JaneB
1) SELF-CARE (recovery and self-kindness)
* habits: something creative, D&D, read a novel plus three chapters of
crusades book, intentional movement 15 minutes x 3 days, a social thing (a long
thank you/catching up letter to an old friend)
* Specific things - make a PLAN for reading the autistic self-care book
2) HOUSE-LIFE CARE
* 75% or more of the weekly minimal chores, tidy up the upstairs landing
3) TEACHING AND ADMIN
* marking - first year report (all), start second year essay
* go through coming semester and make teaching preparation plan
* stay in my lane!
* read some papers and a chapter for senior grad student if possible (may not
complete because...)
* read a whole thesis and write a report for an external examination of a PhD
(due later this week)
4) RESEARCH
* go through all my emails and make a plan!
Dame Eleanor
- keep working on revisions to a chapter
- do some scholarly reading
- attend three meetings, one in-person
- process at least 4 grad applications
- draft syllabus
- gym x5, swim x3, yoga x5
Susan
1. Revise lecture, make sure slides are right, practice it
2. Start next round of edits to Famous Author, especially since I figured out
how to do references. (It's being published as a trade book, and accessibility
is key.)
3. Recover from my time at big discipline conference in the city of my birth...
4. Get going on exercise goals
5. Do something fun on the weekend, don't just panic.
Daisy
Exercise 4 times
Start sample archive project
Sample processing
First week’s lectures and labs
Meet grad students and make term plans
Heu Mihi
1. Make a good start on the essay: Aim for a messy 3000
words (I started the week at about 1200 from the abstract and notes, so this
isn't un-doable)
2. Write up a paragraph for this administrative thing
3. Write and send my response to the readers' reports
4. Finish reviewing graduate applications
5. Exercise x 6, sit x whatever I can manage
Contingent Cassandra
--Prepare to group discussion that is at least tangentially
related to study leave project; write related publicity and outreach emails
--Keep up with exercise to the extent that weather allows
--Do something new/different/active
Julie
1. Research - at least 2 days on article.
2. Draft exam questions by Wednesday.
3. Carry on marking.
4. Christmas decorations away, tidy up house, do one financial thing, book
opticians' appointments for kids.
5. Catch up on a TV series with kids.
I actually love January, largely because the university recently moved to a longer winter break (to accommodate winter term courses), which means that I don't go back to teaching until January 30. Bring on the cold!
ReplyDeleteBut--I did have some beautiful light-related moments today, several in fact, which I'll share. The first was in church this morning. We are regular church-goers, of course, because my husband is a pastor, but today--worried about the wildfires in California and events generally--I did feel the need for a bit of spiritual renewal. At some point I was looking at how the light came in through some stained-glass windows, and it just seemed so very much like a *presence*; it was very moving. Second, I stepped outside this evening for the prosaic task of dropping the trash in the garbage can, and I noticed how there was not only a beautiful bright moon already up behind the trees opposite, but the tops of those trees were still graced by the last golden rays of the sunset. It was gorgeous.
(Plus January--when it's sunny--is a month of beautiful skies, I think, behind the stark bare trees.)
How I did last week:
1. Make a good start on the essay: Aim for a messy 3000 words.
--I have an EXTREMELY messy 3k words, which includes some notes and a bibliography, but hey, it's going somewhere, maybe.
2. Write up a paragraph for this administrative thing--YES, I still need to actually send it, though
3. Write and send my response to the readers' reports--YES
4. Finish reviewing graduate applications--YES!! So at least that step is done, ish
5. Exercise x 6, sit x whatever I can manage--x6 yes, sat x 2--which is more than x0?
This week:
1. Read AA's book
2. Finish syllabus; set up webpage
3. Keep plugging away at article: Review some scholarship; maybe hit 4k of ideally non-garbage words
4. Exercise x6, sit x??
5. Begin reviewing research proposals (after Wednesday)
I am so with you on winter skies, and also late afternoon light.
DeleteLight through stained glass is always magical. Well done on the 3k words - messy can be tidied!
DeleteStained glass is lovely (and only an occasional treat for me; our church has sort of seeded plain glass, which blurs the outside view but doesn't add any color, but I spent time during grad school singing and rehearsing and otherwise hanging out in a gothic style sanctuary with some amazing colored puddles on the floors and walls at various times of day), and winter skies can, indeed, be beautiful and bright. I noticed a beautiful sliver of a crescent moon a week or so ago -- about as thin as it could get, but/and very bright.
DeleteAnd 3K words in any form is a great start. Congrats!
Yup, this time of year the earth is resting and the sky takes over (on good days by being beautiful and on grey days by sitting there like a low lid!). Where I am we had some beautiful "children's moons" in the early mornings, almost translucent in a very blue sky...
DeleteWinter moons are gorgeous... Had a really funny discussion with several friends recently about how great the moons have been here lately, and how seeing the lovely moons is a little tiny consolation for the insomnia that keeps them up in the early morning hours...
DeleteThe moon has been fabulous for months! I don't know what's happening.
DeleteJaneB, I love your image of the sky like a low lid!
Light. Well, like heu mihi I like the winter light, especially in the late afternoon. Because of the angle of the sun, late afternoon light in winter is just magical. My home church worships late afternoon, and in the winter the light from the stained glass windows is magical. This week light has been more problematic, though, as some of it has been skies lit up by fires. (That's when there isn't smoke.)
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
1. Revise lecture, make sure slides are right, practice it MOSTLY
2. Start next round of edits to Famous Author, especially since I figured out how to do references. (It's being published as a trade book, and accessibility is key.) NOT REALLY
3. Recover from my time at big discipline conference in the city of my birth... YES
4. Get going on exercise goals NO
5. Do something fun on the weekend, don't just panic. NO
Well, in the world of life intervened, the fires here have caused multiple problems. My lecture has been postponed; the library has been closed; I briefly evacuated to my brother's house, until that got into an evacuation warning zone; and I've spent hours in our fellows WhatsApp group, answering texts and emails, telling people I'm okay. And doomscrolling, checking the fire information sites. But so much heartbreak. I know several people who have lost homes, the church I was attending was destroyed, and the burn areas look like bombed out London in the second world war. It's overwhelming.
Anyway, it was like the beginning of the pandemic. Concentration was hard. And not really anything fun this weekend, as the two parties I was invited to last night were both cancelled, and almost all cultural institutions that survive are closed. On the upside, I don't have to worry about my lecture, and whenever it is rescheduled, it's pretty much ready.
That means the focus is on Famous Author. Three weeks.
1. Read Famous Author aloud, to catch repetition and bad phrasing.
2. Meet with editor about illustrations
3. Enjoy seeing colleagues when the library opens on Wednesday
4. Get back to exercise - walk, yoga, strength
5. Do expenses, tax stuff
6. Make sure there is something nice next weekend
Glad you're safe, but can't even imagine how devastating all this must be. I hope you can find some time and space for calm, whether that's reading Famous Author or yoga.
DeleteOh, dear. Ominous glows on the horizon are *not* good, nor is smokey haze, and actual fires are much worse. The whole situation sounds horrifying and terrifying. Sending good wishes for concentration on Famous Author (both of necessity and as a means of productive distraction) and for some sort of pleasant possibility for the weekend.
DeleteGlad to hear you and yours are still safe, but it sounds like a horrendous experience to be living through - I hope Famous Author becomes a friendly, familiar refuge for your attention!
DeleteGlad you are safe, what a terrifying experience. Thinking of everyone affected, and hoping conditions improve soon.
DeleteHow I did:
ReplyDelete1. Research - at least 2 days on article. - YES
2. Draft exam questions by Wednesday. - YES
3. Carry on marking. - YES
4. Christmas decorations away, tidy up house, do one financial thing, book opticians' appointments for kids. - MOSTLY (decorations packed in box, but not in loft yet)
5. Catch up on a TV series with kids. - STARTED
Also read a good book and enjoyed a lot of winter sunshine so it was a good week. Teaching starts this week, so there will be less time for research and fun stuff.
This week's goals:
1. Finish marking.
2. Teaching prep
3. Research: at least one day on article.
4. Evaluate proposals for summer workshop (committee meeting Tuesday)
5. Exercise: run x 3, pilates x 1, walk other days.
6. Start some travel planning.
A lot of YES! Yay!
DeleteThat is, indeed, a lot of nice steady progress on multiple fronts -- a productive week.
DeleteYAY especially as it was SO COLD! (our houses are not designed for this...)
DeleteLots of things done, hope travel planning is the fun kind!
DeleteToday there was sun, and I was so grateful. Normally the saving grace of our cold winters is that they are bright, but this year there have been a lot of dreary, cloudy days. I bought multi-colored fairy lights on sale after Christmas and put them up on the bookcases in the living room. They are very cheerful, and I plan to leave them up till March.
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
- keep working on revisions to a chapter: YES
- do some scholarly reading: YES
- attend three meetings, one in-person: TWO, one was cancelled due to snow
- process at least 4 grad applications: NO, zero (oh dear)
- draft syllabus: For some value of "draft," I suppose. I have delegated some of the syllabus-creation to my TA, in part b/c I fell on ice and injured my left wrist. I'm glad it's not my dominant hand, but I'm trying to rest it as much as possible.
- gym x5, swim x3, yoga x5: YES, x4 (!), x4.
New goals:
- keep working on revisions to a chapter
- do some scholarly reading
- attend one in-person meeting
- process at least 4 grad applications
- finish syllabus
- gym x5, swim x1, yoga x5
That's a pretty good week, aside from falling on ice and injuring your wrist! And I love the idea of fairy lights indoors. I have strands of gold stars that I put up for Christmas, and some years I leave the ones over the arch between the living area and dining area up all year...
DeleteSorry about the fall, that sounds painful. I love your fairy lights. I may steal that idea.
DeleteOuch! the need to be careful on ice is frustrating, but real. I, too, love the idea of fairy lights indoors. I have LED candles with a timer function that I use for an Advent wreath setup (white candles in colored-glass votive holders), and most years, including this one, I keep some of them going at least until the batteries run out, and often through another change of batteries (which should get me close to the vernal equinox).
DeleteHope your wrist heals quickly!
DeleteMy Mum has a dead tree branch hanging in the porch close to the ceiling from strings to cup-hooks in the roof (their house has quite a large glassed-in porch at the front between the front yard and the actual front door of the house, which is mostly used by my mum for growing plants) and the day the clocks go back, it gets strung with lots of tiny white fairy lights on a timer, and they don't come down until the clocks go forward - it's really pretty especially this time of year!
The lighted branch sounds lovely!
DeleteFairy lights are the best! I used to put some up on all my bookcases but my cats are not quite mature enough to handle the delightful dangling toys without catastrophes...
DeleteWe've been having similarly unusually-cold (at least by the standards of the last decade or two) weather, which means that various entities are out of practice with clearing sidewalks (especially crosswalks), etc., which is definitely interfering with my walking routine. On the other hand, my apartment has a large southeast-facing window, which means I get the best of what morning light there is, and I very much appreciate that. It's one of the best things about this apartment, and good morning light in key rooms (I hope to have more than one again at some point) is something I will look for in future dwellings.
ReplyDeleteGoals for last week:
--Prepare to group discussion that is at least tangentially related to study leave project; write related publicity and outreach emails
--Keep up with exercise to the extent that weather allows
--Do something new/different/active
Accomplished:
--Pretty much all of it, thanks in part to writing goals at the end of the week(!). The area in which I'm not keeping up as well as I'd like is the regular exercise routine, thanks in part to the outdoor conditions mentioned above. On the other hand, I did do something I'd never done before which also involved a fairly lengthy and pleasantly sunny outdoor walk, albeit one that involved somewhat treacherous conditions underfoot. I fell as far as ending up on my knees once, and have a slightly sore muscle in one thigh and bruise on one knee as a result, but both seem to be healing (so not the same degree of injury as DEH).
Goals for the coming week:
DeleteMy schedule this week is more fragmented than I would like, for a variety of reasons, some good (a planned then postponed museum outing with friends yesterday), some less pleasant (followup on student misadventures with AI last term, an early-morning medical appointment). Since my university is still technically in recess, I’m going to treat this as a week to try to tie up some loose ends before I settle down to the actual semester devoted to research (which is still going to need to be divided/balanced somehow between work at home and archival work, plus a fair amount of coordinating/networking with people who can help and/or might become involved in one way or another).
Goals for the week (some already accomplished, but I’m including them anyway for the satisfaction of saying “accomplished” later):
--Lead study leave related group discussion for which I’ve been preparing
--Hold planning meeting with leader for next month’s discussion
--Follow up as necessary on emails I wrote last week & anything else that arises from discussion I’m leading; answer one that’s been sitting in my inbox for way too long
--Write email sharing plan for study leave project with leaders of organization on which it focuses
--Do at least rough planning re: what I can realistically get done between now and the end of the semester, and what I will do when.
--Start log for study leave project & related activities
--Check on fellowships/institutes to which I might apply; make plans to apply if appropriate
--Visit local site with tangential link to Study Leave project
--Lift weights 3x; walk as weather allows, including one new route if possible; experiment at least once with hall-walking/stair climbing in apt building
--Begin work on establishing a bedtime routine, including screens off two hours before lights out and a wind-down activity such as reading, listening to something, and/or handwork (probably mending for the moment) (this may be tough because of evening (online) meetings, but should become more possible later in the week, so at least make a start).
--Pack up & mail some packages (mixture of returns & gifts for family members I didn’t see over Christmas)
Sorry about the fall, but it sounds like you're doing well. I hope all the study leave things go as planned! And you remind me that I have a book to send to my stepson!
DeleteHope the injuries faded fast and the week's reading and thinking went well despite fragmented scheduling.
DeleteIt's been very cold. I decided not to go into the office one day last week because when I got up there was thick ice INSIDE the car as well as outside and it was all glazed over, the kind that is really hard to deal with - plus I needed to spend the day marking, and my anxiety of having to be there in person at least one-two days a week is all due to former Interim Head Of Department (who is not around due to the People Change thing - she's appealing her dismissal, which is very stressful for her, but I have a lot of feelings without clear labels about the whole thing, and she for now has NO power over me), and I'm feeling so burnt out still, so I DIDN'T go in (went out and deiced the car in the mid-afternoon after it had had a few hours of weak winter sun!).
ReplyDeleteYesterday I did go into work, and click here for a picture of the sunrise from my office window - it was much redder, a real end-of-the-world glowing sky. This is the time of year when I go in in the dark and watch the day start as I drive, in order to ensure I can park close to the building - between my hip not enjoying the cold and a lot of my current joint problems having started with a slip on the ice whilst getting out of the car two winters ago (my body is not designed to do the splits) and it's VERY unusual that the faculty parking areas get gritted, I am particularly keen on parking close by in the place where if I get in before 8am I can usually park next to mown grass which is much safer to step out onto than icy tarmac! We're all mired in marking (we have extra because we have lost colleagues), we're trying to cut everything we can cut for next academic year, and one of our two remaining colleagues in the most pressured subject area is currently signed off sick - everyone who is paying attention is still pretty stressed and sad right now. So I'm probably better off at home where I can wear an oversized cosy hoody and my dressing gown (I look ridiculous but I don't care!), lie down or take a nap if I'm flagging, and actually get more work done (as there is less chatting and commiserating going on)! Will probably be back on on Thursday as teaching starts again week after next, so I need to get into the habit, sigh...
LAST WEEK
1) SELF-CARE (recovery and self-kindness)
* habits: something creative, D&D, read a novel plus three chapters of crusades book, intentional movement 15 minutes x 3 days, a social thing (a long thank you/catching up letter to an old friend) knitted, D&D played (we killed a Demonic Wyrm and "levelled up" so now my druid can wildshape into a giant owl in addition to her current spider, bear, hunter shark and giant elk options), slogged on with a novel that is right on the cusp of being abandoned but it keeps getting just a little better, read three chapters of crusades book, movement (5 days, some 30 minutes, so something went well), no on the social
* Specific things - make a PLAN for reading the autistic self-care book errr no
2) HOUSE-LIFE CARE
Delete* 75% or more of the weekly minimal chores, tidy up the upstairs landing no and no
3) TEACHING AND ADMIN
* marking - first year report (all), start second year essay yes, no
* go through coming semester and make teaching preparation plan no but I did put all the sessions into my diary and my online calendar which does not talk to our online timetabling system, BIG SIGH
* stay in my lane! mostly
* read some papers and a chapter for senior grad student if possible (may not complete because...) yes and solved the issues they were having understanding the technical part, partly by just being a sounding board for them to talk through it, not done with the feedback
* read a whole thesis and write a report for an external examination of a PhD (due later this week) yes. It took a goodly amount of time but at least it was a fairly enjoyable piece of research to read
4) RESEARCH
* go through all my emails and make a plan! ish
THIS WEEK:
1) SELF-CARE (recovery and self-kindness)
* habits: something creative, D&D, read a novel plus three chapters of crusades book, intentional movement 15 minutes x 3 days, a social thing (a long thank you/catching up letter to an old friend)
* Specific things - make a PLAN for reading the autistic self-care book
2) HOUSE-LIFE CARE
* 75% or more of the weekly minimal chores, tidy up the upstairs landing
3) TEACHING AND ADMIN
* marking - second year essay (all that were on time), if possible start third year essay
* go through coming semester and make teaching preparation plan
* stay in my lane!
* finish chapter for senior grad student
4) RESEARCH
* edits for edited volume chapter
Having been at home this week, I've realized that the thing I miss going into the library 5 days a week are naps. I sometimes need them!
DeleteLove your sunrise! it is hard to capture the reds in those scenes, I've never quite succeeded, yours is lovely!
DeleteHang in there and take naps, cat will approve...
Oh boy, it is Friday… Not sure how that happened…
ReplyDeleteWinter light… This week was the first one where there was just a bit of a hint of sunrise on my drive to work. It is pretty far from actual driving in the light, but there is the promise of light. Sunlight and snow together are wonderful, anything sparkly and bright is good. It is common around my area to leave all the outdoor Christmas lights on for at least January, that is lovely in the dark…
Last week’s goals
Exercise 4 times THREE
Start sample archive project STARTED
Sample processing LOTS, ALMOST FINISHED
First week’s lectures and labs DONE
Meet grad students and make term plans DONE
This week’s goals
Exercise 4 times
Do all winter course advising
Finish three reviews
Finish delayed analytical preparation
Lingering volunteer tasks for community group
Conference planning, meetings, reports
Excellent progress last week! I hope this week's late post means you have been Getting Stuff Done instead of hanging about online!
Delete