- With Mayo Clinic oncologist
Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
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Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
Edward Creagan, M.D.
"The magic of the electronic village is transforming health information. The mouse and keyboard have extended the stethoscope to the 500 million people now online." — Dr. Edward Creagan
The power of the medium inspires Dr. Edward Creagan as he searches for ways to share Mayo Clinic's vast resources with the general public.
Dr. Creagan, a Newark, N.J., native, is board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hospice medicine and palliative care. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1973 and in 1999 was president of the staff of Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Creagan, a professor of medical oncology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, was honored in 1995 with the John and Roma Rouse Professor of Humanism in Medicine Award and in 1992 with the Distinguished Mayo Clinician Award, Mayo's highest recognition. He has been recognized with the American Cancer Society Professorship of Clinical Oncology.
He describes his areas of special interest as "wellness as a bio-psycho-social-spiritual-financial model" and fitness, mind-body connection, aging and burnout.
Dr. Creagan has been an associate medical editor with Mayo Clinic's health information websites and has edited publications and CD-ROMs and reviewed articles.
"We the team of (the website) provide reliable, easy-to-understand health and wellness information so that each of us can have productive, meaningful lives," he says.
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Stress blog
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Oct. 14, 2010
Eliminate energy drains
By Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
A colleague introduced me to a new concept, and I'd like to share it with you. The concept is "eliminating energy drains."
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My colleague is a college professor who was asked to dramatically overhaul a complex series of courses with a very short deadline. There was no margin for error. If the proposal wasn't clear and focused, the budget would be rejected, and students, faculty and support personnel would be affected.
My colleague said that to focus she needed to eliminate energy drains. I asked her to elaborate on what she meant by "energy drains." She explained that her focus and her energy needed to be directed to the task at hand. Therefore, she needed to completely put out of her mind everything else, including the annoying nuisances that drive all of us crazy — the faucet that drips, the light bulb that needs to be replaced, the pile of unread magazines, etc.
Now, don't misinterpret my comments. Obviously, you can't ignore a broken pipe or some overarching financial issue. But if you try to attend to all of the issues that cry out for your attention, you'll become distracted, your energies will be diluted and you'll never tackle what's most important.
So this chance meeting provided an important message: First things must be first. You can tackle the mundane nuisances once the main project receives the attention it deserves.
6 comments posted
March 8, 2011 2:01 p.m.
Well, one other thing that can help with energy drains is physical activity or physical therapy.
- Paul
October 18, 2010 7:18 a.m.
sucha a nice informative article
- No name given
October 18, 2010 2:06 a.m.
the need to shy away from energy drains is always there. but sometines coping issues arise. I have recently started refocussing on what I need and find that it works !!!
- No name given
October 16, 2010 6:31 a.m.
If no deadline looms sometimes it seems helpful to put the main project completely out of your mind, and come back to it at a later time. This was my father's advice when young. I've found space can add needed perspective, when of course you have the luxury of time (only in youth?).
- Big Carol
October 15, 2010 9:32 a.m.
The biggest energy drain on the planet, in my opinion, is checking email. You think, "oh, this will only take a minute" but so often it doesn't--you don't know until you open an email and read it, and so often you feel obligated to respond in some manner. ....So just leave it alone until you finish your project. Then, later, you'll feel so great that you've finished your project that you'll be able to address all of the email issues more clearly -- you'll be in a much better mood now that the project is no longer hanging over your head like a black cloud!
- Diane
October 13, 2010 10:52 p.m.
Don't forget that it's okay to let PEOPLE who are energy drains fall by the wayside too! There are those who are overly needy or who only call you to complain about life. That can increase your stress and distract you from the essential as well. It's okay to use your caller id!
- Barb
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6 comments posted