Session 2, week 12

Hope everyone has had a good week. I'm on a mini-break: a long weekend down south staying with my sister-in-law and her family. It's very relaxed: walks around National Trust estates that tick all the boxes for a Jane Austen adaptation film set, and not having to make decisions or plan meals for a few days.  The last couple of weeks I felt I was flagging in terms of motivation and routines, so this is a nice chance to recharge.

So this week's prompt is simply: what things help you reset? Obviously we all benefit from long breaks, but what small things work for you - five minutes' walk round the garden, lunch away from the desk?

Last week's goals:

Dame Eleanor

read essay for writing group meeting
- finish reading/noting ILL book
- steady progress on Alms chapter
- also on Latin translation
- work up schedule for fall grad class
- also put some links on class website
- at least two tasks from Huge Summer List
- keep track of time spent in various tasks/activities

Julie

1. Read and comment on dissertation proposals.
2. Write up notes from last week and add bits to article.
3. Life admin: doctor's appointment, find cheaper home insurance, do car check before long drive on Thursday.

JaneB

1) Self-care: think about how I can be more consistent with baselines. Do at least seven small things to improve my environment. Do at least an hour in total on sorting out my financial paperwork chaos.
2) Check work email no more than once outside of work day. Work days: clear email, arrange to interview possible intern
2a) on the teaching side - meet MSc project students and PhD students, tackle a few small jobs from the teaching list (mostly this will be sending emails, asking questions about when things happen, and breaking tasks down into more detailed lists)
2b) check what I need to do to prepare for next week's meetings lists plus making a plan for office moving (which SHOULD happen this summer - checking on plans/when is another job for the work day!).
3) Fun. Play D&D AND do some D&D planning. Finish one fiction book, start one non-fiction. Crochet some rows on the grounded blanket (it now has a name). Draw some things. Keep adding to a summer wish list for non- work days. Maybe start watching a series.

Heu mihi

1. Begin inviting people to be on the two panels that I agreed to organize for Kalamazoo
2. Deal with the crappy submission that's been languishing in my journal system. This is the third time in three years that this author has submitted an article (all variations on the same article); the other two were rejected, as well. I think that they need someone to educate them about submission protocol, but I'd rather not be that someone.
3. Deal with receipts, etc. from recent book purchases
4. Complete proceedings essay revisions--which will involve emailing someone I barely know because I can't find the notes I made on a comment that he gave me....
5. Write 1500 words
6. Return to regular sitting and language study
7. Work on cover for my house book (which I must finish before the session is up!)
8. While I'm at it: Select photos for anniversary book

Daisy

Finish initial submission for future grant application
Populate outline for Crunchy paper (aspirational)
Do point form notes for Shiny paper (aspirational)
Editor task
Overdue review
Field work so basically nothing else will get done

Susan

Have fun (carried over from last week).

Session 2, week 11

 Unsummery weather continues in the UK (and I'm really enjoying it), and super-summery weather in other parts of the world is wreaking havoc.  Despite all that, I hope you all had a good week!  

This week's prompt is pure summer whimsy - suppose that you have been allocated a magical writing elf, but writing elves are very specialised.  What kind of specialist writing task would your elf excel at?  I'm torn between dealing with journals crazy submission portals and triple-checking all the references for mine... 

LAST WEEK'S GOALS:

Daisy

• Fiddly lab things
• Outline for grant application
• Fancy machine training if possible
• Revisions for new accepted paper
• Fill outline for Crunchy paper
• Do at least one figure for Shiny paper
• Design outreach activity for next week
• Plan vacation with kid
• Book fun family thing

Dame Eleanor Hull

• No goals set

Heumihi

• No goals set

JaneB

• Self-care: think about how I can be more consistent with baselines. Do at least seven small things to improve my environment. Book another decluttering session. Do at least an hour in total on sorting out my financial paperwork chaos.
• Check work email no more than once outside of work day. Work day: focus on clearing email and making lists plus making a plan for office moving (which SHOULD happen this summer - checking on plans/when is another job for the work day!).
• maybe make a pretty and detailed version of the teaching to do list if there's time on the work day
• Fun. Play D&D AND do some D&D planning. Read one fiction and one non-fiction. Crochet some rows on the next blanket. Draw some things. Keep adding to a summer wish list for non- work days. Maybe start watching a series.

Julie

• Read last two interlibrary loans (have until Friday for one)
• Write one day
• Read and comment on dissertation proposals
• Order scans!
• Couple of small house jobs and start one big one.
• Fun - Tour de France, read, lunch with a colleague.

Susan

• Have fun

Session 2, week 10

Hope everyone has had a good week. It really doesn't feel like summer here in the UK, even though we have just one week of school left in England (Scottish schools have been on holiday for a while). For those of us with kids, conversations here are inevitably about managing the approaching six weeks when other people will be competing with writing for time and attention. Thankfully mine are getting to an age when they can entertain themselves, even if I have to ignore just how much of said entertainment involves screen time/staying in bed/eating more snacks than ought to be humanly possible.

So on that note, this week's post is about one of the indispensable things described as necessary for a woman to be able to write: A Room of One's Own. Tell us about your writing space, whether at home or on campus or both. How have you made it your space? What things about it work for you (sentimental objects on the desk, the view from the window, soundproofing, ban on offspring entering before noon...)? Feel free to share pictures!

Last week:

JaneB

• Self-care: think about baselines and how I can make it easier for me to be consistent with them. Hopefully work with decluttering lady! Do at least seven things to improve my environment (do not need to be large things). Do at least an hour in total on sorting out my financial paperwork chaos.
baselines, decluttering person is coming Friday I hope.
• Check work email no more than twice (for urgent support of research students going to conference stuff and deleting of junk mail only)
• maybe make a pretty and detailed version of the teaching to do list (maybe. if it's really hot and I just want to sit anyway!)
• Fun. Play D&D AND do some D&D planning. Read one fiction and one non-fiction. Start the next blanket. Draw some things. Keeping adding to a summer wish list for non- work days. Start watching a series.

 

Heumihi

1. 1500 words of chapter
2. Send in grant pre-application materials
3. First round of edits on Proceedings essay
4. Finish reading current research book; start new teaching book
5. Finish first photo album from fall
6. Work on the cover of my house book

Susan

1. Read comments on Famous author and plot revisions
2. Meet with co-editor of Big Collaboration to plan introduction better
3. Read the book I need to review
4. Go to a museum
5. See friends
6. Make plans for rest of summer here.
7. Go to at least one museum, maybe another play?

Dame Eleanor

• continue to expand Alms chapter
• dead languages: Latin daily, Greek x3
• finish and submit tenure review letter
• start over reading Relevant Romance
• experiment with structuring work hours
• at least 2 things from Huge Summer List
• prioritize sleep

Julie

1. Finally finish interlibrary loan, read another from the pile.
2. Write
3. Work-related admin: edit section of a handbook, meet with a colleague to discuss next year's teaching.
4. Read and comment on dissertation proposals.
5. Order scans from archive.
6. Finances!
7. Get daughter ready for school trip to France next week.
8. Fun stuff - watch Tour highlights, find some new pleasure reading for the summer.

Daisy

Review
Field stuff
Brainstorm papers/project with colleagues coming for field work, this is fun!

Session 2, week 9

 Hello everyone!  I hope our US members enjoyed the celebrations last week in your own ways, and no household member was too spooked by fireworks.  And that it's not too hot and humid (we've had a couple of very sticky days here, complete with thunderstorms for maximum humidity)!  I'm not going to the Big Conference in my field this year, which happens over the coming weekend, due to a combination of home institution grant messing up, COVID concerns, not being willing/able to self-fund travel to any substantial degree and general creakiness.  It will be in another country at the hot end of Europe, in a city which was built on a swamp a very long time ago, and the forecast is hot (heading for 100 Fahrenheit, high 30s Celsius) and humid.  So I'm not actually feeling nearly as much FOMO as I thought I might!  

Which leads me to our topic today - writing FOMO.  One of my strengths as an academic is my ability to think up lots of options - project ideas, paper ideas, ways to teach a topic.  But I am in a teaching and admin heavy role, and less and less able to collect primary data without collaboration (do NOT start me off on the state of our technical team and lack of support - cost-cutting to inane levels have created havoc),  and to be honest even if I was 100% a researcher I wouldn't be able to do it all!  The brain-monkeys do NOT like to let go of any possibilities, and because so many possibilities don't turn into actuality, it's actually very hard to predict what we should say yes or no to anyway.  So, how do you handle FOMO with writing projects? what does that look like for you (half-done projects, a dream book, old data that 'just' needs writing about, agreeing to join three edited collections at once and creating unnecessary stress for your future self?)?  Is it something you feel a tickle of occasionally in summer or a regular companion to writing all year round?  Have you got any great ways of making choices or of temporarily parking ideas for your future self to pick up?

LAST WEEK'S GOALS:

Daisy

• Do one thing for SHINY paper
• Plan out CRUNCHY paper’s data content
• Continue finicky lab process
• Start next finicky lab process (I love these, they make me very happy!)
• Have difficult student conversation
• Move offices
• Get daily exercise

Dame Eleanor Hull

• expand Alms chapter
• dead languages: Latin daily, Greek x3
• write tenure review letter
• start over reading Relevant Romance
• observe work hours and dedicated special-project hours
• at least 2 things from Huge Summer List
• pay bills
• prioritize sleep

heu mihi

• no goals, but lots going on

JaneB

• Self-care: baselines, decluttering person is coming Friday I hope.
• Researcher: Wish-we-never-started project - project report meeting, finish up what I can. Comment on and send back to co-author first draft of consultancy based paper. Get my poster for Massive Meeting I'm Not Attending ready and sent to print. As many "small jobs" as I can before leave starts.
• Teaching: Make a summer list. If the info I need arrives by Wednesday, set resits and contact my advisee students who have work to make up over the summer. And set out of office!!
• Fun. Play D&D or do some D&D planning. Read something. Start the next blanket. Draw something. Make a summer wish list for non- work days.

Julie

• Finish interlibrary loan, start another.
• Write one day.
• Archive searches and request scans of documents
• Finances!
• Tidy desk
• Get baby clothes down from attic and wash to take to new niece this weekend.
• Try not to get too distracted watching Tour de France with son.

Susan

• Read last two prize books
• Read book for long overdue book review
• Read through comments on Famous Author and determine what's left to do.
• Attend two lectures where I hope I will see and meet people.
• Finish bits of admin that I decided could be done from here.
• Go to at least one museum and/or one play or concert.
• Have fun

Session 2, week 8

 Hope everyone is well as we head into July. It is freezing here in the UK compared to the hot weather we had in June. Maybe that's better for intense reading and writing indoors, but not so great if like Susan, you're headed here for a break (unless you're here for research, Susan, in which case, not so bad).

As we head into the second half of the session, a hopefully positive prompt to remind us all that the hard work of writing does pay off: tell us about a piece of writing you are really proud of and/or a time when writing went well, maybe when it flowed easily, or you were able to write without distractions or too much pressure from deadlines. Or maybe there were distractions, but they kept the writing from being overwhelming.

Last week's goals

Daisy

Do finicky difficult lab process for first time…
Work on joint student paper, naming it CRUNCHY
Figure out what needs to be done for analytical part of local paper, now named SHINY!
Write promotion review
Finish paper review
Revise and send out association paperwork
Look into costs and options for some help with landscaping
Do something fun with kid for end of school year

JaneB

1) Self-care: baselines
2) Researcher: Wish-we-never-started project - at least 5 hours of work. Meeting and any last bits on very overdue paper. Two "small jobs". Summer list.
3) Teaching: progress meeting for Junior grad student. Make a summer list. Remind MSc students I'm on leave soon. Set resits, contact my advisee students who have work to make up over the summer.
4) Fun. Play D&D or do some D&D planning. Read something. Start the next blanket. Draw something. Make a summer wish list for non- work days.

 

Julie

1. Finish one interlibrary loan, read at least one other.
2. More archive searches.
3. Spend a day writing.
4. Exercise
5. Small to medium house job.
6. Financial stuff.

 

Heumihi

This week:
--Is the only week that my son will be at camp, so I need to Get Stuff Done.
1. Finish AW and take notes on it; start BM; start TB; read LMS
2. Finish and send promotion letter
3. Freewrite and/or 1000-1500 words on ch. 4
4. Bind text block
5. Journal proofs to co-editor
6. Finish processing journal article

Susan

(Very limited, as there's a conference and I need to get ready to fly to London for 5 1/2 weeks. My "To Do" list is VERY long.) The conference is one that happens every 3 years in my thematic specialization, and I kind of wish I wasn't going, but it's less than a 2 hour drive away, and I'll see people, and if I need to leave early, I will. Breathe.
1. Read last 3 books of which I have physical copies (There are 2 that I only have as ebooks)
2. Organize all the things for travel
3. Last bits of Admin (jobs, spring schedule)
4. Actually read program for Big Conference
5. Enjoy time at Big Conference/visit with friends
6. Get on plane in one piece on Sunday afternoon.
7. Breathe.

Dame Eleanor

 expand Alms chapter
- dead languages 3x each or as possible
- finish reading book for tenure review
- read at least 1000 lines of Relevant Romance
- process at least 1 grad apps
- at least 2 things from Huge Summer List (pick things I can knock off quickly!)