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Friday 4 November 2016

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


43 comments:

  1. I think my strategy for white space is just sticking to my schedules and not getting sucked into MSNBC coverage of the election. I am hoping that after the election, I'll be able to get back to my usual rhythms and habits.

    Last week:
    1. NSF grant - full final draft - DONE, due on Tuesday, so just have some fiddly things to do.
    2 RSA abstract (if we can figure out what we will do) - WE HAVE A PLAN AND I HAVE A START TO THE ABSTRACT.
    3. Aging analyses - DONE

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

    On the good-ish news front, I had two kind of big things happen:
    1) I was accepted into a competitive grant writing class. It's for junior faculty and "advanced" postdocs. I thought I had no chance of getting in (since I just graduated in May), and almost didn't apply. But I got in!
    2) I got my score for my NIH fellowship - and it's pretty good. I now am awaiting my summary statements. I won't know if it is funded till Jan/Feb (this is a horrible process, btw), but we are optimistic (or rather my mentors are, and I am steeling myself for the worst!). When I talked on the phone to my very amazing mentor right after I got the score, she told me to (after we hung up) to "stand up, jump up and down and clap [your] hands and yell yippee!" LOL. She and my other mentors are very pleased. I will be so excited if I get funded on the first time - esp. since my diss chair has said over and over that I'm not ready to apply and that I won't get it.

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    1. That sounds like good news, indeed. Whether or not you get the grant, it sounds like you're making good progress on learning the process (and getting an additional read on whose advice/analysis of the situation is most accurate, which is helpful, too).

      I think we're all hoping for a little more white space, and a lot less anxiety, by Weds. Please, please, whatever powers may have/choose to have control over this thing, don't let this be an election with ambiguous results!

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    2. Congrats! It sounds like things are going well!

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    3. I am jumping up and down for you, too. Yippee for Waffles! My fingers will be crossed that you'll get more good news in early 2017. And it seems that you got quite a bit done last week despite the election brouhaha.

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    4. Wooo, impressive! The waiting is really tough...

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    5. Too much waiting, but I'd trust your mentor. As for the election, just chewing my nails...

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    6. I'm alternating chewing and drinking. This is awful.

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  2. Thanks for holding my goals over; given my travel schedule, I really should have set two-week ones in the first place. I did go back and do last week's rehinking of goals, since that was a useful and necessary exercise.

    Topic: it may have been white noise more than white space, but I definitely feel better for having disconnected from my usual routine for 10 days or so (and for having used the beginning of the first trip as a deadline to finish a good deal of grading, and decide how to handle what I didn't finish). So I think time away can help.

    I'm also trying to get back into a walking routine, which probably provides more of the sort of white space you're thinking of: an hour or two away from the computer (and, for me, away from all devices; I prefer walking without music, podcasts, etc.) to regroup and let my thoughts drift where they may.

    I'm also increasingly observing at least part of a sabbath by not answering (or, if I can manage it, even checking) school email on Sundays. I'd like to move further in that direction (but have to remember to leave time to catch up on Monday morning).

    Goals for the last two weeks:

    --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)

    Achieved: mostly caught up on grading, read almost everything (except the one long reading almost everybody else skipped, too), enjoyed weekend workshop (and weekday conference that followed), made travel arrangements and got to conference (where I ended up briefly presenting as part of someone else's presentation) prepared as well, began financial follow-up for grant; a bit more movement than usual (probably the one thing I would have added had I set goals for last week).

    Not achieved: garden work/parsley picking and cooking; getting in touch w/ stepsister.

    Goals for this week:

    --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

    ReplyDelete
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    1. So glad you had a good conference and that it was re-orienting rather than disorienting. And glad you had that good "away" AND got caught up with grading. It's frustrating to have that good away time and then come back and get slammed with make-up work.

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    2. I try to block time for 're-entry' after doing a weekend off from work email - time to both catch up the inbox but also to acknowledge the shift in headspace.

      I'm impressed by your mindful approach to walking and hope that it settles in as part of your rhythm this week.

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  3. Goals from last week
    1) prepare 2 weeks ahead on new stats classes :-( finished literally five minutes ago
    2) make a detailed list for 'reading week' yup. Depressed
    3) do simulation stuff for Problem Child (4 simple things, one fiddly thing with five parts) done the simple things and the first half of the fiddly thing (which apparently doesn't WANT to have five parts...)
    4) IFF the cough continues to diminish, begin to walk a little more. IFF. it hasn't really. It's FINE if I stay in and still and quiet, and take naps. If I go out (or into a noticeably colder or hotter or drier or more humid room), move around too much, talk, or get tired/sit hunched over something, it comes out. I had to cancel one day of teaching and meetings because I woke up with No Voice and 'cardboard throat', but it's sort of come back again today. It feels wrong :-(

    analysis:
    Just entering week 5 of The Cold. Struggling, but still moving. Thank heavens for Reading Week! Also, omg the LIST FOR READING WEEK IS SO FULL.

    ridiculous list of goals for reading week:
    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...)

    If I can do two items from that list every day... yeah. Not happening. But I'm at the 'I can't drop any of it' point where I just have to jump in and see how far I can get...

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    1. Dude, I hate to be a pessimist, but that list doesn't seem quite doable. I hope you are able to effectively prioritize as well as you can and maintain your health as you combat crawl to the end of the week.

      (Should I have been more upbeat?)

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    2. Nope, it's completely fekking impossible. But I've been putting off everything that isn't absolutely do-or-die until this magical 'white space' which is reading week (i.e. now) and I can't even start to work out which if any of these things does NOT have some enormous painful serious consequence if I don't get it done and I JUST CAN'T.

      So I dumped it here.

      On entirely the wrong post.

      My ideal "white space" right now involves fresh white cotton sheets, the special white light you get from the sea or from snow, and almost complete silence from all media (a small number of web comics and brief, positive communications with friends and family would be allowed), and a big pile of blank paper and a fountain pen which works perfectly next to a big squishy (white?) sofa with a view of the sea or the snowy forest.

      What I get is the sort of white blank that comes with fog descending, a little ominous, or flashes of white rage or white despair.

      Basically this week's topic is kind of the anti-topic to where I actually am? But probably useful to think about just for that reason alone...

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    3. Your ideal space sounds pretty heavenly to me, too. Can you book a vacation when this horrible list is over?

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    4. Oh I'd love to! I didn't manage to book cat care over Christmas (my usual lovely person is shutting the cattery for a week to visit her grandchildren, and the alternative home visitor wasn't free, even if I'd found the will power to clean the house enough to feel OK with letting her come in, and Furball doesn't seem to like having the house to herself in the evening anyway), so I have about a week then of staycation, following a couple of conference trips. Then I have to go visit the parents, and then the next semester will have arrived. I'd usually try & take some time off at Easter, but I'll probably be going on exciting but horribly stressful research/professional travel for the whole of the non-teaching space then. Maybe I can find a weekend in January... Hmmm, I should at least look for one!

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  4. White space, yes. After a few years of being a terrific slob, I find myself cleaning and straightening and wanting to create some white space on my desk, the table, the floor beside the bed. And as much as I enjoy social media, I’ve been mindful of when the election news becomes upsetting and obsessive, and I close those tabs, creating some white space for panicky mind that worries endlessly.


    Last week:
    1 I’ve made an AcWriMo commitment to writing 30 minutes a day, every day, starting 1 November. So far, I’ve met this goal because I’m not focused on actually putting down a certain number of brand new words but rather spending 30 minutes engaged in something that leads toward a published piece. It’s a weird way of turning things on their heads: I finished reading the book for book review 2 and started writing the review--somehow it’s easier to work on it when it’s about meeting that commitment.
    2 Write abstract for Cool Thing with beloved co-author. She has the current draft for editing, and it’s underway.
    3 Write and submit abstract for Yes That. Another day of writing commitment fulfilled.


    This week:
    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

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    1. Clear tables (etc) are so soothing . . . and so hard to keep clear.

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    2. Congrats on sticking to your daily writing work. You are inspiring me.

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    3. I'm slowly trying to declutter, and realize that it does help me.. . Good luck! (And like you, I've been avoiding social media at moments because I can't cope.)

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  5. White space...lovely concept. To me creating it is getting away from all the noise: turning off email, working from home, working in a different environment, and some how reducing all of the other 'stuff' to background murmurs. Not easy but very worthwhile.

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

    This week:
    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.

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  6. Last Week's goals:
    1) Dig out papers and work on actual writing YES
    2) Plan rest of term YES
    3) Do daily writing challenge with my IRL writing group because this is fun! DONE AND IT IS SO MUCH FUN - we have a running spreadsheet for any researchy activities and it has been great to see everything in one place instead of scattered all over.

    These goals were very easy, just right for easing back into "normality" after the awful October craziness!

    This week's goals: More ambitious edition!
    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!

    Topic: White Space
    I love the idea of leaving time for some empty space that is not filled with noise or activity. For the next 6 weeks I'm getting house cleaners every 2 weeks so I can have the hours that would take on my weekends to do something fun like play with the kid or read books. The first two visits have been fabulous so I consider that money well spent.
    My favourite white space activity is running, where I can think about anything and just let my mind wander and make connections and come up with new ideas, or think about issues with experiments or papers, or just ignore everything. I haven't really found anything that works quite as well. And of course the irony of scheduled white space is always there! But otherwise it doesn't happen, so scheduling it is fine.

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    1. So great to hear about you IRL writing challenge. The communal spreadsheet sounds very cool!

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  7. How I did:
    1. Self care: sit 4x, yoga 3x, stretch 3x, gym 3x, walk 5x, get out light box. 2x, 2x, 2x, 3x, 5x, NO (but it was a mostly sunny week). Did well considering I felt rotten all week.
    2. R&R #2: at least 4 hours; try to finish; find someone to read it/make suggestions. YES, NO, YES (when it's done). Progress is good.
    3. House/personal: bills, do a financial thing, 1 hour basement sorting, organize gutter cleaning estimates, get/set up new plant shelves and light. YES, YES, changed to clearing around study windows for the installation of new windows, looked up phone numbers but haven't called yet, NO. Definite progress here. I have a LOT of books in my study, and a large chunk of them need to be removed in preparation for the new windows.
    4. Teaching: plan the rest of the term for undergrads; write a letter of recommendation. NO, NO. Bad proffie, bad.
    5. Do something fun. YES (dinner out with a friend of Sir John's I hadn't seen in months, maybe a year).
    6. Take care of TRQ so it doesn't distract me from TLQ. ADEQUATE.

    Next goals:
    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.

    Topic: white space.
    The last couple of weeks, white space has appeared because of food trouble---I've felt sufficiently ill to take a whole day (or more) off when I'm not on campus, after soldiering through teaching obligations. It does provide perspective and a chance to read/ sit around/ do small household tasks. But I'd rather take time off when I feel well enough to enjoy it! After a really bad week, I finally felt really well Saturday and Sunday. It's amazing how much more energetic and cheerful I feel when my gut is happy. I am now on a much more restrictive diet that seems like it's giving good results already. My husband is appalled at all the things that I am to avoid (he's welcome to eat whatever he feels like getting and preparing), but at this point I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to feel good instead of crappy. Life is short and I'd rather create my own white space than have it forced on me.

    On physical white space, one of the things I did on sabbatical was clear one shelf/surface in my office every time I came to campus. It's much cleaner now (I never did get to the drawers . . . oh well), and more pleasant to work in. It also impresses colleagues! I hope I can keep it tidy rather than silting up over the next six years, or till I retire (whichever comes first).

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    1. I cleared my desk in the last week of "summer" and it was a good thing. And I've managed twice to clear it off again from the light dusting of papers on a Friday afternoon. It feels SO GOOD - in fact I am inspired to add clearing it off AGAIN to the list of things for the one day this week I plan to go onto campus.

      The trouble is, I can do a few square feet of desk. Larger areas though elude me. I like to admire my empty desk space in the midst of my generally "cosy" office, and call that my white space!

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    2. Oh lord I wish there was a dietary solution to some of my issues. And I wish I could get ANY medical help in trying to find one (all I get is 'lose weight' and 'you don't have coeliac disease blood markers so go away' which is NO HELP). So glad you're getting to feel better though!

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    3. I had NO idea: I didn't really feel depressed, but people tended to think I was. And suddenly rather than being all in my head it was all in my gut. I'm still kind of stunned by that. But I'm not getting any medical help to speak of. My symptoms, by medical standards, are sufficiently mild, intermittent, and clearly food-related that my doctor is not inclined to run any tests, especially since I'm highly motivated to sort it out via diet. So it's mostly my research online and experimenting on myself. It sounds like you know what your issues are, so the most I could say is, if there was ever a time when you felt markedly better and you realized your diet wasn't exactly what you usually ate, that could be a sign. A person can have intolerances without having coeliac blood markers, or skin test results. But it is a hassle to do the elimination diets and all that, no question.

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    4. Hmmm, that IS interesting. I get exactly the same response medically, essentially, "you aren't ill enough".

      My counsellor has suggested that as I have a lot of "food issues", I shouldn't try a restricted elimination diet until I get a better handle on some of my eating habits (especially "eating my feelings" after crappy days at work) as nearly everything I'd need to eliminate would be something I 'lean on' to some extent, therefore I'd be setting myself up to fail which probably isn't what I need, especially not mid-semester.

      Which I kind of agree with, but at the same time, it would be SO NICE to feel even a bit better. I'm trying to be observant, and once the teaching semester comes to an end, will try some experiments.

      It doesn't help that as a vegetarian with a somewhat picky gut almost anything I can eat at eating outside the home occasions involves something I probably shouldn't eat - I have to avoid some raw vegetables and fruits, or at least their skins, because they upset my stomach, can't tolerate spicy food, and can only eat small amounts of pulses especially the ones with skins on like kidney beans and green/brown/puy lentils, which pretty much leaves things with cheese, things with pizza-dough/pastry, and sandwich-like things or pastry-like things. I know I have a level of cows-dairy-intolerance and my prime suspects for other issues/addictiveness are refined grains, especially wheat, flour improvers which are used in pretty much all commercial breads etc., and refined sugar. Whine whine whine! I know, it's all excuses...

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    5. I'm glad the restricted diet is helping... I was on the FODMAP diet for a stretch some years ago, and it was very hard, and boring. (And it didn't help me, so I was glad to go off.)

      And it sounds like otherwise you're actually doing quite well.

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    6. I have recently begun to wonder if Starbucks food gives me trouble. Last year, during sabbatical, my system was MUCH better. I chalked it up to less stress. I've also gotten much better after turning in the thesis, but I've still been working overtime. The difference in both cases (during sabbatical, immediately post thesis) is that I've spent much less time working at Starbucks and, therefore, I've had fewer snacks from Starbucks. The difference in my system has been tremendous during both times with less Starbucks. Do they have something weird in their food? (I don't drink coffee, so it's not coffee.)

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  8. Topic: My favorite thing about sabbatical was all of the white space. I managed to keep using that space well right after I returned to teaching, but then things got crazy and then I was finishing the thesis, and then I was knackered from the thesis. Now, I am finally about to think about white space again, so this topic is well timed. I was thinking about the very same (sort of) on Thursday, when I managed to squeeze in an impromptu mammogram before an evening of grading.

    I had just parked my car downtown before going into a bookstore cafe to grade papers, and I sat in the car to call for the appointment (this is time I would usually spend on a quick Facebook check). The office said they could take me the same afternoon, so I went for it. From the time I called them, to the time I was finished, was only 30 minutes. This mammogram was WAY overdue, and several of my friends have been diagnosed in the past few weeks. I was really struck by the fact that I spend plenty of time scrolling on Facebook but yet I don't feel like I have time for doctor's appointments. I had kind of an epiphany. I'm sure I'll still waste time, but thinking of white space and priorities will, I hope, help me use that time better: connecting with kids for a few extra minutes or attending to my health. Time to get intentional again.

    Health: Make one appointment for kids (NO), one for myself (YES, had the mammo and made other other appt!). Exercise 3x (YES).
    Home: Pay bills. Finish tidying study. NO.
    Research: Read or copy all ILL stuff before I have to send it back on Friday (YES, copied). Definitely read at least one chapter/article (NO). Read more about viva (NO).
    Family: Make it through Halloween (YES! Finally!). Get son started on Code Academy (YES! Finally!)
    VOTE: YESSSSS!

    I sent another inquiry about the viva. I don't have a date yet, but it sounds like the examiners are looking at mid-January. I'm guessing I'll know this week. So now I'm thinking I should focus on turning chapter one into and article, and then focus on viva prep. I'd like to be able to tell the examiners that I have submitted an article (even though it might not *really* matter). Plus, I want to get it out there b/c I think it's good research!

    This week's goals:
    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.

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    1. One problem I have with making medical appointments is that I spend ages on hold, and get all annoyed about that, before I can even make the appointment; then there's going and sitting in the waiting room, sitting in the exam room, in addition to the time for the actual doctor (or whatever) visit. Usually it's not 30 minutes from start to finish! So maybe the actual phone call only takes 10 minutes, but it feels like a whole cascade of time-wasting stuff will follow, which leads to procrastinating on the call. Anyway, awesome that you could get that done so fast.

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    2. Yes, you are right. And that's what gets me, too. The cascade also includes follow-up appointments, etc. But I've decided I really need to take this time to do some basic health maintenance that I've been avoiding. It's worth the time (I tell myself).

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  9. What are your strategies for creating white space?
    What a great topic, and timely for me, as for others, I see from previous comments. I preserve some white space on my calendar by scheduling it, although I do see the irony of it, as Daisy says. Also, like CC, I tend not to plug in while I walk, and let my mind wander during some of my meditation time. The past few days, I spent a lot of time in front of the fireplace, watching the dancing flames at times without thought. I also find that some crafts allow me to block out the “noise” when my hands are fully involved in the task-- I suppose the truly “mindless” task. Interesting that physical movement or exertion seems to be tied with blocking “noise” for me--weeding, planting, raking, walking, knitting.

    Last week’s goals:
    Health
    Make at least three of the five outstanding doctors’ appointments Nope
    Writing
    Write one story. Nope
    Write 250 words on Prudence x 4 Nope

    I failed miserably at getting anything done in the past few days. I felt crappy most of the time, which didn’t help overcome inertia, and I found it hard to block out the election coverage. I could have retreated further, but I enjoyed being curled up in front of the fire, which, while on a different half-floor from the TV, has no intervening doors, and said TV was blasting commentary from sunup to well past sundown.

    My slim hopes for this week are that a) the election will be over in a few days and b) DH will be out of town from Wednesday night through the following Tuesday, with the result that I can shift my schedule to suit my biorhythms. I hope that will help.

    Next week’s goals:
    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!

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    1. Interesting... I don't want my white space to be mindless, exactly, I want it to be free-flowing, a mental space of being-not-doing, a place where my thoughts can play rather than being full of distraction and yammer and rush.

      I also find some crafts very useful at helping me shut up the yammer-part and let the "being" part free... But aargh, that election coverage blare would have had me committing family-member-cide, at least in my imagination! Too much news media is incredibly toxic...

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  10. allan wilson (held over)

    1. Eat healthy foods 85% of the time. Maybe 60%. The cheesecake my partner made a few days ago was irresistible. I would have preferred he didn't make it, but entertaining. .
    2. Finish revisions to FS and send off. NO.
    3. Draft rough revision for WHK paper. Doing now. .
    4. Abstract for conference YES.

    Avoidance on my part re both sets of revisions. I was mentally overwhelmed, particularly by bureaucracy, and could not get my head into that space. However, on the positive side, I went to a 2 day meeting last week where I contemplated how to do this better (i.e. create white space) and have come back with more ideas and more determination. My new strategy is to block out two days every week as 'Writing time', and probably not come to work or check emails on those 2 days. This is a luxury, but technically one I should be using while on my current fellowship.
    This weeks goals:
    1. Exercise
    2. Finish the revisions on FS and WHK.
    allan wilson

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    1. Blocking out emails is *so* helpful! But hard.

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  11. And as I skipped last week, being completely crazy as it happened, re my Session Goals:
    1) to be fitter and stronger physically than I am now, by doing exercise consistently - I find this has enormous benefits for my mental wellbeing, and energy levels. I think I am on Track for this. I have been swimming this last week, and enjoying it - a nice change from walking. I'm not losing any weight though, which I also wanted to do. However.

    2) to be calm, especially as Christmas draws closer. Not sure yet what my strategies will be here. Well, I do seem to be calmer. I'm not entirely sure why - probably a mixture of the cumulative effect of just getting up each day, and working through what needs to be done, methodically, and making sure I have some time out to exercise, and also perhaps, life itself easing off in the intensity of unpleasant things that need to be dealt with.

    3) to resubmit two papers that I have previously completed with the help of this group - both are complete mss, but need reformatting after recent rejections - still working on this goal! Aware I am being a massive procrastinator, mainly because of a lack of mental energy.

    4)to work on drafts of three other papers, so each has a complete manuscript form. Some progress here, but a long way to go.

    allan wilson

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    1. Fitter and stronger is important, regardless of weight (or size, which may change with increased fitness even without weight loss). Among other things, fitter/stronger is generally more achievable, and maintainable (and useful).

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  12. I love the concept of white space. I take it mostly when I walk (not often enough). I also think when I really sit down with a book, there is hte opportunity to just sink in to it. But thinking about how to clear white space is a good challenge.

    Goals from last week:
    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
    DONE -- and I made plane reservations for a trip at Xmas!
    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. DONE ALMOST EVERYTHING SORT OF (Still need to do bibliography, and I'll print the whole thing out and read it on the plane Wednesday.)

    3. Keep sleeping, exercising, and eating relatively healthfully while working my tail off. (Actually, doing pretty well at this.)

    What to say: there was something amazingly freeing about clearing space to do lots of small things, which easily get neglected. The copyedited ms on the other hand, was much harder, because I've read it so often it's hard to concentrate. And the copyeditor did not ask enough questions, so it was like another read through. And I don't know whether it's because I'm such a good writer, or because it wasn't a good copyeditor...

    Goals for this week (very limited, because I'm currently at an "Academic Leadership Retreat", and when I get back, I teach, go home, unpack, watch election results and pack, and leave at 7 Wed AM for a conference...)
    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.

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    1. Reading a book (or something else long-form on a platform that eliminates any distractions that aren't already in my head -- and there are usually plenty of those) definitely counts for me, too, as a way of taking/making white space. It's immersive (and so much of life today isn't).

      And hurrah for desk-chaos-reduction, and good progress on the ms. despite uncertainties about the copyediting.

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    2. Reading a book works for me as well, it has to be a good and engaging book but it works. Hope the copyediting goes fine, bibliographies are annoying :)

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