TLQ 2024 session 3, week 5

This week's prompt: what do you do when you just can't? Do you give up and go to bed (if you're able to sleep off whatever it is), do you try to power through on caffeine and willpower (and/or bribing yourself), do you figure out the bare minimum and do that, do you take to your couch with a comfort re-read, a cat, and a pot of tea? Have your strategies changed with age or life circumstances? 

Goals for the past week appear below; let us know how you did and what you hope to get done in the coming week. 

(Brought to you by exhaustion following a double vaccination for flu and Covid . . . neither has ever given me more than a sore arm before, but the two together are wiping me out.)

Contingent Cassandra (held over)

--Write two emails having to do with the study leave and the October program

--At least begin listing and prioritizing the things I could, should, or must do before the October program and beyond to advance the study leave project 

Daisy

Administrative assistant training, yay!!
Explore grant idea and map out draft
Finish popular article on research topic
Read and comment on thesis chapters URGENT
Exercise at least 4 times, two have to be weights

Dame Eleanor Hull

 - provide lap for Basement Cat as often as he wants
- call washer hotline
- 20 minutes/day Alms, plus one longer session
- read at least one chapter in each of two scholarly books
- finish grading undergrad papers
- check grad bibliographies
- get flu/COVID boosters
- cardio + weights x2, swim at least x2, yoga x4
- pay bills

heu mihi

1. Start reading the next diss (R); write down my questions for X (first diss)
2. Begin revisions to ch. 5; format ch. 4 biblio; write to friends who are supposed to be giving me feedback on a couple of chapters and ask them whether they still want to
3. Catch up on Italian! (Purgatorio 30, Paradiso 2)
4. Ask neighboring colleges about participating in spring event
5. Grad students: Send out call for applications for summer teaching; make promised website updates
6. Have a nice weekend with son while husband is out of town
7. A full slate of workouts! (Run x 3, swim x 2, yoga x 1 class)

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 thing
(ii) read the novel I started (& possibly start another non-fiction)
(iii) play D&D with group or with nibling
(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) declutter kitchen
iii) do more sums/plan summarising related to latest voluntary redundancy scheme 

3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) at least one teaching block (3-4 hours) on non-urgent teaching prep (non-urgent = happening AFTER next week)
ii) do all the needed things to be ready for next week's teaching - more chasing up of other people, sigh.
iii) read chapter for grad student - now urgent
iv) read funding application for other grad student (when it arrives at the end of the week)

4 RESEARCH
i) a couple of hours on my grant idea - I have to do more or I won't make the deadline
ii) at least two hours on part 3 of discussion for consultancy paper - we meet about it week after next so I need to get on with it
iii) resolve issues for Visitor and check we do have a plan
iv) meet with Former PDF to talk about the revisions for the Chapter

Julie

1. Finish editing module handbooks, decide on final readings and assignments.
2. Update VLEs for both modules.
3. Meet with TAs for first-year module.
4. Finish call for papers for workshop next year (five of us working on this, so a lot of back and forth in two languages).
5. Choose tiles if time (probably not).
6. Start organising stuff daughter needs for half-term trip.
7. Enjoy walking weekend.

Susan

1. Catch up on a gazillion emails that I'm behind on.
2. Read draft chapter of dissertation
3. Organize books and resources for November paper
4. Read for pleasure
5. Finish organizing things I brought back/clean the kitchen
6. Figure out more of how this new car works
7. Enjoy the show/ time with friends
8. Do something fun at the weekend

TLQ 2024 Session 3 Week 4

 

This week’s theme: what is something important that you try to fit into busy times?

(I know, if a cat fits it sits…)

When we were chatting about time hacks a couple of weeks ago DEH reminded me of the well-known story of a professor/teacher/whatever who put rocks in a jar, then little rocks and gravel that settled between the big ones, and then sand that filled the gaps, and eventually a liquid. The lesson of the story is sometimes “put the important things in first because if you stuff the jar full of sand there is no room for the bigger things”, sometimes “remember there is always stuff that doesn’t fit in the jar and that’s ok” and so on… During my second year undergrad one of my profs actually told demonstrated this story, I had not thought of it in years… But in his version he went through rocks to gravel to sand, but when he got into the liquid part he opened a beer (a very cheap one, didn’t waste good stuff), poured in in and said “No matter how full your life gets, you can always make room for a beer with your friends!”

I think that is a lovely take on the story… So for this week’s theme, what are some of the things you feel like you can always make time for? Five points to your house if you go out and do one this week, especially if it makes some of the unexpected crud recede a bit...

Goals below, check in with whatever you want to!

Contingent Cassandra (held over)

--Write two emails having to do with the study leave and the October program (this is not done but really needs to get done tomorrow, so good timing).
--At least begin listing and prioritizing the things I could, should, or must do before the October program and beyond to advance the study leave project

 

Daisy

Finish popular article on research topic

Three field trips

Read and comment on thesis chapters URGENT

Begin sample organizing process

Exercise at least 4 times, anything counts

 

DEH

- Basement Cat to vet
- call washer hotline
- 20 minutes/day Alms, plus one longer session
- read at least one chapter in each of two scholarly books
- grade undergrad papers
- check grad bibliographies
- go to medical procedure, allow self the rest of the day to recover
- cardio + weights x2, swim at least x2, yoga x4

 heu mihi

1. Finish LOR for grad student
2. Loose ends for ch. 3; start editing ch. 4
3. Finish town document thing
4. Add ch. 3 to master document and fix notes; make progress on bibliography
5. Catch up with teaching stuff; schedule appointments with suspected AI-using students

 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 thing
(ii) continue book about Aztecs, finish or set aside current novel
(iii) play D&D with group or with nibling
(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) declutter kitchen
iii) do more sums/plan summarising related to latest voluntary redundancy scheme

3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) at least one teaching block (3-4 hours) on non-urgent teaching prep (non-urgent = happening AFTER next week) ii) do all the needed things to be ready for next week's teaching
iii) read chapter for grad student

4 RESEARCH
i) an hour of notes on my grant idea
ii) at least two hours on part 3 of discussion for consultancy paper
iii) make mutually agreeable plan for first few weeks with Visitor

 Julie

1. Teaching prep for two modules
2. Admin: organise a viva & a meeting with new TAs.
3. Progress review for a PhD student.
4. Organise photos & notes from trip.
5. Workshop to discuss a colleague's major grant application.
6. Fill in new diary for academic year.
7. Choose tiles for new bathrooms.
8. Exercise, eat healthily, sleep.

 Susan

1. Enjoy presentations at symposium Monday and Tuesday
2. Meet with curator to talk about art
3. Go pick up computer at depot
4. Make inquiries about trade-in of current car
5. Pick up stuff at home
6. Enjoy concert and talks related to it
7. See friends

TLQ 2024 session 3, week 3

Topic of the week: the task that turns into multiple unanticipated steps. Sometimes I have a suspicion things will work out this way, so it turns out that "procrastination" was actually saving the task for when I really would have time for it; other times, it's totally unexpected. See the commnts for my not-as-anticipated experience with power washing the mossy side of the house!

Here are last week's goals; let us know how you're doing, especially any happy successes even if they weren't on your goals list. Also feel free to rant about the Unexpected Crud!

 

Contingent Cassandra

--Write two emails having to do with the study leave and the October program (this is not done but really needs to get done tomorrow, so good timing).
--At least begin listing and prioritizing the things I could, should, or must do before the October program and beyond to advance the study leave project

Daisy

Finish popular article on research topic
All accounting for August
Read and comment on thesis chapters URGENT
Begin sample organizing process
Exercise at least 4 times, anything counts

Dame Eleanor Hull

- finish the undergrad grading, comment on grads' short things, start next round of grading
- power-wash the north side of the house
- write my overdue sabbatical report
- establish a schedule for working on research, at least 20 minutes a day on book project
- prep grad class
- swim 2-3 miles, cardio/weights x2, just cardio x1

 heu mihi

1. Full draft of little essay
2. Finish tenure review book
3. Administrative: Get spring schedule in order; get requests for fall '25 schedule; find out about this person who wants to teach for us; finish faculty report; review colleague's tenure file
4. Exercise: Run x3, Yoga x1, Swim x2--this will keep me sane
5. Town service committee: Finish putting together little brochure
6. Enjoy being outdoors sometime this weekend, while *not* running

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 thing
(ii) start book about Aztecs, continue current novel
(iii) play D&D with nibling (or at least hang out and chat!)
(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) declutter kitchen
iii) do more sums related to latest voluntary redundancy scheme and some pension modelling

3 TEACHING AND ADMIN

i) at least one teaching block (3-4 hours) on non-urgent teaching prep (non-urgent = happening AFTER next week)
ii) do all the needed things to be ready for next week's teaching
iii) get the instructions for placement year reporting all approved and on the ViLE

4 RESEARCH

i) at least two hours on part 3 of discussion for consultancy paper
ii) an hour of notes on my grant idea
iii) abstract for Very Slowly Developing paper

Julie

1. Maximise time in archives.
2. Keep email and other work stuff to the absolute essentials, even if next week will be manic as a result.
3. Enjoy time away!

Susan

1. Keep digging to find out where the sources I want *are*. It's amazingly opaque.
2. Prepare for fellows symposium next Monday and Tuesday
3. Keep reading
4. Read for fun
5. Tapestry
6. Take advantage of events here
7. Go to the gym,
8. Get to medical test that has taken ages to schedule.

TLQ Session 3 2024 Week 2

 

Hello and welcome back everyone!

Time… always a perennial theme for us… I am super short on it right now, so I’m going to leave a short prompt…

What is your favourite time-saving hack? Anything goes, work hacks, life hacks, household hacks? Free reign for ideas!

 Goals for the week below.

 Contingent Cassandra

Get advance publicity for mid-late October events related to the study leave project done and deliver to appropriate person.

 Daisy

None, so great job meeting those!

 DEH

- finish the grading
- power-wash the north side of the house
- write my sabbatical report (due Monday)
- gym tomorrow

 heu mihi

1. Write a very basic draft of short weird experimental essay.
2. Submit Kalamazoo abstract and apply for funding.
3. Start reading book for last-minute tenure letter, with the goal of finishing enough of it to say something intelligent by the end of next week.
4. Work on edits to ch. 3 of manuscript.
5. Exercise: Run at least 3 times; 1 yoga class.

 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 thing
(ii) start book about Aztecs, start another novel
(iii) play D&D with nibling (who has moved into their uni flat!
a week early to let them settle in to the city and walk around finding out where everything is before it's chaotic)
(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) declutter kitchen
iii) do some sums related to latest voluntary redundancy scheme and some pension modelling
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) set up new teaching commonplace book/bullet journal thing
ii) list out teaching blocks for the first half of the session; finish blocks for second year module reading lists/case studies
iii) get ViLE content done as far as I can
iv) comment on first half of a chapter for Senior Grad Student
4 RESEARCH
i) at least two hours on part 3 of discussion OR supplementary info of consultancy paper
ii) an hour of notes on my grant idea

 Julie

1.       Prep for trip to archives next week.
2. Revise grant and submit - this is the grant from last session, which finally came back from the last round of review on Friday, with thankfully only minor suggestions.
3. Meeting with PhD student.
4. Tedious but urgent life admin - car service, get laptop keyboard fixed.

Susan

1. Finish dissertation related to what I think is part of phase 1 of RoL project
2. Read some of books that I've piled on my desk
3. Keep up with embroidery
4. Read for pleasure
5. Figure out gym situation

TLQ Session 3 of 2024, week 1

Hello! Greetings! Welcome to TLQ session 3, first week! If you've been around for awhile, or just following along (hey! how about saying hello in the comments?), you know the drill. If you're new, read on. As often happens, I'm borrowing introductory text from previous sessions, with thanks to those who drafted it.

This week, please introduce yourselves and set some goals for the session, as well as for the coming week. Goals can be in any aspect of life, although the key focus is often writing tasks that are personally and professionally important but that never quite tip over into important AND urgent. Urgent things sometimes find their way in here too; that is completely okay, and process goals are also most welcome. 

Most weeks there will be a discussion topic or prompt to write about if you feel so inclined, but skip it if you don't feel like it. Your hosts this session, Dame Eleanor Hull and Daisy, have ideas for prompts, but this will not be a themed session. We've already had two of those this year, and JaneB especially is a hard act to follow! So if you want a more "business-like" support group for getting stuff done, try us out this time.

We'll have fourteen goal-setting weeks, a mid-term check-in on session goals, and a final "party" reporting on session goals on 15 December. Anyone is welcome to join! Bring a friend! We aim to be supportive of and generous to all participants, whether they're every-week types or just drop in from time to time. 

This week's prompt, if you want one: what nice thing could you add to this week, or what tiring one could you take away? Example: I skipped a party yesterday. A party should be a nice thing, but when I thought about driving, packing my own food (as I would need to do), and seeing people I like fine but who are not friends of the heart, it sounded too much like work (I mean literally: those are all things I do on campus days). I stayed home. I went to the gym, graded some papers, did a couple of loads of laundry, and cooked. Not exciting, but overall more restorative than I think the party would have been.

I look forward to working with you during the coming months!

Another intersession post

Hello! We're still officially between sessions. However, both to mark the passing of another week (where do they go? I imagine some sort of cosmic lost-and-found box full of lost time) and to give you a preview of coming attractions, here's another intersession post. Daisy and Dame Eleanor Hull will take this week to sort out a plan, and perhaps come up with theme ideas (or not, as the case may be). Next weekend we'll put up a post for the first week of the 3rd session of 2024. 

If you're thinking of joining us, or wondering if this might be the time to try an online accountability group to help you get things done, consider this a sign that it IS the time and you are welcome here! Enter any questions you have in the comments box, and we'll get back to you promptly. Past participants, new participants, friends or blog-friends of participants . . . we're not cliquish, we'd love to have you join in.

Whether you've already started teaching, start this week, or still have some time to enjoy a break, I hope you have a good week! Comments are open for making plans and/or reporting on what you've been doing, or just chatting amongst yourselves.

2024 intersessional post: TLQuest epilogue

 Hi everyone - well, that flew past!  Both summer and my week off, which has mostly been spent napping, feeling fed up, and at least doing some reading - but NOT doing normal chores, never mind the other things I hoped to do.  I REALLY wish Augtember was a real thing - Augtember, shorthand for a four week period between the 31st of August and the 1st of September, 2 weeks for rest and 2 for work, is something which me and some of my colleagues wish for every year, but it never happens... 

THIS WEEK'S GAMEPLAY.

By late afternoon the next day you are walking towards Silas' cottage on the edge of the village, and as you get closer you can see Silas sitting on the bench outside the front door.  The three-legged dog galumphs to the gate to greet you, and Silas waves a greeting - he doesn't get up, but that is reasonable as he is currently acting as a cat seat.  He still looks tired and drawn, but he's clearly feeling stronger than he was when you last saw him.

His neighbour, one of those middle-aged women who is in a state of perpetual motion, has a very big heart, and is completely oblivious to how their presence and energy can wear on the nerves of people who are not like them, sweeps out of the house on hearing you arrive, tells Silas that the kettle is on the stove and the cake tin refilled, and that she'll be back tomorrow midmorning after milking, and gives you a slightly suspicious, warning look over her shoulder as she departs.  Silas seems slightly embarrassed as he says "she has a good heart, just an awkward manner sometimes.  Would one of you mind making tea?  And, of course, fetching the cake tin?"  Cornelius and Alice will go into the cottage to manage refreshments, whilst Linnet and Martha present Silas with the herbs, and start to recount their adventures. Scout will settle back and listen, ready to add details if requested, but mostly keeping an eye on the Talking Cats who are keeping a suspicious eye on the tripod dog and the cats, but so far respecting that the garden is not actually their territory.  

Silas reacts most rewardingly to your story - he says it sounds like you did all the right things faced with the Ladies, and that he hasn't encountered them for years, so they must have felt they needed your help with the fish but were not going to ask, so they created a situation where you felt you needed to do it yourselves.   He frowns over the news that the fish was apparently delivered by goblins; he doesn't tell you any more, but it seems to fill in a space in a puzzle for him, and not in a good way.  Once the tea arrives, along with slabs of an excellent apple cake with crunchy maple sugar crystals, he checks the herbs and expresses himself more than pleased with your haul. He carefully extracts a leather purse from his pocket, not disturbing the snoozing cat, and hands you five gold pieces each for your efforts (for reference, staying in one of the private rooms at the tavern with dinner, access to the bath room and hot water, and breakfast would cost less than one gold piece unless it was a very busy time so this is a decent enough reward).  

Alice shows him the fish scales that somehow came along with her, and he will inspect them seriously and advise you that if you go to a particular alchemical workshop in the city you will be able to sell them easily, and you should be prepared to barter but not accept less than 15 gold per scale.  This inspires the rest of you to check your stuff, and together you find you have 15 scales, Alice has 10, Cornelius has 2, and the others have 1 each.  You might want to keep it as a souvenir!

You finally say goodbye to Silas, his dog and his cats and go to the tavern, with a quick detour by Scout to fetch her new socks (which are comfortable, perfectly fitted, much better than anything issued to the company, and only cost 1 silver which Scout knows is an excellent price by city standards).  The tavern keeper recognises you and assures you dinner is on the house, since everyone benefits from Silas' remedies and he appreciates that your arrival stopped a couple of local youngsters trying to make the trip alone without Silas along to act as common sense and guide, so you sit down for one last meal together, sharing a large pan of sausages and onions and root vegetables in a savoury thick gravy along with fried potatoes and buttered spring greens, and a fresh white soft cheese and crisp rolls on the side.

For some reason describing fantasy food is a very important part of D&D - if a DM tells players "you get dinner at the inn" they ALWAYS want to know the details...

Thank you again everyone for coming along on this Quest and for creating such an interesting array of characters!

The comments section, as usual, can be used to talk about your week, set some goals if that helps you, and plan for the new session, whatever anyone needs.  And if you want to speculate about what your character might do next, as DEH did last week, that's another good use!