Week Nine: Who is it for?

Reading everyone's comments about their communities last week was a heartening reminder that we are not alone.   It also occurred to me that one consequence of the web of connections within which we function is that our TLQ work often reflects obligations to others.  Some of these come with being part of a work community that works to support each other; some are chosen, as when we work with collaborators; and some come from being in relationships with other human beings, whether friends, families of choice (including children), or birth families.  As I thought about my own TLQ list, I realized relatively little of it was "for me" -- and that even things I think of as "for me" are also connected to obligations or at least connections to others.    How important is it for you to do things that are just for you?  Do you -- consciously or unconsciously -- prioritize those things below things that are connected to others?   If we value the connections that generate obligations, how do we ensure that things are not too unbalanced?

Last week's goals:
allan wilson
(from 2 weeks ago, nature intervening!)
1. Reduce second helpings at dinner which have nothing to do with the fact that I am hungry.

2. Use appropriate coping strategies, not eating. Eg, walking, or resting.

3. Have a go at finishing FS.

Contingent Cassandra:
--move more (walk and/or weights)
--rest as possible (the week after Thanksgiving is absolutely packed, and will be exhausting)
--do my best to enjoy a family Thanksgiving that will have some sad/awkward elements (first without Dad; ongoing family tensions) 
--cook (at least the pesto; maybe some soup?)
--work on other contacts with friends/family
--work on setting up meeting for grant project
--do some long-form reading (leisure/novel, Bible, both)

Daisy  (from 2 weeks ago)

1) Complete draft of Hills paper

2) Complete outline of Cold Area paper to collaborators
3) List of figures and data plots needed for Cold Area paper

Dame Eleanor Hull
1. Self-care: sit 5x, 3 yoga classes, basic stretching 4x, weights 3x, cardio or walking 5x, keep up good work on food/tracking.
2. Teaching: write final exams.
3. Research: finish R&R, send e-mails.
4. House/Life: restore study furniture, 2 hrs basement

Earnest English
Mental Health: Stretch, plan, make key phone calls on Wednesday
Gardening: fall clean up as promised, get garlic in the ground, put beds to sleep
Writing: work in the morning; read 
Health: sleep, rest, relax, take supplements, eat well, make sure to bring and eat lunch. 
Cooking: Thanksgiving! 
Planning: Keep checking in on my goals
Spirited!: Connect and be here now.
Work: grade 5 projects per day, preferably in the morning on days not going to work

Elizabeth Ann Mitchell
Prepare for being out on jury duty--which may be one day or a month.
Write 250 words on Prudence x 6.
Declutter the work space ½ hour x 5.
Cook on Wednesday what can be done ahead of time.
Relax on Thursday, enjoy Number 1 and 2 sons’ company.

Good Enough Woman  (Yay for date on viva!)
1) Get some grading done so that the week after T-Giving isn't a nightmare (presentation grades plus one set of essays *at least*).
2) Review chapter one to plan basic cuts for conversion into an article.
3) Exercise 3x.
4) Move like water with in-laws.
5) Make Christmas lists.

Humming42
1 30 minutes recherce 7x
2 30 minutes reading 7x
3 finish reading book for book review 1
4 make substantial progress on R&R

JaneB
This week's goals:
1) contact the editors of the three papers I need to referee, let them know I've been ill, do one
2) write the Annual Report for Old Admin Job (about 35 pages of bureaucratise. There are bits that can be cannabalised, but it takes energy) 
3) finish up paperwork related to external examining
4) write one more week of the new statistics teaching 5) declutter house to some degree
6) eat well, exercise, sleep a lot, put self first
7) keep up with NaNoWriMo, go to meetup

And for a later date:
8) make eye care appointment (don't think opticians like being coughed at from close quarters)
9) work through another revise and resubmit (we have until mid-December)
10) write one section and edit all sections of a grant, so it can go off to internal referees
11) draft my bits of the second Problem Child part one paper
12) comment in detail on last of the close to submission manuscripts
13) worry about December travel, conference talk writing etc.

Karen
Assessment is done, we are shifting into summer. Ongoing emotional fallout. Demanding postgraduates (or needing to chase the ones who should be demanding).
1. Write x3. Even if it is crap. Just get going.
2. Move. Find one way each day to do that.
3. Focus. Make inroads into the big list by choosing one thing at a time.

KJ Haxton
1. more progress on literature review project, particularly looking for studies that could be used in a meta analysis of findings.
2. finish prep for outreach event on Saturday
3. hand crafted items - must finish the advent calendar thing I bought last year and haven't sewn up yet.
4. data processing of research tools from house and scary project
5. write the letters that I've been meaning to write.

Susan
1. Start working on proofs as soon as they arrive (Wednesday). Do at least one chapter a day.
2. Keep exercising
3. Eat sanely (will be easier because we're not hosting the food fest, and the food fest will center foods I don't particularly like)
4. Read another book.

Waffles
work on revision of NIH application

Week Eight: We're all in this together

Much of my week has been about being in community - on one side, coming together as a university community with collegaues and students to remember and on the other, being part of a group of people connecting land and stewardship. In different way, these events - and the process of preparing for them - has reaffirmed for me the importance of community to achor us in place, to hold and lift us in troubled times, and to enable conrete actions. (But I will note that by the weekend, I was desparate for ome time alone).

So for this week's topic - what part does community play in TLQ? Can do you care for yourself in the process of caring for those you choose and/or end up in community with.

On a community note, just giving everyone the update from the comments last week - allan wilson is in NZ and safe outside the earthquake area.


allan wilson
1. Reduce second helpings at dinner which have nothing to do with the fact that I am hungry.

2. Use appropriate coping strategies, not eating. Eg, walking, or resting.3. Have a go at finishing FS.

Contingent Cassandra
--enjoy time with niece; be kind to stepmother
--move a bit
--catch up with a friend (we have a date for Fri. -- another bright spot)
--follow up on grant project: finish financial stuff, work on scheduling meeting & setting agenda
--make parsley pesto
--follow up w/ stepsister

Daisy

1) Complete draft of Hills paper
2) Complete outline of Cold Area paper to collaborators
3) List of figures and data plots needed for Cold Area paper

Dame Eleanor Hull

1. Self-care: sit 5x, yoga 2x, stretch 5x, weights 3x, walk or elliptical 5x, stick to diet and track food 7x.
2. Teaching: plans for this week; some TRQ.
3. Research: finish R&R; send some e-mails.
4. House/Life: prep for new windows (TRQ at this point), gutter estimates.
5. Stay away from news and some of my usual internet sites. Go outside or look at cat pix instead. 

Earnest English

Mental Health: Stretch whenever I remember; planning; meditate twice this week, maybe at work?
Gardening: don't worry about it
Writing: work in the morning; read
Health: sleep, rest, relax, take supplements, eat well, make sure to bring and eat lunch. 
Cooking: one meal this week
Planning: Figure out Thanksgiving
Spirited!: Connect and be here when I get home; keep up with therapy; spend time with him
Work: plod through grading

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell

Get the other three appointments scheduled.
Write 250 words on Prudence x 7.
Work on fiction writing one half-hour x 3.
Keep the tortoise moving on causes.

Good Enough Woman (held over)
HEALTH: Make well-child check up for kids. Walk 2x. Yoga 2x. Swim 1x.
HOME: Pay bills. Tidy study.
RESEARCH: Print out chapter one of thesis. Decide what sections to cut in order to reduce word count (by a LOT). Cut those sections.
FAMILY: Take daughter to movie, have a family outing to pool (and maybe dinner and another movie). Enjoy (?) our family time on election night as we watch the returns come in.

2 30 minutes of reading every day
3 finish book review 2. Because there’s no reason I have not done so yet.
1) draft my bits of the second Problem Child part one paper
2) comment in detail on two close to submission manuscripts (one of which I haven't seen for a year...)
3) referee three papers
4) write the Annual Report for Old Admin Job (about 35 pages of bureaucratise. There are bits that can be cannabalised, but it takes energy).
5) finish and mail externalling report
6) sort out my travel plans for November and make excuses as necessary
7) write one more week of the new statistics teaching
8) work through another revise and resubmit (we have until mid-December)
9) write one section and edit all sections of a grant, so it can go off to internal referees
10) make eye care appointment
11) declutter house to some degree
12) eat well, exercise, sleep a lot, all that stuff
13) keep up with NaNoWriMo, find nerve to go to one meetup this coming week
2. Drink water before caffeinating.
3. Go to bed at the same time as husband at least twice this week.
4. Pick a single small future-orientated task each work day and do it before emails.
2. maintain momentum on the distance learning courses
3. hand crafted items - hats and ideas/test drawings for Christmas card printing
4. outline cook book idea
2. Start work on expanding conference paper for journal forum. 
3. Eat carefully, exercise. 
4. Read books, limit social media to 15 minutes morning and evening.
2. make a stab at outlining pub from diss
3. make decision about aauw fellowship
4. Self care flew out the window this week, so I'd like to spend some time cleaning and cooking this weekend 

Contingent Cassandra
--survive (Thanksgiving break can't come too soon)

Daisy
1) Complete draft of Hills paper

Dame Eleanor Hull
1. Self-care: sit 5x, yoga 2x, stretch 5x, weights 3x, walk or elliptical 5x, stick to diet and track food 7x.

Earnest English
Mental Health: Stretch whenever I remember; planning; meditate twice this week, maybe at work?

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Get the other three appointments scheduled.


humming42
1 30 minutes recherche every day. I know I won’t write on Monday because of teaching overload, so I will plan ahead and give myself some kind of researchy task to make sure I get that done.

JaneB
the impossible list redux

Karen
1. Find some time to work from home. Take screen break and plant seeds in peace.

KJHaxton
1. make progress on literature reviews for a few projects

Susan
1. Write 1 small grant proposal

Waffles
1. Finish RSA abstract

When the world intervenes

First, to those of you outside the US, on behalf of my fellow citizens, I'm sorry.  Everyone I know is still picking themselves up after the US election on Tuesday - I'm at a conference, and it's really the first thing anyone wants to talk about.  

While I'm happy to ignore the election results (denial is good) it occurred to me that one of the challenges all of us face from time to time is when the world decides to do something that interrupts our "regularly scheduled programming".   Elections and political events are obvious events, but floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters can also interrupt us.  These external events are slightly different from more personal "life happens" type things, but are equally disruptive.  What are the ways you've found to cope with the times when the world in some way makes your life difficult?

Goals from last week:
allan wilson
1. Exercise
2. Finish the revisions on FS and WHK.

Contingent Cassandra
--keep moving (gardening, walking, other exercise)
--get garden plot ready for inspection
--follow up on grant project: more financial stuff, work on scheduling meeting & setting agenda
--make parsley pesto if time
--follow up w/ stepsister

Daisy
1) Complete draft of Local Hills paper
2) Sample lists for analytical stuff to collaborators and labs
3) Eat crunchy green and yellow and red and purple things that are NOT candy!

Dame Eleanor Hull

1. Self care: stick to special diet and track foods; sit 4x, yoga 3x, stretch 3x, weights 3x, walk 5x.
2. R&R #2: at least 4 hours; try to finish.
3. House/personal: pay bills, get gutter estimates, finish clearing around the windows that will be replaced, 1 hour garden clean-up, light for indoor plants.
4. Teaching: Keep up; meet with dissertators; rec letter.
5. Do something fun.
6. Keep up with TRQ so it doesn't distract me from TLQ.

Earnest English (held over)
Mental Health: Planning, stretching, mental discipline for inner freedom, meditation when needed, breathe. Try not to invest a lot of energy in hating hateful people.
Gardening: 1 hour of gardening this weekend (clean up? plant garlic?)
Writing: 3 sessions of writing/revising; respond to others’ work; read for project; send off to deadline!
Health: sleep, rest, relax, take supplements, eat well, make sure to bring and eat lunch.
Cooking: one meal this week 
Planning: Figure out Halloween; grade day by day to prevent weekend-stealing
Spirited!: therapy and connect when I get home. 

Elizabeth Ann Mitchell

Make at least three of the five outstanding doctors’ appointments
Write 250 words on Prudence x 7
Work on one story for a half-hour x 5

Float like mist, everyone! Tilt at those windmills!

Good Enough Woman

HEALTH: Make well-child check up for kids. Walk 2x. Yoga 2x. Swim 1x.
HOME: Pay bills. Tidy study.
RESEARCH: Print out chapter one of thesis. Decide what sections to cut in order to reduce word count (by a LOT). Cut those sections.
FAMILY: Take daughter to movie, have a family outing to pool (and maybe dinner and another movie). Enjoy (?) our family time on election night as we watch the returns come in.

Humming42
1 30 minutes of research stuff every day
2 find a better name for “research stuff”
3 30 minutes of reading every day--that stack of research-related books, the long list of links in my online bookmarks, the novel I decadently checked out as an e-book last night

Jane B
ridiculous list of goals for reading week:  (Ridiculous is an understatement, IMHO!)
1) finish the last fiddly bit of this half of Problem Child and write my share of drafts of two papers on it.
2) comment in detail on one revise and resubmit and write the new section I have to contribute (co-authors waiting on me)
3) comment in detail on three close to submission manuscripts (one of which I haven't seen for a year...)
4) referee three papers
5) write the Annual Report for Old Admin Job (about 35 pages of bureaucratise. There are bits that can be cannabalised, but it takes energy).
6) write a 2 hour class on "digital literacy in the science disciplines"
8) mark 45 lab reports and 15 essay drafts
9) Act as external examiner for a master's degree (read about 15 dissertations varying in length from 20,000-35,000 words in several disciplines; review a couple of other project-based modules; write a detailed report).
10) sort out my travel plans for November and make excuses as necessary (I am TRIPLE-BOOKED one day...)
11) write one more week of the new statistics teaching
12) work through another revise and resubmit (we have until mid-December)
13) write one section and edit all sections of a grant, so it can go off to internal referees
14) visit counsellor, doctor, make eye care appointment
15) declutter house to some degree
16) eat well, exercise, sleep a lot, all that stuff
17) keep up with NaNoWriMo (yes, I'm doing it. I may be mad...)

karen
1. Drink water before caffeinating
2. Set timers when marking to stretch and rest eyes.
3. Read and take notes on 1 article in scheduled time on Friday.
4. Make counselling appointment

KJ Haxton
1. settle into some kind of routine now working from home has kicked in
2. more prep for late November event
3. keep email in its place
4. get distance learning course materials uploaded and all the deadlines sorted.

Susan 
1. Finish copyedited MS. 
2. Draft one (and maybe 2) small grant proposals. But I'll have to write them on the way home from my conference. 
3. Keep sleeping, and exercising. 

Waffles:
1. Submit NSF application
2. Finish up RSA abstract and send to mentor
3. work on one of 3 papers (aging, abuse or intersections)

Week Seven: White Space

The best part of my day today has been moderating assessments of student creative work. Along with the lovely surprises of work that has taken a step up or turned in an unexpected direction, there's been the pleasure of seeing how decisions about displaying the work can enhance it - that having white space around can bring clarity to the viewer and the work.

There's a lot of noise and chaos going around this week. (U.S. TLQ-ers, our thoughts are with you during the election.) Let's think about how creating white space - physically, in the calendar, or simply in our own heads can bring clarity to where we really want to focus our attention. What are your strategies for creating white space?

allan wilson (held over)

1. Eat healthy foods 85% of the time. 
2. Finish revisions to FS and send off. 
3. Draft rough revision for WHK paper. 
4. Abstract for conference

Contingent Cassandra (held over)

--Get as close to caught up on grading as possible (the better to concentrate on workshop/conference)

--Finish reading for next weekend's workshop

--Finish travel arrangements for week after's conference (get train ticket & sign dept. paperwork once it's ready) 

--Catch up/take care of some business with stepsister

--Follow up on grant-related financial task

--At least cover parsley & greens(harvest & make pesto if time) 

--Try to enjoy weekend workshop (which will be my first night away from home in almost a year. I'm not a huge traveler, so the lack of travel hasn't been a hardship, but I do look forward to the shift in perspective that getting away can bring)

Daisy
1) Dig out papers and work on actual writing
2) Plan rest of term 
3) Do daily writing challenge with my IRL writing group becasue this is fun!

Dame Eleanor Hull
1. Self care: sit 4x, yoga 3x, stretch 3x, gym 3x, walk 5x, get out light box.
2. R&R #2: at least 4 hours; try to finish; find someone to read it/make suggestions.
3. House/personal: bills, do a financial thing, 1 hour basement sorting, organize gutter cleaning estimates, get/set up new plant shelves and light.
4. Teaching: plan the rest of the term for undergrads; write a letter of recommendation.
5. Do something fun.
6. Take care of TRQ so it doesn't distract me from TLQ.

Earnest English (held over)
Mental Health: Planning, stretching, mental discipline for inner freedom, meditation when needed, breathe. Try not to invest a lot of energy in hating hateful people.
Gardening: 1 hour of gardening this weekend (clean up? plant garlic?)
Writing: 3 sessions of writing/revising; respond to others’ work; read for project; send off to deadline!
Health: sleep, rest, relax, take supplements, eat well, make sure to bring and eat lunch.
Cooking: one meal this week 
Planning: Figure out Halloween; grade day by day to prevent weekend-stealing
Spirited!: therapy and connect when I get home. 

Move like water, grade like tortoise, everyone!

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Health
Make at least three of the five outstanding doctors’ appointments
Write one story. 
Write 250 words on Prudence x 4

GEW
Health: Make one appointment for kids, one for myself. Exercise 3x.
Home: Pay bills. Finish tidying study.
Research: Read or copy all ILL stuff before I have to send it back on Friday. Definitely read at least one chapter/article. Read more about viva.
Family: Make it through Halloween. Get son started on Code Academy.

Special category: Send my absentee ballot in to VOTE!

Humming42
1 I’ve made an AcWriMo commitment to writing 30 minutes a day, every day, starting 1 November. 
2 Write abstract for Cool Thing with beloved co-author.
3 Write and submit abstract for Yes That.

Jane B
1) prepare 2 weeks ahead on new stats classes :-(
2) make a detailed list for 'reading week'
3) do simulation stuff for Problem Child (4 simple things, one fiddly thing with five parts)
4) IFF the cough continues to diminish, begin to walk a little more. IFF.

karen
1. Drink water before caffeinating
2. Set timers when marking to stretch and rest eyes.
3. Read and take notes on 1 article in scheduled time on Friday.
4. Make counselling appointment

KJHaxton
1. finish prep for and run outreach event
2. pass on lecture notes, finish teaching cover plans
3. do as much prep for late November outreach event so it's easy for those doing it
4. tidy work office so it's easy for husband to find stuff if I need it
5. try not to get ill!

Susan
1. This weekend is the weekend to “do all the things”: I’ve done a bunch of administrative/organizational/service tasks for the campus on various levels. Still two do:
A letter for a friend who is a finalist for a great job
A letter for a colleague’s promotion
Clearing off my desk so I’m not confronted by chaos (made worse by the cats) when I sit down

2. On Wednesday I get my copy-edited ms. I was supposed to get it last week, and it got put off. I’m panicked about this, because from next Sunday afternoon, I have uninterrupted other obligations. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed I can get the work done in the time I actually have to do it.

3. Keep sleeping, exercising, and eating relatively healthfully while working my tail off.

Waffles
1. NSF grant - full final draft
2 RSA abstract (if we can figure out what we will do)
3. Aging analyses