the grid

the grid

Thursday 17 September 2015

Fall TLQ: Sign Up and Week One

Welcome to the Top Left Quadrant session for Fall/Spring 2015!

Many of us are now leaving the open spaces of summer behind as we transition into teaching periods, while others have been teaching  through the last few months - but we are all now at the point where the end of the year seems to be looming closer and closer. Holding on to the time, energy and headspace for TLQ over the next few months in the face of pressures from teaching and more is not only about stepping back from crisis mode to structure in longer term productivity, but also about caring for ourselves as embodied being with connections to places, people and ideas.

Your hosts for the fall/spring session are GEW and me, Karen - one of us from the northern hemisphere and one from the south, hence the doubled season. This session of TLQ will run over 13 weeks (hopefully without any bad luck) from now until Sunday 13 December. The basic ground rules are posted here. We will put up weekly prompts for discussion and check in each Friday (well, sometime Friday in our respective time zones) which should give participants the chance to reflect on the previous week and get ready to start the next week with goals in mind. 

We welcome back those who have joined in a session before and encourage new people to join. To officially join in, just leave a comment below following the prompts. Please feel free to share and promote through your own blogs and social media.

So for this first week, please briefly introduce yourself.

Then set your key, overall goals for the session. Within the domain of TLQ (important but not urgent) you might find goals relating to research, writing, creativity, self-care and more. Some of the reflections from the last session highlighted the importance of goals that were realistic (both in scale and number of goals) as well as motivational (finding goals that you saw as valuable and/or felt enthusiastic about).

Then set your weekly goals, which you will report back on through the check-in post going up on Friday 25 September. Weekly goals are a great way to break down the overall goals into smaller, manageable steps, and you might want to think about goals that could be set for each day or a couple of times over the week as well as single action goals.

Welcome! Good luck! And please do share your insights and support with one another through the comments - one of the best parts of this group is the community it generates.

44 comments:

  1. Thank you very much for hosting this group, GEW and Karen!

    I am Matilda. I have joined the TLQ group for sometime. Joining TLQ always encoulages me to do my TLQ. What I like of this group is that I can read how others manage to live their own busy daily lives - submitting articles, moving houses, attending conferences, writing thesis, taking care of parents and children and so on, and think with them. These real examples give me energy to survive. As Karen says, the community this group generates is so wonderful.

    I teach Medieval European history at a private university in a non-English speaking country. My current project is to write a book and this is my greatest TLQ goal. I am a mother of two young children, a daughter and a boy.

    Overall goals:
    1) Revise Chapter 2 of my book and finish the first draft.
    2) Write an article related to Chapter 1 of my book.
    3) Do three minutes exercise at least 5 times a day.
    4) Write at least for 15 minutes every day.

    This weeks goal:
    1) Prepare for a talk on 3rd October.
    2) Re-read Chapter 1 and make a revision plan.
    3) Do three minutes exercise three times a day.
    4) Write for 15 minutes three days.

    Have a good week, everyone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome to the session Matilda! It is fascinating how we get these little windows into such a diverse set of lives. It sounds like you've really thought about how to use your session goals to build progress in the overall book project.

      Delete
    2. Glad you're with us again, Matilda. I get energy (and ideas!) from all of you, too. Regarding exercise, I'm thinking I need to do some shorts bursts (as per your goals) to combat all of the sitting I'm doing.

      Delete
    3. Thank you for your comments, karen and GEW! It is exciting to have a new session with all of you.

      Delete
  2. Really glad this is running again, thanks GEW and Karen for hosting.

    I'm a senior lecturer at a a UK university who does mainly teaching (and has a substantial teaching related admin role) and research related to teaching although I am a physical scientist. I struggle enormously with the balance between aspects of my work that are important to me personally (and 'make the job worthwhile') and those aspects that being a good departmental citizen (and good in the admin role) require of me. This group is one of my weapons in that battle because it reminds me that I'm not the only one like that, and that's pretty important.

    Overall goals:
    1. Submit a paper (Gemstone or acronym)
    2. Conduct scary research once ethical approval is received (hopefully for the planned start).
    3. Make 100 hand-crafted items (including squares for my latest knitted blanket and Christmas cards)
    4. Get into the habit of regular time periods to focus on my research projects and papers. At least 4 hours (a half day) per week.

    This week's goals:
    1. Finalise research tool for scary project in anticipation of perhaps maybe getting ethics approval to go ahead. [this will count as my research half day]
    2. Sort out as much as I can for the first few weeks of teaching
    3. Tidy up workspace for craft and make a list of what I need to buy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome back, kjhaxton! I'm eager to hear more about your craft items and how your craft work complements your other work. 100 items! That's quite a target. Ready, set, knit!

      Delete
    2. 'Being a good department citizen', yes, it is important to keep good atmosphere at the department, but sometimes it needs tactics when I' am in 'I'm determined to create my research time and stick to it' -mood. And 100 craft items! Wow!

      Delete
  3. Thank you, Karen and GEW for hosting!

    I'm Susan, a regular in TLQ for some time. I'm a senior Professor in the humanities at a public university in the US. As someone with a conscience, I take on my fair share of service. I also am semi-responsible for my mother, who lives in the same town I do: she had a stroke this past summer, and moved to assisted living; they manage day to day things, but there's a fair bit of admin that I do, and she likes to see me. So . . . I also have two cats.

    Goals for the session:
    I was on leave last year, finishing a book manuscript. I'm in to the "almost final revision" phase, based on comments from an editor. By the end of the session, I want to have submitted my manuscript to a publisher. That means one more round of revisions, and also fixing footnotes. In the midst of all that, while serving on a boat-load of committees, I am giving three different papers (four, if you count one in early January). Three of the four are based on the book and not too difficult, but still, they will be interruptions. I'm also trying to get back into the exercise routine.

    Week 1 Goals:
    1. Revise last two chapters of book
    2. Begin to draft conclusion
    3. Sign up at Gym so that I have a place to go for exercise. Go at least twice next week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And to add a session goal nd a weekly goal
      Session: get rid of clutter from my mother's house, keep up with junk mail, and clear off main bookcase counter.

      Week: take care of one more bag of junk.

      Delete
    2. Those are mighty goals! I hope you find ways to maintain research/writing work as the university sucks you back in. After a break from school, I often feel a bit like I've gotten "soft," and everything feels more difficult to manage. I hope you return within a sense of poise and focus! Eager to hear about what kinds of exercises you focus on at the gym.

      Delete
  4. I'm Earnest English, and I teach at an odd place in the US. I'm SO glad to be a part of this. The structure and accountability here will really help.

    I've got a very difficult quarter coming up with a ridiculous number of preps and overfull classes, a number of big service commitments, some research work I really want to get done in a very slow and plodding way, and some health issues that I really must take seriously so exercise and stress reduction are crucial. Before all that starts, I have a small chapter to write and at least one major home project: making the home office/library more livable by buying bookshelves and unpacking boxes. Meanwhile I also want to keep up with our family projects -- somehow! Really just thinking about all I have to get done by the end of the calendar year makes me want to crawl back into bed. So I have to just keep my head down and keep working, but without stressing myself out because of the health concerns!

    So this week's goals:

    -work out at least twice this week
    -get draft together of short chapter (which probably breaks down into working on it several times this week)
    -prep and write several big emails to get those projects done
    -keep head from exploding by engaging in frequent stress-relieving breaks by. . .???
    -engage in research and reflection on what kinds of stress-relieving breaks would work (saying I'll meditate is fine, but maybe there are better things I like more -- I'm seriously open to ideas!!!!)
    -compile Big Project drafts so I can take stock of what I got done in the last quarter
    -prep somewhat

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello! Stress-relieving breaks: have you tried adult colouring books? I find mine surprisingly relaxing, and before that I was making stuff with those tiny elastic bands all the kids loved a year or so ago... I also work Sudoku puzzles or do knitting or crochet, I like something to do with my fingers that is kind of repetitive, it seems to help better than just being still. Maybe active meditation would help? I have a few slow stretches and ta'i chi moves I do in 5 minute breaks at work, which I do meditatively (either focusing on my body/breathing or when I'm anxious using a repeated short quotation or chant in my head) when I remember, and at work at least that seems to work better than trying to be still inside or out.

      Delete
    2. Yes to sudoku and adult coloring books!

      Delete
    3. JaneB, what a treasure trove of stress-relievers! I've been doing some guided meditation (downloaded from a recording) lately. It gets me to a very serene place. But I have a craving for doing something creative that in no way involves writing.

      Delete
    4. You all have beat me to the punch on the exact discussion topic I was planning for next week! "Best Five-Minute Breaks." I'm serious! That was my plan. :)

      Lately, I've been spending mine eating, and that must stop.

      Delete
    5. I'm looking forward to more great ideas, especially ways to quickly get restored and centered.

      Delete
    6. I forgot one - stand up and sing or declaim! Focusing on the words and the sound you make helps, and to make a good sound you have to relax and open up shoulders and neck, breathe deeply and in a controlled way, all those good things. And you get to pick words that feel appropriate to the moment and spend some time with them - I like psalms 121 (I lift up mine eyes...) and 130 (out of the depths I cry unto thee... ), Denise Levetov's Stepping Westward, a classic say-aloud like Invictus or a slightly scurrilous folk song where being a little harsh of tone and wavering around the note is entirely appropriate (my singing voice is still lousy) - "the bonny black hare", "me husband's got no courage in him" or "the rambling sailor" are currently in my head

      Delete
    7. Ooh, I like the singing/declaiming idea, especially since I've been getting back into (maybe just into) memorizing scriptures lately. And I'm going to get a brush-up in singing technique next week (choir workshop), so maybe I can take an idea or two away from that.

      Delete
  5. I'm JaneB, and I'm a Reader at a 'squeezed middle' university in the UK, which is currently going through all kinds of convulsions since it's current 'leadership' is convinced that the way to increase revenue is to berate staff and change everything that can be changed, whilst cutting budgets - Excellence for Nothing syndrome. Hardly anything unusual, in modern academe, right? I whinge a LOT about it all on my own blog and here, and that helps me keep going, as does knowing other people going through similar things. I also have stress-exacerbated health issues, and so my TLQ is about putting self-care higher up the list of priorities, as well as writing.

    My overall goals for the session are to:
    a) tie up all the summer writing projects that made it off my desk (that's write and give two conference talks, do minor revisions for two articles and a revise and resubmit for a third, contribute as needed to a multi-author paper and complete the writing and submission of a smallish research grant. Oh, and a Research Service project in my field). I'd like to also make some progress with the things that didn't quite ever get off my desk, which are several articles and grant ideas in various stages of incompleteness, but these will probably have to wait until January.
    b) look after myself - keep up and improve my exercise habit, eat well, go to bed before midnight, declutter, all the usual stuff

    For next week:
    Students are back the week after, too many things are still up in the air (such as the timetable - we still don't actually have one), and I have masses of teaching prep to do, a major administrivia report to put together and meetings to attend. I ALSO have deadlines approaching fast for the minor revisions and the grant application has a tortuous internal approvals process to grind its way through so needs to be ready to be entered into the computer system by the end of the week... So minimum goals, which are:
    1) go through both sets of minor revision instructions, email co-authors with any parts I can't do myself or they can do more quickly
    2) complete a rough draft of each section of the administrivia report and email all the colleagues who need to send me information or add bits
    3) rough out the grant budget and put down bullet points of what needs to go in each section
    4) be nice to JaneB... do at least two sanity-supporting things each day (early to bed, exercise, crochet or other handwork, work on my NaNo-writing, sitting on the back step in daylight with a cuppa and nothing else to do for at least fifteen minutes...)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your description of your management is how I think the whole sector is treated, and how schools are treated too (and have been for far longer than we in the universities have. In the UK, the NHS too.

      Delete
    2. Sounds like you have a very busy week ahead. Be sure to take those tea breaks!

      Delete
  6. Thanks, GEW and Karen for hosting this iteration of TLQ on-line!
    Hi all--I'm Mercy, and I teach at a European university with a rather more flexible schedule than the semester system I was used to in the US. Concretely this means that the first half of the TLQ time frame will be very teaching-heavy for me, and the second half much less so. So I'll be planning accordingly: just "touching" my writing in the first half, and making some real, good progress in the second.

    Goals for the session:
    1. finish complete draft of HA paper so it can be sent off (either to friendly readers or into the world, depending)
    2. keep up w/teaching, prep, and grading without overdoing it (i.e., no prettying up PPPs)
    3. make time each week for each kid, partner, and self (lunch walks, play w/kids, museum visit)

    Goals for the coming week:
    1. grade short answer Qs on mid-term exam
    2. "touch" HA paper for 25 mins 2 days/week
    3. visit Dinosaur museum w/kid
    4. walk each day, no email at night, go to bed on time

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like the specificity of your "kid time" goal for the week. And "keep up w/teaching, prep, and grading without overdoing it" is just the thing, isn't it?! I'll be eager to see how to try to find that sweet spot.

      Delete
  7. I'm karen, and I'm hosting so I ckinda have to be here...

    More seriously, I'm a part-time lecturer in a regional Australian university, in a field where I do theory but most of my colleagues and students do practice - and I'm getting increasing dragged over the blurred theory/practice line. Time out of work is dominated by 2 kids - the toddler and the preschooler - and like many other academic families, moving for work means we don't have a local network of family to draw on.

    This is just over halfway through my second semester, so teaching and marking are going to be intense for the next two months, plus there's the curriculum review complete with compulsory strategic meetings with one week's notice. But amongst that I have some research related deadlines that will move it from TLQ to TRQ and then to panic stations if I don't stay ahead on it. And I'm still trying to find ways to work and manage stress that don't look like stay up late every night, use caffiene/sugar to get through the day, be tired and unproductive, stay up late working, rinse and repeat.

    So, session goals are:
    1. Complete P1 events and have a first draft of a paper relating to it
    2. Improve self care in sBlock leep, exercise, and eating
    3. A smooth run into Christmas

    Week goals:
    1. Block out 2 hours for P1 material gathering
    2. Set sleep alarm clock
    3. Cut out snacking outside of meal times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for co-hosting with me, Karen, and I love your "smooth run into Christmas" goal. I'm not sure I've ever done that, but I'm always trying to think about how to make it happen.

      And now that I'm five weeks into sabbatical, it's time for me to deal with the snacking. So much snacking.

      Delete
  8. I’m humming42 and so very glad to be here. TLQ is truly a habit for me, in all the best ways. If only I missed exercise like I miss a weekly check-in. I’m a mid-career prof, teaching at a mid-sized state school in a small US town.

    Session goals:
    1. Make significant progress on manuscript revision
    2. Continue weekly meditation
    3. Finish remaining outstanding projects (2 book reviews, conference presentation, miscellaneous service things) and make deadlines (for what is not already past due!)

    Week goals:
    1. Draft writing plan for manuscript
    2. Finish last week’s meditation
    3. Submit book review 1

    Thank you, Karen and Good Enough Woman for hosting. Wishing you all a marvelous week ahead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome back! One thing I like about having TLQ as a habit is it then helps me to build other habits as well (prehaps eveb the dreaded exercise...)

      Delete
  9. Hello, my name is metheist. It has been awhile since I participated in TLQ. This past spring, I finally defended my dissertation and completed a multi-year teaching contract in humanities at a regional US university. After much anguishing, I left higher education and am now teaching full-time at one of the best charter high schools in the country. I cannot express how much I enjoy my job, nor how surprised I am to say that!! I also have quite a bit of freedom in what I teach--unlike at the uni I was at.

    I am here at TLQ because I do have some very important projects to complete (that are really past due) and I also want to continue as an independent scholar.

    Session Goals:
    1) Finish editing Behemoth
    2) Write 1500 word review essay
    3) Write 1000 book review

    Week Goals:
    1) Edit 10 pages of Behemoth
    2) Refamiliarize myself with 'goddess' book
    3) Prep week for 2 classes
    4) Cook 3xwk.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Congratulations on finishing and defending the dissertation, and congrats on landing in a job that you love. Lots of changes for you! Welcome back.

      Delete
    2. Seconding GEW's congratulations, on both counts. There are definitely some high school jobs that are better than many higher ed jobs (just as there are some contingent jobs that are better than some tenure-track jobs), and it sounds like you've found one. Hurrah!

      Delete
  10. I've been in the TLQ group for a while, and it was definitely time for me to step up and help out by co-hosting. This is a good semester for me to do so since I'm on sabbatical leave this term. Thanks to Karen for doing it with me! And thanks to all of your for joining again.

    I teach English at a community college (two-year, open-access) in California. I'm starting my 15th year as a tenured member of the faculty. I'm also a PhD student at a UK university, and I'm trying to finish the PhD thesis. I would love to submit the thesis in February, but I'm not sure it's possible (both because of my work speed and because of my supervisor's busy schedule), but even if I can't submit in February, I want to crank really hard until then. As a full-time instructor, and as a mother of two (son is 12, daughter is 10), I've realized that now is the time. I'm on sabbatical for just this semester, and I need to get as close to finished as I can possibly get. It's clear to me that getting it done while mothering and working full-time is just about impossible for me.

    This session I'm really focused on the thesis. While I'm on sabbatical, I'm also able to be more present for my kids when I'm with them, so I probably won't focus goals on them except for when there are specific things I need to do for them (e.g., Halloween costumes, computer help, etc.). We've got some camping trips and other things going on, so we'll have some good quality time.

    Session goals:
    1) 2nd draft of Chapter 2
    2) 2nd draft of Chapter 3
    3) submit article based on Chapter 1
    4) Draft introduction
    5) Take regular five-minute breaks to exercise, and also take long walks, swim, and do yoga (a combo of at least 5 per week)
    6) Go on a 3-4 day writing retreat

    (I'd love to get a second draft of Chapter 4, too, but I know it's probably unrealistic.)

    This week's goals:
    1) walk 3x, swim 1x, yoga 1x
    2) explore possible organizational patterns for Chapter 2
    3) read a LOT of secondary material (too much to list, but I'll aim for at least 10 chapters of secondary books)

    By the way, I *finally* sent off the revision of Chapter 1 to my supervisor. I'm sure I'll have changes to make, but, for the most part, it's a fully researched, fairly clear chapter. I hope she doesn't think it's rubbish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember you mentioned your children when the group run by Notorious and DEH. Children are growing up! Good luck to your thesis!!

      Delete
    2. Congratulations on sending off chapter 1! I'm sure she will *not* think that it's rubbish, and getting the feedback/revision exchange going is key (or at least so I'm told; I never really did get that working with my advisors -- partly my fault; partly theirs -- which probably helps explain why it took me 12+ years to write the diss.)

      Delete
  11. Hello!
    Thank you to our lovely hosts :) This group has been extremely valuable to me, I'm happy to be back.

    I'm starting my 4th year on the TT in physical science at a tiny teaching-intensive undergraduate university. I am involved in a major teaching/service project that has made this term a mess so far. We're only 2 weeks into it and I'm having small panic attacks every time I think more than a day ahead... I'm also hosting a major workshop in a few weeks. This group will help me keep a sense of perspective...

    My overall goals for this session will be:
    1) Finish data work for three collaborative papers (CP)
    2) Draft two of my own new papers for a new field area (NP)
    3) Major grant application
    4) Exercise
    5) Reading project
    6) Deal with Old papers as needed

    This week's goals:
    1) Data for CP1, polish and send away
    2) Write conference abstract based on outline for NP1
    3) Workshop field guide and program
    I'm going to pass on exercise right now, will start that next week.

    Best wishes for a great session for everyone!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It sounds like you've got a lot on! I hope you can help limit the amount of crisis/panic mode - and your goals sound like they will be a nice counterweight to the teaching parts of your work.

      Delete
  12. Hi folks! Thanks JaneB for sending me here and letting me join you wonderful folks.

    I'll keep it short:

    This is my year before I go up for tenure, so I'm feeling the pressure of getting things done. My mentor and dear friend has sent me a timeline of what he wants from to help me get my stuff written (since I need external accountability), and he wants a full length article by October 15th. Uh, so the research for the article is nowhere near done. I've read like 2 things. So I guess the next two weeks I'll pound out some research and then turn what I have from the conference paper into a full length article to send to him.

    It's all imperative that I eat right, sleep, and workout during all of this, otherwise, I won't make it.

    In a nutshell, there it is. I'm happy to be here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome, Maude. You've probably had this advice already, but do try to write while you read. I find that helps keep me focused on what is useful from the sources, and then map out where I am best placed to do further reading.

      Good luck!

      Delete
    2. Karen, Thanks for the welcome! I know I should do that. I started trying to do that. I take notes, but that's not the same as the actual writing.

      Delete
  13. Hi, all! It's good to see so many familiar names, and some new ones. And many thanks to Karen and GEW for hosting.

    I've been hanging around here for a while, too, but for those who are new: I'm a mid-career, full-time but not tenure-track, English (mostly composition) professor at a state R2-that-wants-to-be-an-R1 (which translates into an increasing structural, though not necessarily personal, class divide between research-oriented tenure-track faculty and "teaching faculty" like myself) in the U.S. My job doesn't officially include (or reward) writing and research, but I try to do a bit of it.

    Lately, however, as I've acknowledged that I am both firmly mid-career and (perhaps not-so-firmly) middle-aged, I've been concentrating on activities aimed at shoring up what I've been calling my personal infrastructure: health/self-care and household/financial matters. I plan to continue concentrating on those this session, but I'm also hoping to work my way back into spending more time on research and writing (and have several scheduled or proposed conference presentations in late '15 and early '16 that will help steer my attention in that direction). So,

    Session goals:

    1) continue progress on household/financial projects [I actually got one big chunk of one of the financial projects done during our intersession, so I've got some momentum on this]

    2) continue self-care, especially regular exercise (walking and weight-lifting) and sleep and eating regularly (healthily, if possible, but some days just regularly would be an improvement).

    3) do something to get back in touch with writing and research. This might include building on conference presentations (one just completed, one scheduled) on DH class to write a pedagogical article; starting a DH project to accomplish a planned (very early planning stages) book; and/or finishing up another article that has been in progress at least as long as this group has been meeting (so it's about time). The first two options are the most likely to fit into my schedule, and I'll be happy if I do a bit on even one of them.

    I've got plenty of other things going on, including a lot of teaching and other school stuff, and an adult education class to teach at church, preparation for additional conference presentation(s), and final edits on a chapter for an edited collection that is (finally!) almost in press, but those are all more or less TRQ (i.e. they have built-in deadlines of some sort). I want to use the group to keep track of the things with no external deadlines that I'm afraid will otherwise slip through the cracks, so those are what I've listed above.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Goals for this week:

      As mentioned above, I just finished one conference presentation, which, combined with the usual start-of-school rush, has me both more tired than I expected, and a bit behind on teaching duties (mostly providing feedback, but I also need to do some listing of prep tasks to make sure I stay on top of those as things get even busier). I also spent a couple of late nights pulling things together for the presentation, and haven't really gotten on a good sleep schedule. So, goals for this week (already in progress, and already incompletely successful, at least in the case of #1):

      1) get back on sustainable sleeping/eating schedule, and begin adding in regular exercise (especially walking, since the next month or so will bring some of the best outdoor-exercise weather available in our climate)

      2) continue progress on household/financial tasks

      3) planning for rest of semester (including scheduling of prep for school and church classes and figuring out where to fit in conference prep and possible work on DH article)

      Delete
    2. And for "accomplish" above, read "accompany." One sign of middle age, at least for me, seems to be that the words in my brain don't always transmit as accurately to my fingertips as they once did. At least I hope that's all it is.

      Delete
  14. Hello all! Many thanks to our hosts for what I have found to be a fantastically helpful and supportive group. I am very grateful and happy to be part of this new session. It is great to read about everyone else, their goals, and positions. It keeps me aware of the much bigger world out there.
    I am an ecologist (broadly speaking) by training, and have worked for a national science organisation for the last year and a half, having previously been based in a university. It has been an interesting journey with some real highs and lows.
    My goals for this session are ambitious, but necessary for reasons I can't go into here. The first is around physical health, and the second is work-related: to be productive, in a way that increases my potential opportunities.
    So,I plan to answer the question for each and every week of this session, have I put my personal health and wellbeing ahead of work?
    My second goal is to submit three papers. It is ambitious, but knowing what I do now about national science organisations, I think this will make a real difference to a number of things. and, I have a number of papers more than half written, so I think it should be possible, and I will feel greater wellbeing once I have a sense of work being finished.
    aw

    ReplyDelete
  15. I hope it's not to late to join the party! I had a busy weekend followed by a horrible bout of the flu. I'm finally recovered and getting caught up.

    Introduction:
    As my 8yo daughter says, I'm a Renaissance Woman. I'm two years out of a PhD program, I'm the primary caregiver for my 2 kids (ages 8 and 10), I started writing children's books last year, and I'm prepping to teach two sections of a world literature course online for a SLAC in the southern US (I'm in California) October-December. I'm a bit at sea because I haven't studied half the material I'm teaching, and I've got to do a few video lectures (cameras! and microphones! and lights!).

    Session Goals:
    1) health: continue exercise habit, continue to develop good eating habits
    2) creativity: write at least 2x per week
    3) career: get letters of rec in my file from advisors
    4) household: declutter garage, office, and master bedroom; order and put up shades
    5) community: once or twice a month, get together with a neighbor or fellow school parent

    This week: (how is it almost over?!?)
    1) now that I can eat again, eat healthfully
    2) write 2x
    3) 1 hour decluttering
    4) put materials for letter of rec in a folder
    5) go see a play this weekend

    Thanks to GEW and Karen for hosting. It's great to see you all!
    I'd better go get busy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When I ask my daughter what she wants to be when she grows up, she says "Renaissance Woman! . . . or a veterinarian."

      Delete