2026 Summer session: Week 6

 Hello everyone

Lupin season continues! The visual impact of a giant field of lupins is always wonderful, and my feeling is the more the better. Our local highways are beautiful right now, all the ditches and banks are full of flowers. My garden ones are a bit past their prime but still lovely especially up close… Beautiful up close on individual stalks, and beautiful when they contribute to a giant field…

 

I’m struggling with overwhelm right now, everything feels too big, and small actions seem inconsequential, so this week’s prompt is my reminder to reset, and to remember the power of small actions repeated over time and space. What are your favourite, or most effective small actions, in work or life, that are valuable on their own, but also multiply and grow and contribute to making things beautiful?

Goals below, have a wonderful week!

DEH

-take shoes to UPS for return
-swim x2, gym x2, outdoor bike ride x1
-plant cucumbers
-book August trip
-work on new paper
-lots of editing stuff

JaneB

A LOT of meetings and diaried items this week, so it's going to require attention to get anything TLQ done this work week. And hopefully the decluttering happens this Friday.
SELF-CARE:
* 3x20 intentional movement, 1 x making, 1 x small thing with people, reading every day (with dinner, in waiting times)
* doing and planning some food prep
HOME AND ENVIRONMENT:
* 75% of chores
* make the most of the decluttering session (if it happens!) and if not do one thing off the small items list
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
* another exam board this week and associated paperwork
* one hour on Icky Admin Task
* checking in with other research masters student
* one block on teaching for next year (I have multiple small tasks like correcting problems I noticed with slide order, updating case studies, changing discussion questions that didn't work as I'd hoped etc. - I jot these down after sessions during the year when I often don't have the bandwidth/time to do them properly, then batch them as part of preparing for the next year. These are well suited to fitting in around meetings to add up to a block
RESEARCH:
* submit small group paper if people reply
* help student if needed with changes on rejected paper
* write draft text for second set of results from modelling problem, and run a couple more sets of modelling
* start working on revisions for the group paper (I submitted a revised version in April - It's come back quite quickly with a much more positive and useful set of comments, thankfully).

Julie

1. Big Article: 3 days
2. Collect inter library loans, return a book, borrow others.
3. Read two articles for teaching prep meeting.
4. House/life admin: do proper clean of cooker and oven, plan for being away next weekend & family visit, find out about visas for summer trip, niece's birthday and Father's Day.
5. Self-care/fun: run x 3, try for a walk the other days, read, journal, enjoy weekend away with friends and family visit Sunday evening.

heu mihi
1. Write 6500 words (I have an end-of-month goal I'm trying to reach)
2. Process one journal submission; process one revision; maybe start the next submission
3. Annoying life stuff: Deal with car thing, deal with excise task thing, settle upcoming travel to see parents; email catch-up
4. Grad students: Prep for (and preside over) a prospectus defense; read grad student's exam document

Susan

1. Enjoy my sister's visit, even though she is not staying at my condo (that was the plan)
2. Start unpacking
3. Do the minimum of administrative work to make sure the wheels all keep turning.

Daisy

Make project plan for intern and two other students
Do data processing for student project
Open one of the research project docs and do more than one thing
Conference accounting and catch-up with everything

Exercise

2026 Summer session: Week 5

 It is lupin season! Fair warning, the next few weeks of photos will probably have a lot of those… I really love them. Imagine my surprise when I mentioned to a someone that I’m trying to turn my yard into a lupin field, and she was totally surprised, and said she cannot stand lupins and thinks they look terrible… We happily agreed to disagree on that! But seriously, how can anyone dislike lupins?

                 

Which made me think about some of the things we sometimes dislike for no apparent reason, particularly things that other people think are perfectly normal, or even great. Also, I have very little brain power for thinking deep thoughts, so for this week, tell us about a strange or petty aversion that you have to something everyone else seems to be ok with.

Goals below, and a heads up that we might be close to a mid-session check-in (I know, I do not believe it either...). 

DEH

-finish conference paper
-go to conference and have a good time
-get a massage
-start frantic last-minute editing chores
-finish booking August trip
-exercise as much as possible given conference

JaneB

SELF-CARE:
* 3x20 intentional movement, 1 x making, 1 x small thing with people, reading every day (with dinner, in waiting times)
** pretty list of making methods and projects
HOME AND ENVIRONMENT:
* 75% of chores
** make nice looking lists (steps for the living room, the smaller tasks, the finances, the clothes projects)
* make list for decluttering person, make the most of session with her this week (if it happens!).
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
* more assessment-related bureaucracy and list of small end of year necessities
* one block of time on Icky Admin Task
* feeding back on final drafts for research masters student who hopes to submit this coming Friday (doing that is what displaced last week's teaching block)
RESEARCH:
* submit small group paper if people reply
* read through rejected paper and advise student on any changes before sending it elsewhere
* write draft text for second set of results from modelling problem, and run a couple more sets of modelling

Julie

1. Big article: one day.
2. Read through comments on review piece and decide responses.
3. Chase mentor for a meeting.
4. Book a room for a teaching prep meeting.
5. House/life admin: Father's Day, niece's birthday, book summer activity.
6. Self-care/fun: Dublin!

heu mihi
1. Write 5000 words! Can I do it?
2. Italian, read a daily story from the Legenda Aurea (just catching up on my medieval best-sellers here), exercise
3. Journal catch-up! Read proofs for two articles; process new submission
4. Enjoy birthday stuff and let myself be lazy/relax/have fun whenever I want this week!

Susan

1. Close on the condo (scheduled for Wednesday)
2. Figure out carpet
3. Talk to movers
4. Keep up with admin stuff from current employer
5. Do at least 5 chapters
6. Do fun things
7. Try to be helpful

Daisy

Make project plan for intern and two other students
Figure out rest of summer for work and family plans
Do something fun for birthday
Open one of the research project docs and pick a task to complete
Conference accounting and catch-up with everything

 

2026 Summer session: Week 4

Hello!

Thank you all so much for sharing the small beautiful things you noticed this week. I really enjoyed reading them, sorry for not getting comments in for everyone earlier in the week, it has been a long week…

I’m still traveling and have jumped forward in time to a full spring with blossoms everywhere, amazing what being on a slightly more southerly island can do. So, the picture of the week is two of my favourite blossoms: apple and ornamental plum. I love the colour contrasts between the outside and inside petals of the apple blossom, and between the leaves and the blossoms of the ornamental plum. Somehow the contrast makes both colours for each shine.

So, from that… The theme of the week is contrast and harmony… Do you have two or more contrasting things/themes/approaches in your work that brings out the best in both? Do you have two contrasting parts of your personality that make a good pair? Do you have a colleague with a contrasting style of working that somehow fits with yours and creates a dream team of collaboration?

 Goals below as always... Have a great week!

 JaneB

SELF-CARE:
* 3x20 intentional movement, 1 x making, 2 x small things with people, reading every day (with dinner, in waiting times)
** make pretty list of different making methods and projects I might play with this summer: pick up one thing from it I haven't done for a while
HOME AND ENVIRONMENT:
* 75% of chores
** make nice looking lists of the steps for the living room, the smaller tasks and the finances
** braindump the clothes projects
** think generally about what might get done when
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
* more assessment-related bureaucracy
* one block of summer teaching tasks (which may need to be squeezed in in hours here and there around the meetings, sigh)
* one block of time on Icky Admin Task
* roughly map out what might get done when this summer, and prioritise if needed
RESEARCH:
* submit small group paper if people reply
* continue calm systematic exploration of the laptop problem.
* write draft text for second set of results from modelling problem
** schedule meeting for teaching related project

Susan

1. Finish microfilms
2. Clear out office
3. Meet with incoming chair to go over looming issues.
4. Have fun with friends
5. Make sure final pieces are in place for condo purchase
6. Set up internet, electricity, and gas for the condo.
6. Stay zen

Julie

1. Three days on Big Article
2. Meeting with one mentee, email the other.
3. Print reviewers' comments on 5,000 piece & decide on responses (revising piece is something to add to Session goals).
4. House/life admin: travel insurance, research activities for summer trip, post book club swap, look for new chair, FIL's birthday.
5. Self-care/fun: run x 3, find weights/pilates class, read, journal, carry on watching addictive TV series

DEH

-file travel voucher
-get mulch for veg patch
-finish Overdue Essay (now TRQ)
-produce readable conference paper (also now TRQ)
-regular PT exercises, swim x2, bike x2, weights x2
-finish booking August trip

heu mihi
1. Add last few article summaries to Festschrift intro
2. Process two Festschrift article revisions
3. Process new journal submission
4. Write 5000 words (let's be bold!)
5. Italian x 5, exercise x usual, sit x 3
6. Clean my house a little more thoroughly than usual ahead of weekend visit from parents

Daisy

Stay on top of admin 
Continue planning and get a summer schedule sorted
Review data and future publication plans with field trip people
Eat a few salads

2026 Summer session: Week 3

Hello everyone!

Hope the proverbial garden mulching and weeding and tending has gone well! I am on a big field trip in a lovely area for the week. It is 2 degrees, with horizontal rain/sleet, and foggy… Everything is still beautiful of course, and the actual subject of the trip is fascinating but the big views and wide open vistas are not quite as impressive as expected. So I thought I’d share a few pictures of tiny beautiful things I’ve taken in the last few days. It is still very early spring here so plants are just contemplating coming out of hibernation, almost nothing is blooming yet, and there are barely any leaves out...

 

The first picture is of some alder catkins, with tiny new leaves and flower spikes. The second is the ubiquitous juniper bushes with new berries, they will be dark purple in a few months. The third is a little patch of lingon berry flowers (called partridge berries here)… They will be bright red berries by the end of the season.

This week’s prompt… Did you notice any particular tiny beautiful things this week? Or, alternatively, what tiny things did you start this week that might bloom into something new by the end of the season?

Last week’s goals below…

DEH

-Write (or transfer) 3000 words for Overdue essay.
-Write or polish 1000 "real" words for First Conference Paper
-Contact last writer with reviewer comments
-regular PT exercises, gym x4 (swim x2)
-finish booking 3rd summer trip
-file travel voucher
-get mulch for veg patch
-review essay for journal
-make a cake

Daisy 

Take time to do project planning 
Polish and give talks and support students with theirs
Have fun catching up with people at conference 
Keep admin work going while away

heu mihi

1. Write 3000 messy words
2. Italian x 5
3. Sit x 3; exercise as usual
4. Start reading the Legenda Aurea (because why not?)
5. Catch up on some lingering leftover work stuff

JaneB

SELF-CARE:
* 3x20 intentional movement, 1 x making, 2 x small things with people, reading every day (with dinner, in waiting times)
** make a list of different making methods and projects I might play with this summer
HOME AND ENVIRONMENT:
* 75% of chores
** braindump the steps for the living room and clothes projects
** braindump smaller house and environment things I would like to get done this summer
** braindump where I want to get to with my personal finances
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
* assessment-related bureaucracy
* meet with the MSc by Research student who is furthest from submission
* one block of summer teaching tasks
* one block of time on Icky Admin Task
RESEARCH:
* submit small group paper
* continue calm systematic exploration of the laptop problem.
* write draft text for first two sets of results from modelling problem
* schedule meeting for teaching related project

 Julie 

1. At least two days on Big Article - write one section, plan out the rest.
2. Final sign-off on PhD corrections.
3. Submit request for funding for travel this summer and book if possible.
4. Two teaching meetings (one on assessment).
5. House/life admin: book more summer travel, travel insurance, organise and post parcel for book club swap.
6. Self-care/fun: run x 3, find weights or Pilates class, read, journal, theatre trip Friday.

Susan

1. Get through at least 3 microfilms
2. Empty storage unit / stop paying for it!
3. Attend meetings
4. Start on office clearout
5. Visit with friends
6. Deal with any lingering admin stuff on the condo purchase
7. Try to get more sleep