When I’m feeling like I’m not getting a lot accomplished, or when I’m putting aside work I really need to be doing, I most often need a SAG--a Small Achievable Goal. What is one thing I can do that will move me forward on Project X? What’s the next step on Paper ZZZ? What one task can get me jump-started into my 90-minute writing session?
So this week, as you think of your goals, think about specific small tasks that can move your larger projects forward.
Have you thought in terms of SAGs in the past? Has it been helpful? What’s one SAG that can help you this week?
Allan Wilson:
to ENJOY the task that I have to spend next week on, and go at it with gusto (thanks to a conversation with a colleague this morning, who tells me this is how he copes with being too busy); and to plan a series of papers on the topic I love but is completely outside all my work plans.
Amstr:
1) exercise 4x
2) eat well (according to "plan" I've established)
3) reasonable bedtimes
4) four 90-minute writing sessions
5) prep for weekend conference (practice pitches; review faculty bios; schedule stuff)
Contingent Cassandra:
1)sleep, eat well, maybe exercise a bit, and generally try to keep the cold from taking hold.
2) do a lot of grading for all classes (with the goal of not doing any, or at least much, grading over spring break).
3) make sure I've got reservations, registrations, reimbursement forms, readings, etc. in place for both upcoming trips.
Daisy:
Earnest English:
Elizabeth Ann Mitchell: (from week 7)
1) Write 100 words a day
2) Space planning for home office. The current arrangement is not working
3) Personal time. I do not protect down time for myself either at work or at home
Good Enough Woman:
1) Read two articles and one primary source novella
2) evaluate structures of chapters one and two
3) Send follow-up email to supervisor about timelines
4) Exercise 3x
5) help son with Minecraft account problems (I've been promising to do this for a while) and prep daughter for next presentation
6) play son's homemade game with him
Humming42:
1) Finish and submit past due article
2) Finish and send proposal to friend for feedback
3) Write at least three days
JaneB:
1) five minuteses 2) planning of many things. Taking time to think about what I REALLY want out of my 'study leave', seeing if I can possibly fit in a long weekend off (other than through being ill!) in the next couple of months, making lists and then RUTHLESSLY PRUNING THEM. 3) three sessions on Crunchier.
Kjhaxton:
1) finish up the marking and stray bits of paperwork from early semester tasks
2) send email about possible article I could write
3) plan publication/presentation around small aspect of current teaching so that I can put an evaluation plan in place to get a good paper
4) make figures for the paper
Matilda: (from week 7)
1) Week 5-2 of Belcher's book.
2) Continue to read the important book.
3) Finish the introductory part of the review article.
4) Exercise for 7 minutes everyday. Do a short exercise in the morning.
5) Be tolerant of snacks, but try to have healthier one.
Susan:
1. Finish the chapter
2. Prepare for the conference
3. Enjoy the conference
4. At least one more session weeding
5. Keep up on the house
6. Keep walking or exercising in some way daily.
Hello everyone
ReplyDeleteI was just catching up with comments from the last few weeks and being impressed with all the work that people have done - congratulations! It is funny, the progress for everyone is really noticeable after a few weeks away, sort of like kids grow when you go away!
Back after a speaking tour, two weeks of travel for lab work, major domestic upheaval, two nasty colds and a ridiculous number of snow days for the kid.
And I actually did get a goal accomplished - Paper A is revised from the ground up, shortened by 30%, new figures, so done and sent off to co-author with a terribly diplomatic message along the lines of please don't take 6 months to read 20 pages like last time :)
Next week's goal:
Paper B, complete the new draft.
Keep up the running habit I have started again.
Small achievable goals:
Running is my favourite achievable goal. I signed up for a race so I really need to keep up with the running! And with current stress levels the only thing keeping me sane is my morning runs. I finally realized that the only time to do it is 5:30 in the mornings, otherwise it does not happen. So doing that every day is my small achievable goal because I know I've done it before and can do it again. It makes the entire world better :) Corny, but true for me.
For work stuff I use a list of little tasks that can be done quickly, it helps to have an immediately accessible list of things that can help a project but does not have to take long. Then I don't waste as much time thinking of what to do, I can just pick something off the list and go.
Congratulations -- both on completing your speaking tour, and the paper revision. And it's interesting that a SAG is one you've done before. . . just knowing we can do it does help.
DeleteCongrats on all your progress! And thanks for helping the rest of us see our progress over the last few weeks.
DeleteI love the idea of SAGs! I haven’t done a good job of breaking things down into small goals and setting microdeadlines in quite awhile. It will be very helpful to do so, once I figure out where. I started keeping a bullet journal this year, but have ended up with a portable to do list, and that is not what I want it to be. I am looking for ways to better manage the division of life components (writing, grading, personal, domestic) and to set priorities on paper. I remember reading that someone in this group color codes their lists, which I am interested in trying because there should be some aesthetic pleasure in all of that calendaring and planning.
ReplyDeleteI have finally had a more productive week with the three-week agenda:
1) Finish and submit past due article: yes.
2) Finish and send proposal to friend for feedback: working on it.
3) Write at least three days: yes.
I am taking a long spring break trip with students, so my next check in will be in two weeks. Although I have no idea how much time I’ll have, I do want to set some goals:
1 Make progress on proposal #1
2 Draft proposal #2
3 Look for content for conference paper
I colour code my weekly lists, and I find it really helpful for prioritizing. It helps me see what is really important, and prevents me from using pleasant but non-urgent tasks as displacement activities when I have other stuff I don't want to do :)
DeleteVarying the colours of the chosen categories is amusing too.
Congratulations on finishing your paper, and making progress on your proposal.
DeleteAnd good luck on your travel with students! I hope it's fun!
Congratulations on reaching (mastering? conquering?) those goals! I hope the travel goes well.
DeleteIf it wasn't for SAGs I'd never get ANYTHIng done. Making the barrier to starting/continuing/ticking off the first list item as low as possible is the best antidote to the sort of perfectionist self-blocking I can be prone to...
ReplyDeleteI also colour code my lists and listy blog posts, my diary, my folders, my emails, my samples and microscope slides, even my post-its, and have done for years! It helps with checking you're keeping some sort of balance, it helps by cutting down the number of things you're searching for (if I need a teaching document, I need only check the blue folders and the blue 'stuff to file' box), it lets you buy new stationary. What's not to like?
goals: 1) five minuteses 2) planning of many things. Taking time to think about what I REALLY want out of my 'study leave', seeing if I can possibly fit in a long weekend off (other than through being ill!) in the next couple of months, making lists and then RUTHLESSLY PRUNING THEM. 3) three sessions on Crunchier.
achieved: I was off ill most of the week, so not so great - 2 or 3 days on each 5 minuteses, no lists on actual paper, but I have reached a point with Crunchier where I am sending it to my co-authors! Yay! It's not submittable-state, but it's completely reshaped, so let's see what they think before I put in any more work...
That must feel great to get Crunchier off to your co-authors, in spite of being sick. And your colour coding is very good. I've read about this in organization things but have never carried it out. . .
Deletecongratulations on getting Crunchier off to your co-authors! I feel as though I have been following Crunchier's progress, growing up, for quite a while- so this is awesome. Good on you! AW
DeleteAnother congratulations on sending off Crunchier; it must feel good to have gotten it to even an intermediate stage.
DeleteYes! So glad you have Crunchier off your plate for a while. It sounds like a great idea to leave it off for the month.
DeleteDo you have goals for this week?
This week is something of a 'survive' week - after being off last week I have quite a few non-fun, non-research things to do at work and I'm still not 100%, plus a family get together at the weekend which will be fun in retrospect, I hope, but which I'm trying not to think about too much because it's setting off all my stress triggers! Too many people who like to be in charge in one place... So I'll be reporting in late next week, Monday or Tuesday, hopefully having had fun. Hopefully!
DeleteGoals for the week: 3 days of 5 minutses (I'm letting myself off for the long weekend!), make some rough notes towards a plan/list, and reaquaint myself with the paper 'Repeater' (which is about repeating analyses under different conditions, and is rather minor, but I hope useful and I seem to recall rather close to being ready to go back out to my co-authors following the first round of revisions...)
So I'm TERRIBLE at Small Achievable Goals. I don't multi-task particularly well, nor do I do well with short blocks of time. And I rarely think about my writing as "this paragraph" or some such. Sometimes it is a section, but. . . I come closest with grading, when I will sometimes say, I have an hour, that's four papers. My attempts to structure life generally fall flat. I've tried sometimes, but with varied success. The one I have done best on is the clutter control: I have not reduced much more clutter, but I've prevented its emergence, which takes some time (5 minutes) every day. (Alas, the next big battle against clutter takes a bit more time, so that's on hold.)
ReplyDeleteGoals from last week:
1. Finish the chapter - NO
2. Prepare for the conference - YES
3. Enjoy the conference - YES
4. At least one more session weeding -YES
5. Keep up on the house _YES
6. Keep walking or exercising in some way daily.NOT REALLY
I *did* completely reorganize the chapter, which was a major accomplishment, and wrote a significant new chunk. But that was it. I had a day on campus, and lots of TRQ stuff while I was there; and my travel day was really a travel day. There are 2-3 days writing left, and I really MUST get it done because of other things coming down the pike. The exercise has been the weak link -- I know that it works best when I exercise in the morning, and that's been pretty good. But if I don't, then, well, I don't.
Goals for next week:
1. Finish the chapter
2. Begin paper for invited workshop
3. Work on grant proposal
4. Do major gardening task
5. Keep up with paper in house. (This is perpetual, but I feel so good about NOT having a large pile of paper in the kitchen that I want to keep it that way!)
6. Some exercise daily.
I'm relieved to see someone else say that SAGs don't entirely work for them. While I do find it helpful to break projects down into more manageable chunks, and find small initial chunks useful for breaking down inertia at the beginning of a project, I generally find working on a project for only a short time frustrating and/or anxiety-provoking (so, Jane's five-minuteses, which are clearly working very well for her, would probably be counterproductive for me; I'd feel that I was just getting into the project, and my brain would just be beginning to think through all its various parts and ramifications and how they fit together, and I'd have to stop, but all that stuff would still be floating around in my head, taking up attention that needed to be devoted to the next thing. So, yes, for me, too, it's a multi-tasking/attention-switching issue). I think the one exception would be if I'd worked out the math, and knew that doing something for 5-10 minutes a day really would result in my finishing the overall task in the time available. But I'd still probably be happier completing it in 2-3 hour chunks if at all possible.
DeleteMy exception, too, is grading (at least grading of familiar assignments, where I know what I'm looking for), and also the fairly mechanical aspects of prep work (I do a lot of hybrid and online classes, and a lot of group work on online discussion boards, so updating/adapting/posting prompts is a pretty common activity). But that works only because I write out teaching to-dos for a half or whole semester in an outline-style to-do manager (which means that I can see them all at once in one view, but/and also view just what's due, or nearly due, on a particular day, which is the view I use most often). Since teaching (familiar classes, at least, which is most of my load) is an activity I know well, and since I write very detailed course calendars, I can pretty confidently list everything that needs to be done, and when, and trust that as long as I follow my own instructions there won't be any surprises. Less-familiar projects (which is pretty much all of them) are harder, and it's more likely that trying to do a small piece will send my brain into overall-picture/planning mode, from which it does not quickly or easily escape.
I think using SAGs to get into a project is a perfect use for them. And they really are only useful if they help you in some way.
DeleteCongrats on good progress and the chapter reorg. That can be such painstaking work. Best of luck in finishing the chapter this week!
I do sympathise the downside that SAGs will not stay small - in fact, that's mostly why SAGs are useful for me, because they overcome the barrier to starting, and once I start it's usually good that they grow, because more of the task gets done...
DeleteMany aspects of teaching (preparing handouts and materials, VLE stuff, grading) and housework/self-care lend themselves well to being broken into tiny 'just do one' type tasks, but I find it much harder to reel in research like that... which is great when research is going well, but when it isn't,. or all the other stuff comes around to hang out and nag at me, or TRQ is breathing down my neck, or I'm not very well, then I find SAGs - especially tedious ones like tidying up a table, formatting references for yet another journal which claims to follow a standard style but doesn't, looking up reading material, recalculating things - help shut down the panic/denial/no time reaction cycle!
Fortunately my hyperfocus typically only lasts 1-2 hours, so even if I do get sucked in, I then get spat out usually with enough time to do the TRQ as well...
Allan Wilson:
ReplyDeleteMy goals last week were to ENJOY the task that I have to spend next week on, and go at it with gusto (thanks to a conversation with a colleague this morning, who tells me this is how he copes with being too busy); and to plan a series of papers on the topic I love but is completely outside all my work plans.
I succeeded in enjoying my work much more this week- so that was a winner of a goal! I think without that helpful advice I would still be stuck in my panic. So, I managed to do work I was required to do with a lot more grace and enjoyment, and to complete revising a LQ paper for the final final time for the editor (now accepted), and I have even started revising the next paper which needs a lot of rewriting before submission.
So, my goal this week is to get paper CR rewritten and back to my co-author, again with enjoyment. And stay up to date with my RQ work. (I am still avoiding finishing paper FS, but I am going to leave that this week- I don't think I can cope with the stress of it yet, so I am going for another slightly simpler piece of work first).
I definitely use achievable micro-goals when I get stuck, usually when I am starting something and full of negativity- I find that once I start, and feel a small amount of achievement, I am ok. Often for me, its just the thought of EVERYTHING that is so overwhelming. So, small breakable chunks totally works.
allan wilson
Congrats on enjoying work this week! And congrats on article acceptance! How we feel about our work can make such a difference in progress and general life satisfaction.
DeleteTopic: I ended up replying to Susan, above, with my thoughts. The short version is that I do think SAGs can be useful, but I have to be careful with them, since, for me, doing anything on a project (unless it's already familiar and well-planned) tends to send me into full-on planning mode for the whole project. That's great if the point is to get myself started on the project, and I have time to do so, not so great if the goal really was to do just a bit on that project, then turn to other work.
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals:
1)sleep, eat well, maybe exercise a bit, and generally try to keep the cold from taking hold.
2) do a lot of grading for all classes (with the goal of not doing any, or at least much, grading over spring break).
3) make sure I've got reservations, registrations, reimbursement forms, readings, etc. in place for both upcoming trips.
1) Pretty good. The cold faded without ever really getting that bad, I've been doing decently with food and sleep, and we had a really pretty snowstorm just at the beginning of our spring break, and I took two lovely long walks in it (I'm ready for spring, but have been south of most of the snow this winter, so one "real," but manageable, snowstorm was nice).
2) Probably did the worst on this (though I did get some very basic grading done), so I will be grading over spring break. I do have a clear sense of what I need to do and when (and suspect that the basic grading will be enough to satisfy students for a while, so there's that).
3) Mostly done. I still need to do the registration for a conference (for which I could also do onsite, I'm pretty sure), and gather some readings, and perhaps reconsider train vs. car transportation.
As I've mentioned before, this coming week is spring break, and I'm also traveling to a conference. So goals are modest:
1) Continue work on self-care, especially exercise (also sleep & eating well).
2) Keep on top of grading, especially for DH class, and being reflecting on/publicizing preliminary results of student projects.
3) Conference prep (registration, readings, travel, general logistics/planning to make the most of two upcoming combined conference/research trips).
4) (Possible SAG, with caveats above) make incremental progress on household/financial projects (these really should be tackleable through SAGs, but in practice seem to be subject to all the issues above -- mostly, once I start, I don't stop, and something else, often something a bit more TRQ-ish, doesn't get done when it needs to).
It's good to know your own work tendencies--if SAGs bring you down, then jettison them! I hope your conference and break go well.
DeleteI often give students the SAG advice, particularly when tackling a big piece of writing like a dissertation. Do small things like making figures or formatting references when you can't be bothered writing or are blocked. You'll feel productive and then the rest will follow.
ReplyDeleteLast week
1) finish up the marking and stray bits of paperwork from early semester tasks
Let's call this a work in progress.
2) send email about possible article I could write
Yes, done, and two articles agreed with achievable deadlines.
3) plan publication/presentation around small aspect of current teaching so that I can put an evaluation plan in place to get a good paper
In progress
4) make figures for the paper
Nope, didn't get onto this, spent a lot of time on (1) though.
Next week:
1) finish up the marking and stray bits of paperwork from early semester tasks
2) plan the two articles that I will write
3) plan publication/presentation around small aspect of current teaching so that I can put an evaluation plan in place to get a good paper
4) make figures for the paper
Oh! I also made another 4.5 hand crafted items including 3 more gift bags, a table runner and 0.5 of a padded laptop case. 0.5 because I need to get some more supplies to finish it - just the binding of the edges to do. So that's progress towards the overall goals I think! And it was fun and relaxing...
DeleteI like how you've marked unfinished tasks "In Progress." It seems like you've made a lot of progress on various fronts this week. Congratulations!
DeleteSAGs help me solve two problems: overwhelm and procrastination. I tend to forget about the concept of planning SAGs, or just to plan the next one without thinking through the larger project. Somehow I'm much better at SAGs with non-writing goals than with writing goals.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1) exercise 4x--2x, but I started working with a personal trainer this week, so I should be more consistent.
2) eat well (according to "plan" I've established)--in progress. I'd say I ate well on about half of the days.
3) reasonable bedtimes--ha! Prep for the conference and some other projects due. I did take a giant nap on Thursday morning.
4) four 90-minute writing sessions--3
5) prep for weekend conference (practice pitches; review faculty bios; schedule stuff)--all but practicing pitches. Being at the conference gave me the opportunity, but it showed that I hadn't worked on them earlier.
I haven't been at a non-academic conference in a long time (this was a kidlit writing conference), and it was fun and valuable. I got to connect with other writers from all walks of life (patent attorneys to ladies with feral cat problems to published authors).
I've decided to let go of the dissertation to book for now. I still think it's a really good project, and I do think it would make a valuable contribution to the field, but I'm so outside of my field right now that I feel like I need to work my way back in (teaching, conferences) before I will have the support and bandwidth to work on the project. I also need to be thinking strategically career-wise, and since I'm not applying for FT TT work, the D2B project doesn't help me in any measurable way (that I can see). I'm finding quite a lot of freedom in letting it go, but it's a little sad to set aside something I put so much into and to move away (in some ways) from a field where I've built up so much expertise.
Next week:
1) exercise 4x
2) 2 hours on job apps
3) 4 30-min writing sessions (more is better)
4) menu planning/grocery shopping
I want to commend your letting go of D2B -- I know that's hard. But I know from experience how hard it is to do academic writing when that isn't used and/or valued in your current work. I hope for your sake that you find some way to get that material out, but it's smart to be thinking about your career. And I'm so glad the conference was fun - kid lit people are generally nice to be around!
DeleteI've been thinking about trying to do only the things that add meaning to my life...first step being figuring out what I do because I feel compelled to do and what I really *want.* So I also send you big cheers for making a thoughtful choice about what's right for you right now.
DeleteThanks for the encouragement!
DeleteHello. I missed last week's check-in, and like Daisy, I have enjoyed reading these two week's posts and comments. You cheer me up, really.
ReplyDeleteTopics:
Actually I like ambitious goals. When I am writing down my future big plans, I always get excited and feel great enough. I like this feeling. However, I got to know SAGs thanks to TLQ, maybe when I was in one of the ancestors of this group. Making big goals and failing to accomplish them, then feeling disappointed is my usual way. After starting to make SAGs, doing them helps me at least to feel that I have done something, which helps me to go forward, and this is very important. I think doing only SAGs is not enough to achieve my true big goals, though. Maybe I need to know how to handle working with SAGs to move forward to big goals.
Last goals:
1) Week 5-2 of Belcher's book. - I read the part, but I work quite differently.
2) Continue to read the important book. - Still to go.
3) Finish the introductory part of the review article. - I think I have constructed a kind of the structure of the article. Next step is working on details.
4) Exercise for 7 minutes everyday. Do a short exercise in the morning. - This week, I have been lazy and done only one day.
5) Be tolerant of snacks, but try to have healthier one. - I understand if I am too strict on snacks, I tend to have more. Being tolerant policy seems to work in a way.
Next goals:
1) Week 6-1 of Belcher's book.
2) Continue to read the important book. It is worth doing so.
3) Write the first section of the article.
4) Do 3 minutes exercise twice in the morning, twice in the afternoon.
5) Be tolerant of snacks, but try to have healthier ones.
Have a happy week, everyone!
I agree that having big inspiration is a very good thing. I too get disappointed from not accomplishing my big plans, and SAGs do help.
DeleteHave a wonderful week!
Thank you for your comment, Amstr! As you said, doing SAGs is good way to avoid procrastination. Maybe I can find some way to use different goals for different situations.
Deletefunnily enough, being in this group cheers me up too1 Allan w
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