2025 Session 3 - week 1, notebook week

Happy solstice!  Campus was swarming with anxious, excited, slightly hungover, confused students this week which definitely changes the mood of the department - partly because of all the people who are rediscovering that summer is different, and we're back to the 30 minute wait at every food venue for coffees, and the soup runs out at our usual lunch place at least half an hour earlier, partly because it's curtain up time.  This is definitely new stationary season!  This week, let's talk about notebooks - how do you keep all your ideas and thoughts and little things you need to remember and research materials organised?  Are you fully digital, or do you still have physical notebooks?  Are you a "use the basic old reliable and throw them out when full" or the "ONLY this brand in THIS colour" kind of person?  Any notebook use tips you've learnt as you've grown into your academic self?

Anyone who wants to join a week late, please do, you're always welcome!

Shoutypants doesn't approve of the new curtains in this room because he has to wait for me to open them before he can get on the windowsill to people-watch (this window looks onto the narrow one way street at the front of my house - we have no front places, the door opens onto the pavement, so he has good people watching and can also see into the houses opposite.  He used to be able to open the old curtains himself.  Yes, I still need to paint the "new" plaster from when the windows were upgraded about three years ago.  or more maybe? 

GOALS FROM LAST WEEK

DAISY

Clear up all adminstrivial things I ignored the last two weeks while registration was in full swing.
Organize student project meetings and tasks
Organize my writing tasks so I can pick something to work on each day
Organize my schedule so I have some time blocks to write
Pick one block and write! (if only it was that easy…)

DAME ELEANOR HULL

- swim x2 or x3, cardio x3, weights x2, yoga x5
- at least 3 writing sessions
- grade grad quizzes, comment on undergrad in-class writing
- read another essay submission
- do Saturday loooong workshop thingy
- assorted appointments (eyes, PT, other)
- remember to be in all the right places at the right times!

HEU MIHI

1. Get through Very Fancy University event.
2. Proofs & index of 50 pages of book.
3. Read 35 pages of Italian.
4. Read grad student's chapter.
5. Exercise at least 4 times. (It's a busy week with many inconvenient meetings that will require me to be creative about my workout schedule....)

JANEB

SELF-CARE:
a) intentional movement for at least 15 minutes three days (the two non campus days and one of the weekend days)
b) making a couple of times a week,
c) two gently social things (D&D hopefully)
d) keep up reading for pleasure
IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT
a) 75%+ of the weekly list of chores
b) make a plan for the shelving in the living room
c) don't make clothes worse
d) get a new cat litter trapping mat
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) get week 2 materials set up (next week is week 0)
b) limit teaching and admin to 5 hours at weekend
c) identify reading/outline discussion points for new topic for honour module
d) admin role - check my allocation of other people's ViLE sites (we have a checklist of the minimal information that needs to be there, for consistency, and guidelines for assessment requirements. Some people do not think it applies to THEM. This led to a major and embarrassing situation at the exam board with all the external examiners, so this year we are doing the checking By The Book. Sigh. WHY can't we trust adults to follow the rules?)
e) make contact with all my tutees/supervisees

RESEARCH

a) multi-author paper (due 15 October) schedule two meetings
b) attend meetings for big project (more meetings. they love meetings)
c) make the list of all the projects that are in the air, and their current status
d) do feedback comments on texts for senior MSc student and former visiting postdoc.
e) get box text back from former PhD student and send to other author for a different paper.

JULIE

1. Write report on PhD thesis and send to other examiner.
2. Work on chapter for edited volume.
3. Difficult conversation with car crash PhD student. This should be a final conversation, but he's reluctant to accept the inevitable, and my co-supervisor is not good at confrontation so....
4. Self-care: physio appointment (back is playing up again), journal, read, do something creative.
5. Pilates and run if physio allows.
6. House stuff: clear some stuff from garage, fix a couple of small things, buy new coffee pot (nothing happens without coffee!).

SUSAN

1. Get new chair for conference session where chair can't come

2. Organize a bunch of talks and events for our graduate program

3. Draft one paragraph on the research of a colleague for a merit review

4. Deal with all the admin stuff which is coming at me very fast right now.

5. Empty two boxes. Get stuff I've organized to the various sales they need to go to. (There's a large bag of shoes for goodwill, other stuff for the cat rescue yard sale.)

6. Submit expenses for summer TOMORROW before they make us use the crappy online system ourselves starting Wednesday.

7. Do fun stuff this weekend