2026 Session 1, Week 6

Since this is a short session, we're already halfway through it! Therefore I'm posting session goals as well as last week's goals (colo(u)r-coded to help find them in a long post) so we can think about whether it's time to get cracking on some items; face the need to jettison some; or realize that we have had to add some new goals. This seems like a good time also to remind ourselves of Julie's starting question about how we can practice kindness, to ourselves, to others, to our world. 

I am writing this with a cat on my lap; not sure if it counts as my being kind to the cat or her being kind to me, but it does seem to increase both of our happiness. 

As to this week's topic, here are some brief words from my man John McPhee: "Writing should be fun at least once in a pale blue moon." What might you do this week to make that pale blue moon rise?

Session goals:

Daisy

One new paper as first author... seriously, just one, I can surely do that???
Be effective and kind supervisor for two grads and two undergrads.
Do good job on massive important review committee.
Do something fun with friends once a week.
Exercise!!!!

Dame Eleanor Hull

*Research:
--abstract due end of this month for summer conference #2
--conference paper for April travel
--very overdue essay to finish ASAP (currently at 5005 words, so I have made progress during break)
--regular scholarly reading and language study, a process goal
*Teaching:
--read two PhD exams, consult with student as necessary
--plan out all class prep for the term and keep on top of it
*Personal:
--collect paperwork for taxes
--clean the garage and de-mousify it
--plan/organize travel for April trip and three others (two conferences, one purely fun)
--replace my ancient i-Pad
--In general, I'd like to do better at managing my time.

heu mihi

1) Finish messy, partial draft of article due in July (I'm teaching the book that it's about in April, so there's no sense in getting too far ahead of myself, since rereading it will be helpful)
2) Edit festschrift essays and draft at least part of the intro
3) Maintain exercise
4) Creative writing: average 2x/week, however drafty and silly it may be
5) Add occasional meditation to my weeks
6) Languages: Read one Italian novel; work on Latin and/or Old English
7) 3+ good habits a day*

JaneB

SELF-CARE: all process goals, for three term time months:
a) intentional movement for at least 20 minutes three days a week or 15 for four days a week (this can be stretching or more active exercising, but it needs to be intentional and additional to just "doing life"),
b) some kind of making (art or craft) a couple of times a week,
c) doing something gently social (playing D&D online counts, or a multi-text exchange with a non-work friend, or spending time on a forum a couple times a week
d) keep up reading for pleasure and read at least one non-fiction book
IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT: goals carried over!
a) keep doing the weekly list of chores - aiming for 75% done every week to be realistic.
b) sort out new shelving in my living space - and maybe a sofa
c) clothes storage solutions (currently all my actually-in-the-rotation clothes are either in the laundry basket, on the airer, or piled on a chair or in the clean undies basket. This is not ideal).
d) plus pay more attention to my finances. Not quite sure what that will look like, but it got dropped last trimester, and I need to be less careless!
TEACHING AND ADMIN: This is a lighter semester, but the first month is full of grading from the first semester whilst preparing for the second's teaching. Process goals here for the session because the session doesn't line up with our academic calendar (which is a mess...).
a) end each work week (Thursday) with everything set up ready to go for the following week and, if possible, have a solid start on the week after that.
b) limit working on teaching and admin issues over the weekend (let's say no more than 5 hours) and if possible ZERO
RESEARCH
I have a lot of balls in the air, but for this session I do have some very concrete goals, very different for me!
a) revise and resubmit two papers by due dates in early April (one I'm a minor author on, one I'm leading)
b) be on top of contributions to large project where I have a small part - by the end of the session I would like a clear plan for the little part of the project where I am the leading expert.
c) complete and submit a first-stage grant application
d) keep up with all the other pieces of research and writing as things come in and go out (they're all collaborative, so what happens when isn't entirely in my control).
c) make measurable progress with at least three other writing/data processing projects (I'll make a list now of what I'm working on)

Julie

1. Research/writing:
(i) Big article, which I am hoping to send to a top journal. Plan is to have a full draft I can present at a seminar at the end of April.
(ii) Chapter for a local history: I have a 15,000 word draft, and the editor likes it, but wants it to be twice as long (!) to fit with other chapters, so I need to pad it out. (IMO this is ridiculous, but I am committed now. And I will be paid for this.) Due April
(iii) Review article for anniversary edition of a journal, due 1st April.
(iv) Grant application: start the process.
Teaching
(i) Preparation for new first-year teaching next year (we are redesigning our curriculum, so I have to participate in this): keep to the bare minimum.
(ii) PhD corrections for final PhD student.
Other academic stuff:
(i) Organising committee for big anniversary conference in April.
3. Life admin/house stuff
(i) Plan big summer trip to celebrate significant birthdays (the actual trip will be self-care/fun, the planning is too stressful to be).
(ii) Finances: tax return, but also some big decisions to make
(iii) Small to medium jobs: decluttering, new lamps, get pictures framed and hung, get a standing desk and new chair for study, new chair for spare room (for reading in the morning sun), touch up paintwork in various rooms.
Kids:
(i) Ongoing parenting stuff, plus school work, final-year assignments, daughter's driving test.
Self-care/fun:
(i) Meet-ups with friends, especially around significant birthdays.
(ii) Reading for pleasure
(iii) Journaling
(iv) Do more creative stuff.
(v) Exercise

Susan

Research: minimal.
Famous Author: On Sunday night at 8 PM I submitted the corrected proofs and index for Famous Author, which will be published in March. There are going to be events and publicity stuff around this. But it's DONE. (It also means I had a minimal break and no relaxation over the holidays, which is not good.)
Rest of my life project: I have microfilms in the library and I need to scan them. I have two now, and I'll get the rest. It's something I can do during the semester, without worrying about reading everything or doing anything with it.
Other: My department is planning a small conference in honor of my retirement, but since the person who would have done all the work is now dealing with a mother who has terminal cancer, I'll probably do most of the planning.

Teaching: I am inventing a new course, mostly because I wanted to teach stuff that is relevant, so I'm mushing together parts of two different courses that I think speak to our current moment. The title is stolen from the American Historical Association's tagline, "Everything has a history". I want to do a good job, stretch myself and my students, but not kill myself. Classes start next week.

Admin: I'm chair of our graduate program, and budget cuts etc make life challenging. I also need to identify someone to take over. Or maybe I don't. But I'd like someone good (i.e. both efficient and kind) to do it.

Life: The plan is to sell my house and move at the end of the semester. So I need to do SIGNIFICANT decluttering, getting rid of academic books that supported teaching I won't do again, books I won't read, etc. It's a lot.

Last week’s goals:

Daisy

All trip accounting for lab work and conference
Read and edit student chapters

Dame Eleanor Hull

--1/2 hour writing/research on each of 3 days
--prep for 2 meetings
--prep for guest class
--prep for future class activity that has to be started way in advance
--prep for language groups
--first round of grading
--track down missing ILL book or institute library search
--gym at least 3x, yoga at least 4x
--remember to look at calendar/lists every day

JaneB

SELF-CARE: all process goals, for three term time months:
a) intentional movement 20x3 or 15x4
b) some kind of making (art or craft) x2
c) something gently social x2
d) read at least one chapter (of fiction) every day this week other than re-reading bits of Queen Demon
IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT: goals carried over!
a) 75% of weekly list of chores
b) make a sketch for the new idea for the shelving in living space
c) reschedule decluttering person session.
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) deliver week 3 of teaching, chase up the last few students I need to meet with (or raise Welfare Concerns)
b) prepare class materials for fifth week of teaching, with updating
RESEARCH. This all feels very repetitive but I AM making small bits of progress each week, not just listing-and-ignoring!
a) work on the larger outline grant application
b) analyse results and start another set of models running
c) read and comment on second draft of paper from Unexpected Collaborator

heu mihi (held over)

1. Finish program
2. At least one more LOR
3. Clean house for Dad's visit
4. Prepare newsletter
5. Send program highlights to chair
6. Italian & exercise

Julie

1. Research/writing - one day on each project, fourth day wait and see which needs the attention.
2. Meetings and department seminar.
3. House/life admin: travel planning, financial stuff, return library book, decluttering.
4. Self-care/fun: exercise, reading, Netflix, journal, cook a new recipe.

Susan

1. Figure out conference stuff - hand it off to colleague
2. FInish reading book for review
3. Update syllabus
4. Multiple little admin things
5. Keep plugging away at clutter: office, room of doom
6. Keep up with exercise, figuring out what I can and can't do.
7. Have some fun

2026 Session 1, Week 5

 

It continues to be grey and dismal here, only brief glimpses of winter sun. But the crocuses are starting to come through. In case anyone else needs a bit of colour, here is a photo of a hyacinth I bought myself a couple of weeks ago, photographed at its peak which is sadly now gone. But while it lasted, the scent was like a hug every time I walked upstairs.

This week's prompt is from Hattie Crisell again: what can language do? Her writers mostly discuss fiction e.g. making dialogue work, humour, but I think for all of us there is joy involved in getting the words right and knowing they are right. Crisell herself describes how one of the lessons she learned from her academic father was that clear writing is good manners. My (also academic) father told me exactly the same: if you want people to read what you write, it's a courtesy to make that easy. But there are many ways of making a message clear to the reader. What kinds of language do you use? Are you in a discipline where diagrams, graphs, tables, maps, maybe images do as much work as words? Do you use metaphors and analogies, or do you keep it direct?

Alternatively, what sort of language sets your teeth on edge? John Rentoul, a British journalist featured in In Writing has a long list of usages by journalists he thinks are lazy or ugly: 'upcoming' instead of 'forthcoming', 'ongoing' instead of 'continuing'. What student (or other people's) mistakes or clumsy phrases most annoy you?

Last week's goals:

Dame Eleanor

--1/2 hour writing/research on each of 3 days
--prep for 2 meetings
--prep for guest class
--prep for future class activity that has to be started way in advance
--track down missing ILL book or institute library search
--gym at least 3x, yoga at least 4x
--pick up cat meds
--remember to look at calendar/lists every day

Susan

1. Fill in gaps in syllabus
2. Letter for grad student that is due
3. Pile of minor admin stuff
4. Keep up with teaching stuff
5. Send out emails re conference; book spaces
6. Finish Room of Doom
7. Do three more journals
8. Start sorting books -- 1 bookcase
9. Keep up with exercise/ PT stuff
10. Do SOMETHING fun.

JaneB

SELF-CARE: all process goals, for three term time months:
a) intentional movement 20x3 or 15x4
b) some kind of making (art or craft) x2 including a birthday card for my Dad
c) something gently social x2 - yay, a new D&D game starting this week! Hopefully!
d) read at least one chapter (of fiction) every day this week other than re-reading bits of Queen Demon
IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT: goals carried over!
a) 75% of weekly list of chores
b) make a sketch for the new idea for the shelving in living space
c) reschedule decluttering person session.
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) deliver week 2 of teaching, email all the students who haven't replied to requests to make appointments
b) prepare class materials for fourth week of teaching, with updating
RESEARCH
a) work on teaching related grant application
b) analyse results and start another set of models running
c) read and comment on full draft of paper from not-my-grad-student

Daisy

Finish student presentations and help them practice
Finish committee review meetings and all related paperwork
Gather up little bits of mind from puddles into which it has melted
Do something healthy
Enjoy conference!!

Heu mihi

1. Finish program
2. At least one more LOR
3. Clean house for Dad's visit
4. Prepare newsletter
5. Send program highlights to chair
6. Italian & exercise

2026 Session 1, week 4

Here we are in February! Bye, January, don't let the door hit you on your way out. 

I'm going to take this week's quote and theme from John McPhee, whose essays about writing have been collected and published as Draft No. 4. (I admit I'd be delighted if I ever limited myself to four drafts of any serious piece of writing.) Structure is always hard for me, and I envy scientists and social scientists who have field-driven standard structures to work with. McPhee presents and discusses various visualizations of the structure of essays he has written: a spiral, a circle, a set of ovals hanging from a through-line, two sets of ovals/images arranged as two sides of a triangle, the lines converging. And then he says this:

Readers are not supposed to notice the structure. It is meant to be about as visible as someone's bones. And I hope this structure illustrates what I take to be a basic criterion for all structures: They should not be imposed upong the material. They should arise from within it. That perfect circle was a help to me, but it could be a liability for anyone trying to impose such a thing on just any set of facts. A structure is not a cookie cutter. . . . A piece of writing has to start somewhere, go somewhere, and sit down when it gets there. (34)

I will note that although bones are not visible, we would certainly notice if they were missing. But I like the idea that writing has to 'sit down when it gets there' rather than, say, hitting the reader over the head with the main idea.

And presumably even the scientists find that a structure is not a cookie cutter, that 'methods' and 'discussion' sections do not write themselves (that's a fantasy of the humanities, I expect). 

So if you feel like discussing your experiences with structure--developed or imposed, internal or external, diagrammable or just sensed--have at it in the comments. Also, of course, let us know how you did last week and what your goals are for this beginning of February.

Daisy

Help students to get presentations ready
Do mountain of committee reviews
Don’t lose mind
Do something healthy

Dame Eleanor Hull

--2 hours writing/research on each of 3 days
--abstract for August conference
--meet with TAs
--edit & submit teaching report for annual review
--add time estimates to list of class prep items
--prep for my classes (restrict to teaching days as much as possible!)
--process grad applications (10-ish, now)
--3 hours on garage
--remember to look at calendar/lists every day
--order book for Greek group

heu mihi

1. Read student's exam prep documents and give feedback
2. Get as much as possible done on the program for the big conference we're hosting in March
3. Read ahead for class
4. Read a few essays and decide whether to assign them or not
5. Make one more little box for a flash drive
6. Admin stuff: Finish reviewing grad students' syllabi, review grad applicants' files for Friday interviews, prep for undergrad meetings, any number of other little things as they arise

JaneB

SELF-CARE: all process goals, for three term time months:
a) intentional movement 20x3 or 15x4
b) some kind of making (art or craft) x2
c) something gently social x2
d) read at least one chapter (of fiction) every day this week
IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT: goals carried over!
a) 75% of weekly list of chores
b) make a sketch for the new idea for the shelving in living space
c) decluttering person will hopefully come, and we will Tackle The Kitchen Cupboards...
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) deliver week 1 of teaching
b) prepare class materials for third week of teaching, with or without revision
RESEARCH
a) work on grant application
b) set second set of models running at end of week

Julie

1. Work on Big Article: try to figure out structure and start organising material.
2. Add new section to local history article.
3. One day on review article.
4. House/life admin: son's birthday, brother's birthday, more financial stuff, decluttering, pay for school trip, tidy desk.
5. Self-care/fun: video call with friends, read, journal, Netflix, exercise, do something creative.

Susan

1. Finish microfilm
2. Organize things with guest
3. Do reading for workshop (precirculated papers are great, until they are not!)
4. Get a little bit ahead on teaching.
5. Work on organizing conference
6. Hang out with friends
7. Keep up with exercise/ PT
8. Limit social media for mental health

2026 Session 1, Week 3

Hope everyone had a good week, and that those in the US are not affected by the storms. Here in the UK it is dismal, but nothing out of the ordinary for January.

This week's writing prompt, from In Writing, is: where do ideas come from? How do you choose what to research and write about? And how and when do you know if an idea will bear fruit? I'm curious to see how that works in different disciplines. Is is about, in the words of one of Hattie Crisell's interviewees, about 'connecting two disparate things'? Is it about accidentally stumbling on something - in an archive, in a text, an unexpected result of an experiment?

Last week's goals

Dame Eleanor

--2 hours writing/research on each of 3 days
--meet with TAs
--tackle teaching report for annual review
--add time estimates to list of class prep items
--prep for my class and for a guest class
--write one letter of recommendation; advise on another student's statement of purpose
--process grad applications (6?) and read PhD exam essays
--3 hours on garage
--remember to look at calendar/lists every day

Julie

1. Finish finding examples for Big Article (2 days, but working around meetings).
2. Start on review article (1 day).
3. Work on local history chapter (1 day).
4. Chase mentee.
5. House/life admin: tax return, other financial stuff if time, more summer trip planning, four January birthdays, decluttering if time.
6. Self-care/fun: read, exercise, journal, maybe plant bulbs at weekend, text friend.

Heu mihi

1. Read over essay and figure out next steps
2. Schedule a couple of meetings with student groups
3. Work out goals and plans for the coming semester/year
4. Sit some amount
5. Read a dissertation chapter (two, if I really get into it)
6. 35 pages of Italian

Susan

1. Finish and post the syllabus
2. Survive the start of classes chaos week
3. Letter of recommendation
4. Send notes to students I will interview for admission to my undergrad alma mater
5. Send various emails
6. House: Deal with the Room of Doom
7. Select upholstery fabric for chair (still dithering)
8. Do fun things
9. Continue not looking at my iPad before bed, and reading instead.
10. Keep up with exercise, physical therapy

JaneB

SELF-CARE: all process goals, for three term time months:
a) intentional movement 20x3 or 15x4
b) some kind of making (art or craft) x2
c) something gently social x2
d) read at least one chapter (of fiction) every day this week
IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT: goals carried over!
a) 75% of weekly list of chores
b) make a sketch for the new idea for the shelving in living space
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) finish third year grading and mark bits with extensions
b) prepare class materials for second week of teaching - some fairly substantial revision needed this year
RESEARCH
a) lead meeting, write up plan, for lead author paper
b) chase up emails sent out before Christmas for grant application
c) read and reply to email from Unexpected Collaborator

2026 Session 1, Week 2

Welcome back! I hope last week went well for you. This week's quote and question are about finding people to read your work, beginning with these words from Ann Lamott's classic Bird By Bird.

"Whenever I'm giving a lecture at a writing conference and happen to mention the benefits of finding someone to read your drafts, at least one older established writer comes up to me and says that he or she would never in a million years show his or her work to another person before it was done. It is not a good idea, and I must stop telling my students that it will help them. I just smile, geisha-like, and make little fluttery sounds of understanding. Then I go on telling people to consider finding someone who would not mind reading their drafts and marking them up with useful suggestions. The person may not have an answer to what is missing or annoying about the piece, but writing is so often about making mistakes and feeling lost" (162-3). 

Maybe you have someone who reads your work; maybe you have a writing group in which you exchange short or long bits of writing; maybe you have one or more people who get together for writing dates (I believe this is now called Body Doubling, and you can watch videos of people working if you don't have a real person to study/write/whatever with). What is your experience with such readers or working groups? If you have one, how did you find or create it? If they don't work for you, why not?

And then let us know how you did with your goals, and what you're going to attempt this week!

(I'm wondering if Daisy is Overcome By Events, but I hope you'll be back! Anyone else who wants to join in is welcome; we don't have a set number of spaces and would be happy to have you join. Since it's a short session this time, maybe this would be a good chance to try us out knowing it's only for another 10 weeks . . .)

Last week's goals:

Dame Eleanor Hull:

--2 hours writing/research on each of 3 days
--Latin prep for Friday's group meeting
--meet with TA's
--meet with other faculty
--tackle teaching report for annual review
--put together that list of class prep items, with time estimates
--3 hours on garage
--remember book group meeting
--remember to look at calendar/lists every day

 Heu Mihi:

1) Finish syllabus and ViLE page
2) Get to 5500 words of messy draft of essay; read over it to see where I am, figure out next steps
3) Creative writing x 1
4) Finish knitting sweater for friend's new baby
5) 35 pp. of Italian
6) LoR for former student
7) Sit some amount
8) Finish book for festschrift intro

JaneB:

SELF-CARE: all process goals, for three term time months:
a) intentional movement 20x3 or 15x4
b) some kind of making (art or craft) x2
c) something gently social x2
d) read at least one chapter (of fiction) every day this week
IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT: goals carried over!
a) 75% of weekly list of chores
b) make an appointment with declutterer
c) make a plan for the shelving in living space
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) finish second year grading and start first year grading
b) set up ViLE for module that starts late February
c) schedule and complete appraisal meetings (it's a "cascaded duty" which makes it rather pointless - but I have to appraise three juniot colleagues this week)
d) prepare lectures for first week of teaching
RESEARCH
a) read over referees comments and suggested responses for minor author paper
b) schedule a meeting to discuss plan for lead author paper
c) read papers in advance of meeting for Large Funded Project
d) read and reply to email from Unexpected Collaborator
e) make a list of all the projects that might need attention this session!

Julie:

1. Research: go through notes and archive photos to find examples for Big Article
2. Writing: new, longer introduction to local history chapter.
3. House/life admin: return library books, do some research for summer trip, pay in a cheque, do some decluttering, organise for weekend away.
4. Self-care/fun: text friend, read, exercise (find a weights class?), weekend away with family.

Susan:

1. Finish syllabus for new course, post on LMS
2. Create budget for conference
3. Revise letter of reference for student for the perfect job
4. Pack up two boxes of books for second hand bookstore, and two for the "book sale/giveaway" I'm doing on campus.
5. Keep up with exercise and physical therapy exercise.
6. See people and be nice to them.
7. Have some fun

 

2026 Session 1, Week 1

Welcome to the first session of 2026! Dame Eleanor and I will be co-hosts. The session will run through until Easter, as both of us are away some of April, so the last session would be 29th March. That makes this a shorter session than usual, only 12 weeks, so if people want to continue some informal goal setting over April, particularly people in the US whose teaching might not align with these dates, feel free.

As usual, this first week will be for setting session goals, introductions if anyone new joins (all welcome!) and first week goals. Normally, prompts will be related to writing: a mixture of quotations from real and fictional writers, and questions taken from Hattie Crisell's book In Writing, based on her podcast of the same name of interviews with writers about their practices. (If anyone is interested, I'd recommend the podcast over the book.)

For this first week, however, I wanted to use Susan's New Year post about kindness, because that seems such a good way to start what is already proving to be a tough 2026. I particularly liked the point that kindness is within our control. So how can we be kind in 2026? This could be to ourselves, to others or both.

I have no equivalent of a Shoutypants to entertain you all with each week, but have a photo of New Year's Day sunrise over the river, taken on my way to park run. May there be light for all of us these next few months.

Happy New Year!

 Last year was a hard year for many in higher education globally, so I thought it would be nice to welcome the new year with hopes for kindness in the year ahead.  

And as with all intersession posts, feel free to post resolutions/hopes/goals/intentions, report on events, or just say hello!  

My slightly wonky tree, providing light on a rainy day, when I'm sitting and working on my index.