Well that's done, last day of teaching has happened for us - now there are just student emails about assignments with extensions, the grading (at least our grades due deadline is in January), and the pile of things that were put aside because of wrapping up teaching between me and the break. Wishing everyone with another week of classes strength and patience!
In stationery talk, lets discuss the other things that end up in the pencil case or pen pot - what oddments do you include in your stationary kit? I can see two rulers, a teaspoon, a screwdriver, a waterbrush, a bookmark, a crochet hook and a memory stick in my penpots right now. What about you?
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| very tall Shoutypants stealing things off my desk |
<b>LAST WEEK'S GOALS:</b>
Daisy
Set exams
Read grad student chapters (one for each would be good)
Data for students
Be external on PhD defense
Catch up on huge pile of grading
Set, supervise, and mark lab exams
Admin planning retreat
Program review tasks
Learn two more batches of new music
Read grad student chapters (one for each would be good)
Data for students
Be external on PhD defense
Catch up on huge pile of grading
Set, supervise, and mark lab exams
Admin planning retreat
Program review tasks
Learn two more batches of new music
Dame Eleanor Hull
- swim x3, cardio x3, weights x2, yoga x5
- at least 4 writing sessions
- grade all papers that come in
- finish writing grads' final exam, grade it too
- write learning objectives
- order Xmas presents
- at least 4 writing sessions
- grade all papers that come in
- finish writing grads' final exam, grade it too
- write learning objectives
- order Xmas presents
heu mihi
1. Finish miscellaneous grading to make way for final papers
2. Next big step in my knitting project
3. Acquire ingredients for cookies; bake cookies over the weekend, probably
4. 3 hours(!!) on the writing project that's due in July--I feel like I could start roughing in some sections, so I should do that!
2. Next big step in my knitting project
3. Acquire ingredients for cookies; bake cookies over the weekend, probably
4. 3 hours(!!) on the writing project that's due in July--I feel like I could start roughing in some sections, so I should do that!
JaneB
SELF-CARE:
a) intentional movement for at least 15 minutes three days
b) ring GPs to see if I can make a non-urgent review appointment, go to dentist
c) wrapping Christmas stuff, finishing Christmas shopping
d) making a couple of times a week
e) two gently social things (D&D hopefully)
f) 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
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) mark first year assignment
b) limit teaching and admin to 5 hours at weekend
c) continue feedback for Senior MSc by Thesis student
RESEARCH
a) read revised manuscript from last autumn's visiting post-doc.
b) read chapter for meeting in December
c) work on outline grant text
d) work on modelling - make notes for a zero draft of the paper (so we can write as we go)
a) intentional movement for at least 15 minutes three days
b) ring GPs to see if I can make a non-urgent review appointment, go to dentist
c) wrapping Christmas stuff, finishing Christmas shopping
d) making a couple of times a week
e) two gently social things (D&D hopefully)
f) 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
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) mark first year assignment
b) limit teaching and admin to 5 hours at weekend
c) continue feedback for Senior MSc by Thesis student
RESEARCH
a) read revised manuscript from last autumn's visiting post-doc.
b) read chapter for meeting in December
c) work on outline grant text
d) work on modelling - make notes for a zero draft of the paper (so we can write as we go)
Julie
1. Review article.
2. Tidy study, organise papers and folders (paper and online).
3. Follow up a few references I found reading for the chapter.
4. Write reference for student.
5. Title and abstract for invited seminar in April.
6. House/life admin: more Christmas, financial stuff, plumber, organise cookery books when new bookcase arrives.
7. Self-care/fun: exercise, read, journal, something creative, sleep, catch up with friends.
2. Tidy study, organise papers and folders (paper and online).
3. Follow up a few references I found reading for the chapter.
4. Write reference for student.
5. Title and abstract for invited seminar in April.
6. House/life admin: more Christmas, financial stuff, plumber, organise cookery books when new bookcase arrives.
7. Self-care/fun: exercise, read, journal, something creative, sleep, catch up with friends.
Susan
Survive and...
1. Get in expenses for events and travel
2. Organize Christmas presents that need to be ordered/shipped
3. Clear journals off desk by putting in zotero and recycling
4. Be kind to my students
5. Deal with the administrative stuff and budget mess with out completely losing my mind
6. Keep up with exercise, healthy eating
7. Get enough sleep
8. Draft Christmas letter (it would be nice to send out cards BEFORE Christmas for once!)
1. Get in expenses for events and travel
2. Organize Christmas presents that need to be ordered/shipped
3. Clear journals off desk by putting in zotero and recycling
4. Be kind to my students
5. Deal with the administrative stuff and budget mess with out completely losing my mind
6. Keep up with exercise, healthy eating
7. Get enough sleep
8. Draft Christmas letter (it would be nice to send out cards BEFORE Christmas for once!)
Last week could definitely have been worse, but everyone is VERY ready for the end of term. Some small scandal when a colleague (who was complained about at the staff-student meeting the week before for giving vague assignment instructions and telling students the problem was them not his instructions) decided to give out cans of alcoholic drinks in class at 2 in the afternoon, with no risk assessment etc. But it's definitely a slog! Classes finished Friday, but the coming week is still a work week because we have an "Away Day" (in a different building, in a windowless room (ugh!)), I have to attend several trainings/briefings, and I also have multiple project meetings.
ReplyDeleteBUT last week the multi-author paper that I've been working on for at least 6 years, which has been delayed by new babies, new jobs, the lead of the original project being demanding and also very slow to share their comments, was accepted for publication! It's not a ground-breaking paper, a useful contribution but nothing new, but it's OFF THE LIST!!! And it's also the first actual academic paper out of that project (there will be a book one day, eventually, apparently), and as I was one of two academics on the project team who were not officially partners/costed in, I get to feel a certain sort of smug about that too. (looks like the second paper will be from me and the other not-costed-in academic too, with them taking the lead). So that was a win. And I'm only on campus one day next week (for the Away Day).
SELF-CARE:
a) intentional movement for at least 15 minutes three days two, but I was fairly active yesterday as well because the decluttering lady came
b) ring GPs to see if I can make a non-urgent review appointment, go to dentist yes, no appointment until after Christmas due to staff illness, and yes, and it went very smoothly but it still took a LOT of energy
c) wrapping Christmas stuff, finishing Christmas shopping yes, and all the packages bar one are in the post
d) making a couple of times a week one lot of crochet during a meeting, made multiple Christmas cards for family members
e) two gently social things (D&D hopefully) two if you count hanging out with the decluttering lady, which I do, as she is very chatty and in my house for 6 hours at a time!
f) keep up reading for pleasure yes
IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT
a) 75%+ of the weekly list of chores yes! A good week (with help from decluttering lady)
b) make a plan for the shelving in the living room no
c) don't make clothes worse no
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) mark first year assignment no
b) limit teaching and admin to 5 hours at weekend yes
c) continue feedback for Senior MSc by Thesis student finished. it was hard work and depressing, their writing seems to be getting worse...
RESEARCH
a) read revised manuscript from last autumn's visiting post-doc. no
b) read chapter for meeting in December yes
c) work on outline grant text yes - added a GANTT chart, rewrote the methods and objectives and hypotheses about 5 times
d) work on modelling - make notes for a zero draft of the paper (so we can write as we go) no
I was a bit over-ambitious given the dentist visit - which was just a minor filling and my dentist is LOVELY but Dentist Is Hard On My Nervous System!
SELF-CARE:
Deletea) intentional movement for at least 15 minutes three days
b) send last Christmas package
c) write letter to friend who sent me a letter with my birthday card (early November)
d) making a couple of times a week
e) two gently social things (D&D hopefully)
f) 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
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) mark first year assignment
b) NO teaching and admin after I end work on Thursday!
RESEARCH
a) read revised manuscript from last autumn's visiting post-doc.
b) work on outline grant text (edit background section, meeting with collaborators this week)
c) work on modelling - make notes for a zero draft of the paper (so we can write as we go)
d) read and comment on paper from not-my-grad-student
Congratulations on the paper! And OMG, cans of alcoholic beverages to students? Oy.
DeleteExcellent news about the paper! And also that the decluttering lady made it (I seem to recall various times she had to cancel), giving you some social interaction as well as environmental improvement. At least the dentist is over and done now.
DeleteCongratulations on the paper and a lot of other yeses!
DeleteWow! Fabulous news about the paper! That to-do item is GONE FOREVER!!!! (Plus it's great to have a publication, of course.)
DeleteCo gratulations on paper!!! That is fantastic news, we are vicariously celebrating with you!
DeleteSo, I have a staple remover, scissors, two rulers, a letter opener, in the three pencil pots on my desk. Several of the pencils were my husband's (they are very short and stubby, and he kept them going that long) and he died in 2009. Discuss.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I made it through last week. I am SO tired. Holiday events (two I hosted), a campus faculty meeting and just so much stuff. But classes are done, and I only have to go to campus one day. (Our budget is a mess, and our Dean--who is great--is having us work collectively on how to make the cuts of 7%, after a 5% cut last year.)
How I did:
1. Get in expenses for events and travel TWO OF FIVE
2. Organize Christmas presents that need to be ordered/shipped ORGANIZED< NOT WRAPPED OR SHIPPED
3. Clear journals off desk by putting in zotero and recycling YES
4. Be kind to my students YES (I hope)
5. Deal with the administrative stuff and budget mess with out completely losing my mind MOSTLY
6. Keep up with exercise, healthy eating BARELY
7. Get enough sleep NOT REALLY
8. Draft Christmas letter (it would be nice to send out cards BEFORE Christmas for once!) NO
AND ALSO: hosted a party at my house, brought 5 boxes of books to my office to give to students, organized all the solicitations for Christmas donations, and probably some other things I've forgotten.
I mean, I kept up with email, and went to lots of meetings, and was a good person, but I am OVER this semester. And I'm just tired.
Meanwhile, I got the proofs for my book. It's very pretty. Proofs are due back January 12, so that takes care of "holidays". I've started, and have found two mistakes already in the footnotes.
Goals for the week:
1. Finish last three expenses
2. Wrap and ship presents
3. Finish Christmas letter
4. First read of proofs (backward)
5. Deal with changes in TA assignments because of budget cuts
6. Keep up with exercise and healthy eating
7. Do something nice
8. Sleep
Next Sunday I'll go down to my brother's for a few days, which will be fun.
That sounds like a lot to me! I can easily imagine keeping my husband's stubby pencils around for years. Shoot, I can't even get rid of the i.d. stickers I wore to visit my dad's care home on my last trip to see him. Not that I think I could lay hands on one right this second, but when I run across them, I don't throw them out.
DeleteThat sounds like an intense week. Glad the proofs look pretty, but sounds as if you could have done with them not arriving just yet! Hope you can rest more this week.
Delete7% on top of 5%? That makes our budget seem friendly.... But good on your dean for having this be a collaborative process. And hooray for proofs!
DeleteI love that you keep the pencils! There is something special about tangible every objects like that, they have a magic that fancier things often do not.
DeleteGood luck with the week, the last one was a lot!!
Pretty proofs sounds like a nice progress step - as long as they leave some time for actual rest and enjoyment!
DeleteI went and looked in the pocket of my grey twill bag where I keep the pens (and pencils when I have any, but lately they have been growing legs and wandering off): 2 extremely grubby once-white erasers plus one that is only pale grey; 2 large binder clips and 2 small ones; a small plastic pencil sharpener (why, when I only use mechanical pencils? for student use, maybe? for colored pencils?); 3 large paper clips (2 vinyl-covered) and 6 small ones (all covered); one last post-it note clinging to its backing; and a scrap of bandaid-backing.
ReplyDeleteReturning to last week's discussion, when I was shopping I found a long, narrow, undated weekly calendar, spiral bound, and decided to spring for it. Since it's undated, it won't be a big deal if I don't use it some weeks; since it has daily rectangles that are a bit bigger than those in my monthly calendar, yet smaller than a Moleskine page, I'm hoping it will help me figure out what I can fit into a day. Maybe this one will be the "work I intend to do" (along with appointments) and the Moleskine can be for "what I actually did." We'll see. On the first hand, I don't like to have too many notebooks or calendars, but OTOH sometimes changing things up can be very helpful.
How I did:
- swim x3, cardio x3, weights x2, yoga x5: YES
- at least 4 writing sessions: YES though some were just re-reading and getting re-familiarized with material
- grade all papers that come in: YES!
- finish writing grads' final exam, grade it too: YES!
- write learning objectives: YES!
- order Xmas presents: YES
Wow, look at all that YES.
ALSO: worked out and posted final grades (woooooot!!!); sent in the sample syllabus with a request for regular assignment to this class; baked a cake; ordered tickets to a Christmas concert; talked to the graduate director about a plan that makes me look like a good department citizen and should make my teaching load easier (I hope he falls for it).
New goals:
- swim x3, cardio x3, weights x2, yoga x5
- at least 4 writing sessions
- locate and contact possible reviewers
- campus day in the b00k l@b
- dentist appointment
- massage
- update CV, fill in one other form for annual review
- prep & mail cards/small presents for great-nibs
A lot of yes! Fingers crossed your plan succeeds!
DeleteSo much yes. And even a cake! Hoping that the grad director falls for your brilliant idea! My facebook memories last week had the pictures I took for you at Lincoln's Inn in 2015!
DeleteThat is a lot of stuff done! And yay for posting grades! Hope you get to enjoy more writing this week!
DeleteYes AND a brilliant idea! good luck getting that into other heads!
DeleteI just emptied the pen pot on my desk at home. Two rulers, one highlighter, pens and lots of pencils (some probably were my husband's), a Sharpie, an emery board, a mystery memory stick and an expired Amazon gift card. Clearly I should empty it more often.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Review article. - YES
2. Tidy study, organise papers and folders (paper and online). - NO
3. Follow up a few references I found reading for the chapter. -YES
4. Write reference for student. - YES
5. Title and abstract for invited seminar in April. - YES
6. House/life admin: more Christmas, financial stuff, plumber, organise cookery books when new bookcase arrives. - YES (tree and lights up, bought and wrapped some more gifts, wrote Christmas cards), NO, NO, YES
7. Self-care/fun: exercise, read, journal, something creative, sleep, catch up with friends. - YES, YES, YES, NO, SOME, YES
Sending survival vibes to everyone still teaching or who has an away day/budget meeting still to come. Who schedules those the week before Christmas???
This coming week is technically annual leave for me, since I realised I hadn't used all my days up (our leave year runs Jan-Dec). But one of the chapters and my article both came back with revisions. The chapter revisions are very minor so I did them all this week except two references I need from my office. The article is more annoying, since the editors want me to tie it into the theme of the special issue more. I understand a special issue needs to be coherent, but I felt my article did already speak to the theme, so I'm struggling a bit to see how to fix it. Plan for this week therefore is to do enough work to finish all the revisions, so I can have those off my desk before the break, but otherwise to treat it as annual leave i.e. ignore other stuff. I do also have a meeting with one of my research networks, but that will mostly be listening online.
This week:
1. Finish revisions and resubmit.
2. Tidy desk and organise papers (parking on downhill slope and can listen to podcasts at same time).
3. Christmas: buy and wrap remaining presents, post cards, make mince pies, organise everything for going away.
4. Self-care/fun: exercise, walk to local ruined priory if we have a nice day, lunch in favourite cafe, make soup, pizza and Christmas film night with kids, keep reading, journal.
I have SO much admiration for the way my UK colleagues treat annual leave, and I'm very sorry that you have to interrupt it for work. I was talking to my dean, and he said he'd gone on a holiday where he didn't take his computer, and he felt very subversive.
DeleteI love your ideas for self-care and fun. On the article in which you're asked to emphasize themes more: can you do something simple like adding section titles that use key words ("Theme and Thematics in Source One"), or working such words into topic sentences?
DeleteNot allowed section headings, unfortunately, otherwise that would have been a neat solution and one I will bear in mind for the future, thank you! I think I have done enough to keep the editors happy (fingers crossed).
DeleteHope the article gods are happy with your changes and do not come back demanding more!
DeleteHope the fun stuff takes over after the revisions go away!
ReplyDeleteThree rubber bands, pile of butterfly clips, unidentified black rubber thingy, pencil sharpener, usb stick, more than a few small rocks, cloth for cleaning glasses, dino stickers, piece of Lego… and what I think is a black walnut seed… (Why?) And some actual pens although they are clearly in the minority… I don’t even want to look in my top drawer where all the really strange things go!
Last week’s goals
Set exams NO CHOICE
Read grad student chapters (one for each would be good) ONE DONE
Data for students HALF DONE
Be external on PhD defense DONE
Catch up on huge pile of grading DONE IN TIME FOR NEW PILE TO ARRIVE
Set, supervise, and mark lab exams DONE
Admin planning retreat DONE
Program review tasks DONE
Learn two more batches of new music HALF DONE
Not a bad week, got a bunch of lingering things done, but a lot of large ones are still lurking ominously in my notebook… And getting more ominous by the day… I will pick off one per day, today shall be the date files and a student chapter. There was yet another snow day, and one of my concerts actually got cancelled. I felt bad for the orchestra, but was relieved for me, the drive was a fair distance and the roads were truly awful so they made the right call. I used the free Sunday to bake an enormous pile of biscotti in 4 flavours so everyone at work is getting biscotti this week.
This week’s goals
Make tables and supplementary figures for paper
Read more grad student chapters
Get data for students done
Finicky sample processing
Exams in two courses
Final grades for all courses
One more music thing
That's a lot of DONE! And making biscotti sounds like an excellent use of freed-up time. I'm glad you didn't have to drive in awful weather.
DeleteThat sounds like an insane workload! But biscotti sound great.
DeleteLet's catch up:
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Finish miscellaneous grading to make way for final papers - YES. I graded final papers early this week. In humorous news, I realized on the last day of class that I had never given my students the prompt for one of the two final assignments, so I just canceled it. This says something about how much attention I was paying to my teaching this semester.
2. Next big step in my knitting project - YES--wow, I feel like this was a long time ago! I've picked up the provisional cast-on and attached the sleeves. Now I'm waiting for a final ball of yarn to arrive so that I can finish knitting the yoke.
3. Acquire ingredients for cookies; bake cookies over the weekend, probably - Just finished baking literally 5 minutes ago. So it didn't happen over the weekend. But yes, ingredients were acquired.
4. 3 hours(!!) on the writing project that's due in July--I feel like I could start roughing in some sections, so I should do that! - YES!! I did start roughing in some stuff, and then I began reading in earnest a book that I cite constantly but have never really read beyond the first chapter or two. That counts!
This week:
1. Finish reading that book
2. Get organized for new service task that just dropped into my lap because my colleague who was going to take it on to cover for my other colleague on medical leave agreed to do it, then said she would like some kind of token payment, then, dissatisfied with the token payment she was offered, decided that she "couldn't do it on those terms," which means that I had to take it over for free. Well, joke's on her: When my chair heard this, he, being deeply annoyed, decided to pay me the amount that she wanted but didn't get. Of course, I'll *never* tell her or anyone else in the department that, because I can guarantee that the story would get twisted!
3. Finish Christmas shopping
4. Do some house-cleaning
5. Start knitting sweater for friend's baby while waiting for that last skein of yarn
6. Catch up on journal work
Happy end of term, everyone!
There is poetic justice in that service task outcome! Smile on the inside when it comes up and spend the payment on something that makes you happy...
DeleteYay for writing out stuff and good reading, that is all progress that counts!
Yes, that's an awesome outcome! Hooray for your chair! Also, reading the book you've been citing totally counts.
DeleteI like your chair! I mean, really?
DeleteWell played chair! And good for you, actually getting rewarded for doing a job is a pleasant change!
Delete