Half-way through! Back in September, we said "fourteen goal-setting weeks," so here we are at midterm check-ins already. So instead of a prompt this week, take a look at your session goals and see if you want to adjust them (delete something? or congratulate yourself on already meeting one or more of them?).
Session goals first, and last week's goals below them. As often happens, I am having trouble with formatting; what's worse, when I select chunks of text to fix the formatting, CoPilot offers to rewrite the text for me. I am trying to refuse its "help," but if anyone's goals don't look quite the way you originally wrote them, that's why. Anyway, apologies, and I hope this will do!
SESSION
Contingent Cassandra
--plan and to the
extent possible make progress on the study leave project (which has multiple
aspects)
Daisy
Get back into a
consistent exercise habit
Get half-done paper into decent shape
Revise 80% done paper
Do actual real work on coastal project
Organize my samples and lab space properly
Get student through thesis and defense
Dame Eleanor Hull
- Draft an essay due
at the end of January
- tinker with what was supposed to be my
sabbatical project
- grade All The Things in a timely manner and
- provide helpful feedback for students
- keep up with reading/notes for the new course
- read All The Things for the major committee I'm
on
- continue to indulge my exercise addiction and
refuse to feel guilty about the time I spend in the pool/at the gym
- complete at least three House/Life Things from
my very long list
heu mihi
1. Deadlines:
Last-minute tenure letter due Oct. 1, short weird experimental essay due Oct.
13.
2. Research: a) Submit book manuscript!!!!! b)
Start planning essay due in April (which I think I'm also supposed to give a
talk on next semester...maybe try to get out of the talk, that would also be
good). c) Submit proposal for festschrift.
3. Enjoy Italian! Remind myself (when, as last
weekend, I'm spending hours on my homework) that I'm learning and it's great!
4. Exercise: I exercised a lot this summer, and it
felt great, so I really want to make this my priority. Possibly join a gym
(with a pool!) when it gets too dark to run in the morning (so, like, next
week).
5. Graduate students: Get X defended and out;
support G; work with R towards spring defense; others as they arise. (Just
putting this here so that I can check it off at the end of the session--it's
such time-consuming work and I want to record it.)
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 each week (draw, diamond painting, colour, paint, knit, crochet)
(ii) read three non-fiction books this session and
at least three novels
(iii) at least one social/creative-with-words
thing each week (playing D&D, writing for fun, talking to people on the
phone or a proper chat online, writing a social letter)
(iv) journalling through a "self-care for
autistic adults" book.
(v) building a more solid exercise habit
2 HOUSE-LIFE ADMIN
i) working on getting better at the regular chores
ii) at least one additional
care-for-home-environment thing every week
iii) working on financial things that both bore
and scare me
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) successful teaching delivery (TRQ)
ii) prepare the rest of this trimester and for
next trimester (one-two teaching blocks a week which are not about the
immediate needs of the week)
iii) stay in my lane given my changed
responsibilities
iv) support my senior grad student to submission
of her thesis at the end of December
4 RESEARCH
i) make measurable progress on at least three
papers
ii) write a fairly small grant application to buy
out some of my time
iii) find out my committments within small cog
project and meet them.
Julie
From 1st October, I
go down to working four days a week, so part of this session will be working
out how to set boundaries and make sure work doesn't spill into 5 days and that
there is still time for TLQ stuff. I'll use last session's headings, which I think
I stole from Jane B.
1. Teaching/admin
(i) Revise second-year module to a new format, but
keep manageable.
(ii) Keep on top of first-year module and try to
maintain energy/enthusiasm without setting myself impossible standards (I
co-teach with someone who is a bundle of energy so I always feel students are
comparing us unfavourably).
(iii) Three PhD students: one submitting in
December, so a lot of drafts to read; one seems to be worryingly AWOL when he
should be writing; one about a year from submission.
2. Research (TLQ!):
(i) If grant application gets through first round,
write longer version. If it doesn't, put Plan B on hold until next session.
(ii) Write journal article for January deadline.
This is the most important session goal.
(iii) Work on call for papers for possible
collaborative workshop.
3. Kids
(i) Work out new routines, be as present with them
as possible and as much as they will tolerate!
4. House/life admin
(i) One big project: new bathrooms.
(ii) Decluttering & small to medium projects.
5. Self-care
(i) Reading
(ii) Exercise: improve fitness
(iii) Healthy eating & more sleep.
(iv) Fun stuff - see friends, try to do more
creative stuff.
Susan
Research:
1. Make progress of Rest of Life (RoL) project, or
at least phase 1 of it.
2. If the press takes Famous Author, I will need
to add some words. Do it.
3. Do any last work on Big Collaboration that
needs doing.
Life:
1. Figure out an exercise routine that makes sense
and is manageable.
2. Try to not work weekends and evenings
3. Read books for fun
4. Keep up with tapestry projects
5. Buy new car (maybe new used car)
LAST WEEK'S GOALS
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
Production files for accepted paper
Galley proofs for in-press paper
Popular article on research topic
Book Covid and flu shots
Reference writing
Department newsletter (bane of existence for months)
Curriculum stuff
Thesis comments/rewrites
Dame
Eleanor Hull
- provide lap for Basement Cat as often as he wants
- 20 minutes x3 on Alms or its larger project
- read at least one chapter in one scholarly book; finish taking notes on
another
- grade a set of undergrad papers
- file reports on a couple of students who aren't showing up
- do the 3 mandatory annual trainings
- finish off grad comments, post them
- reading/prep for grad class
- write a letter of recommendation
- cardio + weights x2, swim at least x2, yoga x4
- another walk with friend on Friday, weather permitting
- check another store for weed-killer
- look up some Greek for a novelist's spell
heu mihi
1. Review article
2. Read chapter 4 of dissertation R
3. Keep up with workouts: run x 3, swim x 2, yoga x 1
4. Work out grad students' spring teaching schedules
5. Prep for RR workshop (read & comment on one
submission; start reading other submissions)
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 most days
(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) do more sums/plan summarising related to latest voluntary
redundancy scheme, make decision.
iii) wash all the towels (as well as clothes laundry) (I'm
down to the odd colours/nearly worn out towels now...)
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) two teaching blocks (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 - quite light this week
iii) another chapter for grad student
4 RESEARCH
i) decision about grant idea. If yes, at least two hours on
the text.
ii) at least one hour doing my tasks for the consultancy
paper (I'm also waiting on others)
iii) referee paper - now urgent!
Julie
1. Prep teaching - none of it new,
so should be minimal.
2. Read a dissertation proposal.
3. Read PhD chapter.
4. Research: work out remaining budget from small grant and
what to do with it.
5. Use one of the short bits of time to read an article for
research.
6. Book flu jab
7. Daughter's trip
8. Eat healthily, try to get some walks in, go to bed
reasonable time.
9. Read new book.
Susan
1. Keep going on the paper / research
2. Finish task I should have finished before I went on
sabbatical, a revision of our policies
3. Start writing letter of rec for colleague
4. Write report on use of endowed chair funds
5. Enjoy conference on Friday-Saturday
6. Schedule flu shot
7. Walk to work 1 day, do workout with trainer, follow up.
8. Keep reading, figure out what to read when I finish this
book tonight.
