Switching Zones
It is 4:55PM on December 23rd. I am now switching zones from grant writing to family holiday. Merry Christmas!
View ArticlePost-Holiday: Back on Track
Need to re-establish my grant writing rhythm again after the holiday. I like to think that the short respite away from thinking about the grant will provide me with new insights and energy. Yea, well,...
View ArticleOnly 7 more weeks
Wow â where has the time gone â only 7 more weeks until this grant application goes out. Lots of things are coming together logistic wise â but I need to get more pen to paper! I have met with...
View ArticleGetting My Team Together
I am in the final thoughts of getting my team together. I start with my past team and determine what continuing expertise I need. I then write approach each about being on the grant â I donât make...
View ArticleThird Draft of Specific Aims
Here I am again â working on yet another draft of the specific aims. I am at that point of not being sure whether it is getting better or worse â time to send it out again to my team to look at. I...
View ArticleMy Error!
It was brought to my attention by a colleague (and reader of this blog) that I made an error in a posting â an important error â that I need to correct. Back at the beginning of December, I was...
View ArticleKeeping Track of Draft Versions of the Application
Actually, I have no suggestions at all for doing this. I do not keep track of grant versions. I only have one version â the one I am working on (and its back up). Near the end, I get paranoid and...
View ArticleMore Diversions
Not good. I was cleaning my office today and even gave thought to cleaning out the linen closet at home. Since I hate cleaning, these are clearly diversion (yet socially acceptable) activities that I...
View ArticleItâs So Iterative!
Youâd think that something like grant writing would be so logical, so linear. Itâs not. Itâs a very iterative, unfolding process that takes lots of unpredictable turns. Mostly it is the going...
View ArticleHow Much Passion Should be in a Grant Proposal?
Itâs kind of a joke among my close faculty colleagues about how much âpassionâ I write into my grants. I see persuasive arguments being made in grants in lots of ways. Some people use lots of...
View ArticleDark January Days of Writing
It is dark and deep here in Cleveland in January. Getting up early to write in the mornings means that you are doing it in the dark. Itâs kind of painful for me â I am really not a morning person,...
View ArticleIn the Zone
Sorry â you have not heard from me in over a week. I'v been âin the zoneâ â writing zone, that is. Grant writing at the end is so engulfing that I tend block out major portions of my life â...
View ArticleGo Cavs!
I guess I should explain that line at the end of my last posting - Go Cavs! I am a big basketball fan and watching LeBron James every other night is one of the delights in my life. What does this have...
View ArticleBudget
Met with the budget person today. Sheâs great at getting the budget details all down. Itâs an art of when to start the budget â you donât want to go too soon, but you donât want to go too...
View ArticleSignificance
Read again last night the strategic priorities of my funding agency (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute), Healthy People 2020 and the American Heart Association in preparation for refining the...
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