Last week we talked about transitions, which led to some mention of rituals (e.g. EAM lighting a cnadle and brewing tea to start a writing session). That led to me thinking about change versus stability. Academic life has very clear seasonal rhythms, but as we've noted over the last few weeks, there are also less clearly defined changes, whether it's blurry ends of semester, trying to work out what a career might look like from a fixed-term position, post-tenure vagueness, political whim and unheaval or just 'life'. Sometimes it feels like as soon as you get some sort of rhythm and routine and pattern going, it gets broken - semester is interrupted by mid-terms and finals, timetables and preps change, the jump from teaching focus to research/rejuvenation focus for some with vacations, or at least to different patterns of summer working (e.g. different student types and different marking/teaching schedules in summer sessions, field seasons and summer interns for some researchers, supervisors/PIs/collaborators suddenly more available (no classes) or totally unavailable (vacation/conference/fieldwork/aestivation)...). Now me, I like change. But too much change is HARD on a person. One of the things TLQ group helps me do is to constantly prompt me to think about how to keep some things ticking along, regardless of what is going on around me, about creating some regular touch-points in my life.
So, for this week, let's talk about how we create some business as normal in a profession where for many workers there IS no normal, no 9-5, very few stable structures - do you love the variety? Do YOU have regular hours and find working with academics without them difficult? How have you made structure for yourself, kept work in its place so that it doesn't become 24/7, or kept yourself working steadily despite changes around you? It might be something as simple as a Friday night is movie night ritual (another transition point from last week), or a gym class or coffee shop habit. It might be about using the same spaces for things even if the times change - I think the candle plus tea routine is great in grounding all your senses and sending clear cues about what comes next (I recognise that part of my current discombobulation is partly still a consequence of my office move two summers ago - I DO NOT LIKE my new office and I don't feel like I really have a good set-up for working there, things keep encroaching and moving around, and I miss the feeling of comfortable 'everything is where it should be so obviously you will now write (or whatever the task was)' of my old office).
Last week's goals:
Allan Wilson
1. Finish draft ms and send back to MR
2.Do revisions on CR
3. submit whk
4. organise stats for ppw
5. Eat chocolate more sparingly!
Contingent Cassandra
1. Get moving (mostly in the garden, also get into the pool -- which is
now open -- at least once).
2. Follow up with other group members on plans for the grant project, and
do a bit of planning of my own work on the grant project.
3. Continue work on other summer planning (but don't get too ambitious --
rejuvenation is the first priority; visible/tangible accomplishments the
second. Also, include plans for additional short and long periods of time off).
4. Continue work on connecting/reconnecting with family and friends.
5. Begin computer-updating work (get backup computer in good working
order/install software as necessary; begin organizing/backing up main computer
if time)
6. Additional long-form reading and/or chaos reduction as possible
Daisy
1) Get all field gear ready and packed
2) Get data write-up and interpretations to collaborators for local paper
3) Get computer and all files ready for going away
4) Take last stab at getting hideous paper to ex-supervisor so she can ignore it while I'm gone :)
5) Set up summer student with project and data entry jobs
2) Get data write-up and interpretations to collaborators for local paper
3) Get computer and all files ready for going away
4) Take last stab at getting hideous paper to ex-supervisor so she can ignore it while I'm gone :)
5) Set up summer student with project and data entry jobs
Dame Eleanor Hull
1. Talk to Sir John about selling the house.
2. Keep 9-1 office hours WThF.
3. Get back to a working sleep schedule.
4. Finish Revision #1.
5. 2 hours' worth of Administrivia, mainly personal.
6. Finish digging plot and plant the plants.
7. Four hours basement sorting.
8. 30-60 minutes a day of translation work.
Earnest English
Health: Get healthy already. Really try to not overeat or eat too fast. Be
lovely to self.
Farmstead: water seeds at least twice a day. Take care of animals. Maybe
think about where to plant what in my down time.
Family: Therapy!
Work planning: I have an insane level of marking and grading at this
point. I can only do my best at this point, which is not very good in terms of
getting things finished, but is all I can do. I think my goal here has got to
be to moderate emotions/not freak out, keep at a good clip, and do what I can.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Keep my Irish under wraps if I end up meeting with the Dean.
½ hour on Pierpont x 5
½ hour on Prudence x 5
½ hour walking x 5
½ hour WWII novella x 5
Good Enough Woman
Read 200 pages primary source material.
Finish revising Chapter 2 (text and footnotes).
Be selfish with time and ask for one day next weekend to myself for
writing.
Spend the other day next weekend with daughter for birthday and
end-of-school-related preparations.
humming42
1 prep summer classes (facing up to time for teaching)
2 Read parts 1-2 for Mars (making that a smaller goal)
3 Read 50 pages of Moon Circling book
4 Read 50 page of new RPB book
5 Add new reading notes to outlines (will be an ongoing project)
6 Write to Mercury editors
JaneB
review calendar for summer
500 words minimum on Special Issue paper
comment in detail on draft of Crunchy-Data-Paper
gym at least 2x
eat mindfully
do at least one hard unit of admin task (I did the easiest one last week:
4 remain, 3 easy, 1 hard)
spend a couple of hours on paperwork to solve PhD student LikesMaths
problem, and try to coordinate their very late committee meeting. SIGH. It's
sort of TRQ, but it isn't, in that LikesMaths is very polite and no-one else on
her committee cares and the administrator in charge of the paperwork is really
busy with exams so won't nag for a month or so, at which point it will all be a
crisis).
Karen (carried over)
1. Exercise x 3 (gym, swim,
yoga)
2. 1 hour of finding SoTL
readings to prep for writers retreat.
3. Reward marking progress with
moving/stretching not chocolate.
KJHaxton (carried over)
Marking
Meetings
- it's just one of those weeks!
Matilda
1) Set the time to write, and keep it.
2) Do a university project. Anyway, I have to.
3) Continue to work on Chapter 2.
4) Writing exercise 3 of Goodson’s revised book.
5) 5 minute short exercise three times a day.
6) No sugary sweets. Only some healthy snacks are ok.
2) Do a university project. Anyway, I have to.
3) Continue to work on Chapter 2.
4) Writing exercise 3 of Goodson’s revised book.
5) 5 minute short exercise three times a day.
6) No sugary sweets. Only some healthy snacks are ok.
Susan
1. Finish Chapter 2, initial revisions of 3, and Chap 4.
2. Keep reading book for fun.
3. Keep working on back yard, which will be slow because it's currently
*very* hot...
Waffles
Work on getting relat paper in good shape
Work on F32 app and make substantial headway (am meeting grants person
this week, which should really help)
Do new analyses for Science paper
Try to come up with research question for foundation grant app
Work on measurement
Organize my articles in my ref manager
Finish up specific aims
My business as normal markers tend to be in the outside of work realm (5pm finish at work and leave for the pickup run, Friday night movie and pizza with family; no email check on Saturday). Within workspace I try to be optimistic about change (every new semester as a chance to try new things/do it better) though in the cycle of re-structures and redesigns etc that doesn't always hold. As much as I like the ability to work autonomously and decide in the moment what I will do from the long list of all possible things to do, I do like having strutures (with other people involved in them) as anchor points.
ReplyDeleteLast two weeks:
1. Exercise x 3 (gym, swim, yoga)
Twice in the first week (I suppose a yoga class that was half mediation which I slept through counts, right?); nothing last week
2. 1 hour of finding SoTL readings to prep for writers retreat.
More like 30 minutes but yes, actually did something
3. Reward marking progress with moving/stretching not chocolate
ONe batch left to go - chocolate levels at average
This week:
This new admin role is walloping me - I can see that in the future it will calm down, and every query won;t require research and overthinking, but for now... Plus there's unforeseen stuff where I'm seeing my role as 'holding the space' - allowing other people to do their work or deal with their stuff as smoothly as possible, but having to absorb and hold forms of emotional weight that are quite draining.And other tasks I've been managing by pretending that there is still plenty of time are becoming more urgent - need to clear the last marking batch, deal with postgrad drafts and ethics applications with will take some concentration, and online unit prep. Argh!
I'm going to hold onto Earnest English's move like water and see what I can do:
1. Exercise x2
2. Take notes out of one of the SoTL papers I found
3. Make a daily to do list that is realistic and focused
Admin roles can be hideously chronivorous! hope things settle down there soon...
Delete"Chronivorous" is my new vocabulary Word of the Week. Or maybe of the Year.
DeleteTopic: Business as normal--great topic! I inhabit a weird place in the academic world, as most of you know. I am considered teaching faculty, so am subject to the requirements of service and publication, but work 12 months a year. My juggling act is the tension between a manager who thinks (despite having read the union contract) I have to work 40 hours a week and meet my service and publication requirements on my own time.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I do enjoy the variety--oh, and since I have the union contract backing me up, I write and do committee work during my hours (which do not have to equal 40) in the office, so there! It is difficult to create the structure that facilitates doing these disparate tasks, but I work mainly in blocks of time, and disappear from the cube farm when I need to concentrate. In recent months, I’ve become better at grabbing little moments of time--jotting notes while waiting for a meeting, revising an article during boring meetings, that sort of thing.
I do sometimes find it difficult to work with teaching faculty who do not keep regular hours, partly because some of them figure I’m there all the time, so cancelling meetings at the last minute (or even worse, just not showing up) is no big deal.
And, like Karen, I strive for a normal routine in my life outside the office. I do restrict checking emails until Sunday evening, and DH and I have an intersection on the way to and from work. Between work and that intersection, work talk is okay. Between that intersection and home, work talk is not okay. I have transition rituals, too, in that I get out of my work clothes when I get home, and have a “personal interaction, no phones, no laptop” half-hour as well.
Last week’s goals:
Keep my Irish under wraps if I end up meeting with the Dean. Yes, and for twenty yards outside her office.
½ hour on Pierpont x 5 Only x 3
½ hour on Prudence x 5 Nope
½ hour walking x 5 Only 2 times.
½ hour WWII novella x 5 Yes!
Analysis: I spent more time with Pierpont than Prudence this past week, not just writing, but lots of thought and revising at other times. I’m comfortable with that, since I tend to swing between projects as my interest varies. I didn’t manage to walk every day because I starting having a lot of pain in my right foot. I improved things by wearing my hiking boots to work--to some comments, certainly, not that I care. One advantage to my age is that I wear what I want!
Since I finished up the course for work, I went a little crazy and joined JuNoWriMo, as a rebel, planning to write 5K words. I have 1,651 words so far, so I am on track. I’m also having a lot of fun with the novella, and I very much needed that.
Finally, I appreciated all the advice about how to celebrate my tenure approval, whether to fold it into the return of my staff member, or to do it later as part of my housewarming. I haven’t decided entirely, but I am going to celebrate my staff member’s return only, rather than my tenure approval as well.
I hope everyone has a good week!
So glad you had/took time to work on the novella. That's great.
DeleteAnd I notice that both you and Karen have some "no email" times over the weekend. I might think of doing that. Also, your post makes me realize I need to buy more casual lounge wear. I tend to change clothes when I get home, too, but my comfiest clothes are my pajamas, and it would be nice to have another option!
Aargh managers! They really do have some odd expectations at times.... Keeping your Irish under wraps - and actually meeting with the Dean, after all those cancellations - sounds like solid achievement enough for a week!
DeleteMy pjs are my comfy clothes too! It's a little embarrassing when I am working from home and someone comes to the door, and I'm still in my pjs at 2pm!
DeleteEither PJs or gym clothes, with a dressing gown on top if it's a little chilly, and big fluffy hiking socks (mis-matched - when one of a pair of expensive hiking socks wears out or gets lost, the other becomes a 'working at home' sock). I try to put on gym clothes if I expect anyone to come to the door, as they are mostly quite bland - my nightwear tends to come from the sale rack, which means things like purple glitter kittens, which is great fun but not a good look for someone my age and size at 2pm, especially on a work day when my hair is held up with pencils or scraped back and clubbed etc. etc.
DeleteDESIGNS like purple glitter kittens, obviously I am not covering my person entirely in purple glitter kittens, that could be kind of prickly and mean to the kittens (and require a lot of kittens) even if it would be ultra-cute AND eccentric...
DeleteMy owl-print flannel pjs need mending. Maybe I should go for purple glitter kittens instead! Then I'd have owls and pussycats. Good for when I feel all at sea.
DeleteAnd I forgot my "Next week's goals:
Delete½ hour on Pierpont x 5
½ hour on Prudence x 5
½ hour walking x 5
½ hour WWII novella x 5
Sheesh!
I’m finding that I like life as an academic quite a bit. However, I feel like I keep working all weekend long thinking that “once I get through this deadline, then I can start having a life.” But, I’ve never really had a life and tend to use work to avoid it, perhaps. Also, the deadlines will never end. So, if I want to try to start having a life, I’m going to need to fit it in. That said, I realized this week that my postdoc is possibly untenable. I am 50% with one PI (best mentor in the universe in the area of research in which I want to specialize) and 50% in a research center (where I have 3 different mentors). These are adding up to way more than 100%, and I’m working on so many projects, I feel unable to focus and am not constitutionally a multitasker. It’s possible that in the (hopefully) near future, this may be resolved by some changes in best mentor in the universe’s life and funding – and I may get to be 100% with her. That would be amazing and ideal for my career, not to mention a better match for my interests and skills.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of rituals/routines – I have a couple. On Sunday mornings, I do no work (or mindless work) and just watch ALL THE NEWS SHOWS. I love politics and world affairs, and so this is a nice break from work (and it gets me riled up!). Every workday morning, when I get to work, I made my chai and eat my breakfast at my desk and listen to music and play a game on my iphone until my alarm goes off for me to start work (I have a lot of alarms set to keep me on track). It’s a nice way to start my workday. I’ve also been working from home 2 weekdays a week. That may end if one of my mentors gets unhappy about it (I never asked permission), but I really am super productive at home – far more so than in my office.
In the meantime, here’s how I did on my goals for last week:
Work on getting relat paper in good shape – NOT DONE
Work on F32 app and make substantial headway (am meeting grants person this week, which should really help) – HEADWAY MADE! I sent off pieces to my mentor
Do new analyses for Science paper – NOT DONE
Try to come up with research question for foundation grant app – MAKING GOOD PROGRESS!
Work on measurement - DONE
Organize my articles in my ref manager - DONE
Finish up specific aims – DONE
Analysis: Writing an NIH grant at the same time as trying to publish and apply for other grants is pretty challenging. Particularly since this is my first NIH application, and the fellowship application is pretty darned involved and involves a lot of though. I think I may be expecting too much of myself. However, I feel a huge press to get some pubs in my postdoc area under review by the time I apply so that I look like a more solid candidate.
Goals for this week.
1. Work on relat paper
2. Work on research strategy for F32
3. Do new analyses for Science paper
4. Try to get draft of remaining pieces of F32 done.
Those have to be my top priorities this week!
Does your favorite mentor have a sense of the high level or demand that is coming from the mentors in the research center? Do anything them realize the overload? That sounds challenging.
DeleteBut it looks like you had a productive week! Kudos.
I hope you enjoy your news shows this morning!
I have adopted a strong policy of not talking about my mentors with the others. Everyone is too close, it would make it look like I am triangulating. I'll know in a month or so if things will change for the way way better. I can hold on till then.
DeleteAaahhh, overload, one of the perennial challenges of academe... practicing having conversations along the lines of 'sure, I can do X, but if you need it by next week, then I can only do one of Y or Z, so which should I prioritise? Or would getting them done and delivering X for the end of the month be better?' is a good place to start.
DeleteThe challenge of having to give your CURRENT job a decent 38-40 solid hours, plus write up the last one and apply for funding to create the next one, is definitely a common feature of post-docs, and learning to juggle those demands without neglecting yourself is one reason why I think the post-doc is actually both a useful preparation for a faculty type academic job AND a good time to decide if this is really how you want to work forever, or if it's just not for you. I really like the variety, myself, and if I had better management at all levels and a few more resources I'd not have many complaints.
Keeping a 'done list' with notes of when and how long things took, learning to work to your own rhythms (e.g. when and where you personally can work most effectively at thinking-work, at detailed-but-not-exciting work, at writing, and scheduling your time accordingly), and practicing pushing back politely when necessary will all help, but it's a life-work getting and maintaining balance!
Hope the changes you want come about, and you have another productive week!
Yeah, the keeping the jobs separate policy makes sense, it's very easy to get into a situation which feels like playing one off against the other - but if you have two 50% contracts, then working out what is possible in about 20 hours of work per week for each contract, and having the sort of discussions about priorities with each lead/team, is perfectly professional and NOT playing politics.
DeleteIt's the same thing as when you're a student and it feels like all your teachers think THEIR assignment is the only one you have to do... very very easy for a part time person to get pushed/feel obliged/accidentally end up working more hours than they are being paid for (I'm on an 80% contract, this is a constant battle).
This topic is provoking some thought. The previous comments make me realize that I don't have many transition rituals, and the ones I do have are outside of work. Friday night movie/pizza night is the biggest and most stable. For work, this past semester, almost every Wednesday night, I went to a bookstore cafe to work from about 4:00-9:00 p.m. Having this time really helped me keep up with my workload without totally neglecting the thesis, and my husband and kids enjoyed their "Daddy Night." And having it as a ritual meant I did need to negotiate the time every week. More at-work rituals would probably be good, but mostly I just feel like I'm on a treadmill at work, so I just keep moving forward. Going to and from work, I listen to audiobooks, and I think doing this probably does function as a transition for me. I love my audiobooks!
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I tried EAM's tea and candle ritual with writing. Nota bene Don't put the candle in front of you on the desk. It can become blocked from view by the book you're reading, and you just might set your book on fire. I might need to build a little candle shelf to ensure candle safety.
Last week's goals:
1) Read 200 pages primary source material.--NOPE. Focused on writing instead.
2) Finish revising Chapter 2 (text and footnotes).--NOPE. Worked hard on it, but I'm not finished.
3) Be selfish with time and ask for one day next weekend to myself for writing.--DONE. Totally did this.
4) Spend the other day next weekend with daughter for birthday and end-of-school-related preparations. TODAY. I'll be doing that today with both daughter and son.
Analysis: With the PhD thesis deadline looming, it's alarming when things still take three times longer than I think they will (or want them to). I guess that's why, in order to meet my deadline, I'll need to get up early or state up late in order to get more work hours into the day. Mostly, I just have my fingers crossed that it will all work out.
This week: This week is the end of school for the kids, and it's also my daughter's birthday. I'm helping with a 5th grade field trip to a pool, I'm attending a family lunch picnic one day at my son's school, I need to help my daughter get ready for the talent show (and attend said show), I'll go cheer on my daughter at Battle of the Books, we'll have two parties for her (one family dinner, one celebration with some of her friends), and I'll attend her recognition/graduation ceremony the last day of school. Whew.
With everything going on, the thesis will take a back seat, which is stressful, but these things are important. It's our last week at the elementary school where both my kids have gone. We've walked one or both of them to school everyday for the past eight years. Plus, my daughter loves rituals, and pretty soon she won't want me around. This is important TLQ stuff.
This week's goals:
1) Do ALL THE THINGS and be present while doing them. Make a detailed schedule today (Sunday) that includes errands, shopping lists, phone calls to make, and events. On Monday, order cupcakes and make any reservations needed for Friday.
2) Finish editing Chapter Two even if this means staying up late (or skipping TV with my husband) in order to do so.
3) Make plans to focus entirely on work the following week. Decide whether or not to stay home or leave for a few days. Make reservations if I decide to leave.
4) Print and review "intent to submit" documents. (EEP!)
5) Make to-do list and packing list for upcoming three-week family trip.
I hope the book wasn't too badly singed!! (and appreciate knowing it's not just me who does that kind of thing... I tried putting my candle on the windowsill near my desk, but that just attracted the cat, and the smell of singed whiskers is the smell of feline hurt pride, and can lead to weeks of feline glares).
DeleteSounds like quite a week coming up! But yay for facing those intent to submit documents, that really IS entering the home straight...
I'll once again recommend the relatively-new battery-operated LED candles (I bought mine from Crate and Barrel, but Pottery Barn has similar ones, as does, I believe, Amazon). You still might want a way to elevate it to at or just above eye level, since the flickering effect is much more convincing that way, but at least you don't have to worry about setting books and papers on fire (or forgetting to blow it out at the end).
DeleteTopic
ReplyDeleteI'm reading your suggestions with interest, as I feel like this is something I used to be much better at, and I can't quite figure out what went wrong, and what I can change going forward (given that so much has changed around me and for me, even if I KNEW what used to work, it wouldn't be possible to put the same thing back). Whilst I don't much like many aspects of Boice's 'Advice...' (perhaps because I'm outside the US system, perhaps because I was well mentored and educated, I find a fair bit of it patronising, and he has that Saint Delia tendency of announcing "This Is The One True Way To Do X" which immediately makes me want to try something different), but the moderating emotion theme increasingly recurs - whether it's moving like water or ignoring what you don't yet know or just not taking it personally, finding calm and perspective in the turmoil of life is hard, and leaks into writing and all the day to day.
Whether it's a strength or a weakness, I don't know, but I am a very 'integrated' person - I find putting a mask on very very hard for more than an hour or two. Acting professional and cool in the face of negative events or criticism or just raised emotions of others is almost impossible. I'm a bit of an emotional sponge, and when you top this off with chronic mental health issues, it's not surprising that I find regulation hard. On the other hand, every year, students praise my enthusiasm and passion for my subject, thank me for making them feel that I care about their success, that they matter. I get allocated jobs because people know I'll do them thoroughly and carefully, even if I do emote about them a lot. Finding some zen, especially around the more negative emotions, is probably key to survival never mind thrival (or whatever the correct word would be...) in the current HE world.
goals for last week:
review calendar for summer yes, ish - I just need to start fleshing out what work needs doing and all that
500 words minimum on Special Issue paper no. BUT the deadline was extended into July without us even asking, apparently others are further behind than we are - we COULD still hit the end of June deadline without too much pain...
comment in detail on draft of Crunchy-Data-Paper yes
gym at least 2x once
eat mindfully not often
do at least one hard unit of admin task (I did the easiest one last week: 4 remain, 3 easy, 1 hard)done them all - realised the deadline was sooner than I thought!
spend a couple of hours on paperwork to solve PhD student LikesMaths problem, and try to coordinate their very late committee meeting. committee meeting is scheduled! Paperwork is not progressing, thanks Incoming - not 100% his FAULT, exactly, just... parameters have changed again which is hard.
analysis:
A very stop-and-start sort of a week, with some bad sleep patterns, but I got some things done, at least.
The coming week: I'll be at the office every day because we have an academic visitor connected with Problem Child, and also I have meetings nearly every day already. SIGH. So I need to practice some list-making and task-transition skills (there are a lot of small tasks that need doing as well!)...
Deletegoals for next week: a mix of TLQ and TRQ because I have trouble right now separating them...
1) work effectively with PDF and Problem Child's Visitor to make some real progress
2) paperwork - for travel the week after next (passport arrived, thought I had no money because of freeze on all our normal travel pots, collaborator offered to pay for me, mad last minute booking panic, not sure if it's a good or bad thing, but _IF_ I can get the approvals signed off I'm travelling to a workshop...), and for LikesMaths (both supervisory records that don't match Rules perfectly due to them being on fieldwork, Incoming & other committee members being busy etc., and for their sample problem)
3) 500 words plus a diagram for Special Issue Paper
4) get all admin paperwork distributed
5) draft report and plan for Away Day (which is TLQ NOW but will be TRQ the week after my trip, and I might have a post-travel slump)
6) do at least two Nice To Me things every day (bed before midnight, gym visit, cook something healthy, eat only good snacks, read a chunk of fiction, do some handicrafts, do some decluttering, that sort of thing) and keep a note in done list.
Like several others, I'm somewhat ambivalent about routines: I find them mostly comfortable and supportive of getting things I want to get done without having to spend too much time thinking about what I should do when, but I've also got an inner toddler who chafes at too many "musts" (even self-imposed ones; even ones that require me to do things that I actually enjoy, or at least derive satisfaction from).
ReplyDeleteLike others, I also find it increasingly hard to establish routines; I start out a semester (or a summer, or a chunk of a summer) with good intentions, and exceptions to the planned pattern begin to pop up, until there isn't really any pattern left at all.
On the other hand, I find that having established a routine once (walking first thing in the morning in the summer and writing on non-teaching mornings plus Saturday morning are two that come to mind) makes it easier to return to that routine, even if some time has passed. I've begun to think of routines much as I think of sung and spoken responses in church: we don't necessarily have to do the same ones all the time, but it's useful to have a relatively small selection of familiar, satisfactory ones from which to pick, and to introduce new ones thoughtfully, one or at most a few at a time, and not too often.
I've also found that it's harder to build weekly routines around online classes than face to face ones, since, at least in the classes I teach, two deadlines a week work best, and I need to block out time to be available both the day before the deadline (to answer questions) and the day after (to take at least a preliminary look at responses and provide any urgent feedback, deal with last-minute questions that came in while I was asleep -- I don't stay up until the 11:59 p.m. deadlines, deal with lateness excuses, etc.). Add to that the fact that the work needs to be spread out fairly evenly over the week, and it's actually been somewhat of a challenge to figure out the best set of deadlines. Like many others in my department, I experimented with both Saturday night + midweek and Sunday night + midweek deadlines (trying to serve both those who have time for schoolwork primarily on the weekend and those who have time primarily during the week), but I've finally gone for two weeknight deadlines, and don't check email at all on Sunday (with a noon Saturday deadline for questions that need to be answered by Monday). That works surprisingly well. I don't always take a complete break from schoolwork on Sundays, but church activities do get first priority. I haven't gotten any pushback from students on these restrictions (which are on the syllabus), and we're actually officially allowed to be available only 5 days a week to our online classes. I think (hope?) that maybe we're beginning to realize some of the downsides of 24/7 availability, and to draw back a bit. It might even be that being forced to think about this issue deliberately in relation to the online classes has helped me limit availability in my face to face classes (which get the same syllabus note) as well.
The other kind of routine I find useful is doing something on the way home from something else (teaching, church, etc.). That's because I'm really bad at getting myself out of the apartment once I'm home. If I'm already out, it's much easier to do one more thing on the way home (and much easier to visit a particular store, shopping center, etc. once I've done it once or twice, and know how parking, etc. work there. This is especially true in my urbanizing area, where parking is increasingly scarce, and/or located in parking structures rather than surface lots. That, and the proliferation of impatient people using such spaces at certain time of day, is just enough friction to make me want to go home rather than get the planned errand done on my way (yes, I can be a wimp, especially when I'm tired and whatever needs doing involves yet more people to be dealt with. Food -- or, more precisely, the lack of it at home -- is the most effective incentive for dealing with what needs to be done).
DeleteLast week's goals:
Delete1. Get moving (mostly in the garden, also get into the pool -- which is now open -- at least once).
2. Follow up with other group members on plans for the grant project, and do a bit of planning of my own work on the grant project.
3. Continue work on other summer planning (but don't get too ambitious -- rejuvenation is the first priority; visible/tangible accomplishments the second. Also, include plans for additional short and long periods of time off).
4. Continue work on connecting/reconnecting with family and friends.
5. Begin computer-updating work (get backup computer in good working order/install software as necessary; begin organizing/backing up main computer if time)
6. Additional long-form reading and/or chaos reduction as possible
Accomplished:
1. Three days in the garden (and not too much pain/stiffness, even after the prophylactically-taken pain relievers wore off). Didn't get in the pool yet.
2. Making good progress on keeping grant project coordinated; did some work on my own part.
3. I'm going for fairly informal take-things-as-they-come planning, but have a basic idea of what I'll do when (and am beginning to get an idea of what won't get done, what I need to push to get done, etc.).
4. Did a very little bit; need to do more.
5. Made good progress on getting backup computer in working order.
6. A bit of reading; very little chaos-reduction.
Analysis: it was a pretty productive week, and I'm also feeling a bit rested and rejuvenated (both moving around and a string of days when I get to wake without alarms, combined with eating a more varied, and more veggie/fruit laden, diet, will do that). At the same time, I'm aware of how quickly the summer moves (and am trying not to get too antsy about that).
Goals for the coming week:
Delete1. Keep moving; add at least walking and swimming to gardening (at least one most days), maybe weight-lifting
2. Initiate or follow up on friend/family connections/reconnections (need to do more of this)
3. Continue computer work (get backup computer ready to serve as main computer; organize main computer & gather supplies/info in prep for upgrades)
4. Do initial planning/organizing for summer class (will be TRQ, but isn't yet; I want to allow time for both computer upgrade and taking some time off before start of summer term)
5. Long-form reading, chaos-reduction, and/or minor repairs as time allows
Hello all! Good to be here.
ReplyDeleteTopic: I like change, and I find the change of new semesters and new students to be exciting. The one fixed thing for me is the morning: get up, fix coffee, read particular things online, then do journaling. I get out of sorts when I don’t have that morning routine in place, and didn’t realize how important it is to me until writing this.
Last week
1 prep summer classes (facing up to time for teaching): yes, ready for teachin’
2 Read parts 1-2 for Mars (making that a smaller goal): yes...just a little while ago
3 Read 50 pages of Moon Circling book: yes
4 Read 50 page of new RPB book: yes
5 Add new reading notes to outlines (will be an ongoing project): yes
6 Write to Mercury editors: yes
Analysis: This may be the first time I’ve managed to finish everything on the list. It’s satisfying, but since I really had no other demands on my life, I shouldn’t be too smug. After all, I’m posting late since it took me so long to get the Mars reading done.
I’m traveling this week, so setting very minimal goals.
This week
1 Read 50 pages of Moon Circling book
2 Read 50 page of new RPB book
3 Read 100 pages of Mercury book
4 Read parts 3-4 for Mars
5 write to new RPB editor
Hurrah for finishing everything on the list! Hope the travel goes well.
DeleteBusiness As Normal
ReplyDeleteI don't have a lot of business as normal routines, and right now don't even feel like I have the power to establish them in my life, so beaten down with the work of this term am I. I graded 15 essays yesterday, and 11 today. I should immediately go to starting responding to ten drafts due Tuesday or do a Big Service Thing I've Been Avoiding or an agenda for the group I'm leading tomorrow, but I'm too tired for any of that.
I feel a lot of comfort from the fact that I'm so like many of you. I too find it really difficult to moderate my emotions (especially when we're all supposed to be so smart, yet we're going about things like we're dumb) and get lots of things done, though I feel like I do everything half-assed. I also listen to audiobooks to work, though I'm pretty selective and tend to recycle my favorites, like Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
My one ritual is that I don't check my email on Friday night when I get home.
It's very interesting that this conversation comes up now, when I ended the week really wondering how I'm ever going to make this job sustainable. There are lots of good reasons for me to think carefully about how to work at my job better with more clearly established boundaries and none of this crazy working-all-weekend nonsense. If I need to do less service, so be it. I'd also like a job where I don't jettison my own projects in order to survive the damn quarter! Anyway, I have a lot of thinking to do soon, so I'll be able to start thinking about having rituals and practices that serve me. Can't think about it now.
Last Week's Goals
Health: Get healthy already. Really try to not overeat or eat too fast. Be lovely to self. GOT WELL, BEING AS LOVELY AS ONE CAN BE AFTER WORKING THE ENTIRE WEEKEND.
Farmstead: water seeds at least twice a day. Take care of animals. Maybe think about where to plant what in my down time. I HAVE TO PLAN TO THINK ABOUT PLANTING AT THIS POINT, BUT WATERING AND STUFF IS GETTING DONE.
Family: Therapy! I FULLY SUCK ON THIS. I PROMISED THE THERAPIST I'D BE BETTER AND ALREADY WE'VE FORGOTTEN FOR THREE DAYS.
Work planning: I have an insane level of marking and grading at this point. I can only do my best at this point, which is not very good in terms of getting things finished, but is all I can do. I think my goal here has got to be to moderate emotions/not freak out, keep at a good clip, and do what I can. MODERATING EMOTIONS NOT GOING SO WELL BUT LEAKING OUT AT WORK. I NEED MY JOURNAL WRITING TIME BACK SO I CAN PROCESS STUFF BUT I ALSO NEED IT FOR GETTING WORK DONE.
This Week's Goals
Health: take supplements, get through it, try not to eat ten tons of ice cream but five tons is probably okay
Farmstead: try not to let everything fall to Husband. Water seeds, take care of chicks and ducklings in the morning.
Family: Therapy -- I'm trying. I am.
Work Planning: I have so much work that I can't look at the whole thing at once or I'll turn to stone. But if I look at little reflections of it, I can scurry and figure how to get that done. I just have to breathe through it, move like water (have I mentioned that my shoulders are now so tense they hurt?), plod plod plod.
I just did that Big Service Thing I've Been Avoiding. I get some sort of weird joy out of doing it and getting it done when I already gave myself permission to be done already. Why is that? (The same part of me that wants to revolt against Boice, no doubt!)
DeleteDame Eleanor Hull
ReplyDelete1. Talk to Sir John about selling the house. NO. It's complicated . . .
2. Keep 9-1 office hours WThF. YES, with, again, some late arrivals at desk.
3. Get back to a working sleep schedule. YES, eventually.
4. Finish Revision #1. NO.
5. 2 hours' worth of Administrivia, mainly personal. NO.
6. Finish digging plot and plant the plants. YES.
7. Four hours basement sorting. NO.
8. 30-60 minutes a day of translation work. YES--twice.
Ugh. The TRQ things cropping up are just nuisances that will pass. But count me among those with difficulties reining in emotional responses so as to get on with things. I have managed to keep a lid on the anxiety, but mainly by dint of repeatedly working through the same think-about-it-rationally routine, which keeps the Howler Monkey of Anxiety from waking the dead but doesn't, sadly, tranquilize the little fucker.
Goals for next week:
Dame Eleanor Hull
1. Talk to Sir John about selling (or not selling) the house.
2. Keep 9-1 office hours MWThF.
3. Maintain a working sleep schedule.
4. Make progress on Revision #1.
5. 2 or more hours' worth of Administrivia, mainly personal.
6. Four hours basement sorting.
7. 30-60 minutes a day of translation work.
Oh, heck, did my comment go into spam or did I screw something up trying to do it on the i-pad? Will try again.
ReplyDelete1. Talk to Sir John about selling the house. NO: it's complicated.
2. Keep 9-1 office hours WThF. YES (late some days).
3. Get back to a working sleep schedule. YES, by Saturday.
4. Finish Revision #1. NO. Added c. 1000 words.
5. 2 hours' worth of Administrivia, mainly personal. MAYBE? I can't remember what I've done on that front.
6. Finish digging plot and plant the plants. YES. Plus some more weeding.
7. Four hours basement sorting. NO.
8. 30-60 minutes a day of translation work. YES (twice).
For the coming week:
1. Talk to Sir John about selling (or not) the house.
2. Keep 9-1 office hours MWThF (M will have to be a bit short)
3. Maintain working sleep schedule.
4. Make progress on Revision #1.
5. 2 or more hours' worth of Administrivia, mainly personal.
6. Another round of weeding nasty invasive species that spread via roots.
7. Four hours basement sorting.
8. 30-60 minutes a day of translation work.
9. Return some books.
Analysis.
DeleteThe house . . . 3 years ago, we bought a big beautiful old house; after doing some work to it, we finally moved in, mid-semester, and within a month discovered that it needed more work, urgently, which meant lots of disruption, for months. We are SO not old-house people. Neither of us gets any sort of charge out of doing home maintenance. I would probably enjoy the garden in a mild way if not for the constant battle against invasive species so nasty that I welcome lemon balm. We're tired of throwing money at this house and would like to move again. BUT, of course, work doesn't go away, and my efforts at gradually sorting things out (so we can move somewhere newer, smaller, and more centrally located) are, well, gradual. Sir John likewise has put all sorting/packing activities on hold for a couple of months due to a work project. And this summer he is going to have a hernia repaired, not exactly major surgery but it does mean no heavy lifting until it's done and he's recovered. Also I'll be away for two weeks at one point and about ten days at another. Months ago, we'd meant to get this house ready to go in the spring, say by May, and that has not happened, and now I have grave doubts about being able to get it on the market this summer. And I don't want to move mid-semester again. Not that next year is going to be any better, as I'll be teaching in LRU's summer-abroad program again.
So that's the back story. We actually made a date, on Tuesday night, to talk about the house on Saturday, when we would presumably both be awake. (We are not on the same schedule; prime time for me is when Sir John is groggily taking his first work-conference call of the day, and by evening when he's at his best, I'm whacked and trying to get to bed.) So . . . Friday night we had friends round, I was up late, he was up later, and then we both woke at the same early hour: he had a crown fall out. So he went off to the dentist for some time, and then came back and slept till dinner time, and I wore myself out in the garden and went to bed at nine. And remained tired all today. It seems like every time we might talk about this, one of us is tired, or ill, or something else crops up. I think he still hopes to sell the house this summer, but I doubt that he really grasps what all is involved in making a house show-able while you are living in it. And while I'm whining, I have a Situation which I hope will boil down to "I'm older and have more insurance" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx0z9FjxP-Y), but which is going to take more phone calls and probably paper work than I really want to be arsed with, and it's stressing me out. So the idea of emotional moderation, and finding a routine, sounds really good. I think this week, despite the 9-1 notional office hours, I'm going to be trying to get up and do some work even earlier, so that I feel I've got something done before anyone could expect me to be phoning the insurance company or doing anything else that will likely knock me off my work stride.
I like Cassandra's idea of a sort of menu of routines. Using 7-9 a.m. for the gym etc is great when life and work are going smoothly and it's warm and light outside. But using that time for work is really helpful when I feel like the rest of the day is going to throw crap at me.
Routines: I do much better during the semester, when I try to have some kind of schedule (and helped by a 3 day a week early exercise class). The summer is hard, because I can work whenever. Or not. I've tried to take days off class preparation/email/internet (Sundays, usually), but that goes down the tubes if I teach on Monday, as I did in the spring. So, I'm not good at this, and I do try.
ReplyDeleteGoals last week:
1. Finish Chapter 2, initial revisions of 3, and Chap 4. CHAP 3 DONE< CHAP 4 almost
2. Keep reading book for fun. SOME
3. Keep working on back yard, which will be slow because it's currently *very* hot... A LITTLE
Analysis: The outside of my house is being painted, and it's created major disruption -- I found it hard to work today, and I may need to go in to my office at some point. (I'm on jury duty tomorrow, which takes care of THAT.) And two admin projects have taken some time. And I took Sunday largely OFF.
Goals for the week ahead:
1. Finish Chap 4 and 5, and start introduction
2. Go back to reading for fun
3. Get some kind of order in the back yard.
4. Walk 3 x in addition to 3x class.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteChecking in late to say BYE till the first week in July! I'm in fabulous field area, fogged in right now, but still lovely :)
Last week's goals went well - amazing what a really set in stone deadline will do!
1) Get all field gear ready and packed DONE
2) Get data write-up and interpretations to collaborators for local paper DONE
3) Get computer and all files ready for going away DONE
4) Take last stab at getting hideous paper to ex-supervisor so she can ignore it while I'm gone :) DONE
5) Set up summer student with project and data entry jobs DONE
No real TLQ goals for while I'm gone, all field work, all the time takes up every bit of available mental and physical space :)
Topic: It is the changes in this job that I love best, the different seasons, and the unexpected stuff especially in the field. I find that it is incredibly helpful to think of it all being completely transient, that none of the crap lasts forever, and the good times come around quite regularly :)
Have a great month everyone!
I'm not making very much progress at the moment, still trapped within meetings and markings and have gotten it into my head that if I just get on with all the marking, I'll free up more time.
ReplyDeleteSo this week:
Meetings
Marking
And hopefully more constructive stuff will resume soon.
I learn some new stuff from it too, thanks for sharing your information. led work lights expert
ReplyDelete