Well, that's it, and didn't time fly? Another summer gone for the northern hemisphere group, 15 weeks of writing group, assorted wins (yay for Daisy's best summer ever!) and losses (much sympathy to those grieving) and scrapes and words put down on pages and moved around... I'd like to thank you all for coming around here every week, for creating a space for remembering the work that matters, for providing a great sense of community and support and friendship.
This week, let's share what we learnt and what we're going to take forward, alongside our remaining projects. Did you learn something new about yourself, add a new trick to your writing and productivity tool-kit, develop a great new recipe or refreshing summer beverage, or have a brilliant idea which is opening up a new research direction? We're starting a new academic year, and in many ways it's a much better time for resolutions and change than the dark, cold, weary middle of the northern academic year when the calendar turns over. So, will you do anything differently this year?
Suggested reporting in format:
Topic
Progress against last week's goals
Progress against summer goals
Analysis and review
Humming42, karen and GEW all expressed willingness to co-host an Autumn round - could we maybe have a chat in the comments about whether you want to do it as a trio, or if one/two of you would rather do the first iteration of 2016, or some other arrangement? I would also be available to co-host the first 2016 round, if necessary - it's my lighter teaching semester (at least, so far as we know...). Cohosts please contact me (mollimog (at) gmail dot com) or Cassandra if you need to be added to this blog as authors, and/or to get some information about the new iteration posted?
See you all back here in a few weeks' time, I hope!
Goals: last week's in blue, summer in orangeish
allan wilson
just try and get through the revisions for paper 2, so it is ready for submission.
maintain exercising every week,
preferably four times. that's the goal that skips most easily for me.
submit three papers.
Amstr: (goals from week 14)
1) exercise 2+x, eat well
2) pick one thing to make progress on each
day (decluttering, WGWL project, reading, misc email/handing off stuff
to other people, packing for camping)
3) make a plan for retreat weekend
1) develop a strong writing habit, 2) start
submitting to agents, 3) learn (again) to eat well, 4) finish job apps,
5) get prepped for freelancing to start in the fall.
Contingent Cassandra:
1) (the one thing): make progress on both the major mixed
household/financial task and the major purely-financial task, *and* make
plans to incorporate regular (but not necessarily daily) progress on
each into my fall schedule.
2) continue work on getting into a
sleep routine (set the alarm and *get up* at the appointed time each
morning) and getting regular exercise (especially walking and swimming
while the swimming option is still available)
make substantial progress on getting household & financial matters
in better order, maintain and improve self-care: exercise (especially
taking advantage of the pool while it's open), sleep, and good meals.
maintain better connections/reconnect with friends and family.
Daisy:
1) Big pile of data reduction
2) Field report
ALL research, ALL the
time!!! And READING. designate one day or
afternoon each week to deal with all other stuff - admin, teaching,
programme development etc. and try to keep it contained. I have at least 6 weeks of field
work to do, so my summer weeks at home are fairly restricted anyway, I
really want to make the most of the time I'm around.
1) Get rid of last 2 lingering thesis papers - either submit them or pull plugs on them (L1 and L2)
2) Write up almost finished new area project and submit (N1)
3) Write up preliminary report for huge project (H1)
4) Design and start next phase of huge project (H2)
5) Design student part of huge project (H3)
On the personal and reading front I'm going to designate a few habit-forming plans for the summer.
1) Read one new research paper every day
2) Do one fun adventure or new activity with child every weekend I'm home
3) Run or do something active every day
4) Cut most sugar and processed junk out of eating plans
Elizabeth: (from Week 13)
Read for an hour three times for the literature review.
Schedule surgery.
One positive thought/thought of gratitude every morning.
1) to move forward on the dissertation, which needs an updated
literature review, and a rewritten introduction and first chapter, 2) to
walk more, and 3) to eat better food mindfully.
GEW:
1) Finish drafting chapter so that it's ready for editing next week.
2) walk 3x, yoga or swimming 2x
1) Do work necessary for NEH Summer Institute that will be held in July (related to sabbatical project)
2) Draft introduction to PhD thesis (by July 1)
3) Revise two chapters of thesis (also by July 1)
4) Prepare article for journal submission (by August 28th)
5) Exercise (walks with dog, visits to fancy athletic club)
humming42: to get some work done on Proposal Fem
That other book proposal I didn’t work on last week is my TLQ for this week. It looks to be a busy week ahead.
Three book proposals (Em, Ala and Fem), and pay attention to falling-down-house
iwantzcatbocl: (from week 10)
1. Exercise daily.
2. Make list of things to do.
3. Don’t dawdle with household chores.
On a book deadline that I must
finish it by June 30—I’ve blown through several deadlines for this
project over the past year, so it is time for me to finally wrap it up.
After that, I have two long languishing articles that need revision that
I would like to complete for the end of August. I have a little bit of
fieldwork to complete later this month. I also I have a mini-goal of
actually planning each day (making a list in my special notebook), which
always makes me feel like I have more time, but somehow I don’t do it!
Would like to exercise daily (realistically—five days a week). Also
would like to meditate for ten minutes a day
JaneB: full rough draft of the grant application
1) a full rough draft of the grant application
2) bitty academic writing and stuff that is becoming TRQ:
a) incorporate PDFs comments into conference talk and comment on HER talk
b) small task from meeting 2
c) emails about meeting 1
d) decide what the abstract for December will be about and rough it out (due 2-3 days after I get back),
e) arrange and if possible have 1-2 teaching prep meetings
f) draft a document related to teaching prep.
3) be a not-too-awful student on the software course!
4) look up some holiday things of interest. Go to the gym twice. Go to bed before midnight.
Do All The
Things!!! Progress goals of: one
grant application (to make my head of department shut up, not in actual
expectation of success), one paper's worth of progress with writing
(might not be all on one paper), redesign of both Difficult Team Taught
Second Year modules - and all of these things to be underpinned by
a habit goal of reading research, working on figures or writing for a
minimum of 1 hour a day, every "normal day", with the internet OFF. Self-care: to be in a
better position for the new academic year which involves domestic
decluttering, better sleep, eating and exercise patterns, plenty of
'mental health strategies' to hand, and something of a five year
plan/exit plan so I have more of an anchor against the surges of
AllTheRhetoricAndCrapola...
karenh:
1. P1 paperwork done, grant submitted.
2. P1 abstract sent
3. Get back to setting bedtime alarm clock, 4 x physio exercises
Key goals for
the research/writing side are: for Project One (curatorial) to be
prepared for the exhibition and a separate publication; Project Two is
to get one of my old conference papers revised for submission as an
article. On the self-care side, regular exercise and more reasonable
bedtimes.
kjhaxton: habit setting
a) put all teaching for new semester in electronic calendar and start
blocking research time out as if it were scheduled time. Remember to add
in distance learning module development time.
b) carry out literature survey to support researchy ideas
c) write gemstone paper, whether it requires beer, wine or coffee (or guilt free chocolate), just finish the damn draft!
1. papers: gem stone paper, acronym paper
2. projects: ethics and research tool for scary project
3.
planning: to work on papers and projects for 1 hour per day (week
days), to spend 1/2 day a week getting next year's teaching in order, to
restrict email to two 1/2 hour periods per week day.
4. personal:
paint several rooms in the house, make curtains for dining room, print
various pictures for competitions and our walls.
Let'sDoThis:
no goals set
My writing goals for this summer
including finishing the article by June 8th (totally achievable) and
finishing both books before my fall term begins (ummm ... maybe less
achievable). Enjoy every minute with
my long-awaited wee baby, and trying
to get the house in order once and for all.
Matilda: (from week 13; probably busy with presentation in week 14, hope it went well!)
1) Write up Chapter 1.
2) Start to prepare for my presentation on 22th August
1) to write two chapters of the book. 2) to
write for 15 minutes everyday. 3) to exercise for 5 minutes everyday. 4)
to eat better, less sweets.
Mercy:
One Thing: wrap up reading for HA paper
Moderation Goal: limit email to 2 times 30 mins/day
Healthy Habit Goal: go to bed on time, get up on time, walk daily, get outside
1) get back to LC paper and submit it!
2) write a complete draft of HA paper for my real-life writing group, revise based on their comments, and submit also
3) wrap up teaching-related stuff asap (last class this coming Thursday) and be done with teaching until next semester
4) fit in premininary field work project
Susan: (from week 14)
1. Get going on Chapter 3.
2. Get back to prospectus
3. Keep exercising
4. Wield the Eraser to avoid being overly annoyed by my colleagues.
1. The book. I am
completing a book ms. I have a draft of all the chapters, which are now
almost fully revised at least a first time, for flow and repetition and
overall argument. My goal is to send a ms. to a publisher for review
by the end of the summer.
2. Other project: for my administrative
role, I'm editing a collection of essays, and I have to get the proposal
for that written, send invitations, and get in touch with the press.
3.
House: I'm slowly decluttering and redecorating. I've got a plan
for new furniture and a new seating arrangement in my living room, and I
want to begin work on that.
4. Self care: one of the goals of the
sabbatical was to get into good sleep and exercise patterns. I am now
mostly getting 7 hours of sleep a night (my goal) and eating well. But
my exercise life is erratic, and I always seem to have other things to
do if a friend who is in town occasionally isn't around. So it's
exercise that needs to be the new goal.
5. In the middle of the
summer I have a 3 1/2 week trip to the UK, which is partly work (I must
check footnotes) but also fun. I need to plan at least one week of
real vacation. I've got a bunch of possibilities that I need to work
out, including family visits to lovely places, visits to cities I've
never visited, and time at the beach.
I can't believe we're here at the end of the summer session already. I feel like I've barely started but then I look at progress! Thank you so much for hosting JaneB and Contingent Cassandra. What have I learned? Probably that the summer has been torpedo'd by paperwork yet again but perhaps the end is in sight. That not having summer students is less stressful but not necessarily more productive personally.
ReplyDeleteA recipe then. The Peach Flower Fizz:
peach concentrate (like you'd use for belinis or other cocktails, could possibly puree very ripe peaches to create), elderflower presse (or other fancy fizzy elderflower drink - not cordial), sparkly white wine (prosecco worked well). Combine roughly 1 part peach to 2 parts elderflower to 2 parts sparkly wine. Can adjust ratio of elderflower and wine to suit non-alcohol people, drivers or prosecco lovers! This was my discovery of the summer.
Last week's goals:
a) put all teaching for new semester in electronic calendar and start blocking research time out as if it were scheduled time. Remember to add in distance learning module development time.
- didn't do as not convinced timetable is final.
b) carry out literature survey to support researchy ideas
- got started on this, lots of papers downloaded and filed. I did plan a couple of researchy ideas out.
c) write gemstone paper, whether it requires beer, wine or coffee (or guilt free chocolate), just finish the damn draft!
- read through what I'd done, plan to pick it up after holiday.
Summer goals:
1. papers: gem stone paper, acronym paper
- some work done on each, not sufficient but plan to tackle them after holiday but before the next iteration of this group.
2. projects: ethics and research tool for scary project
- done ethics and submitted, research tool drafted, plan for data collection made.
3. planning: to work on papers and projects for 1 hour per day (week days), to spend 1/2 day a week getting next year's teaching in order, to restrict email to two 1/2 hour periods per week day.
- tried this a bit, worked quite well, planning to implement properly on return from holiday. This type of schedule works well during semester.
4. personal: paint several rooms in the house, make curtains for dining room, print various pictures for competitions and our walls.
- painted guest bedroom, kitchen and half the dining room. Printed pictures for guest bedroom walls. Haven't found fabric I like for the dining room yet (and not finished painting). Need to look into the picture thing.
I'm moderately happy with the summers progress. I've done a lot of paperwork and course development work so it hasn't quite been the summer I'd hoped for. Did way more around the house than I thought I would. But that's the way of it!
MMM, that recipe sounds great. I have some peaches...
DeleteYou've certainly made a lot of progress this summer... though it's never the progress one hopes for, especially with teaching stealing into every corner (much empathy).
I love your summer discovery. Sounds delicious!
DeleteI'll post a proper update later, but I thought I'd just chime in and say that I can moderate this fall but not after the holidays. At that point, I'll be teaching a full load and (I hope) in final dissertation mode. Perhaps CC and I could do it this fall and humming42 and karen can do it starting in January? Not sure if that works for them...
ReplyDeleteFrom re-reading Cassandra's post, it sounds like she will be too busy to co-host for the remainder of the year. But there's a few of us who might be able to take the fall - humming42, Elizabeth Anne Mitchell, you and me.
DeleteI'll suggested that we start Sunday 20 Sept, and finish Sunday 13 December - 13 weeks (hopefully not too unlucky) - with a rotation through any co-hosting volunteers.
I'm good with co-hosting either Fall or Spring, so I will fill in wherever there is an open need.
DeleteThat sounds good, a few weeks of 'break' whilst we all scurry around trying to sort the semester...
DeleteI could also host in the Fall if needed :)
DeleteI think I could co-host in the fall, but not the spring. But happy not to, if other available.
DeleteSorry about inadvertently nominating CC! I didn't read the post closely enough, and I thought she had written it (and thus thought she'd volunteered herself for fall). Whoops!
DeleteSince humming42 can also do spring, perhaps we can save her for then? I'd like to do fall since I haven't hosted before, and I feel as if I should take a turn serving the group (since I have not yet done so, lo, these many years). And I won't be able to do it spring.
Deletekaren has proposed some good dates for the fall session, so I propose that karen and I co-host fall and that we add a third if anyone would like to join us (Daisy or Elizabeth Anne Mitchell?). Or other folks can be on deck for spring. How does this sound?
I can contact the email address above to sort out my bits if need be.
Sounds like a plan! I'm morenewsfromnowhere (@) gmail dot com if you want to reach me directly.
DeleteAnd a quick update from me. I can host this next session, after this Thursday, when I have surgery. I plan to give a proper update on a day or so.
ReplyDeleteAll appendages crossed that the surgery goes well and you have a swift and easy recovery
DeleteGood wishes for the surgery!
DeleteChiming in with additional good wishes for successful surgery and a quick recovery!
DeleteAnd from me- very best wishes. allan wilson
DeleteGood luck on surgery.
DeleteBest wishes from me, too!
DeleteGood luck on sugery!
DeleteThank you all for the good wishes. I'm home, sore and somewhat cranky, but divested of inflamed gall bladder and stones.
DeleteThank you all for the good wishes. I'm home, sore and somewhat cranky, but divested of inflamed gall bladder and stones.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1. Topic: That's It! Wow, that was fast--I feel like this Summer really went by in a flash, but maybe that's true of all Summers. I learned that moving houses, even with practice, takes quite a bit of time, as does jetlag. I guess I knew this vaguely already, but not definitively enough to make sure I actually plan in the times those things take. I'm hoping that putting this in writing--it always takes more time than you think--I will remember better for next year.
ReplyDelete2. Last week's goals and Summer goals & accomplishments:
One Thing for last week: wrap up reading for HA paper --> VERY close, good progress
Moderation Goal: limit email to 2 times 30 mins/day --> pretty good, need to keep this up
Healthy Habit Goal: go to bed on time, get up on time, walk daily, get outside each day --> pretty good, need to keep this up
Summer Goal 1) get back to LC paper and submit it! --> NOTHING!
Summer Goal 2) write a complete draft of HA paper and submit also --> VERY LITTLE WRITING, but good progress on literature: I guess I wasn't really ready to write the paper until now
Summer Goal 3) wrap up teaching-related stuff asap and be done with teaching until next semester --> took longer than anticipated, but have been good about not over-prepping for upcoming semester
Summer Goal 4) fit in premininary field work project --> POSTPONED
3. Analysis: Looking at my Summer Goals it looks as if nothing got done, but I know my goals were ambitious, and focused on the one TLQ that scares me most: writing. Other things mostly get done almost "on their own" but not writing. So I am not surprised that I didn't meet my ambitious writing goals; I should have never planned to write/finish two articles. I am a bit bumped that I didn't write more on HA, but pretty pleased about the amount of reading and note taking I did for this paper. (Some other things that got accomplished over the summer were entertaining 3 kids for 12 weeks without camp or vacation trips, cleaning up a house that apparently hadn't been dusted or vacuumed in 10 months (despite people living there), walking an average 9,200 steps/day, and writing an academic blog post--but none of these were my official Summer Goals, just things that get done along the way.)
4. Thank-You's: to JaneB and Cassandra for hosting this group. I've enjoyed being part of it, as it's helped me reflect on my goals and accomplishments on a regular--but not too frequent--basis, and allowed me to learn some writing or other tricks here and there. Oh, and I *love* the sleep mask Amstr recommended, so thank you, too, Amstr!
The fact that you got anything done when entertaining three kids for 12 weeks is amazing! So are the 9200 steps. Thinking I might need to get a step monitor thing.
DeleteCongrats on the progress, dusting and all!
I do agree with Good Enough Woman! You have a lot to do and you have done a lot! Congrats on your summer!
DeleteTopic: Some rather disjoint observations: summers seem to go by faster and faster (but I knew that); teaching a longer summer class did leave more time for other activities during term time, but made it a bit harder to take a real break (not surprising); it would really be good to be able to take a summer off from teaching (but that's several years off, at best); gardening and swimming (and other non-gardening exercise) don't mix all that well, mostly for logistical reasons; the household/financial tasks have a way of falling to the bottom of the pile, especially when there's outside pressure to add other tasks back in (e.g. the garden plot, and the associated garden plot coordinator with her "use it or lose it" threats). I want to keep the garden plot, but I also need to figure out how to move with all deliberate speed toward getting it back toward some sort of reasonably-easy-to-maintain stasis (which I had, before it flooded *and* doubled in size, neither thanks to anything I initiated, though I did accede to the latter as a partial solution to the former). Hmm. . .I'm not sure there's all that much useful to take away there (maybe especially because the obstacles I encountered were very minor compared to what a number of other group members faced). Since I will likely to be teaching during the summers for the foreseeable future, it's probably a good thing that I've now taught all three of our possible summer term configurations, and have a sense of how each works, and how to plan around them. Somewhat to my surprise, I think this summer's configuration will be my second choice when expressing my preferences for next summer (rather than my third, as it has been before). So I guess that, and the need to keep an eye on/be realistic about the garden as a possible disruptor of plans, are two takeways of a sort.
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals & achievements:
1) (the one thing): make progress on both the major mixed household/financial task and the major purely-financial task, *and* make plans to incorporate regular (but not necessarily daily) progress on each into my fall schedule -- more planning than progress, but a bit of both.
2) continue work on getting into a sleep routine (set the alarm and *get up* at the appointed time each morning) and getting regular exercise (especially walking and swimming while the swimming option is still available) -- mixed success with the sleep schedule, but I'm getting there; little success with the exercise schedule.
And the summer's goals and achievements:
Delete1) make substantial progress on getting household & financial matters in better order -- I made some real progress in this area, including putting some long-deferred plans into effect, but there's still a way to go. Still, progress -- and, I hope, momentum.
2) maintain and improve self-care: exercise (especially taking advantage of the pool while it's open), sleep, and good meals -- Well, I gardened a lot more than I planned, and (partly as a result) walked and swam less. But since the gardening was pretty strenuous, I think I'm ending the summer stronger than I began it (and at about the same weight, though I try not to make that my primary measure of health). Give or take a few more frantic/chaotic weeks, I slept and ate pretty well, and am ending the summer feeling reasonably well and rested (especially given how much of it I spent teaching). So this, too, counts as at least partial success.
3) maintain better connections/reconnect with friends and family -- Another mixed verdict, I think. I did more of this toward the beginning of the summer than the end, and did not reconnect with one particular friend I really meant to get in touch with. There were also some unexpected family developments that made it seem like the wrong time to change communication patterns there (I'm hoping things have calmed down; will probably learn more about where things stand in the next week or two). On the plus side, I now own a texting-capable phone, which should facilitate communication with some younger relatives. Now all I have to do is to actually get comfortable with texting (probably using them as guinea pigs; something I should probably try in the coming week).
So, a mixed bag, and I really need to begin working more research and writing back into the schedule, while not losing track of any of the above. At least I *think* the teaching this year will be fairly straightforward, and most of the fiddly updating I just accomplished will carry over more or less directly into next semester's materials (unless somebody decides to redesign another part of the university website -- please no).
Thanks to all for hanging in there, and sharing ideas and tips and tricks and encouragement. And many thanks to JaneB for providing a home and overall coordination as well as every-other-weekly moderation (and guiding me through the process of same). Finally, thanks to those willing to carry on the moderation in the fall and spring; I'm looking forward to it.
Glad you are feeling good about progress in household and financial matters. I hope things keep moving forward.
DeleteAs for the gardening, I'm sure it was great all-body exercise. But I'm thinking that someone could make a movie (comedy? murder mystery?) based on a community garden. :)
My aches after carting mulch certainly say gardening counts as exercise! Thinking through the long list of all the different areas you were trying to work on, having some momentum in all of them is a good outcome to take from the summer.
DeleteThis summer was the first one on tt (my third) that I felt in control of what I did, and where I feel I've done what I set out to do. And that I used my time well.
ReplyDeleteWhat I learned this summer: If I really want to make progress at writing and long-term research plans I have to limit other things I do. This is not rocket science, but instead of "setting out time for writing and general TLQ" I had to shift my mindset to "limit and control the other things". Making time for for writing was never enough, saying this summer that I will not work on anything else except in a very clearly delimited one afternoon a week made a huge difference. So I will continue that, not "make time for writing" but "keep everything else in its place". That helped with the TRQ and other gremlins taking over the world.
The ongoing hostage drama with my thesis papers has taught me what I will NEVER do as a supervisor. Also, that sometimes the awful conversations with ultimatums work, sometimes they don't. I still don't have them all back, but I have more than I have seen in two years, so progress is good.
The reading project taught me that it is good to remember why we like research in the first place - curiosity above all else. I will definitely keep this one going. It also showed me how fast one can get out of date and stale in one field, so new reading is a must from here on in. And also, it was really interesting and kind of relaxing!
Last week's goals:
1) Big pile of data reduction DONE
2) Field report STARTED
Not bad for a week that got almost completely sucked up by program development project and other people's crap. And by "crap" I mean "things that would take 10 minutes to clear up with me in person, but if you talk to 3 chairs and one Dean and 4 colleagues but not to me personally it will take much longer to clean up the drama and mess you caused". Seriously engineering department, how hard is it to find me and talk to me in person before you bother all the people on the list above? Especially given that I'm in charge, they are not? Oh well, clean-up in progress...
Overall Summer Goals:
1) Papers: HOSTAGE DRAMA still in progress (1 back, 1 one parole, one extra still hostage...), but I have made a lot of progress. Should be submitted by the time this group starts up again.
2) New project (N1) RECAST to be a collaborative effort, not enough data on my own...
3) Write up preliminary report for huge project (H1) STARTED as much as possible.
4) Design and start next phase of huge project (H2) YES
5) Design student part of huge project (H3) YES
ADDED: Do awesome field work DONE AND DONE :)
On the personal and reading front I'm going to designate a few habit-forming plans for the summer.
1) Read one new research paper every day MOSTLY, except for field periods
2) Do one fun adventure or new activity with child every weekend I'm home YES
3) Run or do something active every day PARTIAL FAIL
4) Cut most sugar and processed junk out of eating plans MISERABLE FAIL
I did pretty well on the writing front and my lingering papers will not die an unpublished death. I did not make as much progress on new writing as I had hoped, but I'm happy with the trade-off I made. Field work was beyond awesome and will keep me busy for a long time.
The reading project was fantastic fun, I'm planning to continue some form of it during the term. The "fun with child" plan worked wonderfully, even though I wasn't home a lot and didn't take long breaks from going into the office we had a great summer.
The failed attempt at getting back into shape and the even bigger failed attempt to eat better will have to be something I will try again during the term. I didn't pay enough attention to it, and it slid off the radar quite easily.
Thanks to everyone for encouragement, comments, support and entertainment! Thanks to our lovely hosts for giving us a space and a forum, and excellent discussions!
Till next time!
Congratulations on all of your successes! I want to institute your reading plan in the future (right now I'm reading a lot, but I don't want to slip in the future). And it sounds like your weekend kid adventures made a big difference! Something for me to do, too. And, of course, yay for awesome field work!
DeleteI really do not know how to keep TRQ in it's place, so maybe in the next session you can give us some pointers.
My summer takeaway: Don't plan a lot for summer. Because I'm barely in the academic world (teaching 8 weeks full-time in Oct-Dec; no research required), I don't have to make progress during the summer. I found myself this summer trying to function as I did in my dissertation writing days, but with no childcare. Even though the kids are 8 and 10, old enough to take care of themselves for the most part, uninterrupted time was rare this summer. I think for next year, I should have minimal goals--writing every day, maybe once a week a full writing morning--plus a project to fill out weeks they're at camp. Otherwise, I think we would all have had a better summer had I actually made more effort in the parenting side of my job. The last few weeks I've ignored most responsibilities, and it's been really wonderful.
ReplyDeleteMy other take away: I shouldn't ignore the fact that I work really well focusing for a long period of time on one topic. While every day habits are great, I shouldn't try to substitute them for longer stretches. I've already scheduled in quarterly writing retreat weekends for the next year.
For last week(s)
1) exercise 2+x, eat well--yes to exercise. sort of for eating.
2) pick one thing to make progress on each day (decluttering, WGWL project, reading, misc email/handing off stuff to other people, packing for camping)--yes--I made a lot of good progress, handed off a bunch of stuff, survived camping (complete with leaving the driver's side window open to a van with food in it. Result: raccoon party! They even turned on the hazard lights.)
3) make a plan for retreat weekend--yes, and it was a grand retreat!
For the summer:
1) develop a strong writing habit--decent. I still need to figure out how to fit writing into every day. The best week was getting up before the family and having a free morning half hour.
2) start submitting to agents--I got much closer. I'm just needing to individualize queries and send them out.
3) learn (again) to eat well--progress. This fall is going to be healthy eating bonanza.
4) finish job apps--decided to stick with the job I got and leave others for later.
5) get prepped for freelancing to start in the fall--sort of. With upcoming teaching, I'm aiming to start freelancing in the spring
All in all, not terrible. I've made some good progress, figured out some things about my life, quit some stuff, and learned to work smarter and to leave room in my life/mind for creative work.
Thanks to JaneB and CC for hosting! As always, I accomplished so much more in the company of you all than I would have on my own. I'm looking forward to the fall iteration!
I'm glad you had a grand retreat! And I'm glad you have a clear sense (and developing respect) for your work patterns.
DeleteAnd it is so funny that the raccoons turned on the hazards! But not funny that they partied in your van, of course. Better than bears, though!
My takeaway at the moment: don't wait until the weekend before your essay is due to decide how you might restructure the whole thing and write a huge new segment! It's due tomorrow, so I will come back later for my closing post.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow! Good luck! I hope it goes well.
Deleteallan Wilson:
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals:
1) just try and get through the revisions for paper 2, so it is ready for submission. MOSTLY- still working on it, but good progress made, so it should be finished today or tomorrow.
2) exercise - YES, I made a big effort, so a walk and to the gym twice which is pretty startling for me!
Overall goals:
I can see I was over-optimistic (as always) when I set these, but on the other hand, I am really surprised and happy to see I made some very good progress towards them. The exercise goal has worked- apart from when I've been ill, I've hung in there with exercise, just ticking it over. Finding time remains a challenge, but I feel really positive about having exercise as an achievable TLQ goal.
Submitting three papers- I submitted one and have nearly finished final pre-submission revisions on another (based on the critiques of five colleagues), so I feel hopeful about this paper. So, it's not three, but I don't care, I am really happy with the nearly two.
Topic: I have learnt a lot of things this session, among them that even when you struggle, perseverance and small steps toward a goal mean that eventually results begin to form. Not rocket science, but every time this happens, I want to remember it, and remind myself that most of the time, I/we don't have the luxury or pure energy to set aside large chunks of clear-minded work time when we can brilliantly produce. The first half of the session was very difficult - the final illness and deaths of close family, who were very supportive of both my work and who I am, and other pressures also. Yet, despite the very slow progress to start, I have become more engaged again in my work, and have a clearer sense of what I need to do next. So I am really pleased to have made some progress- not totally what I expected, as I ended up working on some different pieces of work than those I originally envisaged, but positive. Many thanks to this wonderful small community - even when I checked in wildly late or didn't contribute much, I got a lot from reading everyone else's comments and thoughts, and considering the topics- so thank you. I'll really look forward to the next session.
Congrats on the exercise and the submissions!
Deleteand a recipe- one my kids taught me. I am trying this for breakfast:
ReplyDeletea banana, a cup of frozen berries (eg blackberries, reaspberries and grapes). Put into the nutribullet (sorry for the advertising!), pour in milk to cover the berries and whiz for half a minute. It makes a beautiful and very filling smoothie. My kids also add spinach which they swear you can't taste, but I can't get my head around it at the moment in a banana smoothie. . .
allan wilson
I like to put spinach in my kids smoothies. One of the only ways they eat it!
DeleteI don't think I did a very good job of learning lessons this summer. I learned that it's still very easy for my work needs to come last in family priorities, and I don't really know if I can fix that. Maybe I'll just have to hang in there until both kids make it though high school! Kidding! (Or not kidding?)
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1) Finish drafting chapter so that it's ready for editing next week.-->YES, pretty much. I'm doing footnote editing now, along with some in-text editing and and development, so I guess I'm still kind of drafting. But I'm getting close to sending it off to my supervisor!
2) walk 3x, yoga or swimming 2x-->PARTLY. Walked 3x, no yoga or swimming.
Summer Goals:
1) Do work necessary for NEH Summer Institute that will be held in July (related to sabbatical project)-->YES. Although I didn't do ALL of my reading.
2) Draft introduction to PhD thesis (by July 1)-->NO. I just wrote a synopsis of each section.
3) Revise two chapters of thesis (also by July 1)--HA! But one is almost done now. Since I was out of town from July 10-August 10, I had a big work gap.
4) Prepare article for journal submission (by August 28th)--Not too far away from this. I could be finished in a couple of weeks, but I might wait for feedback on chapter draft, since I'll be converting the chapter draft into the article.
5) Exercise (walks with dog, visits to fancy athletic club). SOME.
The summer went very quickly. I think I could have managed/protected my work time better, but I did make progress. And I had a wonderful summer trip with the family. Thank goodness I'm on sabbatical now. I have a lot to do if I want to submit the PhD thesis in February. Not sure I can do it!
Thank you to our fabulous hosts, and thanks to all of you. You keep me focused and encouraged.
Yay for sabbaticals! I'm glad you had a great summer family trip. Now get to work! ;)
DeleteHello? Really? You still there?
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, last week was a total fail -- a *very good* friend came and helped me pack up my mother's house, but it took a lot longer than expected, and other stuff intervened. So: I've really done almost nothing for two weeks.
I'm not sure there are any great lessons for me, or for anyone, from my experience this summer, except (as several others have learned this summer) life continues to happen, whether you want it to or not. And you do what needs to be done, and slowly pick yourself up and start inching forward. Which I've done.
So - Goals from two weeks ago:
1. Get going on Chapter 3 - does it count that this morning I sat down for two hours, read the chapter, and realized what I needed to do?
2. Get back to prospectus -- Silly me. But before the next series starts, this will be done
3. Keep exercising - Moving: Susan's magic diet and exercise plan. Otherwise, no. (And the *incredibly rich* flourless chocolate cake that my oldest friend made for my birthday did not help.)
4. Wield the Eraser to avoid being overly annoyed by my colleagues. Kind of. But I am still very sensitive to all the petty slights that I feel are directed at me, even when they aren't.
Summer goals:
1. The book. I am completing a book ms. I have a draft of all the chapters, which are now almost fully revised at least a first time, for flow and repetition and overall argument. My goal is to send a ms. to a publisher for review by the end of the summer.
-- Well, I did really well through June, and then all hell broke loose both at work and at home. So I have a complete ms, it's been read by an editor friend, and I've begun revisions. But it won't go to the publisher before, probably, mid October (depending on whether I want to try to fix all the footnotes first or not).
2. Other project: for my administrative role, I'm editing a collection of essays, and I have to get the proposal for that written, send invitations, and get in touch with the press.
Well, due to work change, I'm not responsible for that any more.
3. House: I'm slowly decluttering and redecorating. I've got a plan for new furniture and a new seating arrangement in my living room, and I want to begin work on that.
Hah! I know *exactly* what I want. But the current decluttering is getting rid of boxes of miscellaneous junk from my mother's house, and sorting through piles of paper.
4. Self care: one of the goals of the sabbatical was to get into good sleep and exercise patterns. I am now mostly getting 7 hours of sleep a night (my goal) and eating well. But my exercise life is erratic, and I always seem to have other things to do if a friend who is in town occasionally isn't around. So it's exercise that needs to be the new goal.
Sleep took a beating this summer, and exercise never got off the ground. But am figuring this out.
5. In the middle of the summer I have a 3 1/2 week trip to the UK, which is partly work (I must check footnotes) but also fun. I need to plan at least one week of real vacation. I've got a bunch of possibilities that I need to work out, including family visits to lovely places, visits to cities I've never visited, and time at the beach.
That trip was, needless to say, cancelled. I took one day of vacation to go up into the mountains and hike, which was great. But this has been a fairly unrelenting summer.
Thank you to all of you -- checking in here has helped me stay balanced, and to put things in focus. And I know that this too shall pass. That I'm not totally disconnected from work is thanks to this group, and to JaneB and Contingent Cassandra as hosts.
It is great to have a completed book manuscript! I would like to know how you did... as I am planning one, but still long way to go. Hope your book will come out soon.
DeleteWell, it's complete and not complete. . . of course. But it's also my third, so somewhat easier. But, on a certain level, it's just keep on writing, and see the way the pieces fit together.
DeleteI'm sorry you had such a rough summer on all fronts. Your "steady on" attitude when you've needed it and your "roll with the punches" moments have been really inspiring. I do wish for you a calmer fall.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI have missed many check-ins, and just popped in for the summary of this summer.
Last goals:
1) Write up Chapter 1. - Not really ‘write up’, but I had to send it to my professor before our meeting. So I sent it, though it was un unfinished draft, mirerable one.
2) Start to prepare for my presentation on 22th August. - Presentation done. I had to cut my sleep so much that my husband suggested I should not have planed my presentation on that day, a few days before my research trip to England, that means I’d be very busy. It might have been ill-planned, but if I had not planned, I would have done nothing.
Summer goals:
1) to write two chapters of the book. - Only Chapter 1, and it is not practically done. But anyway, I have a draft, though poor one.
2) to write for 15 minutes everyday. - Well, I always wanted to do so, but not everyday.
3) to exercise for 5 minutes everyday. - Sometimes. I want to do more.
4) to eat better, less sweets. - I have got used to have less sweets, but once a twice, suddenly I had a loooot. It was like an explosion of the sweet-lover side of me! I have to learn to tame it.
Analysis:
First of all, thank you so much for hosting this session, JaneB and Contingent Cassandra. Though again, I was not able to post several weeks, I regret it, but I always enjoy reading other participants comments. It is one of the great joy of joining this group. Thank you, and definitely I would like to join next session.
What I have learned is, again, I should have planned better, and prepared better, time always flies, leaving me behind. I know, I know. Good thing is, I have been very busy, but I try to see it as a good sign showing I am doing something. No pain, no gain.
My summer discovery is that (to be precise it is only for me, but) I have found sparkling water can be my favorite. I had not drink fizzy drinks at all, but somehow, just sparkling water, no added sugar nor taste, has become a good companion when I read or write. I don’t have to worry to get suger, to go to the ladies too often (excuse me, but it is true for me when I have tea or coffee). In addition, I feel taking it help me to avoid snacks….
Have a good week, everyone, and hope to see/read you again!
Sparkling water has also become favorite for me in the past couple of years!
DeleteWe're in the turn to spring here - shouting 'magnolia' as I drive around, needing to get the tomatoes started, able to dry the washing outside, and only half of the semester left!
ReplyDeleteWhat I've learnt and will take forward is that having some form of reminder/support/accountability does make a huge different into putting TLQ into practice, but that I still need to think realistically about what is possible during limited time. And that headspace is for me as limiting a factor as time - so if major teaching/admin projects spring up I need to think about what goes to balance them.
So, summing up progress:
1. P1 paperwork done, grant submitted.
DONE
2. P1 abstract sent
DONE LIKE A DINNER
3. Get back to setting bedtime alarm clock, 4 x physio exercises
Umm, better sleep but no exercises.
From the whole session:
Project One (curatorial) to be prepared for the exhibition and a separate publication;
On track, I think, with the conference paper to be the publication. I also developed and submitted a grant application related to this project that I hadn't foreseen when we started (and discovered just how much paperwork admin can add onto an application).
Project Two is to get one of my old conference papers revised for submission as an article.
This went nowhere - parked until summer.
On the self-care side, regular exercise and more reasonable bedtimes.
Worked well when I prioritised them - need to continue to do so and treat this job like the long haul it is.
Like everyone else, my thanks to the hosts and all the participants. Self-care came up a lot for individual goals, but this group has also been a wonderful space of sharing care for each other.
I agree with you on headspace- for me the challenge of using small blocks of time is changing gears. But congratulations on the grant!
DeleteMany thanks to CC and JaneB for hosting this summer. And for the rest of this group, great appreciation for your wit, your compassion, and your presence these many weeks.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t do *everything* I planned, but I am content when I review the block of time we’ve covered here. The article I submitted earlier in the week was a trial run for the concepts for Ala Proposal. I am interested in feedback from peer reviewers, to see if they say meh or see the concepts as bigger and more widely applicable. Em Proposal was accepted and I am waiting on a contract. Fem Proposal is my shame for not getting it done...yet. I didn’t even think about this week but want to find a way to make it a priority, along with finishing the book manuscript.
The house still needs some work. And more consistent upkeep. But at least it seems a little more manageable then when I just ran away from housework in sheer terror. Here’s hoping I can maintain my improving habits.
Thanks to CC and JaneB for hosting this summer, and many thanks to all of you for your support this summer!
ReplyDeleteTopic: What I learnt this summer was that there is a certain solace and joy in continuing to work through grief and pain. There were times I just wanted to quit, and while it is important to sit and reflect and grieve, I found it helpful to occupy myself with something. My father was very proud of my intellectual pursuits, so I told myself that he would want me to finish the article, get the footnotes in shape, that sort of thing.
Even having to euthanize our Weimaraner worked into taking care of myself. He was my night nurse when I had major surgery two years ago, sleeping on the floor by the davenport where I slept for two weeks, and went upstairs to get someone if I needed help. I told myself I had to take care of myself, because he took such good care of me then.
This year, I want to take care of myself mentally more than I have in the past. That may entail saying no to some projects, and yes to some stretch projects. I don’t want to stultify, nor do I want to put in my time and call it good.
Progress against Week 13's goals:
Read for an hour three times for the literature review. Yes, I did!
Schedule surgery: Yes, I did!
One positive thought/thought of gratitude every morning. Yes, I did!
Progress against summer goals:
1) to move forward on the dissertation, which needs an updated literature review, and a rewritten introduction and first chapter. No, I did not accomplish this goal. However, I did write a completely different article from beginning to end, send if off, have it accepted and am turning in the copy edits this week.
2) to walk more. I did manage to walk more this summer than usual. I hope to keep up the trend, despite walking like an 80-year-old woman after my surgery!
3) to eat better food mindfully. After six weeks of getting nauseated at the sight of food, I am certainly mindful and grateful about what I eat. It’s not quite how I planned it, but that’s okay.
Analysis and review: I think what I found most valuable this summer was to do something, even if it felt like a sidetrack or a feint. I found it helped me get through some tough times. I do think that planning makes more sense, when one is healthy in heart and mind, but I found it helpful to know that working through side projects helped when I wasn’t healthy.
Given everything else, I am impressed. And your insight that working through side projects helped is a good one. A reminder to always have something productive to procrastinate on!
DeleteYes, Susan, productive procrastination really does exist, and can keep one moving, if not completely on the same track.
DeleteAnd thank you!