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Friday 26 August 2016

Week 17 - final check in for this iteration

Hello everyone, hope your week has gone well.  Summer is verty clearly into its last days - US folks are mostly starting the new academic year, UK children are trying to ignore the Back To School shopping signs that are everywhere, leaves are just beginning to turn on the earliest trees, and my sister (a UK *$ loyalty card holder) has gotten the "one week to Pumpkin Spice Latte returning!" email... I still have a few weeks before students return, but things are ramping up all round.

So it's time for TLQ group to wildly celebrate all the successes of the summer, and take a moment (with or without a relaxing cup of tea) to think about how it went and how we want to go forward into the new academic year.  TLQ will be back to help us along the way, of course - Karen and Susan will be our hosts, and they both already have access rights to this blog so hopefully they'll update us on the dates soon! 

Last week we identified a summer success to be proud of.  As a discussion topic, let's keep that positive note going - what's the one habit or routine or practice you want to continue from this summer into the new semester (or break, for our southern hemisphere members!), and what's the good moment, the 'mind's photograph', from this summer you want to remember (any sense can be involved in a memory camera - sight, touch, smell, taste, sound - or emotion...)?

Last week's goals:
allan wilson (none set)
Contingent Cassandra
1. Finish up the last of the work for this phase of the grant project (mostly my individual contribution and some follow-up, especially making sure we all get paid).
2. As much class prep as possible (TRQ, but important to getting both TLQ and TRQ aspects of the semester off to a solid start)
3. Some family-relationship-tending (which involves, in part, visiting the storage facility, so I will finally get at least the partial load that's been in my car for over a month there in the process). 

Daisy(field)
Dame Eleanor Hull
1. Stick to schedule for doing research and class prep.
2. Finish footnotes for new and improved MMP-1.
3. Put in an hour doing something about the MMP-3 R&R.
4. Figure out new exercise schedule that works with the fall's on-campus days.
5. Important errands: 3A batteries, toothbrush heads, book for reading group. 

Earnest English
1. Writing: do what you can.
2. Gardening: keep on blueberry watch.
3. Draft email to SameMind.
4. Office: work on going through more boxes

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Assess what I want to write and put an outline of each project on paper.
Breathe.
Parcel out the bigger projects into more manageable pieces for the semester.

Good Enough Woman
1) Finish drafting the remaining sections of chapter four even if they are rough.
2) Write 700 words of conclusion.
3) Go through a lot of sources quickly on Friday at the library, return to library for half a day on Saturday if necessary.
4) Add 15 sources to bibliography. 

heu mihi
no goals set 
humming42
1 Write and turn in syllabi
2 Finish chapters 3, 4, and 5.
3 Look for photographs/permissions in spare time

JaneB
1) tidy the small table next to my desk, do filing (even if just into box files labelled "2015-16 misc"!)
2) prepare talk and workshop for conference
3) planning and identifying 'constrained units' of work to do during the following 3 weeks when I'll mostly be travelling
4) be deliberately deliberate.

karen
Eye proceedure and healing 
KJHaxton
1. get work ready to do while travelling and conferencing (I always get stuff done on trains or when I wake up stupidly early)
2. enjoy conference (presenting poster not talk so much more relaxing)
3. tidy up office and leave half-decent to-do list for following week.

Matilda
1) Work on the presentation in September- coming soon, but still long long way to go.
2) Prepare for the research trip to UK in the first week of September – coming very soon. Sending lots of e-mails to arrange my trip, also I will be visiting the place where my family will stay during my study leave next year.
3) Continue to work on Chapter 2.
4) 5 minute exercise more than three times a day. Have less and healthier snacks.
5) Have fun with my children. Stay together and have a good time together. 

Susan 
no goals set
waffles
1. Finish poster
2. Start review
3. Finish relat paper
4. Set goals and plans with mentor for upcoming months. 
 

  

SUMMER GOALS
allan wilson

I don't know what to pick as an overall goal: what comes to mind is something like 'not fall apart', which I think on reflection probably involves
1. stay fit and exercise
2. find a creative outlet for stress, either playing an instrument or handcraft
3. submit 2 more papers.
Contingent Cassandra
here are my goals for the summer, and some comments (especially in light of the fact that I know they're overambitious).
1. Keep up with both individual and managerial/organizational contributions to grant project; do some planning for future stages (mostly identifying possible additional funders).
2. Self-care, including increased exercise (walking; swimming; weight-lifting; gardening, but not at the expense of the other three); brain retraining/rejuvenation via breaks from the internet and time spent on long-form reading (recreational and/or professional); improved diet (more home-prepared food, more fruits and vegetables); good sleep routines.
3. Continue getting financial affairs in order, planning for next 15-20 years and beyond (with as much flexibility/room for accommodating the general uncertainties of life and the specific uncertainties of contingent academic positions as possible).
4. Stay connected/reconnect with family and close friends, especially the elderly and those recently affected by death and other upheavals. This will probably involve at least one week-long and several weekend trips, as well as regular long-distance communication.
5. Make progress on household projects, especially creating additional built-in storage in apartment.
6. Make progress on organizing/sorting/culling items in offsite storage and preparing for move (to cheaper interim storage or directly to 2nd home/investment property in lower-cost-of-living area). #s5 and 6 are somewhat interconnected, and I’m realistically probably going to make anything resembling visible progress on only one of them; I suspect it should be #5, if only because visible progress in the apartment is more visible, and so has a greater effect on my morale.
7. Reconnect in some way with research/writing in original field (realistically, this is unlikely to go further than re-reading a draft or two to see where things stand, and identifying/doing some secondary reading, but I’d like to do at least that).
8. At some point, I need to figure out how to balance original field research/writing with teaching field research/writing (including activities in #1), all in the context of a 4/4 writing-intensive load with no built-in sabbaticals. That probably points to the value of finding a way to afford summers off, or at least less-frequent summer teaching (see #s 3 and 6). This is a well-beyond-the-summer TLQ/professional goal to which some of the above contribute (and which needs to be kept in mind while making decisions about how to spend time and money).
Realistically, if I do a reasonably good job of #s1 and 4, make some progress on #s2 (especially exercise), 3, and 5, and do even a bit of #7, I’ll consider the summer a success. 
Daisy
For travel this summer I have: 6 weeks of field work (in two shifts), three major lab trips (about 1 week each) and a "vacation" week (aka do all childcare and house stuff just like normal but in a different location with none of the usual conveniences...)
TLQ goals:
1) Redo a hideous Revise/Resubmit paper left over from the winter term (the paper was hideous, the review equally and deservedly so...)
2) Do three major analytical projects and write a report for each
3) Learn fancy new-to-me analytical and modelling software
4) Exercise!!!!
5) Camp in at least three new areas with child, and do a few trips to old favourites
6) Write paper for new field area
Dame Eleanor Hull (revised week 9)
1. Make a plan for moving prep, get some estimates, start some repairs.
2. Finish all revisions: MMP-1, MMP-3, article from last summer that needs only very very small points added (a recent acceptance).
3. Write conference paper, and arrange travel.
4. Finish syllabuses.
5. Keep ignoring the book till items 2-4 are completed.
6. I so want to work on reviewing chunks of translation, but given the time pressures of 2-4, I may need to ignore this for the next month, as well. OTOH I will see one of my collaborators in August, so . . . let's say review one chunk by then, so I don't feel like a slug when we meet again.
7. Do things that keep me in touch with my real values and priorities, and avoid reading or participating in things that interfere with these.
Earnest English
Summer Goals (revised in week 8)
1. Work on Secondary Field Project, achieving 8R and 8y by end of session, and getting a fair amount of related reading done.
2. Talk to NonAcademicFriend about non-academic work.
3. Gardening!
4. Engage with some relevant scholarship as desirable.
5. Get FallClassesandPlan together.
6. Have a wonderful family summer with lots of homeschooling, reading with Spirited, and field trips! Make Spirited feel as if he's the center of my world!
7. Get back into yoga or tai chi or something!
8. Do Little Project plans.
9. Learn about herbalism.
10. Read nonscholarly books and have fun!
11. Yeah yeah, do the workthings I promised to do but don't let them take over.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Have office in new house set up and functioning
Finish required class (May 27th)
Have Pierpont article roughed out in first draft
Have footnotes done for Prudence book
Take some time to figure out my fiction writing
Walk/swim to enjoy the summer weather
Good Enough Woman
My session goals are not terribly complicated:
1) Finish the PhD thesis (all but minor editing, such as proofreading and changing punctuation and spelling from American to British--these things can be done in September).
2) Try not to neglect the family all of the time.
3) Try not to feel to guilty when I do neglect the family.
4) Get a little bit of exercise (let's say some kind of movement at least 3x per week).
5) Advocate for my needs/rights with my PhD university if need be.
heu mihi
my overly ambitious summer project list:
1) Book review 1
2) Book review 2
3) Write chapter 6
4) Revise and add M to chapter 4
5) Research trip in late May! Then add research to ch. 3
6) Conference paper proposal (due 6/15)
humming42
1 Finish book manuscript (also known as RBP, revised book project, named by Dame Eleanor many moons ago)
2 Mercury essay draft due mid-July
3 Mars essay due end of July
4 Submit Venus abstract at the beginning of August
5 Try to work yoga into life
6 Keep up with household rehab
JaneB (from week 9)
1) Submitted Special Issue Paper
2) Completed the ProblemChild part 1 computer work, and have a complete draft of ProblemChildAdvertPaper and a rough draft of ProblemChildDetailsPaper
3) have a decent amount of teaching preparation done or exhaustively planned
4) make about a paper's worth (say 8-10,000 words) of progress on other important writing - Picky Paper, Ferret, and one or more grant applications are the top candidates here.
5) Have solved LikesMaths (my PhD student)'s paperwork/bureaucracy problem!
6) have a plan for Gallimaufrey web site for the next academic year and possibly a head start on the first few blog posts.
7) have a visibly more orderly house, which I can hoover easily without manouvering around piles of books, papers and miscellaneous stuff held together by a fine web of self-organising cat hair
8) have made the most of the summer resources to have a better exercise habit and lost a few pounds
9) have written the workshop and talk for the September conference
karen
-make space for reading (reading fuels writing)
-forward (incremental) momentum on writing
-committed but flexible approach to self care (exercise, sleep, good food choices)
KJHaxton
Session goals:
- acronym report and paper done and submitted
- House project variant 1 - summer student supervised and significant progress
- House project variant 2 - summer students recruited and decent progress
- Test the water on various other projects
- Scary project - paper submitted, next steps established
- 8 science outreach events planned, run and evaluated
- draft paper on tesla project outlined and data considered
- one conference presentation given, abstract for another to submit and give if accepted
- Carry on with my GoodReads challenge - now at 32/52 books. Not sure about hand crafted items this summer - the garden calls more strongly in the summer months so I'm thinking more 'grow pretty flowers and tasty fruits and veggies'.
Matilda
Write Chapter 2
Revise Chapter 1
Plan Chapter 3
Write a book review
Keep writing regularly
Construct healthy habits
Susan
In terms of TLQ, I'm almost finished a book manuscript (awaiting reader's reports) and my main goal for this session is to get it off to the press and in production. I just want to be DONE. There are a couple of other minor tasks -- a book review, preparing materials for a regular merit review, etc, but the book is the thing. In addition, my elderly mother, who has been quite ill with various things over the past year, lives in my town, and requires regular attention. I will disappear for the month of July because my sister is coming to be the responsible person for my mother. I will take vacation -- or rather three separate vacation trips. Then I have a conference for which I have to write something thoughtful in mid-August. So that's the summer. In all of this, I'd like to keep up with exercise, and return to reading. We'll see!
Waffles
TLQ summer goals:
1. Manuscript 1 submitted
2. Manuscript 2 drafted
3. Manuscript from diss
4. F32 application
5. Other minor grant apps

38 comments:

  1. In the interests of post-conference sitting on a train instant-ish gratification, I'm ticking this one off first!

    Session goals:
    - acronym report and paper done and submitted
    Report DONE, paper not touched

    - House project variant 1 - summer student supervised and significant progress
    DONE

    - House project variant 2 - summer students recruited and decent progress
    Not started, tackled other 'thing' instead

    - Test the water on various other projects
    Somewhat done, bit muddled

    - Scary project - paper submitted, next steps established
    Not touched it, due to other thing and frankly being burned out.

    - 8 science outreach events planned, run and evaluated
    last one is on Wednesday - DONE!

    - draft paper on tesla project outlined and data considered
    Not touched it

    - one conference presentation given, abstract for another to submit and give if accepted
    DONE, the second abstract was a poster and DONE

    - Carry on with my GoodReads challenge - now at 32/52 books.
    DONE - I'm at 56/52 books :)

    Not sure about hand crafted items this summer - the garden calls more strongly in the summer months so I'm thinking more 'grow pretty flowers and tasty fruits and veggies'.
    DONE - I have beautiful sweetpeas, started silk screen printing, and continued to work on the blanket.

    At the start of August I consciously set aside a lot of these goals to try and get some teaching prep done. The plan is to do more of this stuff during semester but there had to be a trade-off this year.


    This week:
    1. get work ready to do while travelling and conferencing (I always get stuff done on trains or when I wake up stupidly early)
    DONE - drafted a paper
    2. enjoy conference (presenting poster not talk so much more relaxing)
    DONE
    3. tidy up office and leave half-decent to-do list for following week.
    DONE

    Positivity: This will be the summer of sitting in the garden on the really hot days working slowly through stuff. The idea of working slowly has to stay!

    Thanks very much for hosting this session and for all the comments and general sense of community.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooh, working slowly. I like that. And I did that in the garden too. (I mean I did gardenwork slowly, but there's so much work that is play if it's slow!) I have to hold on to that idea too!

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  2. I kept meaning to post late when I got back from my conference, but I was overwhelmed with TRQ of various kinds.

    Habit: I love my new mousepad/memo thing, and it's been really useful.
    Positive image: I don't know -- there are several of very different kinds. Vacation and work...

    Last Goals posted:
    1. Put notice on course website about assignment for first class. (I was hoping to put up a draft syllabus, but it's much too drafty!) WELL, NOT DONE THEN< BUT BEFORE CLASS STARTED!
    2. Finish comments for roundtable on Friday. YES, and it went well
    3. Send off tenure review YES
    4. Pay bills YES
    5. Do ironing/ pack/ etc. YES (I'm back!)
    6. Make trivial changes in notes while traveling. DONE

    It turns out that traveling 1/3 of the way around the world for the weekend is really tiring... But the conference went well, and I got home and immediately was into the semester and other stuff.


    Session goals:
    In terms of TLQ, I'm almost finished a book manuscript (awaiting reader's reports) and my main goal for this session is to get it off to the press and in production. I just want to be DONE. There are a couple of other minor tasks -- a book review, preparing materials for a regular merit review, etc, but the book is the thing. In addition, my elderly mother, who has been quite ill with various things over the past year, lives in my town, and requires regular attention. I will disappear for the month of July because my sister is coming to be the responsible person for my mother. I will take vacation -- or rather three separate vacation trips. Then I have a conference for which I have to write something thoughtful in mid-August. So that's the summer. In all of this, I'd like to keep up with exercise, and return to reading. We'll see!

    SUCCESS!!!!! On Wednesday (which was also my birthday) I uploaded all the files for my book ms into a dropbox folder for the publisher. So, for the time being, it's done.
    And I completed my syllabus in time for the first class, which I've taught.
    THe summer was good, and the month of mostly vacation in July was awesome.
    I still haven't finished the book review, but will get to that next week.

    I'm taking a little time to organize my office both at work and home, and just catch up with my brain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And thanks to Humming42 and JaneB for hosting! Karen and I will figure out the fall schedule!

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    2. Happy belated birthday, Susan! So many things accomplished, as well. :)

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    3. Congrats on submitting the book, and I'm so glad the roundtable went well. And Happy Birthday. It seems like you had a great session.

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    4. Echoing the happy birthdays and congrats on finishing at least one major stage of completing the book. And you got some vacation as well -- sounds like a pretty satisfactory summer.

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    5. Congratulations and belated happy birthday!

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  3. Many thanks to JaneB and Humming42 for hosting. The prompts were always thought-provoking.

    One habit I began is to write every day, even if just a few sentences, even if only a question or direction of inquiry about one of the projects. I think it is ingrained enough to continue.

    The 'mind's photograph', that rises to the top, since I was granted many this summer, is that of the four of us sitting around the dining room table talking together over the first communal meal in the new house, connecting in an almost forgotten way with my grown children.

    Last Week’s goals:
    Assess what I want to write and put an outline of each project on paper. Three out of five. I’ll take it!
    Breathe. Yes, I managed not to panic.
    Parcel out the bigger projects into more manageable pieces for the semester. Yes, I set out chunks of footnotes and started outlines.

    Analysis:
    I worked on these goals only on Friday and Saturday, since I only commented on last week’s prompt on Thursday. On Tuesday I was asked for three letters of reference, and Wednesday for meetings for two brand new service commitments that are quite time gobbling. I will need to be very disciplined in the next year!

    Summer goals:
    Have office in new house set up and functioning. Not yet. I need to find out what is wrong with my spine on the 31st before I invest in an office chair.
    Finish required class (May 27th) Yes,with flying colors.
    Have Pierpont article roughed out in first draft. No, but the outline is done and portions scheduled.
    Have footnotes done for Prudence book. No, but chunked, outlined, and scheduled.
    Take some time to figure out my fiction writing. I took a step back, and concentrated on smaller projects.
    Walk/swim to enjoy the summer weather. Lots of time outside, but ended up somewhat gimpy. Even so,I enjoyed the summer weather.

    Analysis:
    Not surprisingly, I underestimated the impact of moving. I forget that I am several years older than the last time I moved! I am still going through things, which is the way I want to do it, but I have to push down the impatience with unfinished projects. I want the study finished, but I need a really good desk chair, and it is silly to move ahead until the spine rehab doctor tells me what I need.

    I have been much better about unplugging. I can’t knit in 90 degree heat, but I can do cross stitch, and the large seasonal designs I started are complicated enough that I can’t obsess about work or other things out of my control. I have been gardening, which I am sure would make my mother laugh, but my brown thumb seems to be turning green. I have also been cooking more, which brings a satisfaction in itself.

    Finally, I have tried to live purposefully, rather than my old habit of rushing about without a plan or map. It still is foreign to sit down and plan my next day, but I tick all the boxes with great glee when I have done the things I tend to forget, calling the dentist, doctor, mechanic and the like.

    Classes start Monday, so I hope to keep my head in the maelstrom of anxiety. Wish me luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Living purposefully: it just seems so important, and so hard in our institutions.
      Also, moving is a pain.

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    2. I love your "mind's photograph." :)

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    3. Living purposefully. I wonder if I could manage to plan my day the night before. Hmm.

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  4. The habit I want to keep up? Setting goals, keeping focused, and using music to motivate me and change my mood, when need be. Snapshot? I want to keep this internalized sense of how well mentored I am right now, how lucky I am to have gotten such good mentoring, and to use that sense to be a better mentor for my mentees. I also want to use it to help me keep steady when I encounter bumps in the road (like rejections) - my mentors believe in me, and I just need to keep moving forward.

    Past week’s goals
    1. Finish poster - DONE
    2. Start review - DONE and fully drafted
    3. Finish relat paper - DONE and sent to collaborators for input
    4. Set goals and plans with mentor for upcoming months - DONE, next few months are going to be insane


    TLQ summer goals:
    1. Manuscript 1 submitted - DONE and published!
    2. Manuscript 2 drafted - DONE
    3. Manuscript from diss - HA HA HA HA HA
    4. F32 application - DONE
    5. Other minor grant apps - DONE

    Apart from my diss manuscript, I did a decent job this summer. Diss manuscript may not happen this semester because I am applying for 5 grants, and need to get some other manuscripts done.

    Goals for this week:
    1. Submit relat paper
    2. Get IRB done
    3. Draft at least 2 fellowship apps

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am very much amazed by all you have accomplished. I look forward to following you in the next session!

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    2. That's really kind of you! I met with my mentor last week and told her my plan to take a couple of classes this semester (well, audit - I am NOT doing grades ever again if I can help it), and noted I thought the structure would help me be more productive. She said she thought I was very productive. I think though I know how I use my time. I'm super efficient, but I also spend a lot of time not being as productive as I could be.

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    3. Sometimes the down time supports the productivity. Most of us need it.

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  5. Session goals:
    1 Finish book manuscript (also known as RBP, revised book project, named by Dame Eleanor many moons ago): not quite there. Manuscript is due later this week.
    2 Mercury essay draft due mid-July: done.
    3 Mars essay due end of July: done.
    4 Submit Venus abstract at the beginning of August: done, accepted.
    5 Try to work yoga into life: nope.
    6 Keep up with household rehab: nope.

    I guess I did a better job of taking care of my work than I did taking care of myself. This is probably something I should look at going forward. I don’t know that I have any good new practices, but I do have a sense of things I would like to do differently: more better self care, more time for reading, and keeping a “done” list along with the “to do” list.

    Mind’s photograph would be finally getting to the beach in Fieldwork City and sitting on the sand as the sun set. A peaceful, serene moment to remember. I should also like to make a practice of holding those images close.

    Looking forward.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Balance has to be a big-picture thing, not just a daily one. Sometimes deadlines mug us and we make up the self-care later. Not ideal, but it happens. You've done a lot. Good luck with the final bits of RBP! Maybe you can celebrate turning it in by going to a yoga class.

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    2. And it belatedly occurs to me that I need to take my own advice and let the basement-sorting go while I finish footnotes so this article can go out before I turn in my sabbatical report.

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  6. Right now my mind's photograph is metaphorical: It's me, back in college in Indiana, on a dark cold morning, head bent against the wind as I walk across campus in 10-degree weather. That's how things are right now. I can't see much around me. I've just got my head bent against the wind. It kinds of hurts. I can't think beyond that right now.

    Last week:
    1) Finish drafting the remaining sections of chapter four even if they are rough. DEPENDS ON YOUR DEFINITION OF "FINISH."
    2) Write 700 words of conclusion. NOPE.
    3) Go through a lot of sources quickly on Friday at the library, return to library for half a day on Saturday if necessary. DONE.
    4) Add 15 sources to bibliography. NOT DONE.

    Session Goals:
    1) Finish the PhD thesis (all but minor editing, such as proofreading and changing punctuation and spelling from American to British--these things can be done in September). NOT QUITE THERE. Almost. I hope.
    2) Try not to neglect the family all of the time. DONE.
    3) Try not to feel to guilty when I do neglect the family. DONE.
    4) Get a little bit of exercise (let's say some kind of movement at least 3x per week). NOT DONE.
    5) Advocate for my needs/rights with my PhD university if need be. MEH.

    Thanks to humming42 and JaneB for hosting! I look forward to the next session. I'll be very busy in the meantime.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good luck with the last bits and pieces. It's really mind-numbing at the end!

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. So what's one habit I want to take with me into fall? I want to meditate more. I also want to start writing down how much I work and how much I think about work (which I started doing, but have not kept up). One snapshot? Oh, it's tough. I did some very good gardening this summer, planting four elderberries, which are perennials. (The blueberries were something of a disaster, but I think we're just going to plant them in pots instead.)

    Last Week's Goals

    1. Writing: do what you can. YES!
    2. Gardening: keep on blueberry watch. YES!
    3. Draft email to SameMind. NO
    4. Office: work on going through more boxes BOXES FINISHED SO BIG YES!

    Not bad, especially as I've been sickly.

    Summer Goals (revised in week 8)

    1. Work on Secondary Field Project, achieving 8R and 8y by end of session, and getting a fair amount of related reading done. NO, but I'm on a decent trajectory here now.
    2. Talk to NonAcademicFriend about non-academic work. YES, we got together a couple weeks ago!
    3. Gardening! YES!
    4. Engage with some relevant scholarship as desirable. NO: though I ILL'd books very optimistically early on, I figured out what I don't want to read in scholarship especially in the summer when I'm trying to rest. Instead I wanted to dedicate myself to SFP, though even that slowed to a halt at times. I think I need to REST more.
    5. Get FallClassesandPlan together. NO, but I have weeks still until classes begin.
    6. Have a wonderful family summer with lots of homeschooling, reading with Spirited, and field trips! Make Spirited feel as if he's the center of my world! NOTSOMUCH: we're not homeschooling until September, and we went on far fewer field trips so far than I would've liked. There are still a couple weeks.
    7. Get back into yoga or tai chi or something! MEDITATION IS WHERE IT'S AT FOR THIS, I THINK.
    8. Do Little Project plans. VERY FEW OF THESE.
    9. Learn about herbalism. NOPE.
    10. Read nonscholarly books and have fun! YES!
    11. Yeah yeah, do the workthings I promised to do but don't let them take over. NOPE: I couldn't know then what work drama would unfold this summer. I'm trying to focus on work-life balance, but I suck at this, especially in the prevailing climate. But I've thought of a few things that will help: audiobooks in the car; staying engaged with SFP by having work for it ever-ready; thinking through very clearly which of my commitments are not purposeful at this point and work to get out of them. I'm also hopeful that our continuing discussion of Slow Prof (Slow Professoring?) will help here too.

    Thanks so much to our kind hosts, humming42 and JaneB! And I look forward to the new iteration!!! Until then, move like water!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I listen to a lot of audiobooks in the car. I find them so relaxing and grounding. Right now I'm listening to Pride and Prejudice read by Rosamond Pike. It is SO fantastic, and I got it on sale on audible (I have a membership) for UNDER TWO DOLLARS!

      I'm sorry about the work drama, but I'm glad for the good books and gardening. I hope you enjoy the remaining weeks of summer!

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  9. Last week's goals:
    1. Stick to schedule for doing research and class prep. ON CAMPUS DAYS, YES. AT HOME, NO.
    2. Finish footnotes for new and improved MMP-1. HA HA HA NO.
    3. Put in an hour doing something about the MMP-3 R&R. NO.
    4. Figure out new exercise schedule that works with the fall's on-campus days. YES I THINK SO.
    5. Important errands: 3A batteries, toothbrush heads, book for reading group. YES

    Well, I have clean teeth! Last week was not a normal week; not only was it the first week of classes after a sabbatical, Sir John had (fairly minor) surgery on Monday. So I was on duty as driver and accompanying family member that day, and the rest of the week (and for the next two) I was/will be picking up all his usual chores and errands as well as my own. In the circumstances, I'm pleased that I made progress on the MMP-3's footnotes, met my on-campus obligations, and kept up with the necessary household stuff.

    SUMMER GOALS
    1. Make a plan for moving prep, get some estimates, start some repairs. YES, NO, NO
    2. Finish all revisions: MMP-1, MMP-3, article from last summer that needs only very very small points added (a recent acceptance). MOSTLY, NO, YES
    3. Write conference paper, and arrange travel. YES
    4. Finish syllabuses. YES
    5. Keep ignoring the book till items 2-4 are completed. YES
    6. I so want to work on reviewing chunks of translation, but given the time pressures of 2-4, I may need to ignore this for the next month, as well. OTOH I will see one of my collaborators in August, so . . . let's say review one chunk by then, so I don't feel like a slug when we meet again. NO
    7. Do things that keep me in touch with my real values and priorities, and avoid reading or participating in things that interfere with these. YES.

    It was a good summer. I'm glad I didn't have to experience the upheaval of moving . . . but I still don't like my house or its location, and hope to move next spring or summer. Sorting/discarding/packing stuff and getting repairs done will be an ongoing task this year.

    My first photograph is a college quad in Cambridge. Others are of my family, especially the little kids, and the scenery in the conference location.

    I have a new mantra, a phrase that came into my head last week, when I was irritated by an overly talkative yoga instructor: Carry your silence within yourself, or, as an affirmation, I carry my silence within myself. It helps me detach from the urgent moment and think about what I believe is important.

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  10. Success? It's not exactly a habit, and I'm not sure quite where to go with it next (other than to fulfill some remaining obligations over the next two semesters), but the grant project was definitely the major success. That's good, and I do have some ideas for moving it forward in ways that are useful to the community of instructors in the (very big) program in which I teach, as well as some possible ideas for building on my individual contributions. And I could definitely write about some of it, and probably should, but I'm still at least as torn as I was at the beginning of the summer over whether, when I get back to writing, I should focus on writing in/about my original research area or in/about my fairly different teaching area. I'm pretty sure I *should* do the latter, for a variety of good reasons, but I'm feeling a bit reluctant/frustrated/nostalgic/grumpy/something about this choice. Maybe there's a way to do both, preferably without becoming overwhelmed and overstressed? I'm hoping maybe so, but for the moment I'm still feeling the need to focus more on infrastructure than on writing, which is optional for me.

    Snapshot: I haven't really got one, except maybe a few days in the garden, which I didn't spend much time on this summer. But I do enjoy it, so I probably should try to fit in more such days. Unfortunately, this has mostly been a summer when I didn't get around to doing some things I know I enjoy.

    Goals for the summer:

    Well, as mentioned above, I did a pretty good job on #1 (the grant project). I was not as successful on the other goal I picked out as a priority, #4 (keeping in touch with friends and family). There are some valid reasons for that, having mostly to do with the complications of others' lives, but it's also a reminder that I, true to form for an introvert, can find this area of life pretty draining, and end up avoiding it, especially when dealing both logistically and emotionally with a number of people is part of the picture. I need to keep working on finding ways to do a better job of this *without* tying myself up in knots, or beating myself up for not doing better.

    On #2 (self-care), I did pretty well on getting regular sleep and semi-well on getting back into cooking and eating homemade meals (especially after the summer term ended), and did get in some long-form reading (more of that earlier in the summer), but not at all well with exercise. That's a priority for the fall.

    I did the minimum on #3 (somewhat deliberately, since my father's estate needs to be formally wrapped up before I can really plan with the full picture in mind), made some progress on #5 (household organization), just a bit on #6 (storage), and, as noted above, kept thinking about #s7 and 8 without really coming to any conclusions (but I still feel like I moved forward a bit by acknowledging even more clearly where I am -- caught between an older professional/research identity that I genuinely enjoy(ed), but which may need to be abandoned, or at least go on the shelf for a while, maybe until retirement (though I hope not), and a newer one that is pretty well-established in the classroom, and probably needs to be come the, or at least a, focus of my research/writing life as well.

    I'm also aware that I'm still dealing with the effects of my father's death: not seriously depressed, but definitely a bit more numb, and a bit less energetic, than usual (not that I'm usually all that energetic). That's normal, I know, and I expect early 2017 will be tough as well, as the one-year anniversaries of learning of his illness, coping with it,and his death, approach. So I'm thinking of the coming year as one in which I do want to tackle some practical projects which really do need attention, and (re)build some self-care habits, but also want to allow room for acknowledging that I'm not quite certain what's next, and being okay with that.

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    1. Goals for last week:

      1. Finish up the last of the work for this phase of the grant project (mostly my individual contribution and some follow-up, especially making sure we all get paid). yes
      2. As much class prep as possible (TRQ, but important to getting both TLQ and TRQ aspects of the semester off to a solid start)not as much on top of things, or as far ahead, as I'd like to be, but keeping up reasonably well

      3. Some family-relationship-tending (which involves, in part, visiting the storage facility, so I will finally get at least the partial load that's been in my car for over a month there in the process). doing my best (with not quite as much cooperation as I'd like from others); still haven't gotten to the storage facility (though I dreamed about doing so; this is definitely another one of those logistical + emotional situations

      Many thanks to JaneB and Humming42 for hosting. This was a summer of especially-good prompts. Looking forward to seeing you all again in the fall.


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    2. Maybe while you spend time on the grant work and infrastructure work, you'll start to figure out which way to take your writing. Is there a way to bring some of your original speciality into your area of teaching focus in a way that will help you enjoy writing about the latter?

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  11. Wow, final check-in… Feels like a whirlwind! I’m so not ready for summer to be over!

    TLQ goals:
    1) Redo a hideous Revise/Resubmit paper left over from the winter term (the paper was hideous, the review equally and deservedly so...) STILL WORKING ON IT
    2) Do three major analytical projects and write a report for each DID TWO PROJECTS, WROTE ONE REPORT, need more information for rest of them…
    3) Learn fancy new-to-me analytical and modelling software SORT OF DONE BUT NOT PROFICCIENT YET
    4) Exercise!!!! COMPLETE AND COMPREHENSIVE FAIL, unfortunately advantages from all the climbing and hauling gear in the field were immediately negated by all the bacon and eggs in camp…
    5) Camp in at least three new areas with child, and do a few trips to old favourites NO NEW AREAS, DID OLD ONES and have a couple of trips booked.
    6) Write paper for new field area HAVE SKELETON OF IT, WORKING ON REST

    When looking at my list of goals it seems like I failed in a lot of them, and it doesn’t feel like I did much, but I’m actually really happy with what I did this summer. It was the first one recently where I felt I worked really well all through it. All my major projects made significant progress, and new ones appeared as well. There was a ton of traveling for field work and lab work. I also spent a lot of time with visiting graduate students which took lots of time but was really good for the projects and their work.
    Habit or pattern to continue? I definitely want to continue the habit of doing my research work any given day first, and not to even look at other things until I have done something worthwhile on a particular project. A big part of that is to schedule something research-related very deliberately every day and not let it stay up to chance.
    Mental photograph? Two… One of a vivid red and pink and orange 3am sunrise at our field camp, and the other of the joy on my daughter’s face when I came back.
    Looking forward to the Fall session of our group! Seeing everyone working towards goals is always inspiring, thanks for the company on this journey! Thank you to our excellent hosts!

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  12. I can't believe its the end of the summer group already. Despite being awol the last week, it has been a wonderful group to participate in, and I feel much more positive now than when I started. I feel great about my summer goal, which was essentially 'not fall apart'. I didn't, and along the way to achieving that, I did a lot of walking, especially by the beach - and that is something I really want to continue as it has been so good for me both mentally and physically. I haven't quite yet settled on something creative to help with stress, but I have done a bit of singing, and dancing. And, finally, I did submit two papers, both of which have been hanging over me, and have two others (years in the making!) accepted.
    I will really look forward to the next iteration of this group- the solidarity of working, struggling, and solving problems with a great group of intelligent, compassionate and thoughtful cyberspace scholars is both a privilege and a pleasure.
    allan wilson

    2. find a creative outlet for stress, either playing an instrument or handcraft
    3. submit 2 more papers.

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    1. So glad you are still in one piece. Beaches are fantastic.

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  13. Mental photographs:
    1) the waves on the beach linking up the sand
    2) the title and authors list of my recently accepted and now online paper. (Yes, I can do it!)
    aw

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  14. Hello all, and thank you for another helpful and enjoyable TLQ session! I've got less internet access than I hoped for this trip, but the trip is going pretty well, so... sorry for not commenting more, please talk among yourselves (AS YOU ARE ALREADY DOING). Also stray vapslock due to laptop keyboard, sorry
    last week goals:
    1) tidy the small table next to my desk, do filing (even if just into box files labelled "2015-16 misc"!) got about half way with this chore
    2) prepare talk and workshop for conference done
    3) planning and identifying 'constrained units' of work to do during the following 3 weeks when I'll mostly be travelling not really. Stress!
    4) be deliberately deliberate. not perfect, but when I manage it it's a really helpful frame of mind, so I will keep practicing

    Last week feels a very long time ago! I had a couple of wobbly health days, resented work stuff, found a serious mistake in some research which invalidates a lot of summer work (but is well on the way to being fixed now), and had a small personal melt-down after counselling which I dealt with by inventing a chore which meant I couldn't go back into the office and going to sleep for four hours instead. Then working in the evening. And I felt grim on Thursday evening - did too much during the day and lost the deliberate and got into quite a state - so I went to bed early and packed the next morning, leaving later than intended for my weekend. But the weekend was great, qwith no wobbles at all, and the week so far is going OK, so...

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    1. mental photographs:
      my niece complaining she couldn't breath because I was making her laugh so much because I am so funny, and getting wildly over-excited when I arrived to visit, and pretending to a be a puppy so we could cuddle on the couch, and generally being hugely affectionate.

      The talcum-powder-smell of hot cat fur, the dribbly purr-miaow noise my cat makes when I come home or feed her something tasty, the firmness of the headbutts she inflicts on me in passing (cat hugs hurt!)

      It's not been a good summer, but it could have been a lot worse, and I feel less stuck than I did three months ago...

      Summer goals:
      1) Submitted Special Issue Paper -DONE
      2) Completed the ProblemChild part 1 computer work - well, yes, until last week's small disaster. About half way back there now..., and have a complete draft of ProblemChildAdvertPaper and a rough draft of ProblemChildDetailsPaper no, just a rough outline
      3) have a decent amount of teaching preparation done or exhaustively planned not really, but at least I have some
      4) make about a paper's worth (say 8-10,000 words) of progress on other important writing - Picky Paper, Ferret, and one or more grant applications are the top candidates here.not really. About half a paper's worth, I think, if you count all the stuff I've done on writing beinggg led by other people
      5) Have solved LikesMaths (my PhD student)'s paperwork/bureaucracy problem! no, but we HAVE made some concrete progress
      6) have a plan for Gallimaufrey web site for the next academic year and possibly a head start on the first few blog posts.no
      7) have a visibly more orderly house, which I can hoover easily without manouvering around piles of books, papers and miscellaneous stuff held together by a fine web of self-organising cat hair no, although things are better than they were
      8) have made the most of the summer resources to have a better exercise habit and lost a few pounds no and no, but again, things are NO WORSE
      9) have written the workshop and talk for the September conference yes, done, bar adding a few pics from the problemchild reanalysis which is still going on

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    2. Thing to take forward: from the Slow Professor discussion and from the various self-care things I am trying to work on, two things: living deliberately, acting deliberately, is hard to choose but once chosen definitely helps and feels sustainable, as many virtuous habits do not.

      Secondly, having protein for breakfast rather than anything with carbs (I do NOT like this one at all, at all, as toast/cereal/pastry are clearly the BEST breakfast foods, and also are much, much easier to get ones hands on when out and about (I'm vegetarian - and it feels so wasteful to buy a breakfast sandwhich and ditch the bread, as well as being really hard :-( , but cannot deny that the morning miseries wear off quicker this way, and I sometimes don't feel desperate to nap until mid-afternoon. Going to be very, very bored of hard boiled eggs and cold cooked qu0rn sausages... yoghurt is ok but would be better by far with oats, which I guess I could sort of consider protein, and cheese isn't nice in the morning, too fatty. I need to experiment!).

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    3. I love your mental photograph, JaneB. And it might have been a tough summer, but you've done pretty good job with your list.

      Maybe during the next session, we need a "best protein breakfast" theme one of the weeks.

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    4. Love your image. Your niece sounds terrific!

      My experience is that I need significant protein at breakfast and have to avoid not carbs, but the refined stuff. So muesli fruit and yogurt work well, if balanced towards the fruit and yogurt. I also do protein smoothies, which are relatively easy to make and consume. I also bake my own muffins, so can reduce the sugar, add nuts and seeds, and use more whole wheat flour. I take them to work as a mid-morning snack, which feels decadent but doesn't overwhelm me the way commercial ones do.

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