Week 11: Summer daydreams

It's August next week, and I've not long been back from a week away, so continuing the lighter theme of last week's discussion topic seems a good idea.  One of the great pleasures of childhood summers was the space to daydream, and letting your mind run free is both relaxing and stimulating, an escape from the day to day and its demands.  Carrying on from last week, what's your dream workspace like?  I know we've talked about this before, but with some members having "she-sheds" in their futures and others moving house or reorganising their spaces it seems like a good time to revisit - and to think if there's a small thing from that dream space that we can affordably and practically bring into our current concrete but imperfect work spaces.

Goals from last week:

Contingent Cassandra

--Get grades in (TRQ, but also necessary to having a bit of time to concentrate on TLQ)

--Figure out what I'll do when in the next month as much as possible (I realize that not having a plan is raising my anxiety levels, to the point where I've had some trouble sleeping. On the other hand, some of this involves other people -- other people whom I really want to see, even more than I want some unplugged time to myself, though I also want that -- and their schedules, so I may just have to live with it.

--Keep lifting weights; get in the pool; move some more mulch if weather cooperates

Dame Eleanor Hull

Self: Stretch every day. Swim twice. Prep safe food for travel day.

Teaching: Grade all the things.

Research: Finish revising the MMP-3.

House/Life: type the packing list. Pack for departure from UK.

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell

Walk forty-five minutes a day.

Continue to compile versions of Prudence and continue to follow the schedule.

Good Enough Woman

1) Finalize travel plans.

2) Walk 4x, Swim 1x. Yoga 1x.

3) Do three early mornings for reading/writing. Plan them ahead. (In general, try to plan ahead a bit more.)

4) Plan/take outing with son (if he can think of something he'd like to do).

5) Take remaining bags to office.

6) Put together reading packet and submit it to reprographics.

7) Complete online school registration for kids.

8) Get daughter started on a gratitude journal. She tends to focus on the negative, and she agrees that the gratitude journal might be a good idea.

9) Remind self that summer is not over yet!

heu mihi (carried over from last week)
We're going to the beach for a week on Saturday (YAAAAY!), so I'll have to do a bunch of grocery shopping/cleaning/cooking/etc. to get ready. In addition: 

1) Enter current revisions into ch. 2
2) Complete teaching portion of tenure file (Tuesday, I hope)
3) Work through print-out of ch. 2 (after #1 is done)
4) Take care of admin stuff--conference proposal, guest speaker, etc.

humming42

1 finish book review in progress

2 send additional information to Snow editor

3 submit Memory abstract

4 write letter for editorial board

5 read memoir for Perform paper

JaneB

1) enjoy time with niece and Sister's family

2) be the rock the water rolls off whilst with parents

3) keep checking of work email to a minimum! (I have to check some, but once a day would be enough)

Karen (from week seven)

1. Yoga - 3 home practices (even if little) and 1 class
2. Garden - plan 2017/8 vegetable crops
3. Office - 2 x 25 minutes of clearing the encroaching chaos of floor clutter
4. Read - one article
5. Write - 1 hour on messy first draft of grass text

KJHaxton

1. write exam questions, keep plugging on with lecture/class prep

2. start the sewing project (skirt and shirt - never made clothes before, equally exciting and terrifying)

3. work on the two posters for the conference at end of August (oral presentation wasn't accepted but offered chance to do it as a poster, other poster was accepted)

Matilda

1) Finish first draft of Chapter 2. At least, finish almost.

2) 5-minute-exercises at least twice a day.

3) Find ‘my own 15 minutes’ as many as possible, and do something.

4) Think positively, plan concretely, work practically.

Notorious, PhD (carried over)
-Writing: 2500 words
-Research: One volume of ordinances
-Mind/body: 3 yoga, 4 morning meditation

Susan (from week seven)

1. Get rough drafts of syllabi done

2. Find out how to set up my personal website, start designing it

3. Keep moving

4. Keep reading

Waffles

1. Finalize APA presentation and practice

2. Scoping review #1 - read through abstracts

3. Work on expectancies paper

Week Ten: Keeping it Light this Week

I have drafted several topics so far, struggling to decide what is best. It's tricky because many of us are doing extremely well with TLQ while others are struggling. In the end, I've decided to keep things concrete and light this week. I have two questions:

1) What would you like to do in order to improve or brighten up your work space(s)?
2) What is a good book you've read this summer/winter  (or one that's on your TBR list that you're eager to get to)? It might be escapist leisure reading that helps you re-charge, or maybe it's a book about productivity that helps motivate you. I know several of you have listed "reading" as a goal, so I thought we might share.

Below I've listed last week's goals, along with some that are carried over from previous weeks.


Contingent Cassandra
--garden 1x, lift weights 1x
--continue vacation planning/making contact with people I might visit.

DEH
Self: organize second trip. Stretch every day. Swim 3-4 times. Do some shopping.
Teaching: Grade, be enthusiastic on field trip, organize the other tour.
Research: Review 500 lines of translation; continue editing/expanding MMP-3. Reserve MSS.
House: type the packing list.

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Walk forty-five minutes a day. 
Keep track of hydration. 
One hour five days a week on the Prudence book. 

GEW
1) Clean out 1-2 bags or boxes.
2) Write 5x. (I guess I'll just keep putting it down on my list, hoping to do better. If I can do this, I might get other ideas about how to set better, more precise writing goals.) Get up early one morning to write.
3) Drop off items that need dropping off.
4) Swim 1x, yoga 1x, Walk (45 minutes) 4x.
5) Make plans for an outing or activity with my son.
6) Encourage some independence in the kids this week (activities, food prep), and encourage them to think about their own TLQ.
7) Settle dates for August trip. Book SF hotel. 

heu mihi
We're going to the beach for a week on Saturday (YAAAAY!), so I'll have to do a bunch of grocery shopping/cleaning/cooking/etc. to get ready. In addition:1) Enter current revisions into ch. 2
2) Complete teaching portion of tenure file (Tuesday, I hope)
3) Work through print-out of ch. 2 (after #1 is done)
4) Take care of admin stuff--conference proposal, guest speaker, etc.

humming42
1 follow up with co-author
2 determine status of Abandoned Project
3 submit Memory abstract
4 Read for Snow project
5 Start work on grant narrative

JaneB
1) look after myself kindly. Sleep, don't overeat, shower every day, all the simple/hard stuff.
2) finish writing up the notes from the ProblemChild meeting and circulate
3) Make an outline list of the contents from Giant New Modules for organisational thing
4) write the last of my sections of the Gallimaufrey thing.

Karen (from week seven)
1. Yoga - 3 home practices (even if little) and 1 class
2. Garden - plan 2017/8 vegetable crops
3. Office - 2 x 25 minutes of clearing the encroaching chaos of floor clutter
4. Read - one article
5. Write - 1 hour on messy first draft of grass text

KJHaxton
1. ethics application - complete
2. draft and create screencasts on 4 topics 
3. keep on knitting
4.

Matilda (from week seven)
1) Write chapter 2: continue reading the most fundamental sources, and accumulate 1000 words per day by write / revise. 
2) 5-minute-exercises several times a say.
3) Find ‘my own 15 minutes’ as many as possible.
4) Think positively, plan concretely, work practically.

Notorious, PhD
-Writing: 2500 words
-Research: One volume of ordinances
-Mind/body: 3 yoga, 4 morning meditation

Susan (from week seven)

1. Get rough drafts of syllabi done

2. Find out how to set up my personal website, start designing it

3. Keep moving

4. Keep reading

Waffles
1. Submit R&R
2. APA presentation (due tomorrow - gulp!)
3. Figure out where we are with the alc scoping review
4. Figure out answers for diss advisor's assistant on IRB closure

Week 9: water, stone, leaf and air

"Move like water" has been a popular motto or mantra for the last few iterations of the group, with a few incidences of "float like mist", and last week several people began to talk about being the rock in the water, the stone that says "no" and makes the stream leap and sparkle (thanks DEH for the image and the poem!).  Nature imagery can be very grounding, especially as we focus on what is important rather than what is loud and urgent in our lives.  One of the snippets of poetry which got into my memory and which rises up naturally sometimes when I need words to focus on is:

Lord, heal me now with a vision of green things growing ----

with the many shades of trees in a woodland way,

with delicate boughs that wave like waters flowing,

with the springing grass and the mounting corn and the may.

A woodland way (with may to right at front)

 V.H.Friedlaender, from A Prayer In May

 So for this week's topic, anyone else like to share the words and/or imagery that you find useful in constructing your academic identity and in thinking about your TLQ life - about the important things, in other words?

 

Last week's goals
Contingent Cassandra

1. Garden 1x, swim 1x (tomorrow, when I don't have conferences); lift weights 2x

2. Continue contemplating how best to wring some rejuvenation out of the 17 days I have between commitments in August. Should I travel? Just stay home? There are arguments for both.

DEH

Self: organize second trip. Stretch every day. Swim 3-4 times. Do some shopping.

Teaching: Grade, be enthusiastic on field trip, organize the other tour.

Research: Review 1000 lines of translation; write topic sentences for new/revised paragraphs in MMP-3.

House: type the packing list.

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell

Walk forty-five minutes a day.

Keep track of hydration.

One hour five days a week on the Prudence book.

GEW

1) Have parents over for pizza night.

2) Walk 4x, swim 1x, yoga 1x.

3) Write 5x.

4) Clean out 4 boxes/drawers.

5) Take kids on outings: a trip to the movies, at least one beach trip, and take daughter to Ren Faire. Plan a waterpark trip.

6) Start planning for August vacation.

7) Choose important moments to be the rock so that I can do the other TLQ things.

Heu mihi

1) Decide what to do about ch. 2.

Others involve getting my life back to normal, post-trip:

2) Fix little fiddly bits in chapter 5

3) Back to exercise routine, more or less

4) Send book proposal to another publisher (I have interest from one, but am covering my bases)

5) Take care of little domestic things: a few errands, granola, laundry, etc.

humming42 (carried over)

1 write 5x

2 set writing and research schedule

3 set up project notekeeping

4 follow up with co-author

5 determine status of Abandoned Project

6 think about grant application

JaneB (carried over)

1) restructure ProbChildp1p1 following meeting

2) clear desk at office at least

3) be nice to the cold and get enough sleep

4) write up notes from grant meeting and circulate to team

5) set resit work (this will be TRQ the week after next, so would like to get it done this week in a controlled manner) and do timetabling paperwork (due next week, same).

Karen (carried over)

1. Yoga - 3 home practices (even if little) and 1 class

2. Garden - plan 2017/8 vegetable crops

3. Office - 2 x 25 minutes of clearing the encroaching chaos of floor clutter

4. Read - one article

5. Write - 1 hour on messy first draft of grass text

KJHaxton

1. Keep on knitting (I'd abbreviate that but I don't think I want to Kok)

2. 15 hours of 'work' in keeping with 2 days/week

3. work on ethics application

4. make progress on printing project

Matilda

1) Write chapter 2: continue reading the most fundamental sources, and accumulate 1000 words per day by write / revise.

2) 5-minute-exercises several times a say.

3) Find ‘my own 15 minutes’ as many as possible.

4) Think positively, plan concretely, work practically.

Notorious, PhD (carried over)

• Writing: 1000 words on Sometimes an Adequate Notion chapter [start point: 700]

• 2 days yoga; 3 meditation

• finish reading 1 major source collection

• Toss or file the stuff from my home desk and bookshelf

(in addition to being a great auntie!)

Waffles (carried over)

1. Get R&R close to done

2. Reduce scoping review (make a good pass at it)

3. Tables for SU paper

4. Put together lit for expectancies paper