We're now one week away from the end of this session of TLQ. For me, it felt like life started accelerating in October and just kept speeding up from there. With only a few weeks left of semester for some of us, and into the last month of the year for all of us, now seems like a good time to think about what to do with the limited time left. What goals need revising? What goals are worth pushing on? How do we compress what needs doing into the remaining time? And are there things that we need to let go?
Below I've listed last week's goals first, and then the session goals.
And if anyone wants to volunteer to host the next session, maybe comments are a good place to start that discussion.
Academic Amstr
1) write 5x
2) nightly check-ins
3) exercise 5x, bunny hutch 2x
4) write down what I eat
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
aw
1. Do final check of CR data, then send to senior manager for comment
2. Finalise other draft this week and send around to co-authors
3. Submit other draft
4. roughly draft proposal submission for new funding
5. Email collaborator SN about long overdue paper and when we might do it
6. Email request to 4 archives
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
Contingent Cassandra
1) follow-up on a new professional project (at least the most urgent
bits) and conference follow-up as possible (the latter is postponable)
2) continue to try to get regular sleep
3) complete urgent cooking chores (mostly processing fresh food/last garden produce before it goes bad)
4) complete most urgent household chores (especially laundry)
5) deal w/ most urgent financial tasks, and plan when to tackle more TLQ-ish ones
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.
Daisy
Survive end of classes, get all the things done before going away for lab work.
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
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
I have an online writing class that I have neglected, and I plan to catch up on the first week’s lessons.
Polish and publish 2 blog posts.
Final edits on DH’s paper.
Call all the doctors listed on Monday’s schedule for questions and plans.
Re-establish the habit of writing 5 out of 7 days. Those of you who have
been in earlier iterations of this group know that I suffer from what
my bereavement counselor calls grief exhaustion. Virtually all of my
abilities dried up and went away.
Rebuild my organizational skills. I’ve been assured that my brain fog will go away, I hope sooner rather than later.
Add
some movement and mindful eating to my day. I had gall bladder surgery
at the beginning of September, and need to improve my eating and
exercise habits, or lack thereof.
Concentrate on my PMM article. I
need to update my literature review for this article, which will lead to
some edits in the article proper.
Earnest English
1. Take ridiculously good care of self with lots of relaxation because of Big Service Event taking place this week and next.
2. Grade regularly.
3. Continue sneaking in some reading.
4. Smile. Move like water. It's almost over now.
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!
GEW
1) Complete Christmas list and shopping (ambitious!)
2) Get new debit card
3) Make hair appointment
4) Make at least one doctor/dentist appointment.
5) Submit book order forms which are way past due.
6) Read important secondary source book, along with an additional article or chapter or two.
7) Make cookies for 4-H event and remember to attend said event.
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
humming42
Do something research/writing related every day and keep track of it
Finish the book review
Work on abstract due mid-month
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!)
JaneB
1) Survive week with teaching and grading done on time
2) Wrap some Christmas presents
3) Make up mind about whether to pull out of the upcoming conference.
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
karen
1. Set up pre-break meetings with all postgrads with a focus on having a clear sense of their direction for the next month.
2. Wrap up remaining writing commitment.
3. Set up meeting for next year's online unit planning.
4. Self care by focusing on filling up on nutritionally-dense food and 3x online yoga class/self-directed practice.
1. Complete P1 events and have a first draft of a paper relating to it
2. Improve self care in sleep, exercise, and eating
3. A smooth run into Christmas
kjhaxton
1. final push - gemstone paper will be submitted
2. christmas crafts - I have a lot of stocking shapes to cut out!
3. acronym report - need a plan!
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.
Matilda
1) Finish the draft of the paper.
2) Do three minute-exercise three times a day.
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.
Maude
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.
Mercy
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)
metheist
1) Grade assignments that are way post due
2) Spend an hour a day on my own work
3) Rearrange living room/office area to eliminate chaos
1) Finish editing Behemoth
2) Write 1500 word review essay
3) Write 1000 book review
Susan
1. Keep making progress on references
2. Work on big deal thing - draft letter
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.
I'm actually excited about checking in because I submitted Gemstone paper! I've been so happy, in a fairly difficult semester, to actually get on with something TLQ ;)
ReplyDeleteLast week:
kjhaxton
1. final push - gemstone paper will be submitted - DONE!
2. christmas crafts - I have a lot of stocking shapes to cut out! - in progress.
3. acronym report - need a plan! - postponed, Scary papers have a more pressing deadline (mid January)
Session:
1. Submit a paper (Gemstone or acronym)
- Gemstone submitted, acronym on hold until February
2. Conduct scary research once ethical approval is received (hopefully for the planned start).
- done, and two paper deadlines in mid January so need to get the research data processed and papers written.
3. Make 100 hand-crafted items (including squares for my latest knitted blanket and Christmas cards)
- in progress, got about 30 stockings and 30 cards to make for Christmas but have made about 20 bags, three roll-up pencil cases, three hallow'een capes, knitted half a cushion cover, finished 1 blanket square. The capes and pencil cases are a lot more effort than the stockings.
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.
- really not managing this very well but with some clever 'working at home days' it has averaged in the past 3 weeks to 1/2 day a week. Perhaps that's moving in the right direction.
This week and 'the final push' -
1. the stockings and Christmas cards must be done.
2. scary project data needs to be coded and a plan made for analysis and write-up
3. gather references for scary and put them into reference manager software
congratulations!!! Submitting a paper is a huge achievement at this point in the semester!
Deletecongratulations on submitting Gemstone! that is awesome! aw
DeleteCongratulations on submitting your paper! And the crafting sounds like it is moving right along.
DeleteYes, congratulations! It really seems that you've had great success with your TLQ goals!
DeleteThat's a lot of stockings and Christmas cards. Good luck!
Oh, and I'm glad your 1/2 day per week might work out well as a new habit.
DeleteCongratulations! I hope the projects (craft and otherwise) go well.
DeleteLast Week
ReplyDelete1. Take ridiculously good care of self with lots of relaxation because of Big Service Event taking place this week and next.
2. Grade regularly.
3. Continue sneaking in some reading.
4. Smile. Move like water. It's almost over now.
Well, I haven't completed as much grading as much as I need to, but I have been pushing myself to do it more than I've wanted to, so that's good. I am in the process of figuring out what kinds of end-of-quarter stuff can be made easier for both students and myself. And I lived through the first half of the big service event and am trying to keep myself (distracted by other service crap and the snarkiness of a specific c'tee head who is a total power-grabbing tool who is not notifying key personnel like me about deadlines key to her mission and our roles except in snarky ways when she hurls it as a threat because we want to do things differently from the way that cements her power -- and duh, any wonder why we don't want to do it her way?) calm for the second half. Just getting through the last week is the mark of success. We also made amazing headway on a family project that's really important to us, so that's awesome.
Goals for the Upcoming Week
1. Get a lot of end-of-quarter handouts done for the week.
2. Plod through marking.
3. Keep calm for the service things on deck this week. Lots of relaxation and sleep and calming teas.
4. Work on holiday stuff.
5. Remember to send Snarkmaster a complaint about lack of communication in two ways by end of the week.
6. Figure out next steps on Family Project.
7. Move like water. Nothing, even telling Snarkmaster off, however stress-relieving that might feel in the moment, is worth killing myself over.
Big Picture
DeleteI'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!
Big Picture Reflection
Well, just getting through this awful quarter without getting really sick is a major achievement. My supplement regimen and my dedication to it (going to various places when I don't feel like it and shelling out money I don't really want to spend) is really to be commended. And my family has been so supportive. The rest of this year's teaching schedule should be easy sailing compared to this. I did get the small article done, affirming to myself again what amazing things can be done in 30-minute increments. Really. I did not work much on my bigger research project, but that is okay. I did a bit of reading, and that is just fine. I did not get the office into shape, though I did occasionally get a few boxes done. So that's got to be pushed off to the Winter quarter. The garden is seriously languishing from all this focus elsewhere, which is sad, though I did finally get the garlic in last week. I did not exercise during this quarter, but my sciatica is so much better it's amazing, so I think that not exercising was key to that. Next week, I'll be going to two kinds of doctors for big tests, so I have still been addressing my health concerns and not just running away from that (like I'd like to). I need to make more of a place for stress reduction, though. I bought that book, but I haven't really done much on that front, so that's a TLQ focus for Winter as well.
TLQ has been so helpful! It puts a certain structure on some self-reflection that could be more haphazard. I look forward to checking in, and I think a bit more about difficulties, such as transition time and my absolute need for "me" time for my overall morale. (I can feel bad that I don't want to fill that time full of research work or reading the classics, but why do that to myself? Sometimes I want to read Middlemarch. Yes, I know I should read more Plato. But sometimes I want to watch Witches of East End. Balance is okay.) The regular check-ins also remind me to lift my head up long enough to realize that I need to focus on my health, stacks of papers be damned (sorry, students), and that's really the way it needs to be even for the good of the short-term (I'll get sick and get even further behind if I push myself) and long-term. (You know you're in trouble when you dream of being put on disability.) It's also allowed me to be more thoughtful about which things I should do during my "me" time -- whether I should watch a show that might be too intense for me (for example, I have not gone on yet to Season 2 of Witches of East End but have reverted to my BBC comedies) and when I should focus more on filling my well creatively by watching or reading something sustaining. (Liz Gilbert's various podtalks and soulsession has been helpful here as have been various articles on specific issues important to my creativity.)
DeleteBy thinking about Gretchen Rubin's ideas of four different approaches to rules, I've also been thinking of my overall approach to things and whether my attitude (not my approach) is helpful or not. (When I get out of bed, I totally think "what do I have to do?" in a grudging way, partly because I am so not a morning person, but also because I feel run over by my life. This attitude is in contrast to "how can I live out my values today?" or "what projects that I value can I move forward today?" or "how can I serve others in ways I care about today?" or "how can I be a good role model today?" So what I mean here is that my attitude isn't helpful and it's also not terribly accurate. My attitude always suggests to me that I'm a lazy person, that I look at everything as an impediment to sitting on the couch and doing nothing (which I do to a certain extent) but I am so not lazy when it comes to taking work and projects, both at work and at home. I actually take on way too much because I really believe in the work, not because I want others to like me or to oblige them or whatever. So I get overwhelmed and want to do nothing and occasionally get really resentful if I don't get my "me" time. I've thought that I should work on reducing my commitments (maybe) to work on the overwhelm. But another approach is to consciously practice reframing the way I look at the work in my life. These are the kinds of things I look forward to working on in TLQ Winter. Bring it on! I hope to see all of you there too!
I'm glad that TLQ has helped to provide a focus for self-reflection, especially when I think a lot of us can empathise with the same struggles around prioritising self-care, finding things that comfort and motivate us. That phrase 'run over by my life' really resonates with me at the moment.
DeleteI hope the second part of the big event goes smoothly. Then you'll have it behind you! It's wonderful that your sciatica is better and that you will likely have an easier (and by that I don't at all mean easy--what we do is rarely easy) semester ahead of you.
DeleteHave you read the book "Notes from a Blue Bike"? I liked that one for reframing and thinking about values and how I use my time and attention. It's by Tsh Oxenreider.
aw
ReplyDeleteWeekly goals
1. Do final check of CR data, then send to senior manager for comment -YES
2. Finalise other draft this week and send around to co-authors. MOSTLY -I have everything for the draft, finally, except the bit that I have to add to it. I have reviewed the final ms, but need to add one more table to the supplement. So, I should be able to send out later today. . .
3. Submit other draft - NO
4. roughly draft proposal submission for new funding -YESish- outline done. I am now in two minds whether to proceed any further or not. We have to get permission from our manager to submit the proposal, and tbh, I am dreading this as I have rather lost faith in our managers - its all about alignment with overall government strategy to make money currently; so merely having a good ' research idea' isn't necessarily enough, although this is a 'blue skies' fund that theoretically we are encouraged to send proposals to. Also, its a two stage process for funding, so the first round proposal is relatively low effort, but if successful the second round proposal might take up to three weeks or even a month to put together, so is both time and energy consuming, and I don't want to stress myself out especially. But, I do have an idea I really would like to explore. . . so, I'm in a dilemma!
5. Email collaborator SN about long overdue paper and when we might do it NO. Just been putting this off as so much else going on.
6. Email request to 4 archives YES, and two lovely replies back. So I am making progress on this one.
This week's goals:
1. Do Table for Other paper
2. Send Other paper to collaborators for final revision
3. Revise CR acc to manager comments (this is a very astute research guy, so the comments will definitely useful)
4. Do letter to editor for CR paper
5. Do letter to editor for Other paper
6. Submit CR
7. Follow up with all four archives people
Much empathy about the funding conundrums, I have the same context and it's really ANNOYING. I just want to do GOOD SCIENCE, why do I also have to work out how to apply it in the future? My work is part of a complex network of processes, not the whole bloomin' edifice, and I'm sick of it being assumed I can't be a good scientist unless I can also sell, envision, apply, communicate-to-lay-users etc. etc.
Deleteaw - Looking at my overall goals for this session - well, I can tell when I get stressed because my focus shifts inexorably towards work rather than health. So, I need to refocus a bit and stay strong on health!
ReplyDeleteMy overall goals were :
1) to ask each week have I put my personal health and wellbeing ahead of work? So, far I guess the answer is that I have taken a number of steps to improve (eg not checking emails on the weekend, trying to exercise more, and eating better. I still have to keep reminding myself though. .
2) to submit three papers. So far, I am very close with two. I will need to decide this week if I can push a third one forward- it might be possible, as I am working on a third TLQ one as well, but I feel there is still a bit to do.
I hope everyone is making headway on their session goals, even in the face of difficulty- many of us have had some big challenges in this session!
So wonderful that you got good responses from archives. And I hope you'll have some wise insights this week about the proposal and whether or not (or to what degree) you will pursue it.
DeleteYou have a lot of goals for the week. Good luck with the final push (while you stay mindful of wellbeing).
This topic came up for me because we are counting down the just over a week to go until we leave on a family multi-day road trip to stay with interstate family for Christmas, then I fly out for a couple of days to yet another state for a friends wedding, and back to the extended family just a couple of days before Christmas - basically, if it doesn't get done soon it won't happen.
ReplyDeleteLast week was pretty much fragmented by travel, and together with grant rejections, student evaluations which I only ever remember the negatives from, a dispiriting outcome of the curriculum redesign process, has meant that I'm not finding much energy to push at work. So last wee's goals, well, slipped.
1. Set up pre-break meetings with all postgrads with a focus on having a clear sense of their direction for the next month.
I've got 3 out of five meetings set up.
2. Wrap up remaining writing commitment.
No
3. Set up meeting for next year's online unit planning.
No
4. Self care by focusing on filling up on nutritionally-dense food and 3x online yoga class/self-directed practice.
Did one yoga practice, okay on food with two massive feasts with friends this week that were delicious.
Looking at my overall goals, and think about what I am willing to push this week, let's say:
1. Christmas presents ordered/bought/sent/listed for final purchase interstate.
2. Value sleep, move like water, think in the body.
3. Create short, focused to do lists each day.
I'm so sorry about the undesired result of curriculum redesign. That sounds very disheartening, indeed, and I'm sure makes other efforts seem futile, etc.
DeleteAnd best of luck with getting tasks finished as you prepare for travel. We also leave in a little over a week for two weeks of interstate road tripping. This is usually my most stressful time of year (grading, shopping, packing), and I hope you don't find yourself hyperventilating the way I sometimes do. Your goals sound like great ones for avoiding such an outcome.
Session Goals:
ReplyDelete1) 2nd draft of Chapter 2 (now likely chapter 1)--YES
2) 2nd draft of Chapter 3 (now likely chapter 2)--YES
3) submit article based on Chapter 1--NO
4) Draft introduction--NO
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)--MOSTLY. Not sure I always did five per week, but I developed a good swimming habit and I think I did five sessions of some kind almost every week.
6) Go on a 3-4 day writing retreat--YES!!
Well, the good news is I got a lot of these things done. The bad news is that, based on some feedback from my PhD supervisor, it's clear that I have a lot of restructuring to do. I was hoping to finish the semester feeling kind of 2/3 done with the thesis, but I don't really feel this way. And I know how little I typically get done on the thesis in a regular semester. But I still feel like I made a lot of progress--enough, I hope, to give me the momentum I need to do what it takes over the next nine months to finish.
1) Complete Christmas list and shopping (ambitious!)--NOT quite, but I am close! I'm feeling very good about my progress.
2) Get new debit card--YES!
3) Make hair appointment--YES.
4) Make at least one doctor/dentist appointment.--NO.
5) Submit book order forms which are way past due.-YES.
6) Read important secondary source book, along with an additional article or chapter or two.--YES.
7) Make cookies for 4-H event and remember to attend said event.--NO. We had a conflict and couldn't attend. We were in a Christmas boat parade, instead. :)
It's important that I make the best of the this week (and next) and that it doesn't become lost time. For my "compression," I think I'll try to get myself almost ready to revise what is now Chapter 3 of the thesis, so that I can take a two-day retreat in January to do the revision (I'll need to ask hubby for this time). Revising Chapter 3 will help me feel good even though I didn't get the article submitted or the intro drafted. I think it will also be easier for me to start the intro after I've revised chapter 3. Overall, it's looking like the thesis will have an introduction and four chapters. The intro is the only thing that doesn't not yet exist in draft form.
1) Prepare all syllabi for next semester
2) Write fancy, new DH assignment for next semester
3) Do some additional reading and note-taking in preparation for revising what is now Chapter 3.
4) Ask hubby if I can have a two-day writing retreat in January before term.
5) Make good progress on primary source (one of the many big novels I haven't read yet).
6) Finish Christmas present shopping, wrapping, and (when necessary) shipping.
7) Make Christmas cookies with the kids?
8) Make at least one doctor's appointment.
You have made so much great progress! Yippee for so many of your session goals checked off!
DeleteThe great thing about restructuring is it means you have all the pieces you need (or enough of them to move around instead of creating from scratch). I hope the revisions go well.
Congratulations on all the excellent progress on the thesis chapters! It may not feel like enough progress (it never does...), but getting those first versions done is the biggest hill!
DeleteSounds like good progress to me, too. At least in my experience, an almost-done thesis does eventually take on a momentum of its own. And having stuff to move around/restructure is always better than having to start with a blank slate.
DeleteThe fancy, new DH assignment sounds exciting; I'd love to hear more (on the other hand, having just survived last spring, when I tried a fancy new DH assignment myself, I find myself worrying that it might not be the best fit for a thesis-finishing-while-teaching semester. But maybe you have a more manageable plan for a DH assignment than I did.)
CC, Nope. I'm sure it's going to be a disaster, but since DH was the focus on my sabbatical, and since I said I'd implement some things, I'm going to do it. And it not really that "fancy" as far as DH goes. But it will be something new for my students and me.
Delete
ReplyDelete1) write 5x--more like 3x, but made decent progress.
2) nightly check-ins--yes. These are saving me.
3) exercise 5x, bunny hutch 2x--3x for exercise, yes for bunnies.
4) write down what I eat--started off well during the week, then fell off the wagon.
Somehow last week ended up being fairly stressful, even though my workload was light. I did get a big long ranty email from a student about how my grading standards are too high and many people in the class are really rusty at writing. I did take time to norm myself with last semester's grades, and replied with what I hope was compassion and straightforwardness. I haven't heard back from the student. I hope she just needed to let off some steam.
I've decided not to teach this course again (even if I teach more in the future), so now I'm working toward a glorious end that hopefully won't have me grading all winter break.
Session goals: Preparing to teach, clearing the decks of other obligations, and teaching took up a lot of bandwidth this fall. I did maintain some health habits, which were my highest priority.
1) health: continue exercise habit, continue to develop good eating habits--yes to exercise, a little progress on eating well
2) creativity: write at least 2x per week--most weeks, I have at least a little momentum
3) career: get letters of rec in my file from advisors--nope.
4) household: declutter garage, office, and master bedroom; order and put up shades--a little in the garage, yes to office, a little in bedroom. No shades yet.
5) community: once or twice a month, get together with a neighbor or fellow school parent--ha! I did have time every week devoted to building community, but it wasn't one-on-one as much as I'd prefer.
This week will be a decent push work-wise, but I'd like to get shades ordered and a little bit more decluttering done.
Goals:
1) nightly check-ins, including writing down food
2) order shades
3) declutter bedroom
4) exercise 4x
I hope this week has been less stressful despite the grading coming in. And that's great that you made a decision about whether or not to teach the course again. Maybe it will be easier to do the grading knowing that that weight will be lifting off of your shoulders soon.
DeleteLast week’s goals:
ReplyDeleteI have an online writing class that I have neglected, and I plan to catch up on the first week’s lessons.
No--I got sucked into work, but had a weekend away that was glorious.
Polish and publish 2 blog posts.
Polished but not published--close!
Final edits on DH’s paper. Yes!
Call all the doctors listed on Monday’s schedule for questions and plans. Yes!
Session goals:
Re-establish the habit of writing 5 out of 7 days. Those of you who have been in earlier iterations of this group know that I suffer from what my bereavement counselor calls grief exhaustion. Virtually all of my abilities dried up and went away.
I really have accomplished this in great part. While a lot of the creative writing was more in the outlining and plotting line, it is very helpful to have regained the habit of sitting down every morning to work on something that brings me peace, and often, joy.
Rebuild my organizational skills. I’ve been assured that my brain fog will go away, I hope sooner rather than later.
This goal is more elusive, in that the first holidays without my dad, looking at pictures of my family where we have shrunk from six to two, is very hard. I have made baby steps, and I need to remind myself to be gentle with myself. I will get there eventually.
Add some movement and mindful eating to my day. I had gall bladder surgery at the beginning of September, and need to improve my eating and exercise habits, or lack thereof.
I have been eating better, exercising more, and feel much better. I have more surgery in January, that should increase my mobility by helping me break less.
Concentrate on my PMM article. I need to update my literature review for this article, which will lead to some edits in the article proper.
I did work on this goal through the session, but concentrated on helping my DH with his article. We have been together 30 years, and he has nursed me through more than a dozen surgeries as well as my tenure, so it feels right to do so.
Analysis: It was an emotional semester for me. It may sound trite, but what I realized was what mattered to me. I never completely bought into being a librarian, and always felt apologetic and defensive (“But I’m trained as a medievalist,” I always say). Now I really see it as a day job, one that I am very good at, but not my vocation or avocation. I have lots of avocations right now, and maybe I don’t need any vocation more than to be a good person. I have to keep working, but I will keep my life separate and intact
I spent the entire weekend in the mountains with my DH, with my work email set on “away.” and the phone blocking all but my children and my sister. We walked, and talked, and planned hikes and cross-country skiing and snowshoe trips when I can safely do them. I took pictures, saving memories of places my dad had spoken of wanting to see, and came back full of words and hope and calm.
Next week’s goals:
Continue to polish some of the posts (I have 32 in draft from the past week!) and get two out in the world.
Relax between doctors’ appointments and let the mind wander.
Corral all the copies and iterations of PMM so that I can set up short, medium, and long tasks to fit the time in the break until next session.
Spend twenty minutes every evening readying for the next day, whether meditating or free-writing.
I hope everyone has a lovely rest of the week!
It sounds like a very productive semester (in a holistic sense of "productive" that signals focusing on your overall direction and goals and self-care rather than "producing" individual "deliverables," which I think it's easy to get caught up in, sometimes for very good reasons, but still. . . .). And your weekend sounds absolutely lovely (and also very productive, in that larger sense).
DeleteI still need to figure out if my job (also a compromise one) is a day job, or an avocation/vocation, or if it could still become one. Finding some clarity on that subject would definitely help in deciding which projects genuinely deserve my time and energy (because clearly I can't keep up with them all).
CC, it wasn't easy for me to come to that decision. I finally came to realize that I wasn't really happy with the positions I could get. There is a real disconnect between teaching faculty and librarians, even at places where the latter are academic faculty. There is also a prejudice against being "too" academic among librarians--my dean has often denigrated my interest in medieval studies, for example.
DeleteI have found a lot of peace in deciding, so I would encourage you to see if you can work though it, All the best!
Thank you! I do need to decide where to concentrate my professional energies (and, since it's not at all clear which activities, if any, might lead to job advancement/greater job security in a position I'd like to actually have -- and I am realizing that there are some I could probably retool myself to aim for that I *don't* want -- maybe I should just decide to do the ones I truly care about.)
DeleteIt's so wonderful that you've gained these insights about your work and how it connects with (disconnects from) the other parts of your life. It seems that such understanding could provide such a boon for all manner of TLQ. And what a wonderful weekend with DH! Nicely done. :)
DeleteI have to admit that I'm a bit discouraged reading my session goals. I've made incremental progress (but not nearly as much as I'd hoped/planned) on household/financial tasks, and have paid more attention to self-care than I probably would have if I weren't checking in here, and the third goal was admittedly a stretch (and I've accomplished related things that were TRQ-ish because I'd scheduled conference presentations, which I did, and they went well, and I also took on two unexpected longer-term (in both time frame and usefulness) professional projects over the course of the semester).
ReplyDeleteLooking at the goals, it feels like I've made very little progress. But I deliberately framed them to include only the truly TLQ things in my life (not, for example, those professional projects that have TRQ elements because I've scheduled conference presentations or other external deadlines/accountability mechanisms -- a strategy that works pretty well to keep me moving forward a bit on larger projects despite a 4/4 load). So I guess I'm getting a realistic picture of how well I'm doing on the truly bedrock TLQ stuff, the stuff for which I'm only accountable to myself, and a reminder that I really, really need to find a way to move this stuff higher up the priority list, preferably while not entirely dropping non-teaching professional projects, which have their own professional and personal rewards, but aren't technically part of my job.
I think the best thing I can do at this point is absorb that information, and try to figure out how best to make use of it going forward. I definitely need to foreground household/financial tasks and self-care over the break, and going into the new semester, and minimize other non-teaching projects (though I have a few of those planned, and another conference presentation that will force me to think about my projected book/DH project, which of course is both good and bad). I need to prioritize self-care, especially exercise, because I suspect that would help with one major problem which leads to less-than-optimal use of the time I do have available: my difficulty in focusing on any one task when there are many apparently equally-important competing for my attention (I'm also going to order the workbook Earnest English mentioned, to see if that has any help for that issue). I also need to be realistic about how the academic calendar tends to work for me: since I have mostly-familiar/repetitive courses to teach, I do get some time in between terms and early in the term to work on things; on the other hand, because I teach classes that culminate in big projects and lots of conferencing, I basically have no time for anything but teaching, eating, and sleeping, plus the occasional church activity, at the end of the semester. I could probably fit in a bit of exercise if I'd already established the pattern (and if I admit that I'm going to be on campus 4 or 5 days a week anyway, and don't schedule quite such long days in order to minimize the number of days, and take advantage of later sunsets in the spring), and I could eat better if I planned ahead and froze more stuff before the crunch hits, but that's about it. The approach I'm taking now (longish conferences with summing-up time in between) works much better to keep me on track than trying to read drafts at home (which is tremendously difficult in the overwhelmed state I described above), but any way you look at it, the end of the semester is going to be tough, and it's going to be a time for trying to hold onto a few good TLQ habits, not to build any new ones, or accomplish new projects, or anything like that.
DeleteAnd the wild card is that I don't know my summer schedule yet, and might not until January. I'm increasingly thinking that I need to find a way to afford a summer off from teaching soon, but, even with increased attention to household/financial matters, "soon" is probably 3 or 4 years out at the least, so in the meantime I need to do what I can to keep up the pace.
Goals for last week:
Delete1) follow-up on a new professional project (at least the most urgent bits) and conference follow-up as possible (the latter is postponable)
2) continue to try to get regular sleep
3) complete urgent cooking chores (mostly processing fresh food/last garden produce before it goes bad)
4) complete most urgent household chores (especially laundry)
5) deal w/ most urgent financial tasks, and plan when to tackle more TLQ-ish ones
Accomplished:
1) nope
2) mixed
3) yes (froze produce, so at least I'm not bedeviled by the thought it's going bad in the refrigerator)
4)yes (laundry was truly urgent, and so happened early in the week)
5) yes on dealing w/ most urgent tasks; not really on planning (other than putting them on the mental "very high priority after grades are in" list)
Goals for this week:
1)continue to sleep and eat as regularly as possible (this is really vital, since I'm battling both periodic stomach upsets and a headache that seems to be stress -- rare for me -- rather than the beginning of the flu or something similar, or so I hope. Anyway, there are signs that I'm operating at the limits of my physical capacity, and need to be careful, since I don't have time to be too sick to work.)
2) keep up with most urgent household/garden/financial tasks as necessary (bills that have to be paid, laundry as necessary, getting some bulbs back in the ground before a hard freeze).
3)professional project follow-up as possible/necessary (really need to get back in touch with instructors of an online class I'm taking to negotiate what I'll do to finish up; also need to do some follow-up on new and old projects, but that may have to wait until next week).
I hope that your stomach/headache stuff has receded and didn't get any worse.
DeleteI can totally relate to the end-of-semester craziness that makes everything else impossible. Accepting that craziness--and not expecting it to be otherwise--might be a good step. I'm always thinking about how to make it less crazy. Perhaps prioritizing TLQ to JUST the few hours of most essential things--those that will maintain sanity--is a good strategy.
I'm sorry that you don't feel as if you've made as much progress as you'd like, but I think the knowledge we gain from tracking our goals is truly valuable. Your analysis seems to confirm this.
Late check-in - I'm away for lab work (with child in tow, thank you family friendly lab owner!!!).
ReplyDeleteI would be available to host next session, will need a co-conspirator, but would love to do it. And I've been free-loading on here for ages, so it is time :)
Goals for last week:
Survive end of classes, get all the things done before going away for lab work.
Well, I'm at the lab, so mostly done I guess. Didn't manage all the exams and a bit of the grading, but I'm working away at that while I'm here.
Session goals - might as well check in now, they are not going to change much.
1) Finish data work for three collaborative papers (CP)DONE and IN PROGRESS this week actually
2) Draft two of my own new papers for a new field area (NP)ONE DONE, ONE ON HOLD
3) Major grant application DONE
4) Exercise FAIL
5) Reading project MOSTLY DONE - Starting to become a decent habit!
6) Deal with Old papers as needed DONE and IN PROGRESS
I finally feel that I've made good steps to get rid of old papers, three are in review or post-review revisions now, so there is a light at the end of that long tunnel. New work has been going really well, and a number of papers should come out of that.
I'm happy with the reading project, I feel that I've learned a lot from it, and have been able to see the bigger picture related to research and work in general. It really helps to keep current and think about research questions even when mired in all sorts of other stuff.
I failed miserably on exercising. That will be a major thing to fix next term because I can feel myself getting less and less active and healthy and I don't like that. Not sure how to do that given the single parenting situation, but there will have to be a way. Ideas welcome!
Next week's goals:
Finish data/methods/results sections for 3 paper while I'm at the lab and have people to ask...
Congrats on the very productive research and writing this semester! Fantastic work! I hope the current lab visit goes well, too.
DeleteAs for exercise, I've been thinking that when sabbatical is over and I'm back full-time next semester, I'm going to have to exercise WITH my kids--dragging them on hikes and dog walks, etc. As much as I love to exercise alone, I think the only way I can really get enough activity is to do it as time with the kids. It will be good for them, too. This might be one of my TLQ goals next time.
And thanks for volunteering to host! Let's see if we can find you a partner.
Late checkin due partly to computer problems. Run over by life, a very good phrase and depressingly apt.
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals:
1) Survive week with teaching and grading done on time yes, but apparently at a cost, as THIS week has now gotten messed up
2) Wrap some Christmas presents nope
3) Make up mind about whether to pull out of the upcoming conference. don't see as I have a choice now - no conference. see MuchoWhininging over at my blog
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). conference talks: no, as missed both conferences (tense? missing one next week) due to health problems. The two articles, Crunchier and Crunchier's Little Brother, are now in press, proofed and released on line & all that, and the third one is substantially revised and resubmitted. I wrote my bit of the draft of the multi-author paper but it's stalled on the coordinators desk. The grant was submitted. The research service thing has been written and I've started emailing people about it... so actually not bad considering
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. yup indeedy, growing cobwebs and whiskers whilst waiting
b) look after myself - keep up and improve my exercise habit, eat well, go to bed before midnight, declutter, all the usual stuff started OK, got sick, now in worse state than before the summer. SULK!!!
Next week/this week:
Survive!
Get all the new teaching for this semester prepped
Make decision about attending conference
Make some small better health decisions by putting myself first occasionally, even if that's just by shutting my door for ten minutes whilst I eat my lunch, or buying a more expensive but tastier and possibly healthier instant food for my quick evening meal (e.g. a fresh soup from the chiller cabinet rather than a tin).
It does, indeed, sound like you're making good progress with publications (and like things turn around faster in your field than in mine; hurrah for two things in press and a substantial R&R completed!). And also with those all-important grants (and applying counts for something whether or not you get the grant, right?) and the never-ending service work. At least you've got something substantial to show for the research leave (such as it was), and the summer/fall that followed.
DeleteIt's truly amazing how much research/writing you completed this semester considering all of the new work scheme nonsense and your health problems.
DeleteI'm so sorry you're feeling like crap. I'll need to go over to your blog to get caught up.
I'm so sorry to hear you're continuing to have health problems, JaneB. I can relate, and think you should be allowed to whine and sulk about it. I think your last goal for next week is the most important, even if it is the hardest one to allow yourself.
ReplyDeleteAnd apologies for not seeing until now that I should volunteer to help host for next session. I do--Like Daisy, I feel like a free-loader!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I don't see you as a freeloader b/c you've offered us a lot! But it would be great if you could cohost with Daisy.
Delete