that lesson, that this is the way the workplace works.

And so the motivation was to create a book that would help people in their careers and not just doctors and not just women, but truly everybody. And You have highlighted that we started the book with three truths. Number one, we want the reader to think of time as a currency. Time can only be spent. You can't put it in a savings account for later and you cannot get a refund.

And so the motivation was to create a book that would help people in their careers and not just doctors and not just women, but truly everybody. And You have highlighted that we started the book with three truths. Number one, we want the reader to think of time as a currency. Time can only be spent. You can't put it in a savings account for later and you cannot get a refund.

And that even ties back to the story I shared about the patient that died right at the beginning of the shift in front of me. Time was going. I had seven more hours. I had to keep going. And in the emergency department, we do a lot of task switching. When one thing's done, one patient gets discharged, one cut is sewn, next, next, next. We're always pivoting. And so time is always being spent.

And that even ties back to the story I shared about the patient that died right at the beginning of the shift in front of me. Time was going. I had seven more hours. I had to keep going. And in the emergency department, we do a lot of task switching. When one thing's done, one patient gets discharged, one cut is sewn, next, next, next. We're always pivoting. And so time is always being spent.

And so we want the reader to be very intentional about how they're spending their time and with whom they're spending their time. And the how is also what motivated the book to be a very efficient book. practical, useful read. So sure, you can read it cover to cover and you're right, it is chock full of content, but also it can be a toolkit that you can jump in and jump out of.

And so we want the reader to be very intentional about how they're spending their time and with whom they're spending their time. And the how is also what motivated the book to be a very efficient book. practical, useful read. So sure, you can read it cover to cover and you're right, it is chock full of content, but also it can be a toolkit that you can jump in and jump out of.

And so that's why we wrote a very granular table of contents. So people would be like, I need to learn about running a meeting. Oh, okay, page 258, running a meeting. And we specifically wanted it to be readable And when you're publishing a book and to make it publishable, you have to somehow make the argument that it's different from all the other books.

And so that's why we wrote a very granular table of contents. So people would be like, I need to learn about running a meeting. Oh, okay, page 258, running a meeting. And we specifically wanted it to be readable And when you're publishing a book and to make it publishable, you have to somehow make the argument that it's different from all the other books.