the grid

the grid

Saturday 25 April 2015

End of the Session



This is our last check-in of the winter-spring TLQ session.  It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster for all of us, I think – as life usually is.   For our closing topic, I thought it would be useful to do some reflection on the past three months focused on two questions:  what worked for you?  What helped you succeed?   And where did you find joy in TLQ?   While of course we can learn from what doesn’t work, I find that paying attention to the positive (what does work) is more useful.
 
The next session will begin some time in May, hosted by JaneB and Contingent Cassandra (and maybe Daisy?)

So please, reflect on the question, and both your session goals and your week’s goals!   

Last Week’s Goals
Allan Wilson (from 2 weeks ago)
complete new draft ms WHK that incorporates co-author additions, and send back out to co-authors.

Amstr
1) exercise 4x
2) journal 5x
3) write 3x30 min

Contingent Cassandra
1) better self-care: sleeping, exercising (weights if I don't have time for a walk), eating good food (and getting to the grocery store to buy it).
2) (TRQ-ish, but especially relevant to the DH class, which, as I've noted before, has TLQ elements): catch up on grading, especially for DH class.

Daisy
Finish poster and paper
Run outside because it is only mildly crappy outside instead of thoroughly miserable

Elizabeth Ann Mitchell
1) Read the 46 applications for a scholarship committee decision.
2) File into paper files for a half hour three times.
3) Revise the last article according to the suggestions of a colleague who has written a lot in the same field.

Good Enough Woman
1. Make one more doctor's appointment for me and a dentist appointment for the kids, and go to the appt on Wed.
2. Two times to fancy club.
3. Spend 30 minutes on speech.
4. Read 30 pages related to thesis.
5. Lights out by 11:30

Humming42
1 Manage obligations graciously and hold things together.
2 Continue progress on grading, as the end of the semester nears.
3 Organize research projects for the coming several weeks.

JaneB
1) 5 hours of research writing
 2) write DOWN some plans
3) draft a proposal for a workshop at a conference
4) 30 minutes on each of 5 days on decluttering

Kjhaxton (from 2 weeks ago)
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

Matilda (from 2 weeks ago)
1) Write the draft of the article, the deadline coming soon.
2) Reset myself. I want to start afresh - in some way.

Susan
1. Finish the grant
2. Walk four days
3. Get back to the book, and read the whole draft for continuity etc.

Session Goals
Allan Wilson:  A long list is possible here, but I am going to treat these serially. Work goals: first, to complete a data spreadsheet for the project where my loved collaborator is leaving town for good in around 6 weeks, so we can draft the first paper before he leaves. Second, to do one piece of data analysis (that I have been avoiding) so I can submit the paper FS, a hangover from previous writing groups and a previous postdoc. Third, to submit a long overdue paper with a motivated student – the first task here is to write and revise the first complete draft. Other goals: to exercise regularly, and to eat healthily.

Amstr
1) dissertation to book draft complete
2) exercise regularly, eat healthfully (track these)
3) declutter 4 rooms of the house (one a month)

Contingent Cassandra
--use lit class to experiment with digital-humanities teaching/analysis techniques; produce at least some materials (assignments, activities, student/class projects) that can serve as models that might be applied to other classes, and/or material for presentation/reflection (at least on the professional web page I’m developing, perhaps also in a conference presentation or article).
--continue developing a daily/weekly routine that includes healthy eating, regular exercise, and regular sleep patterns.
--make substantial progress on getting financial matters in order
--accomplish enough at the community garden to satisfy the powers that be; get as many project materials as possible out of apartment/car.
--as possible, work on getting apartment in order (in particular, building/painting/installing shelves, because that will facilitate a return to research and writing by making materials more visible and accessible).

Daisy
3 submitted papers, 2 (B and C) from thesis and one new project one (D).

Earnest English:
-think ahead in my classes and grade on a regular basis (which I've calculated means 4 projects or so per day).
-write scholarship for 1-2 hours per week to get the conference paper I have due in March done with as little panic as possible
-write on my project regularly, which means about 4/week and entails getting some kind of draft from my notebook to the computer each week
-develop a meditation habit
-develop a work out or yoga habit
-keep on top of gardening projects
-maintain personal and family happiness through downtime, reflection, and making time for fun

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
I plan to catch up with all the doctors’ and dentist appointments I’ve let slide for the past year.I want to be mindful about stress and stress-related eating, hoping to exercise to reduce stress and, as a byproduct, become more fit.
For sanity, I want to reduce clutter, both in paper and electronically, to be better organized and spend less time frantically searching for things.

Good Enough Woman
1) Work 10 hours per week on PhD thesis
2) Revise two PhD chapters
3) Write and present conference paper
4) Pursue various 30-day challenges (see below)
5) Declutter my clothes, kids closet/toys, linen closet
6) Maybe additional family goals (kid dates, etc.), but not sure yet

Humming 42
My goals are going to be process-oriented rather than product-oriented for a change. I have a lot of projects I would like to work on and with hope complete this year. Rather than saying I’m going to finish that manuscript or that proposal or that article, my not-urgent approach is to say that by April I’d like to have a firm habit of writing every day. My second goal is probably best articulated by saying I want be more active, less sedentary. So getting there will mean a bunch of small weekly goals like walking all the stairs to get to my office and going to yoga. Setting those goals and sticking to them is what can make the difference.

Jane B
* get at least two of the papers I faffed around with in the last iteration at least off to co-authors and preferably submitted. These are Crunchier, Repeater, Neglected Student Paper and Very Late - the first two are the most likely to be done, but any of them will count!
* make rough drafts (as in, 1-2 pages plus figure list plus chores lists) of Effie the first (the one which was sort of a conference paper), Effie the second (the big ambitious one!) and Brilliant Undergrads Project papers
* submit 3-4 abstracts to Big Conference (due 8th January)
* have started a draft of a grant for the deadline in July
* have an orderly home and office environment
* have done some fun things, and be healthier and fitter!

kjhaxton
Work: 1 submitted paper, 1 submitted ethics form, 1 project plan,
Other: enter a photography competition, create 60 hand crafted items (40 of one kind for a specific event), sort out my wildlife garden.

21 comments:

  1. Thank you to Susan, Humming42, JaneB, and Amstr for hosting this session and keeping me honest.

    Topic: What worked for you? What helped you succeed? And where did you find joy in TLQ?
    First, these are great questions, Susan. As an introduction to what I learned, I have to explain that I am a recovering perfectionist, and spent years convinced that if conditions weren’t perfect, I couldn’t possibly write.

    What worked best for me was the realization that I can work in bits and pieces of time far better than I expected, or with the denizens of Testosterone Palace watching basketball or hockey in the next room. I managed to get a lot done in less than perfect conditions, and in those little spaces of time that I used to waste.

    I found a lot of joy in writing, which also surprised me, because the bulk of what I wrote was not medieval studies. It was a fascinating epiphany that I enjoy writing, even when I am not writing about my favorite subject.

    I also found that I could approach life goals in bits and pieces. I didn’t have to be able to do an hour of yoga on the first day, but that working a little bit every day truly was cumulative. I didn't have to clean up the entire hard drive in one sitting, but that consistent efforts worked to clean things up remarkably.

    Session goals:
    I plan to catch up with all the doctors’ and dentist appointments I’ve let slide for the past year. Done! I have managed to get all the appointments scheduled.

    I want to be mindful about stress and stress-related eating, hoping to exercise to reduce stress and, as a byproduct, become more fit. I have improved on stress-related eating. I have more work to do, but I feel good about the progress I have made.

    For sanity, I want to reduce clutter, both in paper and electronically, to be better organized and spend less time frantically searching for things. I have also improved in this arena as well. I put on my headphones, crank up the music, and try to remember not to sing along as I dance around to file paper documents, and bop around in my chair as I clean up electronic files.

    Last week’s goals:
    Read the 46 applications for a scholarship committee decision. Yes, I’m somewhat proud of how I managed to make myself do 10 a day for three days, finishing up the final six on the fourth day. I do not work this way by nature, but it was appreciably less stressful, so i hope I can continue this effort.

    File into paper files for a half hour three times. Yes, despite the massive boredom of it. I had more insomnia this week, so it was actually good to have something mindless to do.

    Revise the last article according to the suggestions of a colleague who has written a lot in the same field. Began this project, but did not finish. I'm still pleased with having made some progress.

    Thank you all again for your support and encouragement. I look forward to continuing in the next session.

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    1. As I was reading what you wrote, I was thinking, I bet a lot of academics are recovering perfectionists. And then I thought, and also, our lives aren't perfect. Congratulations on making your life work better! It's been great to have you as part of the group.

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    2. Wow, Elizabeth! You really accomplished a lot. Congratulations!

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    3. I'm glad you've had such TLQ success!

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  3. What works for me is asking my husband to watch the kids while I work late once a week. Staying out until 10:00 one night a week gives me time to get caught up (or at least more caught up) and gives me breathing room to enjoy kids on the weekends, which tends to be better quality time than, say, a given Tuesday evening. Other than that, I'm not sure I had any great breakthroughs this session. I tried making my own calendar/work planner-tracker, but I didn't follow through. One thing is sure, I have trouble establishing new habits long term. But I'm going to be doing a lot of thinking about this since it will be important to have consistently good habits this summer (when I'm trying to balance vacation time and work time) and in the fall (when I'm on sabbatical). Either way, it's wonderful to learn from all of you!

    This week's goals:
    1. Make one more doctor's appointment for me and a dentist appointment for the kids, and go to the appt on Wed.--I went to my appt on Wednesday, but I didn't make the others ones.
    2. Two times to fancy club.--No. I have had neck issues this week (brought on by tension and the carrying of heavy should bags. Feeling better now.
    3. Spend 30 minutes on speech.--No.
    4. Read 30 pages related to thesis.--Close to it.
    5. Lights out by 11:30--No, but I caught up on sleep this morning.

    Session goals:
    1) Work 10 hours per week on PhD thesis--No, but at least I didn't totally neglect it. In fact, I did way more thesis-related stuff than usual.
    2) Revise two PhD chapters--Ha! No. Most of my work has involved reading and thinking. I'm hoping it will translate into lots of writing in June.
    3) Write and present conference paper--Yes.
    4) Pursue various 30-day challenges (see below)--Not with success.
    5) Declutter my clothes, kids closet/toys, linen closet--I cleaned out a cabinet or two.
    6) Maybe additional family goals (kid dates, etc.), but not sure yet--Yes, I had some nice family time.

    Thanks, Amstr and Susan! I am grateful for your leadership!

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    1. That's great that you found one solid habit to allow you more flexibility on weekends, and congratulations on your thesis progress. All that reading and thinking will pay off. I'm learning from my non-academic writing how much the pre-writing matters and how easily I discounted it as "not really writing" in my academic work.

      I've been reading The Sweet Spot: How to find your Groove at Home and at Work, and the section on habits has been really helpful. (So you know, in all your spare time.)

      It sounds like you made great progress this term in a couple of really important areas.

      Wishing you much progress this summer and fall!

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    2. I agree on setting new habits! But I suspect the reading and thinking will pay off.

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  4. This term feels like it was a complete upheaval of my work life. Having some steady TLQ, like exercise and writing, was really helpful as my larger goals changed. Moving away from academia has been very new and a little scary. I am planning to try to teach in the fall, but I'm also making good progress in non-academic writing and I'm really enjoying it.

    I have found that making pre-decisions about how I spend my time and having clear triggers for habits (sitting down with a cup of coffee has become my new go-to writing trigger) has been really helpful.

    I still feel overwhelmed with a lot of things (clutter, zillions of emails, too many small commitments), and I hope after the scheduling disaster that is May is over, I'll have a chance to regroup.

    Thanks for all the support and encouragement!

    Weekly goals:
    1) exercise 4x--yes, including a fantastic hike
    2) journal 5x--not 5x, but more than usual
    3) write 3x30 min--yes! I got some great sessions in, including a 90 minute one.

    Session goals:
    1) dissertation to book draft complete--goal deleted
    2) exercise regularly, eat healthfully (track these)--yes! for exercise, sort of for eating, not great on tracking. Still better progress than I've had in a year or so.
    3) declutter 4 rooms of the house (one a month)--maybe one and a half? Summer seems to be the time I make the most progress decluttering. I'm hoping this summer is no exception.

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    1. Your comment made me think about how all of us cope in times of transition -- we all hold on to things. And it sounds as if the ones you hung on to were useful, so that's particularly good. I hope you do get to regroup!

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  5. last week's goals: JaneB
    1) 5 hours of research writing - if you count fiddling around with graphs (an essential part of producing papers in my discipline) then YES
    2) write DOWN some plans - no. I seem to never quite get around to this. Maybe I need some coloured pens and craft paper!
    3) draft a proposal for a workshop at a conference - nope. I DID write an abstract for an unexpected conference (a festschrift) and submit that
    4) 30 minutes on each of 5 days on decluttering - I did maybe that in total... wasn't the best week, and LOTS of demands from project students that took time...

    session goals:
    * get at least two of the papers I faffed around with in the last iteration at least off to co-authors and preferably submitted. These are Crunchier, Repeater, Neglected Student Paper and Very Late - the first two are the most likely to be done, but any of them will count! Crunchier and Repeater both went off to co-authors. Repeater has comments back, and is on schedule for submission before the 10th of May (when a co-author leaves for a field trip). One Crunchier co-author is dragging their feet but I don't much care.
    * make rough drafts (as in, 1-2 pages plus figure list plus chores lists) of Effie the first (the one which was sort of a conference paper), Effie the second (the big ambitious one!) and Brilliant Undergrads Project papers nope. But as part of rewriting Crunchier I removed some data, and that is now shaping up nicely into Crunchier's Litter Brother (all the new analyses are done, I need to add some values from the literature to a comparative table, write a first draft intro and discussion, give it a smoothing edit and then it will go off to co-authors, also by 10th May if possible as I then have a bit of a grading push for a few days. Yes, despite being on "study leave." Because I am a mug and a doormat (or as I prefer to phrase it a professional concerned with my students' wellbeing)).
    * submit 3-4 abstracts to Big Conference (due 8th January) Yup, along with two to fun sideways conference, and one to festschrift meeting.
    * have started a draft of a grant for the deadline in July not really. But I have written a one page idea summary for one grant idea, which is a START
    * have an orderly home and office environment no. A teeny tiny miniscule amount of progress has been made since Christmas. Which is more than nothing...
    * have done some fun things, and be healthier and fitter!

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    1. completely ignored my last session goal. I am neither healthier nor fitter, but I did do some fun things ( can thoroughly recommend a good set of coloured pencils and adult colouring books - detailed, not "adult" content, though there are "nsfw" colouring books available! I'm wokring slowly and pleasurably through a set of celtic mandala designs at the moment, which come with matching notes about celtic sprituality (the early history and modern recreation of the Celtic Church form of Christianity is very attractive to me) and suggestions for meditative thoughts to go with each bit (so colouring a complicated square knot, you are encouraged to think about life as a journey and about how any event can be an opportunity, etc.). I thought it would be kind of hokey, but wanted to get away from the mindless computer games which shut up some of the anxiety-ruminations, and actually the colouring is pretty neat (and I have a lovely book of forest animals - loads of little leaves to colour in my favourite greens - to do when I don't feel like knotwork).

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  6. Thank you everyone for being good company, for sharing your own set backs and good weeks, and making what can be a very isolating experience much more fun and sociable!

    On the topic
    what worked for me? small expectations, low thresholds - I started the session pretty demotivated and have had various health issues, but I can't think of a single week when I didn't have ONE goal I could if necessary knock off in half an hour before reporting in, so there were no total failure weeks, and all those last minute half hours added up. Just touching a project regularly helps keep it bubbling away at the back of my mind, so that when I do start I can make progress. Sometimes even five minutes gets you into a task and you do more...

    Another thing that has helped is "Just one thing" - deciding that if I did ONE thing off my list every day whilst I was sick would be enough, and that just one thing off my TLQ list was enough - and some days that was all I did, but other days it helped get me going and more happened.

    And I've been going back to the "parking my writing on a downhill slope" metaphor which I think came originally from Notorious PhD(?) - I made a list in scarlet in a curly font on the first page of every document I worked on, detailing the next few small, contained tasks which would take it forward (add a paragraph on X, do this bit of methods, redo that graph in black and white, read this paper and add it to the reference list) so that as soon as I opened the document I had an easy way in, and on a bad day I didn't have to actually try and work out where I was up to!

    And where did you find joy in TLQ? with you lot! Seriously, sharing stories, enjoying your achievements and learning from your suggestions and knowing you would be pleased I showed up rather than judge me for not meeting my goals has become an incredibly important support in my writing life.

    Also, I may have mentioned that being part of on-line writing groups led me to start a real-world one in my department, mostly for new hires and post-docs although open to everyone? Well, we celebrated 2 years of meeting a couple of months ago, and despite me having been off for so long things just kept going because people find it really useful. That makes me so happy, that I was able to help other people, especially early career people.

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    1. Well, given all that you've dealt with, I'm impressed with what you HAVE done during this session. And the little goals makes tons of sense - when I'm really frazzled, I do that.

      I remember "parking my writing on a downhill slope", and while I sometimes do that when writing, I often do it with notes for revision, or in my footnotes, highlighted -- "I really need to talk about X here".

      Congratulations on the ftf group in your department!

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  7. This was a particularly difficult run for me, and I’m especially grateful for the good habit of showing up here every week to tell you all where I am, what I have been doing, and what my hopes are. When I finally got some writing done, I was easily in a space of flow that was very joyful. So I managed to do most of the things for which I had made commitments to others, but it wasn’t pretty. I wrote things and did conference presentations. With hope, summer can help me find those rhythms that I most want, in the many aspects of my life.

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    1. It was great to have you! And sometimes, just getting it done is what we do. Summer is often easier, but of course it is!

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  8. Topic:
    Like JaneB, I found small goals helpful at times, especially when things were harried. I like weekly reporting, but I'm not good at the daily lists.
    As for joy: I like having this global network of people who are all trying to live life well. And I remembered how much fun it is to meet new people and think new thoughts. So that's great.

    Weekly Goals:
    1. Finish the grant YES! Done done done, with a last hiccup.
    2. Walk four days - Three, I think
    3. Get back to the book, and read the whole draft for continuity etc. Almost done, but too many distractions

    Session Goals:
    Writing/research: finish substantive chapters, draft intro and epilogue All but intro and epilogue
    Write essay (pre-circulated) for April workshop YES
    Home: declutter junk room, get rid of old computers - no, but the garage is in much better shape!
    weed garden, get garden ready - Yes, though I have to go back to regular weeding!
    choose new furniture for living room - no. Ive thought, but no action.
    Other: Keep myself moving, and eating heathfully - mostly

    This session ended up having a few unanticipated distractions - some I chose, some I didn't. So the fact that I almost accomplished what I'd planned is really pretty good. And the distractions are diminishing, I think. The nice thing is that while reading the manuscript, so far I feel like it's not a total disaster! And that is very very exciting.

    Thank you all for your companionship along the way, and especially to Amstr, for co-hosting!

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  9. Allan Wilson:
    Weekly goal:
    complete new draft ms WHK that incorporates co-author additions, and send back out to co-authors. SORT OF- I am working on it now- so this has been superslow due to a number of factors, but I am hoping I will make some serious progress on this by the end of the day.
    Session goals:
    1. complete a data spreadsheet for the project where my loved collaborator is leaving town for good in around 6 weeks, so we can draft the first paper before he leaves.
    More or less done, and we had a great meeting.. Yet to draft the first paper though.
    2. one piece of data analysis (that I have been avoiding) so I can submit the paper FS, a hangover from previous writing groups and a previous postdoc.
    Well, I have progressed it by talking to someone smart about this problem and how to tackle it, so I guess I would say, I have recognised that I needed help, and asked for it. Still not completed though- I need to prompt him further.
    3. exercise regularly, and to eat healthily. Made some good progress here overall, although not today (eating chocolate, attributable to enormous current unbloggable stress)
    What is great about this group for me is the reglar checking in, even when I ignore it completely. And I get to reflect on what I have managed to do, or not, and why. Immensely helpful. Also companionship in a shifting sea of what sometimes feels like huge difficulty in the academic world.

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    1. It's been good to have you along -- and I agree that checking in really does help!

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  10. Hello!
    Apologies for being horrendously late on the last week. Feels kind of fitting after this term.
    What worked: the Monday morning writing, and scheduling something official for every day, it help keep writing in the mix.
    What helped stay on track: The colour coded lists of tasks, on paper so I could see it every day and if not do something, at least feel guilty about it. Also fear helped - fear of not publishing, fear of not getting tenure, motivating but draining.
    Joy? Remembering how much fun working can be in big chunks, and how great it is to be in the zone and everything just goes. Also, how satisfying it is to complete something.

    Goals were ok this week, if a little late. Overall, one paper submitted, one put on the "needs more data pile" and one about a week from being done.

    Thanks everyone for the discussions, encouragement and fun!

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    1. I'm so glad you found some joy: the fear bit is not much fun.

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