“I am afraid of death, but even more afraid of wasting my life.”

-Paulo Coelho

Maybe this is that one topic that most readers wanted to read in my book, since many believe that I have some authority to talk about this subject from my personal experience. People are asking me these questions all the time: how do you manage time for everything, when do you sleep, what time do you wake up, how many hours did you study everyday, when do you find the time to do research, when do you read papers, when do you write your papers, where do you find the time for your family, do you have time for fun activities in your life, and so on. The bottom line for all these questions is simply how to manage time properly because it feels to many that there is not enough time for many activities they want to do.

They look at me and wonder if I don’t eat or don’t sleep. I am a medical oncologist and treat patients with cancer and this clinical work is time-consuming. I treat not only my patients who come to my clinic but also provide second opinion services across the world. I am an Associate Professor of Oncology and Public Health Sciences at Queen’s University in Canada now where I have a big research program in global oncology and cancer policy. In 2022, I published 33 papers and by July end in 2023, I have already published 21 papers. I teach a course in Global Oncology and Cancer Policy to 36 students and mark their assignments. I stay up to date with most studies relevant in the field of oncology. I do some outside consultancy work for an insurance company in US, sometimes write blogs for Medscape and vlogs for ecancer. I offer my expertise to organizations like WHO, ASCO, and ESMO via several committees that I have been involved with. I do almost 6 international travels a year. I do invited talks and lectures, outside of Queen’s, almost 20 times a year. I have two kids who deserve all my love and attention. My idea of a best day is to just hangout with my wife and kids doing nothing. I have several close friends-both locally and internationally- and spending time with them on phone or visiting them or hosting them and throwing parties is what we love to do. We love hiking and exploring natural parks. So, people who don’t know me closely think that I may have some secret on time management, or I am very serious and focus only on work. While people who are close to me look at me and wonder how this person who is always hanging out with them, doesn’t spend too much time at work, is vacationing frequently, is always up for parties, food, and drinks, also manages to excel at his professional work.