I kept re-loading the page looking for this week's post, and then realized it's not up because it's my week and neither had I done it nor had the cats taken over for me. That may give you some insight into the state of my brain. I'm also realizing that my list of goals last week was maybe slightly insane, since the Thanksgiving break amounts to one day not on campus and a couple of cancelled meetings/ appointments on Friday, i.e., I have most of the usual prep, plus a couple of not-usual social commitments. (The semester will end soon . . . then there will be a longer break . . . is this reassuring? Or will I still think I can do way more than time will permit?)
So, along the lines of what IS vs what we would LIKE, here's my suggestion for a discussion topic this week: your actual morning routine vs your ideal morning routine. Define "ideal" as you wish: can be ideal in your current place/situation, or ideal when you retire to an island monastery.
And here are last week's goals. Whether you did well or were, like me, a little insane in the goal-setting, I expect you'll have company when we report in.
Daisy
Microscope work
Sample prep work
New thesis figures
Do paper intro and methods
Accounting for all outstanding expenses
Organize new grad student arrival stuff
Practice for upcoming shows
Dame Eleanor Hull
- bake cookies to take to Thanksgiving dinner at my BIL's tomorrow
- get a massage
- yoga x 5, jog/run x 1, swim x1, weights x1, walk/strengthening stuff at home x3 (gym is closed 4 days this week)
- pay bills, change mortgage payment amount
- 1-2 household tasks
- comment on all grad paper drafts
- process grad apps
- finish note-taking on LA, JG, readings for grad class
Heu mihi
1. Finish independent study book
2. Grade set of papers and set of extra-credit assignments
3. Read for Monday and prep lecture (I've never taught the book before; I have a colleague's PowerPoint and notes, but I need to make it my own a little bit, I think)
4. Italian: Mini-essay 5, read for Tuesday after Thanksgiving
5. Draft final exam
6. Submit expanded form for edited collection proposal to press
7. Final edits to short essay due 12/1
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
2 HOUSE-LIFE ADMIN
i) at least 75% of regular chore list
ii) stay caught up on dishes
iii) make proper list of remaining Christmas presents to get, wrap/write international cards/gifts
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) prepare everything for teaching next week (not too much)
ii) marking - do the two smaller assignments completely and at least 5 of the big assignment.
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
iii) spend an hour working on notes for Grant Idea ahead of a meeting the following week.
Julie
1. Finish this batch of marking, start the next if time.
2. Read student's PhD thesis ahead of meeting.
3. Teaching prep - keep minimal, but start on final week session.
4. Research: book a short trip to London library, organise some transcription/data entry for remaining funds.
5. Prep for in-laws visiting at weekend.
6. More Christmas planning.
Susan
1. Really sit down with the first chapter of Famous Author and see what I can do. (I think this is the real problem chapter.)
2. Purchase stuff needed for medical test next week, and food I can eat for preparation.
3. Keep up with exercise. Healthy eating is a challenge over thanksgiving, and we'll have two pies for 6 people.
4. Continue to love my family, of whom I will have A LOT.
What a great question! I think I manage my ideal morning routine about 2 days a week. The ideal is waking up at about 6, and after I spend maybe 1/2 hour on doing my games (Solitaire, Sudoku, Wordle, and maybe Spelling Bee) I get up and do some kind of exercise. Then shower, breakfast, etc. But I can get lazy about getting out of bed, so sometimes the exercise does not happen. Or I wake up too early, and just am too tired...
ReplyDeleteHow I did last week:
1. Really sit down with the first chapter of Famous Author and see what I can do. (I think this is the real problem chapter.) STARTED
2. Purchase stuff needed for medical test next week, and food I can eat for preparation. YES
3. Keep up with exercise. Healthy eating is a challenge over thanksgiving, and we'll have two pies for 6 people. SOME
4. Continue to love my family, of whom I will have A LOT. YES
Well, my planned week was disrupted by the trip home to take Ginger George to meet his maker, but on what I put there, I did pretty well. In addition to it being hard to say goodbye, I did almost 600 miles of driving on one of the busiest driving days of the year. What I really lost was a day at home to catch up with myself, which I've more or less taken today. (Instead of spending Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with family, I spent Thursday-Saturday with them.) Part of that was a trip to a gorgeous exhibit at a very wealthy museum near my brother's house, all about medieval ideas of light and vision; it had Christian, Jewish and Islamic art and manuscripts from Europe and Western Asia. We were supposed to go Wednesday morning, but my sister and I went on Saturday. It was luminous. In terms of life practicalities, while I managed to get the laundry done, I did not do any of the house cleaning that needed doing. Instead, today I crashed: I needed to not do anything.
Goals for this week - a little limited because I have a medical procedure on Wednesday, and so will be out of commission maybe part of Tuesday (we'll see) but definitely Wednesday.
1. Get through chapters 1 and 2 of Famous Author working on style
2. Read grad student's dissertation chapter
3. Keep making progress on my public lecture
4. Do something fun next weekend
5. Do expenses for conference travel
6. Get tickets for post-Christmas travel
7. Keep up with exercise/ eat as healthfully as I can
I've probably forgotten something, but this is a start.
That does sound like quite a week! And a terrible lot of driving. Crashing (figuratively) seems like the proper response. I hope this week goes smoothly.
DeleteCrashing seems absolutely justified. Driving is awful at the best of times, 600 miles in one day sounds like a nightmare. So sorry about Ginger George. Hope the exhibit was a nice distraction.
DeleteRough week... Hope there is some rest and peace this week and you get a chance to catch your breath.
DeleteThe exhibit sounds fascinating, a good bright spot.
What a week! I'm crashing after just commuting in the dark...
DeleteMy usual morning routine during the week: get up (after snoozing the alarm at least once), make tea, unstack dishwasher, call kids (son more than once), lose time scrolling on phone/reading for 'just 5 minutes' while drinking tea, panic, jump in shower, rush breakfast, run out of time to dry hair/do make-up, get in car with kids, leave.
ReplyDeleteMy ideal morning routine: as above, except I don't need to snooze the alarm because I wake up refreshed and full of energy, and I somehow miraculously resist looking at my phone and thus don't run out of time for everything else.
My fantasy morning routine: I am alone, no one else needs to be up for school/sport, and I can ease into the day with coffee, papers, book, leisurely breakfast eaten sitting down, possibly outside in summer. This happens maybe once a year.
Last week:
1. Finish this batch of marking, start the next if time. - YES, NO
2. Read student's PhD thesis ahead of meeting. - YES (and it was great, so felt like time well spent)
3. Teaching prep - keep minimal, but start on final week session. - YES
4. Research: book a short trip to London library, organise some transcription/data entry for remaining funds. - YES, NO
5. Prep for in-laws visiting at weekend. - YES
6. More Christmas planning. - SOME
This week:
1. More marking
2. Teaching prep for last (yay!) sessions of term.
3. Organise transcription/data entry
4. More Xmas.
5. Mock university interviews for my kids' school.
Keeping it minimal again as I have a lot of teaching and meetings scheduled.
I'd say last week was a good week! I admire the Christmas planning! And I love your fantasy routine. I guess I'd add that this is the start of a day when I have nothing to do but sit and read a book for pleasure!
DeleteLots of things done! This part of the semesters are just all about one step at a time...
DeleteHope there is at least one fantasy morning over the coming month!
A lot of done, and seconding wishes for at least one perfect morning over the break...
DeleteIdeal morning routine: Wake up refreshed and bounce out of bed cheerfully, feed cats. Go into nicely organized gym space and do a pleasant but challenging work-out. Make cup of tea, shower, pack nice lunch. Drive to work, dropping off kid on the way if required, other days drive alone and sing along to loud music…
ReplyDeleteActual morning routine: Wake up half-hour before alarm because cat is walking on my head, shoo cat away, other cat joins party and yells in my ear despite pillow on head… Lie really still and pretend to be dead, doesn’t work, so give up and feed cats. Get back into bed, alarm goes off, press snooze a few times too many… Fall asleep when snooze function gives up or when cat decides to be cute and cuddly. Hear kid making breakfast, jump up and shower, grab whatever is not moving in fridge for lunch, drive to work, get halfway down street and return to pick up forgotten items…
Clearly the ideal morning is aspirational at this point!
Goals were very much a “what was I thinking?” situation, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. That’s fine, it is December now so all plans are augmented with cheerful lights and good seasonal snacks!
Last week’s goals
Microscope work SOME
Sample prep work NOPE
New thesis figures SOME
Do paper intro and methods NOPE
Accounting for all outstanding expenses YES
Organize new grad student arrival stuff YES
Practice for upcoming shows YES AND ONGOING
This week’s goals
BUY GIFTS!!
Finish all marking and collect all term grades
Set all exams
Compile data for report
Write something for new or old paper, literally anything will be better than nothing…
Unpack new samples, start prep work with students
Keep practicing
Your "actual" routine (catual?) made me LOL! At this time of year, I think "some" is a good outcome---so yay you!
DeleteYour actual routine is one I have experienced, minus the kid. I called it the feline alarm clock, which often went off absurdly early! And when i said, "It's only 3:30" they paid no attention.
DeleteThis morning I had the cuddly cat alarm version - I could not sleep last night so was up reading into the wee hours which messed up their sleep so at 5am they both arrived on my pillow in purring heaps and just stayed put until my alarm went off. And then they were offended that I woke them up... Karma...
DeleteFluffball used to wait next to me, purring in that dribbly anticipatory way, until the alarm went off at which point she joined in with both almost-Siamese-level grumbly yowling and Very Pointy Feet... it could be very unnerving! ShoutyPants tends to arrive just as I have put on the annoyingly sticky Eczema Ointment on my legs and try to rub around my shins, whilst I try to fend him off and get them covered with socks!
DeleteWell, you know my actual routine from last week, or the week before, whatever, it's all a blur now. If I could reliably work in yoga between cat breakfast and mine, it would be close to ideal. My fantasy life involves either walking on a foggy beach at dawn with an insulated mug of tea, or starting the day by swimming (in a heated pool: I'm an exercise addict, not a masochist) and then falling on a massive breakfast. In either case, fantasy cats would also have to be fantastically patient about their breakfast!
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
- bake cookies to take to Thanksgiving dinner at my BIL's tomorrow: YES, two batches.
- get a massage: YES. Pity the effects haven't lasted longer.
- yoga x 5, jog/run x 1, swim x1, weights x1, walk/strengthening stuff at home x3 (gym is closed 4 days this week): x4 on the yoga, but otherwise YES.
- pay bills, change mortgage payment amount: YES.
- 1-2 household tasks: unpacked one box, mainly b/c Mor spilled my tea on it (why, yes, spilling tea on paper/books IS a recurrent theme in my life).
- comment on all grad paper drafts: NO, on-going, about halfway through now.
- process grad apps: NO, am expecting wrist-slapping soon.
- finish note-taking on LA, JG, readings for grad class: PROGRESS on LA, nothing on the others.
ALSO: an extra social thing besides T-day; folk dancing once.
New goals:
- finish commenting grad drafts
- finish note-taking on LA and JG
- prepare for final classes
- yoga x5, gym x5*, weights x2
- process grad apps
- do something fun
* I'm not specifying activities b/c the pool was closed today; supposedly it will re-open tomorrow but I'm not holding my breath.
A good varied week, especially given holiday and all. Hope final classes are good and the pool reopens quickly!
DeleteLove the image of morning on the foggy beach with tea!
I like the idea of foggy beach with tea, but my imagination insists on adding tea-greedy sirens or kelpies (made of kelp) or sea-foam-kittens or at least a wraith-like fishy lady in draperies...
DeleteRight now my ideal morning starts around... an hour before lunch maybe? My sleep is all over the damn shop and I'm back to the "my brain only wants to work in the evenings and wee hours" mode - this is week 3 of having to be on campus three full days a week, coupled with my busiest teaching (multiple classes with different groups every day), coupled with the unravelling stresses as the People Change Programme lurches towards revealing the full damages of Stage One (I found out today, Tuesday, that our worst fears have probably come true and we're not going to have enough people left in one area to deliver one of our programmes - whilst still keeping the full count of staff for our smallest, most problematic programme, we'll have 5 people & about 12-14 registered students TOTAL across three-four years of that programme (depending on programme options). Oh, and the administrative time, which has also suffered from voluntary exits, decided that programme and module changes for the 2025-26 academic year all have to be made by the end of January (made, approved by students and external examiners, documented on many forms) rather than the usual date of late March. And we can't even START that process until we know who is actually leaving, and that's not yet confirmed. AArgh! If this went on another couple of weeks, or I get a sniffle of a cold, I'll just "fall over". Whine whine whine!
ReplyDeleteCurrently on campus mornings begin at 6am and I just have no choice but to do things - the light alarm clock and the alarm and the cat alarm all go off, I get up, I attempt to follow my check list whilst playing a familiar episode of a podcast to help distract the brain squirrels. On a good morning I find myself downstairs somewhat confused but completely clad and with a taste of toothpaste in my mouth and feeding the cat/scooping the poop about 7am. On a bad morning I lose lumps of time, have to repeat steps for e.g. forgetting to clean teeth or apply deoderant to both sides or putting on trousers before underpants or getting dressed without taking off my nightshirt or only doing one plait or just losing blocks of time to blurring out whilst sitting and staring into space. or many other things. Then I try to get out of the house with All The Things first try, and hope very hard that the car isn't too iced up.
On non-campus days the same thing happens about two hours later and I only have to fetch up in front of my computer. But sometimes get stuck downstairs at the coffee making stage or the staring into space stage. or even doing chores.
On non-work-days I get up at the later time, feed the cat, scroll my phone and either absent-mindedly eat things or find myself back in bed "to read" which means to doze. I don't have a routine.
In the Retired Retreat Scenario, I wake up slowly feeling refreshed with a snoozing cat next door, I start the morning with gentle stretching (because I wake up in a body which doesn't hurt/sieze up/have a blocked nose and refuse to bend over without a throbbing head/refuse to do stuff in other obnoxious ways first thing) in front of a countryside or sea view, I get to wander gently into my day via a pot of herbal tea and some really good toast and a bit of journalling/writing, then reading in a comfy lounger, and don't have to see any humans until lunchtime at the earliest. There is an automatic cat feeder too to take the annoyance of the felines...
LAST WEEK:
Delete1 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 knitted during D&D
(ii) read at least three days yes
(iii) play D&D with nibling or the group both - last time for a while, scheduling the group is "suffering from the Decembers" and probably won't happen again until after the 25th sadly
(iv) three days of stretchy/bendy type intentional movement for at least 15 minutes one
2 HOUSE-LIFE ADMIN
i) at least 75% of regular chore list yes
ii) stay caught up on dishes hahaha no. But I DID clean the bathroom... plus the freezer decided to open its own door, develop a few mini glaciers, and require a proper defrosting (OK I probably left the door a tiny bit open but I don't even remember going IN there in the relevant time frame so ::shrug::
iii) make proper list of remaining Christmas presents to get, wrap/write international cards/gifts yes and they are nearly all ordered/made/bought, no
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) prepare everything for teaching next week (not too much) yes
ii) marking - do the two smaller assignments completely and at least 5 of the big assignment.no - I had to second-marker-confirm marks for another module which I'd forgotten, and there was just a lot going on
4 RESEARCH
i) at least one hour integrating other people's comments into the consultancy paper, ugh! yes. Still not done. Sad
ii) look over files for an outside researcher's project and give them feedback a bit
iii) spend an hour working on notes for Grant Idea ahead of a meeting the following week. half an hour, but I'd imagined the meeting apparently so that wasn't actually necessary work. SIGH
THIS WEEK
Second-to-last week of teaching. Students flagging. Staff flagging. Christmas chores becming more urgent. So. Tired...
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 do D&D planning
(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) catch up on dishes
iii) wrap/write international cards/gifts, start UK cards and friend gifts.
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) prepare everything for teaching next week (not much)
ii) marking - do the remaining smaller assignment completely and at least 20 of the big assignment.
iii) check next trimester timetable and make edits as needed
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
iii) spend an hour working on notes for Other Grant Idea ahead of a meeting the following week (I have triple checked that THIS meeting actually EXISTS)