Week 10: coping edition

Happy Almost December! Last week’s posts show this is definitely a tough time of year for many of us--whether grappling with winter health bugs, end of semester crunch, or family awkwardness. I am trying to focus on how incredible it will be to put my feet up, read a novel, and enjoy some time off with the idea that the only way to get to that place is to get through this one. Any coping mechanisms to share?

Allan Wilson: 1) eat chocolate on no more than 3 days.  2) finish next draft of whk paper, and sort out coding for the next wee bit of analysis that needs to be inserted into it, that he can do. 3) on site interview re funding proposal.

Amstr: 1) write 2x; 2) walk 3x (to counteract the pumpkin pie); 3) prep for the next three weeks: a) plan for healthy eating and exercise, b) plan for effective work, c) get the house in order.

Contingent Cassandra: 1) make a bit more fence progress; (2)make soup (and side dishes for family Thanksgiving feast); (3) maybe a bit of house-straightening/recycling/etc., and definitely some laundry; (4) deal with professional-association stuff; (5) make progress on grading backlog; (6) relax a bit on Friday.

Daisy: No check in.

Der Modell Wissenschaftler: No check in.

Earnest English: get my grading done. Also, I probably should limit my daydreaming.

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: No check in.

Good Enough Woman:  1) Maintain my equilibrium and patience with four extra people in my house for the holidays, several of whom are very ungracious guests. 2) Walk the dog at least twice (my standards are slipping). 3) Make sure all bills are paid. 4) Finish Christmas shopping for all recipients except for my kids. 5) Read at least 25 pages of primary source (I doubt this will happen, but I feel remiss not included *something* dissertation-related. 6) Each day, today thru Sunday, write down something for which I'm grateful.

humming42: 1) Serious TRQ grading. 2) Write abstract and submit tiny project. 3) Write/research 15 minutes a day.

Ivy: 1. last lot of fieldwork for the year and deal with all the samples in the fridge / drying oven 2. read through paper and send to postdoc advisor. 3. exercise - yoga and/or swimming

JaneB: Sleep - I had to cancel my last class and come home for a nap today, I just felt horrible - flu-y and feeble and sick - so that's ANOTHER thing I have to catch up on... and makes me think that perhaps I need to cancel that conference, just so I can have an extra couple of class days and to avoid the Germs.

KJHaxton: make a start on Christmas related stuff in the evenings/weekend or no one is getting gifts (or cards) this year :(

Matilda: 1) Finish the important article. 2) Work on the book and the book plan. 3) Write for 15 minutes or more a day. 4) Exercise for 5 minutes everyday.

Susan: Goals for the week ahead: try not to let this cold actually happen. (We can dream, right.) Finish tragedy 1, read 2 and 3. map out the relevant sections of the chapter. Since I'll be traveling, a lot of TLQ stuff is off the table, but I want to keep walking three or four days. Especially given the amount of eating we'll be doing. . .

Week 9: late but present

Thanks for the placeholder, JaneB! I am back from conference travel with a bunch of delays that thankfully were not that burdensome to me. More soon, but for now to sleep!

Allan Wilson: 1) eat chocolate on no more than 3 days. 2) try and finish writing draft of whk paper, even without the new clumped analysis. 3) prep slides for someone else's talks this coming week.

Amstr: Goals for the week: 1) write 4 hours; 2) exercise 3x; optional: read one diss chapter.

Contingent Cassandra: Goals for this week: (1) make further progress on fence if weather and schedule allow; (2) make soup; (3) deal with professional-association stuff (TRQ-ish at this point); (4) begin dealing with financial stuff

Daisy: 1) SEND off paper 1 with nth round of revisions to supervisor. 2) FINISH discussion and methods for paper 2 and start on revised introduction and lit review. 3) Back-up goal, any work on either paper would be a win...

Der Modell Wissenschaftler: No check in.

Earnest English: 1. A couple 30-minute sessions in preparation for November deadline. 2. Start shredding my newspaper and paper for the composter. 3. Grading. 4. Start collecting Thanksgiving fixings, like the turkey. 5. Take care of self, including food and sleep. 6. Be good professor. 7. Purchase relaxation yoga video.

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: 1) Finish first draft of article by Friday. 2) Write to my “known” referees to ask if they will write a letter if contacted. 3) Write or call my friends. Call my sister, who is recovering from thyroid cancer surgery. 4) Get more sleep, watch less television, and spend more time in conversation.

Good Enough Woman: No check in.

humming42: finish the paper, have good balance for conference, talk to an appropriate publisher’s rep.

Ivy: 1) survive and try to get some sleep! 2) finish experiment - colleagues have actually been surprisingly helpful here (for one of them helping me is a great form of procrastination!) 3) Two lots of 30 mins on Paper 2 and comments on former technician's paper

JaneB: 1) be kind to myself. Make time to NaNo or crochet, read something fun for half an hour, pet the cat - the world won't end if I do these things and turn up to class less than perfectly prepared. 2) brutal triage on what might get done before Christmas and when it might get done. 3) For this week, survival and TRQ have to take priority though.

KJHaxton: No check in.

Matilda: No check in.

Susan: As for next week, I have two days of interruption, between my bi-weekly trip to campus for a seminar, and there's a job candidate that day, and a day taking my mother and myself to doctor's appointments in nearby city. But I've mapped out where I'm going, and the two plays I have to read, so if I can read those plays, and write what I need to write about them, I'll be pleased. I want to walk four days, and go through the ginormous pile of solicitations from charities and organize my end of year donations.

Week 9 placeholder

Just sticking this up for anyone who has a burning need to report in, like, NOW!  Will check with Humming42 (who hopefully has not fallen prey to one of the nasty winter bugs that are around already) and one of us will post this week's goal list later on.

Thanks
Jane

Heading into Week 8

This seems to be about the halfway point check in for this particular incarnation of TLQ. It's a travel and conference week for me, along with end of semester crunch coming up soon...reflect and analysis below at will.

Goals from last week:

Allan Wilson: 1) exercise 5x - hopefully including two more challenging sessions at the gym or 5km. 2) complete at least one FS analysis. 3) do clumped rerun analysis on whk. 4) finish revisions on small paper. 5) prep for conference next week.

Amstr: 1) revise job letter and application, contact references; 2) re-read at least 2 chapters of diss; 3) exercise 3x; 4) write 2 hours/day, T-F

Contingent Cassandra: Goal for this week: continued progress on the garden, especially the fence and protecting plants for the winter (we're predicted to get an extended blast of unseasonably cold air later this week; in addition, garden plot inspections occur soon after 11/15, so I need to make visible progress on the fence, and get it to some sort of stopping point.)

Daisy: 1) SEND off paper 1 with nth round of revisions to supervisor. 2) FINISH discussion and methods for paper 2 and start on revised introduction and lit review.

Der Modell Wissenschaftler: No goals posted.

Earnest English: 1. Make Nov 15 deadline. 2. Gardening: plant the garlic bed, weather permitting? 3. Take care of self, especially food and sleep. 4. Be a good professor: get caught up and be prepared. 5. Try to get to yoga? 6. Meditate? 7. 30 min sessions?

Elizabeth Ann Mitchell: 1) Spend an hour a day filling holes and beefing up documentation. 2) 5 more hours on the dossier should get me close to done. 3) Add emotional self-care to the list.

Good Enough Woman: 1) Submit sabbatical proposal by Friday. 2) Read at least 50 pages of primary source. 3) Walk 3x with dog. 4) Order MIL's b-day present.

Ivy: No goals posted.

JaneB: do some work writing, enjoy NaNo, plan for a return to work next week (I had the last couple of days of this week planned as 'my time' anyway, so...)

KJHaxton: (1) Finish the current pile of TRQ early in the week to free up space later. (2) block out daily writing sessions to start working on a couple of papers (3) christmas crafts, eating, drinking etc - all of the 'self-care' and having fun items.

Matilda: 1) Finish the important article and work something to revise my book plan.  2) Write for at least 15 minutes every day. 3) Exercise for 5 minutes every day.

Susan: map out the chapter and what needs to be done; ILL any needed books; and start reading. Walk at least three days. Deal with one pile of paper.

Week 7

Hello all...I hope you’ve had a wonderful week. I wrapped up a semester-long faculty workgroup yesterday, and our group leader asked us in closing to think about and state something that we need going forward. What is one thing you need, and what might you be able to do in order to get it? [The question is deliberately vague & fuzzy.]

Goals from last week:

Allan Wilson: 1) Exercise 5x. 2) do FS analysis. 3) finish revising FS paper. 4) one day writing whk paper.

Amstr: 1) send job app to reviewer-friend; 2) more diss progress; 3) journal re: career 2x20min; 4) exercise 3x; 5) write 2 hours per day M-Th.

Contingent Cassandra: No check in.

Daisy: 1) Send off paper 1 with nth round of revisions to supervisor. 2) Redo discussion and methods for paper 2 as per discussions at cool conference.

Der Modell Wissenschaftler: 1) Submit chapter 2/paper 1 to coauthors. 2) Update committee with progress and if appropriate, request dates for defense. 3) Fast draft of paper 2.

Earnest English: No check in.

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: 1) Edit and polish the article--note loopholes and where the documentation is thin.

2) Work on the verdamte dossier--5 hours in the next week. 3) Continue self-care.

Good Enough Woman: 1) Walk 3x. 2) Finish draft of sabbatical proposal and send it to letter writers. 3) Read 50 pages of primary source text. 4) Find a way to take care of self or feel balanced in the face of a lot of social obligations this weekend.

humming42: No goals again.

Ivy: Same goals as last week: 1) more endless data analyses. 2) three lots of 30 mins on the Discussion of Paper 2. 3) Three lots of exercise. 4) something fun!

JaneB: 1) complete all the administrivia paperwork. 2) Go to bed before midnight every night. 3) don't pretend, inwardly or outwardly, to be capable of more than you are. 4) writing about research can be limited to reading other people's stuff, reviewing papers etc. (I currently have 2 of the former and three of the latter in the queue) - completing any one of these COUNTS. 5) Enjoy NaNoWriMo.

KJHaxton: (1) Make serious headway in TRQ stuff, no scope for TLQ at work this week, just got to get stuff done. (2) Start work on christmas crafts at home in evenings. I have a few plans for gifts but need to get started on them. (3) Eat properly, drink properly...get out into the fresh air each day...bah!

Matlida: 1) Revise the research theme of my book plan and write up the draft of that part. 2) Write for 15 minutes every day. 3) Exercise for 5 minutes every day.

Susan: No check in.

Week 6: Time changes

We've turned back the clocks in both the UK and the US, I believe. Even if you don't face the mechanical manipulation of official time, the days are getting shorter or longer, depending on where in the world you are. I'm wondering if the time change has any particular effect on you, and what season better matches your own rhythms. Are longer days more inspiring? Is it less distracting to tuck in and get work done when it's cold and rainy or snowy outside? Also of interest would be tips for managing time change. While I'm happy to have that fake "extra hour" today, I don't know what tomorrow will feel like when it will be dark when my afternoon class ends.

Here's the latest list of goals.

Allan Wilson: 1) write every day 2) exercise every day 3) do analysis for FS.

Amstr: 1) finish article and send in by Thursday night; 2) make some (any!) progress on dissertation reading.

Contingent Cassandra: (1) continue progress on garden, especially replacing fence; (2) continue work on food and sleep. [yes, I'm putting off the financial stuff and the formal exercise for now, in hopes that getting the garden to a stopping point will free up time and energy for other things]

Daisy: Traveling, no check in.

Der Modell Wissenschaftler: No check in.

Earnest English: 1. Continue gardening momentum. 2. Take care of self with good food and good sleep. Take mental discipline seriously. 3. Plan workshop early in the week instead of going crazy at the last minute. 4. Work in as much homeschooling as I can while I'm home several days this week. 5. Start work on getting Great Class proposed to the Curriculum Committee. 6. Do as many 30-minute sessions on Beloved Field as I can.

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: No check in.

Good Enough Woman: No check in.

humming42: 1) write for 15 minutes a day. 2) grade papers, tests, and assignments that have gone all TRQ for me. 3) decide whether to apply for the fellowship with urgent application deadline

Ivy: 1) more endless data analyses. These data are going to be tortured into revealing the meaning of life…  2) data collection! 3) three lots of 30 mins on the Discussion of Paper 2 - it's close, I could get it out the door by end Jan… (perhaps that should be my goal!)  4) Three lots of exercise - combination of swimming and yoga…  5) something fun!

JaneB: No check in.

KJHaxton: (1) prep for fun Hallow'een outreach and do the event on Friday afternoon (yay! slime! fancy dress!) (2) use what's left of the week to catch my breath and catch up on the general TRQ to-do list, (3) start planning my November thing - I think I'm going for NaBloPoMo, would love to do the NaNoWriMo but I don't think I'll hold it together - I need small chunks so a blog post a day will be good for me.

Matilda: 1) Plan a structure of the paper. 2) Revise the research theme of my book plan, and work on it. 3) Write at least 15 minutes every day. Exercise for 5 minutes every day. If I have some snacks, have healthier ones.

Susan: 1) finish this chapter, which should be possible -- I've got most of it written, and need to fix transitions, and write a couple of thousand words, but these are mostly things I have in an article I wrote last year. 2) finish my last report (a reader's report on a manuscript). 3) write a couple of letters.