I went back to the archives to see what we were thinking about, or using for themes, eight years ago. Karen did a post just before the 2016 US election with the theme of unfilled space (starting from design elements in creative work), what it meant to us, how to create it ("physically, mentally, or in our own heads"), and I liked the ideas that resulted so much that I'm recycling this idea. Whether a design element, a calming image, a blank in the calendar, something to notice when it happens or something that you deliberately create, what does the idea mean to you now?
Here are last week's goals; how did you do? What's coming up?
Daisy
Mark tests and catch up on lab marking
URGENT Thesis edits
Do one task on revision of languishing paper
Do some microscope work for new paper
Do microscope work with grad student
Open shipment of samples and start looking through them for analytical work plans
Dame Eleanor Hull
- one household task of some sort
- notes on bibliography from book JG, notes on text of book LA
- 2-3 pomodoros on Alms
- write up notes for grad class
- adjust all remaining class plans given cancelled day
- read remaining chapter drafts for student A, advise on restructure
- take Sir John to buy new car
- yoga x4, other exercise as possible
- try to think about goals for the remainder of the calendar year
heu mihi
1. Read over my husband's book proposal; provide feedback
2. Read Ka's dissertation chapter
3. One billion emails (actually I took care of most of these already on Monday and Tuesday, but I'm putting it here anyway)
4. Graduate student business (summer teaching and conference funding allocations)
5. Work on draft of what was supposed to have been co-editor's part of our book proposal
JaneB
1 SELF-CARE. Remember I'm still recovering from burnout and be kind to myself
(i) do at least one mildly creative-with-the-hands things
(ii) read at least three days
(iii) play D&D with nibling or the group.
(iv) three days of stretchy/bendy type intentional movement for at least 15 minutes
(v) get COVID and flu jabs
2 HOUSE-LIFE ADMIN
i) at least 75% of regular chore list
ii) do one extra load of laundry
iii) get caught up on dishes
iv) make a Christmas Wish List and circulate to family
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) prepare everything for teaching next week (a lot)
ii) look at stats for confused research student
4 RESEARCH
i) at least one hour integrating other people's comments into the consultancy paper, ugh!
Julie
1. Teaching prep, keep minimal.
2. Research for two hours at least, work out plan for article.
3. Start marking when assignments come in.
4. House: more decluttering, start Christmas planning, go to farm shop.
5. Self-care: read, exercise, watch good TV, bake.
Susan
1. Figure out plans for further revisions
2. Enjoy the seminar
3. Keep talking to friends
4. Take walks, look at art
5. Enjoy the conference
Love the concept of white space. I guess I create it by scheduling, though as people pointed out on the original post, that's quite ironic. I'm also finding that having an official non-working day is great: so far, I've managed to be strict about no work, at least, no work emails, and that frees up space for stuff that would otherwise have been crammed into the weekend. I also really like having an hour or so free in the mornings before I start teaching: I can get stuff done and be prepared, rather than rushing into a 9 am class. Otherwise, running and walking outside often gives me good thinking space.
ReplyDeleteLast week
1. Teaching prep, keep minimal. - YES
2. Research for two hours at least, work out plan for article. - YES, SORT OF (have better ideas of what needs doing)
3. Start marking when assignments come in. - Does one assignment count?
4. House: more decluttering, start Christmas planning, go to farm shop. - YES, A BIT, YES
5. Self-care: read, exercise, watch good TV, bake. - YES. YES (until back pain flared up), YES. YES (but recipe was a bit of a disaster)
Also: read and commented on two grant proposals and a dissertation synopsis I forgot were coming in, did overdue compulsory online training on suicide prevention and student support, wrote reference for PhD student, nagged other PhD student.
This week:
I still have lower back ache, though it's getting better, but need to sit as little as possible. And I have daughter's horrible cold, though Covid test was negative, at least. So this is a low energy week, and therefore keeping to what needs doing.
1. Teaching prep - keep minimal, but need to think ahead to final skills session, which is new.
2. Read and shortlist eight proposals for postdoc fellowship & chair meeting to select nominee to next stage.
3. Carry on marking.
4. House: more decluttering, buy some Christmas presents, agree who is buying what for nieces & nephews.
5. Self-care: rest, read, exercise gently.
I certainly think that doing one assignment counts as having started! Set the bar low, right? It's good to hear that you're sticking to your one non-work day. Sorry to hear about the double whammy of cold plus back pain, though, and I hope they both pass quickly. Good luck with this week's tasks!
DeleteI'm so sorry about the back! FInishing anything with that is a success. And sorry about the cold. With mine this fall, I was reminded that nothing is "just" a cold...
DeleteHope you feel better soon, both from back and awful cold. Take the week easy and recover!
DeleteOne assignment counts--you broke the seal! (To use an expression that I don't love.) I'm sorry to hear about the illness and the back ache.
DeleteOne assignment DEFINITELY counts (I marked one assignment yesterday to "break the seal" on my latest batch so clearly great minds think alike)! And congrats on getting off on the right foot in protecting that non-work day, it's so important. Having a bit of space before a morning class makes a big difference to how that class goes, I find, even if the getting up and to work early enough to protect it is painful!
DeleteWHite space: I'm terrible at scheduling, but one of the things I'm trying to do is to let white space into my life, not feeling I always have to be working. It's a huge lesson to learn! But creating time to think is always good, and remembering that you can be working when you're not at the computer is important. I mean, I know that intellectually, but it's hard to put into practice. And I have so much I want to do!
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Figure out plans for further revisions: SOME
2. Enjoy the seminar YES, and I figured out a structure for where I'm going
3. Keep talking to friends YES (lots at the conference)
4. Take walks, look at art YES
5. Enjoy the conference YES
Well, I set a pretty low bar last week, so don't get too excited by all the "yes"! There was a lively discussion at the seminar, and afterward I realized that in the essay I wrote about Alice (my character from the summer) I had a structure that I could emulate as I move forward on the Rest of My Life project. My paper at the conference went well, and I got to spend time with other people who are working on similar questions, so it was good. (Though altogether too much time was necessarily given over to discussing a senior colleague who publicly talked over a grad student.) SO I've had a couple of nights of not great sleep.
As I go forward, I'm working on two tracks -- the final revisions to Famous Author, due to the press on February 1, and a big public lecture at Favorite Library on January 15. I am actually grateful that the meeting I thought I had to travel to this Friday was going to be only on zoom, though I'm sorry I'm not seeing the friend who I was going to visit. My sister arrives from Paris on Saturday, so I'll be with family on Sunday...
Goals for this week:
1. Send chapters of Famous Author to a few friends for review.
2. Get through first two chapters of revision
3. Start transcribing a second appendix, write intro for first appendix
4. Organize outline for talk
5. Go for walks, look at art
6. Keep up with exercise and healthy eating
7. Keep up with general kindness to self and others.
I think it's a great thing to feel that work is so interesting and absorbing that it is hard to step away from it, though it is good to take that step and let the back of your brain do some work for you while you're thinking of other things. I'm glad you had a good time at the conference, and hope this week goes well.
DeleteConference sounds wonderful! So cool to see connections between things like your Alice paper and other projects that can grow into more cool things...
DeleteHave a wonderful time with walks and art and friends!
So great to hear how well work is going. It's so exciting when you see connections and ideas start to grow.
DeleteThe main characters of A. S. Byatt's Possession discover that they both have "this image of a clean empty bed in a clean empty room, where nothing is asked or to be asked," and then think, "Maybe we're symptomatic of whole flocks of exhausted scholars and theorists. Or maybe it's just us." Since JaneB and I had similar images, eight years ago, perhaps it is a favorite image of exhausted scholars! My morning routine is a bit of blank space in the day. When the Turbulent Tabby starts mewing, I go in her room, drink tea, and on good days read something scholarly, otherwise read blogs and play word games for half an hour or so while I wake up. After that the day may go to hell in a handbasket, but it was a nice space of tea, cat, and some form of mental stimulation.
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
- one household task of some sort: nothing out of the ordinary except for baking another cake.
- notes on bibliography from book JG, notes on text of book LA: Both in progress.
- 2-3 pomodoros on Alms: NO
- write up notes for grad class: ENOUGH to get by
- adjust all remaining class plans given cancelled day: YES
- read remaining chapter drafts for student A, advise on restructure: NO
- take Sir John to buy new car: YES
- yoga x4, other exercise as possible: x3, cross-trainer x3, weights x1
- try to think about goals for the remainder of the calendar year: NO
When I wasn't actually on campus, in meetings including student conferences, or preparing for class, a lot of last week went to the Car Situation. I think it has now all been sorted out.
New goals:
- one household task of some sort
- notes on bibliography from book JG, notes on text of book LA
- read, write up notes for grad class
- prep some discussion questions for undergrads
- read remaining chapter drafts for student A, advise on restructure
- show up for two appointments on Wednesday
- yoga x4, swim x2-3, weights x2
- some fun reading
That is a lovely morning routine!
DeleteHope Turbulent Tabby continues to settle in well and Basement Cat is holding steady!
The amount of time car buying takes, and then learning the tech in the new car, is astonishing. Glad it's all sorted out!
DeleteOh, it's an old low-tech car, same model as the one that got totaled! We're both very anti-tech in cars.
DeleteI love that image of the white bed! I read Possession a long time ago, but I remember that image being really appealing at the time. Glad the car is sorted.
Deletethe white bed is still very appealing. Even a budget hotel chain sometimes offers that lovely vision when you first walk into the room... And if their rooms came with a friendly cat that would definitely make it better. A big piece of why I prefer to have a cat than a dog is that dogs, for all their charms, need a LOT from their humans to be happy dogs, whereas most cats are excellent at co-existing most of the time - co-existing companionably is just so much more peaceful and comfortable to me. Also cats mostly are very clear about their wants, which is also a kind of white space compared to humans!
DeleteWhat a fun time capsule… Interesting to see what we were all doing so long ago, but also funny to see what has not changed… I am happy to report that none of the papers I was not writing then and not the same ones I’m not writing now at least! (I hope!) And oh my do I miss that year of having cleaners! That was wonderful…
ReplyDeleteWhite space is an endangered species for me, I am having a really hard time this term getting block of time that are not assigned to some task. Any empty space on weekends ends up getting slept through or becomes reading time because sanity! Which is fine, some seasons don’t have much space, others do. I think making a conscious effort to have some unscheduled time is good, but having at least a vague plan for that time helps to use it well instead of having it disappear down the online rabbit hole or get sucked up by endless small tasks. This weekend I had a glorious three hours all on my own so I watched some fun TV for a while with a book and cats on my lap, enjoyed it very much!
Last week’s goals
Mark tests and catch up on lab marking PARTLY
URGENT Thesis edits PROGRESS
Do one task on revision of languishing paper DECIDED ON JOURNAL TO SUBMIT TO
Do some microscope work for new paper TOOK SLIDES OUT OF DRAWER
Do microscope work with grad student DONE
Open shipment of samples and start looking through them for analytical work plans OPENED BOX
So it was basically a nutty week, with left-over chaos from traveling, and the usual November shenanigans…
This week’s goals
Set up review labs for classes
Last thesis edits
Do introduction and overview of languishing paper
Finish microscope work for new paper
Pick analytical samples and get at least three done
Make friend plans!
It is definitely encouraging to see that we are working (or not-working) on different projects now!
DeleteYou made progress during a difficult week (it sounds like they all are, these days!), so yay for that, especially opening the box! Baby steps! I hope this week goes at least as well as last.
Sounds like a crazy week. Hope this one is easier.
DeleteFor all its many wonders and blessings, the internet is a sneaky little beggar, constantly vining its way into unstructured time - but it sounds like you've done a great job of sneaking baby steps on the important stuff whilst the week went to heck in a handbasket around you!
DeleteCreating space.... One thing that I've been telling my students in my lecture class is that they can access feelings of calm and peace by paying close attention to what's in front of them--a tree, for instance (that seems to be my go-to object, maybe because I find looking at trees to be calming). Minute attention to what is real and present in front of you can clear out some clutter and turn down the volume on inner chatter. It helps me, anyway.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Read over my husband's book proposal; provide feedback - DONE (didn't take long)
2. Read Ka's dissertation chapter - DONE
3. One billion emails (actually I took care of most of these already on Monday and Tuesday, but I'm putting it here anyway) - PROBABLY; there are a billion more
4. Graduate student business (summer teaching and conference funding allocations) - Funding allocations, yes; teaching requires more discussion
5. Work on draft of what was supposed to have been co-editor's part of our book proposal - DONE and it only took 20 minutes! The proposal is now under review.
This week: I'm flying by the seat of my pants. I'm not even sure what my goals are anymore!
1. Get back to workouts after last week's cold
2. Start rereading a book for the article due in April--ideally read intro & chapter 1
3. Plan next Monday's lecture, where I think that I initially said I'd talk about what gives life meaning. ???? So tempted to just cancel class right now, but I try not to do that on principle....
A Big Drama was dropped into my lap yesterday, so I'm going to spend a lot of this week in meetings (about a "delicate matter") with various people and also trying to control the flow of information as much as I can. Siiigghhhh. I need to a) investigate the problem (to find out how much of what I've heard is true), b) do damage control to the extent possible, and c) find a way to tell the (presumed) instigator to knock it off, without saying that in so many words and/or otherwise making things worse. Uggh PEOPLE.
Why do some people PEOPLE like that? I hope you can easily quell the drama and control the damage. Also that you enjoy your workouts---I'm finding that I really have to do more stretching as I get back to proper workouts; I can skimp a bit when I'm used to using those muscles but not when they've been out of use for a bit.
DeleteDrama is such a nightmare. I really hate having to deal with other people's mess. Hope it can be sorted out without wasting any more of your time.
DeleteAh, the joys of people!
DeleteI need a lot of unstructured space to feel safe and sane - partly because I have a very busy brain - my mental image is of a very colourful space full of shelves and boxes and mounds of all kinds of fascinating objects and ideas, occupied by a large troop of well-intentioned over-active squirrels who are highly distractable, busy, and nervy - someone of them is always singing a snatch of something or digging through a heap of neglected side-plots from a book series I read ten years ago or counting tiles or making patterns out of the blotches on the ceiling. Unstructured time lets them just run around without the pressures of having to act like a grownup/focus on one task etc., and the older I get the more I need that space in order to be able to fake it when I need to behave like a person with a disciplined, obedient squad of mini-mes running a coherent brain-ship's-bridge sort of set up rather than a gang of squirrels in a cave of wonders. And yes, this is often how I justify mindless youtube, doing online (cat-compatible!) jigsaws etc. for hours - it's about tuning out the sense of guilt that I should be DOING in a purposeful way to give the squirrels space to do their own thing.
ReplyDeleteWe still don't know what's happening with the last "at risk" group of staff, it's been a really cold week by local standards so ice/snow has added to the joys of commuting, various student dramas are happening (it's that time of year), last week and this were both heavy teaching weeks, and I just didn't get to TLQ. Better late than never?
LAST WEEK GOALS
1 SELF-CARE. Remember I'm still recovering from burnout and be kind to myself
(i) do at least one mildly creative-with-the-hands things yes
(ii) read at least three days ish. Reading a book which I think is good, it's just a bit literary fiction ish for this point in the year, and it doesn't hold my attention
(iii) play D&D with nibling or the group.yes, with the group - nibling was Being Social in the Real World! Go nibling!
(iv) three days of stretchy/bendy type intentional movement for at least 15 minutes yes!
(v) get COVID and flu jabs yes, and besides two sore arms and a mild headache, no obvious side effects which is a win
2 HOUSE-LIFE ADMIN
i) at least 75% of regular chore list no, about 50%
ii) do one extra load of laundryyes. I have a choice of clean fluffy towels not just the dregs of the "not quite ready to be downgraded to rags" corner of the linen shelves!
iii) get caught up on dishes nearly
iv) make a Christmas Wish List and circulate to family yes
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) prepare everything for teaching next week (a lot) yes, just!
ii) look at stats for confused research student yes, we went back to the beginning and started over, and I THINK they've got it now... not helped by their very well intentioned other supervisor, who knows a lot about stats but not very much about their study system and research question, getting confused (again) about what the student actually measured and why they are doing the analysis in the first place. I guess it's actually good in some ways for the student to need to keep explaining those basics, as it helps them ground themselves in the things they KNOW, but it can make for some frustrating email chains, especially when their other supervisor is replying to things whilst doing something else - last week they were joining in whilst on a field trip with a large group of undergraduates which can't have helped them remember the details!
4 RESEARCH
i) at least one hour integrating other people's comments into the consultancy paper, ugh! yes, one grumpy hour applied. Grumpy hours still count!
Oh, and the grant I mentioned earlier is FINALLY out of embargo (3 year project, supposed to START 1st August) so we can now scramble to hire people, have project meetings etc., just when the academic term is getting really busy. I mean, it's progress, but ugh, more work!
DeleteEven though it's Friday, I will share this week's basic goals.
1 SELF-CARE. Remember I'm still recovering from burnout and be kind to myself
(i) do at least one mildly creative-with-the-hands things
(ii) read at least three days
(iii) play D&D with nibling or the group.
(iv) three days of stretchy/bendy type intentional movement for at least 15 minutes
2 HOUSE-LIFE ADMIN
i) at least 75% of regular chore list
ii) stay caught up on dishes
iv) wrap and post advent calendars (a tea one for my Aunt who is ill, because she's definitely a cup of tea helps with anything sort of person and likes trying new herbal blends since she had to give up caffeine, a D&D one for my nibling, and chocolate ones for my parents because they always buy themselves a pictures-only grownup one then go on wistfully about how other people get treats...)
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) prepare everything for teaching next week (a lot)
ii) start marking
4 RESEARCH
i) at least one hour integrating other people's comments into the consultancy paper, ugh!
ii) look over files for an outside researcher's project and give them feedback
Definitely better late than never! Well done on getting the jabs, and glad to hear side effects were minimal! You also had a very good week w/r/t the life admin stuff. I hope this week has toddled along satisfactorily.
Delete