Working in Medical Affairs is demanding. There is a ton of travel, you are getting pulled in a million different directions, your emails are piling up, you are late on your expense reports, and there are difficult HCPs and internal stakeholders to deal with. There will come a time when every Medical Affairs professional wants to quit. That’s ok and totally normal. Jobs are never fun and awesome 100% of the time. When things feel really bad, they have a serious impact on your strategic thinking. You won’t care about being strategic and moving the needle when you don’t feel motivated. This hack will help you avoid this: plan for when you want to quit.

How to Plan for When You Want to Quit

Being a strategic thinker in Medical Affairs means anticipating challenges and this is certainly a challenge that will come up. When you notice thoughts about just giving up and quitting popping up in your brain, revisit your plan to get motivated again. This will recenter you and help you get back to being strategic and focusing on what matters.

Finish this sentence and make a list: When I feel like quitting I will….

There is no right or wrong way to plan for when you want to quit. Experiment and find what works for you.

Example Activities for When You Feel Like Quitting

• Call your partner/significant other/mother/mentor/whoever motivates you
• Get some rest
• Have a snack
• Create a feel good folder and revisit it (for example, nice emails from colleagues/ customers)
• Start journaling on activities that make you feel motivated and then revisit that list

Conclusion

If you feel like quitting you will not be having as large of an impact as you could. You are not focused on being strategic. Prepare for this situation by finding what motivates you when you are feeling like quitting. It doesn’t have to include any of the activities listed above. Do what works for you!