Hello everyone!
I’m back from my two-week
excursion to a fabulous conference and field trip, and as promised it was
absolutely amazing. Everything that had to go right went perfectly, my talk was
one of the better ones I’ve ever done, and I met an amazing group of
researchers. There will definitely be some future work and collaborations
coming from this meeting. I also loved discovering a part of the world I had never
visited before and I now have a new sabbatical fantasy involving running away
to a particular set of islands to contemplate in dark moments!
Conferences (and field
trips for us outdoor-study types) serve as one of the most inspirational parts
of our jobs. I think this is true in all disciplines to different extents. I
have always come back from conferences with renewed enthusiasm and inspiration for
my own work. This one was no exception, and probably produced even more of that
than most others!
Now the tricky question
is: how do I hold on to that sense of renewal and wonder and joy? How do I keep
that feeling alive next week when I uncover all the monsters lurking in the
in-box, or jump right back into the politics of grading and admin and all of
the other things? Never mind those, even just the whole business of cleaning my
house and keeping other people alive? I wish I knew...
For discussion, what are
the things that help you hold on to the inspiration gained from a trip or
conference? What are things you would like to try to make the inspiration and enthusiasm stick
around instead of sublimating like snow in April?
THIS WEEK:
allan Wilson (from 12)
1) resubmit whk paper
2)do a bit of the mapping stuff
3) take my daughter out once on her own
4) do a bit of relaxing and refocusing my brain.
Rest, chocolate, and contacting an old friend.
Contingent Cassandra
1. Increase exercise
(walks and weight-lifting and perhaps some gardening, but especially walks)
2. Try to get sleep schedule better coordinated w/ DST and keep up decent eating
3. Make a substantial start on taxes
2. Try to get sleep schedule better coordinated w/ DST and keep up decent eating
3. Make a substantial start on taxes
Daisy (from 12)
Enjoy conference, trip, and give a great talk.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
1) Return to work ½
hour a day on footnote revisions. If met, reward myself with ½ hour on
researching the sabbatical topic.
2) File 15 minutes twice a day. If met, reward with reading a frivolous novel for ½ hour.
3) Plan for 15 minutes--coffee shop or in the car, if necessary.
2) File 15 minutes twice a day. If met, reward with reading a frivolous novel for ½ hour.
3) Plan for 15 minutes--coffee shop or in the car, if necessary.
Earnest English
1. Research: 3x.
2. Health: go get x-ray; put leg up; de-stress while grading somehow.
3. Family: spend some time with Spirited! go out to dinner a couple times this week.
4. Gardening: zero goals on this right now.
5. Grading: I must grade. I have a ton. I've got to moderate my emotions about it and just get it done. Not get frustrated. Not freak out on my family. Just plod along and get it done.
2. Health: go get x-ray; put leg up; de-stress while grading somehow.
3. Family: spend some time with Spirited! go out to dinner a couple times this week.
4. Gardening: zero goals on this right now.
5. Grading: I must grade. I have a ton. I've got to moderate my emotions about it and just get it done. Not get frustrated. Not freak out on my family. Just plod along and get it done.
Good Enough Woman (from 12)
1) write 500
words for intro
2) read one
article or chapter
3) read 50 pages
of a primary source
4) Pay attention
to recent minor health complaints of children. Evaluate whether to not I need
to take them in.
heu mihi
1) Read 4 seminar
papers
2) Read/skim first half of J's LT
3) Notes on relevant passages/ideas for Kzoo paper
4) BMK part 1
5) Finish C
6) Bibliography for Kzoo paper
7) Grade undergrad papers
2) Read/skim first half of J's LT
3) Notes on relevant passages/ideas for Kzoo paper
4) BMK part 1
5) Finish C
6) Bibliography for Kzoo paper
7) Grade undergrad papers
Humming42
1 Solid draft of paper #1
2 Complete draft of paper #2
3 Organize notes and prepare outline for roundtable discussion
2 Complete draft of paper #2
3 Organize notes and prepare outline for roundtable discussion
JaneB
1) 2 hours on Dr Visit paper
2) block out Ferretty paper (I get a week off Picky Paper because that has some momentum now and is better suited to working on around grading and the like (and for now on my office PC which has a faster processer)).
3) daily at least half hours on chaos reduction
4) make 3 phone calls I keep putting off (cattery and two self-care appointments I need to make)
5) search 3 piles for the damn passport
2) block out Ferretty paper (I get a week off Picky Paper because that has some momentum now and is better suited to working on around grading and the like (and for now on my office PC which has a faster processer)).
3) daily at least half hours on chaos reduction
4) make 3 phone calls I keep putting off (cattery and two self-care appointments I need to make)
5) search 3 piles for the damn passport
KJ Haxton
Acronym report needs
some serious time and effort.
And tidying a bit more.
Susan (from
12)
1. Remarks for conference next week (it's a roundtable, so 10 minutes of think piece, not a paper)
1. Remarks for conference next week (it's a roundtable, so 10 minutes of think piece, not a paper)
2. Organize last bit of summer vacation
3. Begin work on paper revisions that keep getting
pushed to the bottom of the pile
4. Keep up with exercise. Walk once
5. Finish weeding the garden! For 10 seconds, I
want NO WEEDS!
Inspiration... I wish I could bottle the feeling and sniff it occasionally! That being impossible, I think I'm going to try something totally out of character and out of my general range of ideas... I'm going to get a poster board and make a visual reminder of the conference, the field trip locations, and some of the things I want to remember from it, mostly the science questions and projects I heard about. All crafty and touchy-feely, and then I will stick it on a wall somewhere :) Remember, I'm in a very hairy-arsed (I learned that expression from one of the conference Brits, thanks! Turns out there is an almost exact phrase like that in my totally non-English native language too, I had just never heard it elsewhere...) physical science field so this is a big stretch for me!
ReplyDeleteLast 2 weeks:
Enjoy conference, trip, and give a great talk.
ALL DONE AND ENJOYED! (totally helps to have no-brainer goals sometimes!)
This week I' will be in catch-up mode - wasn't kidding about the inbox monsters... There is some serious TRQ in there, I'm waiting till tomorrow to tackle that. I also had to cancel an additional day of classes for minor surgery for my daughter yesterday so I have to completely rethink my teaching for next week. Yep, nothing says welcome home like a 3 hour drive to a hospital to watch your kid get general anesthesia and the inevitable stress and worry about that... and then puke all over the donut shop on the way home... Glamorous researcher my ass! But I will do something researchy this week, I promise!
This week's goals:
1) Do copy-edits on paper about to be published, yay! (TRQ, but since it has been a TLQ paper forever it can go here)
2) Make a plan and start on the revise/resubmit paper
3) Read up on new analytical methods and make step-by-step lists for procedures
4) Go through critical samples for new project and decide what I need to do with each one to start major work on them
5) Make the inspiration poster and try not to laugh too hard at myself :)
Glad your conference & field trip went well, and that your daughter made it through the surgery okay (well, more or less okay). Sounds like quite a re-entry. May the visual reminder work! It might also serve as an interesting conversation piece with students if you have it at the office (but maybe that would puzzle colleagues?)
DeleteSo glad the conference was great, and your poster sounds like a great idea! Makes me wonder if I should make some kind of visual poster version of my working dissertation . . .
DeleteAnd, yes, so glad you're daughter made it through the surgery okay, despite the donut shop incident.
So glad your daughter is through the surgery and anesthesia okay! And that you enjoyed the conference.
DeleteI really like your idea of the poster board--I think I may have to steal that idea.
Conferences and Keeping Up the Momentum
ReplyDeleteThis one is a weird one for me because I have it in my head that I don't like conferences. A big part of this is the huge burden this places on Absurdist Husband. I don't like leaving home either; I almost always get a big bout of anxiety a couple weeks before it's time to go and don't want to leave. And I find that at the conference I only sometimes get to meet up with people I know, only some stuff in the conference has anything to do with me, and I get quickly overwhelmed so I don't go to session after session. With all this I find I'm more likely to want to hide. Partly this is because the conferences I've been going to are getting steadily bigger; part of this is that even in my doctoral program I was going to conferences that didn't interest others in my program. The last conference I went to I did enjoy and feel jazzed about when I returned and the reason was I was active in a special interest group. I think that's key for me -- to have those kinds of meet-ups already planned. I did pretty recently go to a workshop that I really enjoyed and key to keeping up the momentum was to keep regular follow-up meetings with people who went who were also excited about the work. I think keeping in touch with others through scheduled contact points is great for keeping up the momentum. That's all I can offer here. The gulf between what gets talked about at conferences and what I do in my job is vast indeed so keeping connected with others is difficult.
Last Week's Goals
1. Research: 3x. I TOTALLY ROCKED THIS. I'VE BEEN WORKING A WEE BIT MOST MORNINGS AND EVENINGS SO I DON'T EVEN HAVE A TOTAL ON THIS BUT IT'S GOT TO BE LIKE 10+X. OODLES.
2. Health: go get x-ray; put leg up; de-stress while grading somehow. PUT LEG UP. DID NOT GET X-RAY YET.
3. Family: spend some time with Spirited! go out to dinner a couple times this week. WE WENT TO LUNCH. SPIRITED AND I STARTED GRAMMAR ISLAND, A LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM I'VE BEEN WANTING TO GET GOING FOREVER. GOOD STUFF!
4. Gardening: zero goals on this right now. ORDERED CORRECT TOMATO SEEDS.
5. Grading: I must grade. I have a ton. I've got to moderate my emotions about it and just get it done. Not get frustrated. Not freak out on my family. Just plod along and get it done. I WORKED WELL, OFTEN AHEAD OF MY OWN SCHEDULE, AND GOT IT ALL DONE.
Analysis
It was the week between quarters. I'm absolutely delighted that I find I have so much energy for Secondary Field Project. I AM going to work on that sabbatical application! By the end of Spring, it should be given to others. A project that I had been working on finally got published (remember those galleys?) and so now I need to do another kind of work for that, which I also rocked this week and probably need to start adding to my goals here. Relaxing was a major goal this week, and while I haven't done enough of that, I have definitely tried to make room for that.
This Week's Goals
1. ResearchSFP: 3x ResearchGR: send out 3
2. Health: get x-ray on Monday; get plenty of sleep; work without going nuts; epsom salt baths 3 times this week; consider joyful attention when possible
3. Family: keep on Family Projects and homeschooling as best I can
4. Gardening: get basement ready for starting seeds
5. Work: moderate emotions while 1) working on syllabi; 2) starting big report this week; 3) getting right on reading responses.
Move like water everyone! Have a great week!
Sounds like a very productive week, especially research/family/grading-wise. Congratulations!
DeleteAnd I'm with you on ambivalence about conferences -- not anxiety so much, but definitely overwhelmedness/exhaustion. I'm lucky enough to live near a city that most of the big conferences in my field swing through once or twice a decade, and I definitely appreciate the chance to attend a conference that way -- cheaper and generally much more manageable, give or take the difficulty of pulling away from day-to-day routines in such circumstances.
Congratulations on what seems to have been a nicely balanced week, and congrats on the publication!
DeleteCongratulations on getting so much done, Earnest! Research, grading and publication!
DeleteI totally agree with your take: "I think keeping in touch with others through scheduled contact points is great for keeping up the momentum." It is especially true when one's interest is not shared by one's colleagues, to which I can completely relate.
Here's to moving like water!
Enjoy working on the sabbatical application! Good to have something that it is a little out of day-to-day work.
DeleteLike Earnest, I'm somewhat ambivalent about conferences: the sheer number and intensity of interactions can be hard on an introvert, and, since I tend to attend conferences in my research field (literature/culture/history) rather than my teaching field (composition), there's a sharper disconnect between conference mindspace and work mindspace than there might be otherwise. There's also the fact that I'm out of step with my peers whose jobs actually involve research in the field (though there is a saving grace in the fact that a good many people in my research field are at teaching-oriented places, and the professional association with which I most closely identify is welcoming to slower-track scholars of various kinds -- tenure-track at teaching-oriented institutions, contingent faculty, independent scholars, etc.). Mostly, I tend to come home from conferences with follow-up lists that never get followed up on, but nag at me from the lowest-priority end of the to-do list as I move them forward.
ReplyDeleteThis might be solved by doing more conference-attending and presenting -- and writing -- in the comp field, and I'm seriously considering that, since, after 20+ years of teaching mostly comp., that's really where my expertise lies, and I've got some things to say. It is, however, a field of its own, with a literature I'd have to catch up with -- something I'm entirely capable of doing, but it would come at the price of even less time spent on in-my-field research, and I'm still attached enough to that to be reluctant. Add one more to the long list of decisions I really need to make (or at least deliberately not make) as I decide what I'd like the next 15-20 years of my life to look like.
Last week's goals:
1. Increase exercise (walks and weight-lifting and perhaps some gardening, but especially walks)
2. Try to get sleep schedule better coordinated w/ DST and keep up decent eating
3. Make a substantial start on taxes
Accomplished/analysis: well, I did make substantial progress on the taxes, and also accomplished a goal I forgot to write down: take some time off (though I didn't manage to break away from the internet and read a book, garden, or walk as I'd intended). I didn't get very far on exercise, and sleep was all over the place, for no particular reason that I can identify. But I'm feeling somewhat more rested (basically, I think I've made up for the lost downtime over spring break) and somewhat (though by no means entirely) on top of grading, so things aren't too bad. This coming week is the last one before conference season hits (and the last before we get into what may be a fairly intense week before my father's memorial service), so self-care is going to remain at the top of the list (along with taxes). So,
Goals for the coming week:
1. Increase exercise (walks and weight-lifting and perhaps some gardening, but especially walks)
2. Continue work on a more regular sleep schedule; keep eating reasonably well
3. Take at least one day fully off and read a book (try to spend at least 1/2 day in garden as well)
4. Continue tax work
Oh, and one addition to the "achieved" list (though it wasn't on the goals for the week): my group got the grant for which we applied (and which I spent a good part of 2 workdays on a week or so ago)! Details about amounts of money, etc. (not much even in the best-case scenario) to follow, and another grant application to go to bring up the stipend amounts to something even half-decent, but still, I'm pleased. It's nice to be successful at something, and this effort also seems like a way to get the work of contingent faculty recognized (and maybe also trick an administrator or two into praising our work in ways that might make it hard to treat us badly in the future -- but I might be overoptimistic on that last point. Still, it *feels* like the sort of thing that might make our lives incrementally better, or at least raise morale, and I feel like I'm spending time on something that will genuinely benefit both my students and my colleagues, and that feels good).
DeleteCongratulations on the grant! I've thought about looking into grants a bit more when the PhD is finished and the kids are older. Nice work!
DeleteAnd I have some similar disconnects between the conferences I attend in my literary field and the more comp-based load I teach at a community college. But I really love my speciality field and I think I'll keep connected to it even after the PhD is finished.
I will echo GEW's congratulations on the grant! Whether a prognosticator of future better treatment, it is a coup to be recognized now.
DeleteI also resonate with your comment that "it [comp research] would come at the price of even less time spent on in-my-field research, and I'm still attached enough to that to be reluctant." While I have been extremely lucky to find a specialty in my secondary interest (rare books) that can sneak into medieval studies, it is still very suspect to my dean. Most of my colleagues think I am a bit "off," but I just don't care.
I agree with you and GEW. I will continue medieval studies research until retirement at the soonest!
Awesome news on the grant!
DeleteI have a love-hate relationship with conferences. My favourite conference is in August and I used to go on holiday the day after coming back. I'd come back with all the ideas then by the time I got back from holiday, it had all fallen out of my head. The conference is now a week earlier so I can get the ideas planned out a bit before the great escape. It is a small conference, typically 2 days. I would struggle with anything longer than that and I hated longer more general conferences in the past. They were impersonal and while being strategic and only going to the relevant and potentially inspiring sessions was a good coping mechanism, it came with a side-order of guilt for not wringing as much as possible out of the experience. And the effort of networking in a large more generic conference is hideous. I'm a big fan of 'late AM start, one night, late PM finish' two day conferences - just long enough.
ReplyDeleteIf I could bottle the post conference enthusiasm...yes...to a point I'd like to but more realistically I feel a fair bit of pressure after conferences. I see what everyone else is doing and sometimes feel that my stuff is a bit crap really. Or I see what more I *could* do if only X, Y or Z happened. And sometimes if I get caught up in the enthusiasm, I decide to try more than I really should which causes chaos down the line. So I'd like to put the conference enthusiasm in one of those reed diffusers and have it slowly infuse my office air with a gentle optimism and focus!
Last week:
Acronym report needs some serious time and effort.
And tidying a bit more.
I checked in late and to be honest I didn't do much the 3 days I was back. I sorted out 8 lectures for post-Easter delivery, tackled the inbox, did some admin stuff, made a few plans. I couldn't face acronym report though, felt a bit too 'hard' to tackle. I also spent some quality time with rock and mineral samples I brought back from holiday, getting them ready for analysis. I've been tidying, just made a Persian carrot cake (recipe: http://a-littlebird.com/2014/05/07/sabrina-ghayours-persiana/), and we've made plans to finish decorating the house over the next 6 weeks. So there's that.
This coming week:
It's still Easter vacation here so a mixture of things.
1. Mark lab reports, tests and compile presentation marks
2. prep 2 x 2 hour lectures for kermit course, 2 x 2 hour lectures for 1st year course, sort out all the remaining admin bits.
3. prepare course information for 1st and 2nd years making choices for next year
4. tackle acronym - at least 3 half days of effort, possibly aiming to get sent out to helpful person
5. respond to invite to write thing on Borg stuff.
6. respond to invite to do project on Saurkraut
[I know, more project names, I've had to start a list in my diary of what's what because I started naming computer folders with the project names. It sounds so much more exciting. I blame JaneB with her 'crunchier' really... I've got Gemstone, Kermit, Acronym, House, Scary, and now Borg and Saurkraut]
7. start seriously planning outreach activities in May and June, consider request to participate in some in August.
KJ, it sounds like you got a fair amount accomplished in three days! Good for you!
DeleteI love your idea of the reed diffuser, too. I often feel as though I'm not measuring up, especially when I give a paper. I know that people are only being helpful when they correct or comment, but I always feel a bit down when they do. I overheard a comment once about a dreadful paper (luckily not mine), dismissed as "well, she's just a librarian," and I've never gotten over it, I think.
I have the introvert exhaustion problem as well, and need time to be alone and process and decompress.
The cake looks fantastic, I have to try that!
DeleteI mostly like conferences, for the break from the everyday as much as for anything else, although I won't say that I always come back inspired. I dislike the really big, really general conferences (the MLA comes to mind), as my subfield is really under-represented (most are, of course!) and they're just so overwhelming and intimidating. My favorites are the small conferences where everyone goes to all the papers and, at the opposite end, Kalamazoo, which is its own category--so loopy and informal, but with a lot of really good work being presented. (And a lot of free wine.)
ReplyDeleteHowever, my Kalamazoo paper is very far from written, which is stressing me out a bit, especially as I'm not in a position to start writing it yet. Need to move towards that this coming week.
Last week's goals:
1) Read 4 M-S papers PLAN TO START TONIGHT
2) Read/skim first half of J's LT NOT GOING TO DO THIS
3) Notes on relevant passages/ideas for Kzoo paper OR THIS
4) BMK part 1 DONE
5) Finish C DONE
6) Bibliography for Kzoo paper NOT DONE
7) Grade undergrad papers JUST FINISHED!
This week:
1) Proofs for encyclopedia article
2) Finish BMK
3) Finish R&R
4) Read all 6 M-S papers
5) Sketch out ideas for Kzoo, before reading: What am I looking for?
6) Start in on LT for Kzoo
7) Kzoo bibliography
Good job on finishing the undergrad grading, and on finishing part 1 of BMK!
DeleteI remember one of my professors in grad school was always finishing his Kazoo paper at about 2am the day he was presenting--I could never figure out how he could do that!
I wish I were going this year; it is such a wonderful thing, what my older sister would call a "happening."
Hope paper is at least fun to work on! so much better when it is enjoyable, even at the last minute.
DeleteI really enjoy the conferences in speciality field of my dissertation, and I always come back feeling intellectually full. The problem is that when I return, I'm usually behind on TRQ, so then I get focused on TRQ and lose the intellectual momentum from my conference. The only solution I've found so far is to take a lot of notes and review them later.
ReplyDeleteWhen I attend conferences, I tend to go to lots of sessions. But then, in the evenings, I hide in my room. It's a great combo for me. The hard part for me is that I'm in a weird category: I'm a PhD candidate who has tenure at a community college, and I'm 47. So, I don't fit in very well. And it's awkward when people ask where they can read my work. (No such work exists. Yet.) But I still gain a lot from the conferences since I'm so isolated in my PhD work. They really help keep me current.
(P.S. I liked last week's topic about low standards and was sorry I missed it. Like heu mihi, I was proud of myself recently for skimming the last third of a novel rather than re-reading it closely. I skimmed my annotated sections, and I was FINE.)
Goals from two weeks ago:
1) write 500 words for intro--NO
2) read one article or chapter--NO
3) read 50 pages of a primary source--NO
4) Pay attention to recent minor health complaints of children. Evaluate whether to not I need to take them in.--SEE BELOW
Well, Friday is my big day for research-oriented TLQ, and Thursday night my daughter got sick and we ended up in the ER for much of Thursday night, and we were at the pediatrician's Friday morning. Then she was sick over the weekend with the mystery illness. She's better now, but it was kind of all consuming and a little scary. So I didn't get any TLQ done. The dissertation has been sitting fallow for a couple of weeks now.
This week is spring break, and I'm taking a few days for a writing retreat at a nearby hotel. I'm very excited but also nervous about facing the music of the introduction to my dissertation, which will also contain some basic lit review and theory. It's VERY HARD.
So, this week's goals:
1) Write 5,000 words for the intro!
2) Read 1 or 2 primary texts.
3) Read 4 articles/chapters.
4) Get started on taxes before the retreat.
5) Carve out time to grade 50 essays by Monday, April 7. They're TLQ now but will turn into TRQ really quickly if left untouched over break. I'll aim for 10 on Monday, then 5 per day after that. I'll still have 35 essays from another class, but it will help a lot to get these 50 done. These all came in this past week, and more will be coming in after break, so I need to make a dent!
Introductions *are* hard. You do your best, and then, at some point, you just have to let it (and the diss as a whole) go. I never really did reconcile the two schools of criticism represented in my diss (though some criticism/theory published since might have helped).
DeleteThanks, CC. I just hope my supervisor feels the way you do!
DeleteI can relate to you're being in a "weird" category, GEW. As I mentioned in my comment to KJHaxton above, I am quite prickly at times about being perceived as "only" a librarian. When I worked at a law school, the teaching faculty dismissed me until they found out I was ABD. I have been sorely tempted to identify myself as an independent scholar when I go to conferences. I am also more than a decade older than you are, so that complicates things as well.
DeleteThat said, I like your idea of going over your notes from the conference periodically. I tend to file mine, but it would help me to review them.
I hope your daughter is better and has no repeat mystery diseases. It is hard to be torn between family and work like that.
Oh, and good job on skimming the novel! I'm glad you liked the lowered standards topic.
DeleteGlad to hear your daughter recovered well, poor thing!
DeleteI'm in two minds about conferences, or other buzzy events (workshops, research visits etc.). I enjoy the buzz, and when I'm THERE I mostly keep the "everyone is doing better than me I am such a failure why will no-one fund me" feelings at bay, and make the most of the chance to remember why I (ought to) like my research so much. But they are a huge strain on an intravert who likes her routines, and I usually pay for the ups with a down the following week, and all the items on the to-do list added by the event quickly sink into the morrass of all the OTHER urgent, neglected things. This creates particular challenges when we already get no work load allowance for conferences, and when many conferences fall in times of year when I have to be reasonably on form when I get back. Smaller meetings have less down, and are more fun for all the reasons people mentioned above...
ReplyDeleteSo how do I keep the inspiration? I do have some things that seem to help.
One is to make sure I don't over-do it, and ignore 'FOMO' - making sure at least every second evening is spent in my hotel room (or if the weather's nice and the hotel has some secretive outside space, outside) with some random snacks from a supermarket or a sandwich, solo (hence the need for secretive space - wandering in town always leads to meeting other conference attendees, and the point is to hang out with just me), definitely helps.
- Planning travel so I get a good night's sleep on arrival before having to deal with social events and have 36 hours before I need to be in the office when I get home helps too (and increases the chances of the bags getting unpacked at least to the 'remove laundry' stage).
- deciding on low 'success indicators' - go to three talks on something relevant to my teaching, talk to one new person, catch up with 3 people I know will be there - helps me feel in control and OK with skipping.
- For longer meetings, I go through the programme as soon as it comes out to mark off some half days or sessions when I will NOT go to talks. These sometimes get filled up with informal meetings - of the coffee/tea/science talk with a small number of cool fellow attendees types, whether that's collaborators, potential future research partners, grad students wanting to know about methods, hanging out with a potential new buddy - and others are entirely empty for a nap, or a wander around town (I often try to collect the info for a couple of relaxing options so I have them in my conference folder, e.g. where's the botanic garden/best park/harbour and what's the bus route I'd need to get there from the conference, or is there a nearby art gallery or museum) and aim not to see EVERYTHING but to go there and see One Cool Thing Which I Will Remember.
- I try to take a few minutes at lunch, or in the early evening, or on the way home, to go through my notes from the conference so far, make a rough index, and start a list at the back of my notebook of concrete follow-ups - that might be papers to find as possible readings for a class, someone to email, a search term to use for my next reading-search, things like that. That makes it easier to actually DO some of the to-dos, and even a few hours distance helps me pick out 'neat' stuff versus 'actually could do this' stuff.
I like Daisy's idea of a 'mood board' for an inspiring event! I'd actually been thinking of doing something a bit similar with a piece of cork-board in my office to help push me into writing my next grant, by making a temporary collage of photos of possible field areas, sandcastles, key figures from other papers, that sort of thing, to remind me WHY I want to do the work! Let us know how you get on!
last week's goals
Delete1) 2 hours on Dr Visit paper more, because I got on a roll, and finished my work on it, so it's back in her inbox now
2) block out Ferretty paperno, see above
3) daily at least half hours on chaos reduction no, but made visible progress, so feeling cheered
4) make 3 phone calls I keep putting off (cattery and two self-care appointments I need to make)done!
5) search 3 piles for the damn passport no, although part of the decluttering might very remotely have been relevant
the coming week
Back to the normal routine, and a family weekend at the end of the week to either look forward to or brace myself for, probably a bit of both as all-people-all-the-time is a shock to my system even when they are some of my favourite people in the world. So I'm not going to set aggressive TLQ goals...
goals for next week:
1) keep the two appointments I made for me (no excuses!)
2) stop work early and go to bed early if you want, or otherwise relax, even if there is still lots to do. There is ALWAYS lots to do.
3) do one small decluttering type thing, even if it's just an empty/put dishes away/refill the magic cupboard kind of thing, every day til Friday.
4) enjoy the weekend.
5) one hour with the website book and some blank paper and some coloured pens, planning for Gallimaaufry
I keep a page of follow-up notes toward the backs of programs, too (whether or not I get to them is another question, but it does help to have them in one fairy visible place).
DeleteYour ideas about hiding out at a conference and having low expectations are great, JaneB, and I fully intend to steal all of them. I am especially susceptible to being an awful person when my sleep is disrupted, so that suggestion has broader application for me.
DeleteGood job on getting on a roll with Dr.Visit's paper!
I love the feeling of passing papers or other work to someone else's inbox! At least for a few days before I start worrying that they are not doing what they said they would... Old supervisor flashbacks...
DeleteThe last conference in my non-primary field (but first in my heart), was Kalamazoo a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, my paper was the last one in the last time-slot of sessions on the last day. People had helpful suggestions, but they also had their luggage in hand and were sprinting out the door as they talked with me. To be honest, I’m honored they stayed to listen to my paper. So, my notes are disjointed, and I didn’t always get the name and affiliation legibly, which is disappointing.
ReplyDeleteI missed the incredible synergy of having the follow up conversations over coffee or lunch that often happens at Kazoo, too. Also, I gave the paper three weeks after my mother’s death, so I wasn’t completely compos mentis.
Despite all this, I was so invigorated and on fire when I returned. I have been less successful at following up with the people who came to speak to me after the paper, even those whose name and affiliation I had gotten correctly. Now that it is nearly two years since I gave the paper, I hate to show up in someone’s email like Marley’s ghost.
So, for constructive ideas:
Before the buzz disappears completely, I transcribe all my notes into an idea file under the topic.
I schedule emails to the people who offered comments over the following month. Some respond, some do not, but if I can continue the conversation, it is all the better.
Often, I can recapture the buzz by going back mentally to the presentation and the comments when working on the topic.
Last week’s goals:
1) Return to work ½ hour a day on footnote revisions. If met, reward myself with ½ hour on researching the sabbatical topic. No.
2) File 15 minutes twice a day. If met, reward with reading a frivolous novel for ½ hour. Yes, although I am too tired to read, even for a half-hour.
3) Plan for 15 minutes--coffee shop or in the car, if necessary. Yes. A win!
Analysis: The monster of househunting in an area where attractive real estate sells in days has eaten every lunch time and every evening. It is exhausting, especially since time and again, we drive up to scope out houses, only to find they sold earlier that day.
Also, I have written yet another grant in the past week, as well as two annual evaluations. That kind of grinding writing kills my spirit.
Finally, Son number 2 is going through some physical difficulties which make him understandably cranky, but it certainly is hard to live in that miasma.
Next week’s goals:
1) Return to work ½ hour a day on footnote revisions. If met, reward myself with ½ hour on researching the sabbatical topic.
2) Keep up with this community. All of you have been so supportive that I want to fight my impulse to crawl in the cave and hide when I’m wounded.
3) Plan for 15 minutes--coffee shop or in the car, if necessary.
All the best for the rest of the week, everyone!
You are a valued member of this community and have done a lot to keep it going and fun! thank you from all of us :)
DeleteWell, this is a timely topic! I missed last week because I was at my conference in an exotic location. The trip involved two almost 24 hour journeys, and significant dislocation of time, but the energy of the conference, and the discussions, and the future work, were just terrific. And holding on to them is really important, because it's clear to me that my intellectual life will not take place on my campus -- it's in the national and international networks I have. The most important thing is that I make plans at one conference for the next one; the conference I went to last week will, I think, lead to a little symposium/conference and then an essay/journal issue or some such. And I do think that having a conversation AT THE CONFERENCE that structures the follow-up is really vital.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, goals:
1. Remarks for conference next week (it's a roundtable, so 10 minutes of think piece, not a paper) DID THIS, BY THE SKIN OF MY TEETH!
2. Organize last bit of summer vacation - DONE - have rented large splendid house for stepkids/grandkids, and it's big enough we'll not kill each other.
3. Begin work on paper revisions that keep getting pushed to the bottom of the pile NO
4. Keep up with exercise. Walk once - NO, but I did while traveling. A lot.
5. Finish weeding the garden! For 10 seconds, I want NO WEEDS! HAH! Did I really think that was a goal?
Analysis -- the week before I traveled I was just groggy - I couldn't work too hard, and yet I didn't sleep well. So I got done everything that needed to get done, but on the morning of my departure most stuff was finished, and I had to revise my comments when I got to my destination.
Goals for this week --
1. Walk twice
2. Really touch that essay that needs doing
3. Do a little weeding
This week I'm not only jetlagged (a 24 hour day on Sunday, with 21 hours of travel, and a 9 hour time difference), but M-W I'm in 6 hour meetings trying to assess two different master plans for our campus. Which is on the one hand interesting (how does space work for people) and on the other just tiring. So I'm trying to be kind to myself.
The vacation house sounds lovely! Something to look forward to definitely!
DeleteHi all, interesting topic. I am at a conference as I write, hiding in my hotel room, ostensibly to write my talk but also because its great to have time away from the crowds. I definitely prefer small meetings, where people are friendlier and more supportive and I suffer less from feelings of imposter syndrome. Simultaneously hard (as an introvert) but all the ideas and discussion can be sooo helpful - including just practical tips on the cheapest lab or best lab to send samples to for analysis. . .
ReplyDeleteGoals from a couple of weeks ago
1) resubmit whk paper - No. I have just been overwhelmed by too much happening, and couldn't getit together for this. Bah.
2)do a bit of the mapping stuff - contacted someone to help with this, so it should be in train
3) take my daughter out once on her own - kind of. Spent some time with her at least
4) do a bit of relaxing and refocusing my brain. Rest, chocolate, and contacting an old friend. Did the chocolate and rest bits, which really helped.Didn't do the friend bit as I can't face people sometimes, however much I love them.
This week:
1)write my conference talk (currently partially done). Not exactly TLQ as I have to give it the day after tomorrow, but I have been wildly putting it off, and I'd really like to do a good job.
2) Try and chill out at conference, and not feel like I have to be with people all the time.
3) send ms that I need to resubmit to collaborator so he can write the final sentence prior to submission
4) do some reading around next TLQ project so I can see logical progression in data analysis
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Great that you got some daughter time! Hope the conference talk turned out well!
ReplyDelete