the grid

the grid

Sunday 11 December 2016

Wrapping up, how did we do?

It's hard to believe that we've reached the end of this session, and I nearly decided to extend it a week. But we said December 10, so December 10 it is.   The last three months have had triumphs (Good Enough Woman submitting her dissertation!) and challenges (earthquakes, illness, digestive difficulties) outside the usual ones of lurching from crisis to crisis.   So this is a time to look back, and see where you are in relation to where you thought you'd be, and maybe get a little bit of steam to lead you over the holidays, whether you celebrate anything or not.   I'll list (as much as I can) your session goals (as updated mid-session, I think) and your last week's goals.  As you check in, think about what worked for you, and what didn't.   We're all endlessly optimistic, and there is something about the teaching semester that almost always gets out of control.  


Session goals 
allan wilson
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
2) to be calm, especially as Christmas draws closer. Not sure yet what my strategies will be here.
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
4)to work on drafts of three other papers, so each has a complete manuscript form

Contingent Cassandra
Self-care:
--increase exercise (walking, weight-lifting, gardening) enough to increase the amount I can do
--make/eat more homemade food
--get enough/more regular sleep (in particular, try to establish/maintain a regular bedtime/bedtime routine)
--do more long-form reading (keep up w/church Bible-reading project, + some additional professional & recreational reading)

Household/financial:
--accomplish enough in the garden plot to meet the standard of “active gardening” and to move as much gardening paraphernalia as possible to the plot itself (make fence out of rolls of wire currently occupying part of my living space; assemble storage box ditto & fill will tools ditto)
--make progress on putting up shelves (including temporary assembly of ones that will eventually be painted/permanently installed)
--get financial paperwork in shape for mortgage applications
--gather data for a budget
--research 2nd home/investment property/storage solution

Professional:
--Follow up on grant project (attend conference, prepare reports, look into addtl funding, maybe write a bit)
--Continue to think about research/writing priorities

Personal:
--do what I can to keep up/reestablish contact with friends and family, without getting too tied up in whether/how people (especially those in difficult/complicated situations) respnd.
--scan at least an album’s worth of family pictures; move pictures to new, archival album (which will be a birthday/Christmas present for my brother)

Daisy
write three new papers and finish the hideous revise and resubmit from the last session! The three new ones are for projects that are now slowly maturing and producing things worth writing about.
Revised: 2 papers... R=R over break maybe?

Dame Eleanor Hull
Goals, though: I want to have sent out two R&R projects and done some serious reading/note-taking to provide some theoretical underpinnings for my book-in-progress. (The state of the book is that I've basically done all the writing involving the primary text---or all I can do for now---and now I need to work on theoretical and historical background, with some literary comparisons.) I also need to do some translation-revising (we've achieved a complete rough draft, which is a big milestone). I need to keep up with teaching, which is less challenging than usual (low enrollments = smaller classes). Usually things I consider basic (exercise, food providing) aren't too tricky, but my teaching schedule and recent discovery of some food intolerances means that over the next few months, both of these need more attention than they used to. Finally, there's the house-related sorting/tossing/giving away/storing that I don't really want to do but really need to do. We will both be much happier in a newer, lower-maintenance place, and the only way out is through.

Earnest English
Gardening/herbalism: don’t forget about the garden, but do some fall planting, winter gardening or whatever/planning or herbalism learning weekly

Writing: five hours/sessions per week (reading counts!); 6x

Health: sleep!!! (in bed by 11 or earlier on worknights), supplements, good food

Mental health: journal, meditate or yoga and RELAX, listen to audio books during commute; planning instead of panic; create and communicate boundaries

Cooking: one nice meal a week (plan over weekend)

Weekly and birthday/holiday planning: Keep on top of holidays and other events with planning on weekends

Spirited!: keep checked in to his education: at least check notebook every weekend and check in with him; even better? ask daily

Work: be an intentional, slow professor who plods through work

Elizabeth Ann Mitchell
Session mantra: Live purposefully and deliberately
Continue my habit of writing every day.
Finish the neverending commentary for the Prudence book.
Move more--use the brand-new variable desk, walk more, get out of the chair more.

Good Enough Woman
1. Health-Exercise more regularly. 3x a week with walking, swimming, and yoga in the mix. More veggies for the whole family.
2. Home--Get bills, and passwords, and Powerschool, etc. under control. Help kids with various things that are important to them.
3. Research--Submit conference proposal by October deadline. Submit one article. Read 1-2 articles/chapters each week (to stay fresh and ready for the viva).
4. Finish the Slow Professor, and choose various principles and practices for weekly goals (from time-to-time).
5. Family and Friends--various weekly goals as I try to be intentional about doing things for family and friends that will really help them or make them happy.

Humming 42
1 Submit book manuscript
2 Submit two late book reviews
3 Finish and submit Ungloomy article
4 Finish and submit Venus article
5 Read a novel
6 Get grading done in a timely manner
7 Set and maintain a schedule to manage household responsibilities
8 Consider possibility for writing every day

Jane B

1) survive and deliver my classes acceptably, if possible without needing sick leave from teaching
2) Have full drafts of two (closely related) papers from the project I call Problem Child. This requires actual data generation (from simulations) as well as writing
3) Be up to date with refereeing, reviewing etc. (current queue is 2 papers, one book) and minor writing (one 2000 word chapter for an encyclopedia thing, conference talk)
4) look after myself - eat reasonably, spend enough time in bed (sleep is erratic and sometimes elusive, but I can at least rest my eyes and feet for the right amount of time), exercise gently, be kind to myself
5) probably this should be my number 1 - act deliberately. Act with purpose and intent, NOT reactively, and as if I am a person who matters as much if not more than all the things around me. this is the best way I can currently codify in a few words the ideas that have percolated up from continuing to think about the 'Slow Professor' principles, and ideas we talked about in the summer like 'move like water'... I talk a lot in previous iterations about balance, but it strikes me that that metaphor is troubling as it implies an inately precarious situation, something like walking across a narrow beam, high up, whilst carrying many objects. I want a metaphor which makes me feel intrinsically grounded, gives me more feeling of control and agency than of continually just avoiding the brink of disaster, and which helps me do wood-and-forest thinking, switching smoothly between the immediate and the longer term (which reaction, fire-fighting, wobbling on a beam, really doesn't favour).

Karen
1. Explore writing rhythms till I get something I can hold
2. Write one conference paper
3. Review co-authored conference paper and knock it through to a complete article draft
3. Get ethics approval up for 2017 SOTL project
4. Find energy that doesn't rely on chocolate (so sleep, mindful eating, movement)
5. Work with co-teachers on 2017 curriculum development to the point where there's defined plans and time allocations for being ready for semester 1.  [On hold while waiting for staff to be appointed.]

KJHaxton (Katy)
Goals for the session
1. incorporate regular writing/editing sessions for several projects interspersed with writing fits (1500 words in a couple of hours).
2. Make progress with two research projects: scary and house, mainly by revising and using the research tools on cohorts.
3. Submit one paper and get another one 'nearly there'
4. Make stuff!
5. Be more present in this group - I swing by to check in and keep track but I want to find more time to comment.

Susan:
1.  I have a paper to finish for a conference with pre-circulated papers.  It's due this week, and it will be done.
2.  I have a long overdue book review that needs to get done
3.  I have footnotes to check.  Once I've finished  the book review, I want to do as much of this as possible.
4.  I have a paper I wrote a year ago for a conference/essay collection, but the essay collection has not found a home, so I'd like to publish it.  It needs a bit of polishing, so if there's time, I'd like to do that. Substitute: expand talk from summer conference for journal forum.
5.  Return to reading fiction: I keep thinking this will happen, and I'm hoping that as my mind gets free of the book, I will do this.
6.  Sleep: I work best when I get about 7 hours of sleep a night.  One of my feline alarm clocks does not like this, but I'd really like to get to bed early enough so this can work
7.  Exercise: I go to an exercise class three days a week; I'd like to add walking twice a week.  That depends on the sleep.
8.  Friends and family: I need to stay connected to people, just hanging out and talking.  
9. Copyediting and proofreading book, complete index

Waffles:
1. Approximately 5 grant applications for project #1 (actual number will depend on my fellowship app currently under review). Most due in November.
2. Intersections paper
3. Discrepant paper
4. Stress Model paper (this may wait as it's complex)
5. Aging paper
6. CS paper
7. Stigma paper
8. 2 grant apps for project #2


Last Week's Goals
allan wilson
(from 4 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
--keep moving (weights, walks, maybe back to the garden depending on weather)
--keep sleeping regularly
--plan/begin buying holiday gifts, cards (including contact long-lost friend's daughter to make sure I have a correct postal address for friend)
--do some financial stock-taking (in preparation for more work on budgets & paperwork over break) 
--make a batch of soup and/or oatmeal if time (this might have to wait until next week) 


Daisy
1) Hills Paper, AGAIN!
2) Cold Paper, complete data section


Dame Eleanor Hull,
1. Self-care: sit 5x, 2 yoga classes, basic stretching 4x, weights 3x, cardio or walking 5x, keep up good work on food/tracking.
2. Teaching: TRQ grading.
3. Research: finish R&R, send e-mails.
4. House/Life: contact handyman, 2 hrs basement, 2 hrs sorting/filing/tossing paper.


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 Anne Mitchell
Finish first quarter planning.
Declutter my electronic files ½ hour x 4.
Declutter the paper piles on my desk ½ hour x 4.
Write twenty minutes x 7.
Walk 20 minutes x 5.
Stand at the desk 2 hours x 5.


Good Enough Woman
1) Be efficient with TRQ (grading) to make room for TLQ.
2) Do some viva prep (I think I'll be having a mock viva via Skype in a couple of weeks).
3) Make Christmas gift lists, do some shopping
4) Help daughter make pillows for her friends
5) Put velcro on son's roller backpack and lunchbox to keep said lunchbox from flopping off to the side of said backpack.


humming42
1 Bolstered by the group, I will call the pharmacy in the next town over to get the difficult-to-find prescription I’ve ignored for weeks
2 30 minutes recherce 6x
3 30 minutes reading 6x
4 full draft of book review


JaneB
AARGH.
it's going to be tough.
A lot of this stuff is probably really TRQ but heck it can all go in one list.

1) referee third paper
2) spend an hour on the Annual Report for Old Admin Job (about 35 pages of bureaucratise. There are bits that can be cannabalised, but it takes energy) 
3) make a list and make sure grading is done in order of urgency
4) spend a couple of hours on Christmas stuff (wrapping parcels to mail, cards - at least overseas stuff)
5) leave work early one day to mail parcels, and go into town to replace the box of chocs I accidentally ate whilst marking/brooding this weekend and have a fancy hot chocolate at the fancy coffee place (even if I have to take grading there with me)
6) eat well, exercise, sleep a lot, put self first
7) write conference talk
8) make calls, write emails about stuff for ME.


Karen
1. Write x 2 - 25 minutes as a start.
2. Move - try a new yoga class (Thursday night or Sunday)
3. Make the Christmas presents list
4. Decide and write down where I need preparation for next year to be before going on leave. Then plan backwards and consider delegation.


KJ Haxton
1. get out for a walk every day building to 3 miles
2. mark 1st year info ret and 3rd year infographics
3. produce some problem sheets and answers for students
4. tackle literature reviews
5. type in data from house project. 
6. make christmas cards
7. work on cookery book


Susan 
1. Submit revised proofs by tomorrow night.
2. Get index drafted over the weekend
3. Submit proposal for cool spring conference
4. Write response to personnel review
5. Don't get too far behind on grading.


Waffles
1. Review abstract submissions for 2017 conference
2. Start revisions on rejected paper :(
3. Make outline for paper based on diss
4. Review and edit med student's paper

37 comments:

  1. Thanks so much to our hosts this session!

    (I didn't check in last week, but I'm going to skip that and dive straight into the reflection on the session because this session was full of lessons for me!)

    So in general, I learned some great lessons this session:

    1. I need to continue working on revising my teaching in order to be able to have a life and teach, given my institutional constraints. Because of unbloggable and unique features of my work life, it is actually unsustainable to treat teaching where I teach as if it's teaching anywhere else. I need to continue working on making the grading, especially, reasonable but that starts with being very intentional about the progression of projects. More work needed here.

    2. Because of many work changes and world changes (the election!), I have been flirting with depression and anxiety, old problems I haven't had to medicate in a long time. Now, medicating anxiety and depression when things get bad in my case is good because I get self-destructive (not suicidal, but get into a destructive what-does-it-matter-anyway thought pattern with things that really do matter), but I'm trying to avoid it (partly just because I don't want to medicate but partly because I have enough other problems that I need to much more aware of drug interactions and side effects than the last time I was medicated). But I'm pretty sure that the reason I've lasted this long is that about a month ago I decided to pick up and play around with my old forgotten guitar. Now I play most nights and am strongly advocating guitars for each Absurdist family member. Music is such a balm, such a great way to express a range of emotions. I'm convinced that music and singing and dancing tap into the ancient, collective part of humans that long for the ecstatic mysteries. Music also works a different part of the brain. As a student said to me late this week, the institution I work at is so lop-sided over to one side of the brain (just another way that my place is so imbalanced and makes people -- students and faculty -- unbalanced). So: music is vital. No more listening to audio books in the car! Let's rock!

    3. No matter how much grading I have, I need to take time for the family and for me every week. Yes, I need to commit to addressing grading little by little so I don't have to do the great grading weekends, but I can't do the grading weekends anyway: one weekend I got sick and was out for several days, and the other two weekends I worked I was just so bitchy the following week that I'm not sure it was worth it for anyone.

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    1. 4. I've been waking up early in the morning to work on my writing. I've really done a great job on this habit! As the quarter progressed, I found myself writing less and less and reading more and more, which is fine and to be expected. (The well dries up and needs to be refilled, especially because my current writing project really uses a lot of that part of the brain that is ignored and uncultivated at my institution.) At some point a few weeks back, I read some references to really interesting material that is only very loosely connected to my project, but I decided to follow it up to help me get a new perspective on the project. OH MY GODDESS! So now I'm reading a great tome and adoring it! It's been a long time since I read a book with such a radical feminist orientation. I've come home!!! It's a stretch to call this working on my project, but it's feeding my psyche in such important ways, I read it during that time with no regrets. (See trying to avoid depression above.)

      5. I need to be more realistic about what I can accomplish at home when work is so overwhelming. Gardening clean-up and herbalism never did get worked on, though I hope to address both of them over break.

      6. Planning with my new planner is awesome! (I got the Dreambook.) Its focus on ritual and intention really speaks to the non-academic in me and helps to keep me grounded. Clearly the secret to planning is to have a planner that really speaks to me in a deep way. (I love the ideas and optimism of planning and organizational systems, but very often they are just too optimistic in that same way that the slow professors talk about that life is so predictable and controllable that we can and should be planning out our projects for months and years in advance. My life doesn't feel controllable at all. What's more, a key part of enjoyment to me is being able to follow my interests in the moment, which is distinctly at odds with such a planned out predictable focus.)

      Session Goals

      Gardening/herbalism: don’t forget about the garden, but do some fall planting, winter gardening or whatever/planning or herbalism learning weekly: DIDN'T HAPPEN. REALISM NEEDED HERE.

      Writing: five hours/sessions per week (reading counts!); 6x HABIT ESTABLISHED THOUGH PRODUCT GOALS NOT ALWAYS MET, which I've decided is OKAY

      Health: sleep!!! (in bed by 11 or earlier on worknights), supplements, good food: Sleep is difficult. I need greater focus here. MUST GO TO DOCTOR soon.

      Mental health: journal, meditate or yoga and RELAX, listen to audio books during commute; planning instead of panic; create and communicate boundaries: YES to planning; journal okay; meditating or yoga wasn't where it's at; MUSIC and reading feeds my soul.

      Cooking: one nice meal a week (plan over weekend): MOSTLY DONE

      Weekly and birthday/holiday planning: Keep on top of holidays and other events with planning on weekends: YES, planning makes this easier

      Spirited!: keep checked in to his education: at least check notebook every weekend and check in with him; even better? ask daily: COULD DO BETTER HERE; I DO ASK, but I need to think more about how my weekend grading sessions affect him. My big plans for him include music. I think it will really help him to have an outlet.

      Work: be an intentional, slow professor who plods through work: UH-HUH. Each quarter it would help if I came up with a schedule that included grading time each week so it doesn't build up into an impossible mess. I also need to be very strategic about projects and scheduling. Winter is a lighter quarter for me, so I need to spend some part of it figuring out how to make Spring's near-impossible schedule better.

      I look forward to the next iteration of TLQ! Thanks so much to everyone as I've gotten great ideas from so many of you, and I really appreciate it!

      Move like water and have great holidays!

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    2. I love the music. . . I think that finding ways to nourish the soul is so important -- and keeping centered on what really matters.

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    3. Brava brava for the writing habit! And being more focused on process than product is a reorientation I am working through right now (and will continue to work through, because I am hardwired to seek outcomes). I love your joy about finding the book that speaks to you (perhaps sings to you). Reminders of the pleasures in the work we do.

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    4. Oh, I got the Dreambook a couple of weeks ago, and it is amazing! I haven't done all the homework yet, but I am looking forward to getting to more of it.

      I don't play music, even though I want to learn, but I love to listen. I imagine playing it is even better.

      And I will echo humming42 on bravas for the writing habit. Great job!

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  3. Thank you Susan and Karen for hosting and creating a space to come back to. Last week’s goals were meh, so I’ll also skip that and go to session goals.

    1 Submit book manuscript: major, most significant goal for the end of the year. Unfortunately I have lost touch with the project and will need to do some reorienting to get it done. But there’s really so little left to do, I just need to sit down and do it.

    2 Submit two late book reviews: one is written, the other will be by the end of this week. I don’t know why I didn’t get this done, but I am trying to do some meta observation about my work and why I drag my feet on some projects but find myself completely drawn to others. And these are all things I choose to do, so I can make changes if I can figure it out.

    3 Finish and submit Ungloomy article: yes. The R&R was kind of crappy and brought on a bout of imposter syndrome. Glad it’s behind me.

    4 Finish and submit Venus article: no. It’s still weird to me that I wrote to ask for an extension and never heard back.

    5 Read a novel: I got carried away over the Thanksgiving holiday and read two quick young adult novels. My Goodreads account shows that at some point I set a goal of reading 12 books this year, and I’ve only finished six, so we’ll see how devoted I am to fiction over the next two weeks.

    6 Get grading done in a timely manner: Better than anticipated, until now, where I’m really struggling to tend to the grading pile(s).

    7 Set and maintain a schedule to manage household responsibilities: never did get that going. I continue to do housework in tiny, manic spurts and then ignore it for weeks on end.

    8 Consider possibility for writing every day: yes. The recent discovery of recherche as this “do researchy things” habit seems to be a thing I can hold to. Reading, making notes, having these projects in my head, is more productive than setting the clock and saying “OK, 30 minutes. Now write.”

    I hope the coming weeks bring you grace, calm, beauty, and kindness. I’ll be working to create as much goodness as I can.

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    1. Good luck with reconnecting with the book ms! And I like the recherche approach...

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    2. Your losing touch with the book ms sounds all too familiar to me. Here's to reorienting and renewing your acquaintance with it!

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  4. How I did last week:
    1. Self-care: sit 5x, 2 yoga classes, basic stretching 4x, weights 3x, cardio or walking 5x, keep up good work on food/tracking. NO, NO, NO, YES, NO, YES. I have done yoga at home 2-3 times, but since it's been cold and snowy, I've had the excuse of grading to do, and my ankle's acting up again, I've stayed inside all the mornings I might have gone to classes.
    2. Teaching: TRQ grading. YES. All done and grades posted as of this evening!
    3. Research: finish R&R, send e-mails. NO, NO.
    4. House/Life: contact handyman, 2 hrs basement, 2 hrs sorting/filing/tossing paper. HaHaHa NO, NO, NO.

    I really don't do well with more than one thing on my list at a time.

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    1. Since my reflective comment from last night disappeared, I'm trying again.

      First, my thanks to both our hosts and to everyone who participated. I always enjoyed reading about your goals and progress toward them.

      I have not done well with my "product goals" this time around (two R&Rs, household sorting/tossing/packing). Looking back on my first-week introduction, though, there were also some other themes: self-care, reading, wanting to be somewhere warm in December. Thanks to a friend, I've got the last of those organized, and I noticed, in reviewing the last few months, that I've regularly made time for reading in and listening to the foreign languages that I've been cultivating for the past year. So that's definitely a plus for both mental health and really big-picture, lifetime goals, since I love languages and am trying to achieve real fluency in the two I know best.

      Self-care remained far more challenging than it used to be. I've had trouble with a recurring ankle injury; rehabbed it once, then walked too far after it seemed better, so am back in the rest-and-support stage. And the diet. Last summer I thought it was going to be a relatively easy fix of just not eating a handful of foods, but now it seems much more complicated. Even though I feel much better quite a lot of the time, a huge amount of mental energy goes into thinking about food: can I eat this, what can I have instead, have I cooked enough so that I'll have leftovers to take to school, how am I going to manage at a required eating-out event, and so on. I hope that as I get more accustomed to the diet that I'll have more brain space to devote to activities other than food preparation! It is clear that when I get it right, I have more energy, sleep better, and am far more cheerful. Despite a lot of cold and overcast days this month, the SAD I usually suffer from has not yet kicked in---and I am one of those who have the "early-onset" version, starting in November and getting better after the solstice. So that is a very welcome change.

      I have done so little about the house, apart from getting the new windows organized. We need to be somewhere easier to manage---but in order to achieve that, there are some big humps to get over. So that's a "to be continued" item.

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    2. I finally sent those two e-mails I listed under "research" for awhile . . .

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  5. Reflections: I kept up with teaching, I made progress on both R&R's though neither one is finished (should have picked one), and I have looked after my health.

    One happy offshoot of the low-FODMAP diet is that I am not suffering from SAD this year, or not yet, anyway (and it usually does hit in November-December, and then get better after the solstice). I think since I'm mostly sleeping better and feeling better, physically, that's crossing over to the emotional side, as well. It seems like feeling better/having more energy ought to manifest as doing more research/writing and getting more done about sorting out Stuff, but I can see why it's not happening that way, or not yet: the diet is tricky enough that I spend a huge amount of time thinking about food ("can I eat this, what can I eat instead, remember to cook extra so there will be leftovers to take to school, I wish I could have that but it's not worth suffering for three days"---and so on). I hope that as I get more used to it, and maybe manage to add a few foods, I'll free up some brain space and energy to use on pursuits that aren't all about food.

    Also w/r/t mental health, or maybe "balance," I note that I have regularly taken time to do things I enjoy: reading in Spanish, listening to French and Spanish radio, watching French TV shows, and translating Latin. This is great both because I like those things and because they are part of one of my big life goals, which is to become truly fluent in these languages. So I'm pleased that I've kept these activities going.

    Once I started writing about realism vs optimism, it got long, and so self-revealing that I deleted it all.

    My thanks to our hosts, and to everyone who has participated. I really wish I'd got more done this session, but it was always a pleasure to check in and see how everyone was doing.

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  7. Session goals:
    Session mantra: Live purposefully and deliberately. Some definite progress on this goal.
    There were times I could pull myself out of the frantic, must get this done because someone asked for it mindset. I had a fair amount of downtime when I was not feeling great, but instead of feeling sorry, and continuing to wallow in the slough, I read, talked to my kids, and did various needlework projects.

    Continue my habit of writing every day. Yes more than no, with periods of no.
    I didn’t always write what I should have been--see the next goal--but I did often write down some exploration of a topic, or a reaction to something I had read, or musings about my mid-life crisis, which is continuing far beyond middle age!

    Finish the neverending commentary for the Prudence book. No.
    I hope to rekindle the fire I felt for this project. I believe in it still, and do enjoy the subject, so I am not sure why I have not felt like working on it. Something to figure out and fix in the break, I think.

    Move more--use the brand-new variable desk, walk more, get out of the chair more. Yes.
    I do change the height of the desk quite a lot, and standing has helped to align my spine. I tend to hunch over when I’m sitting, especially when I write. The past few weeks I have had to write all the staff evaluations and lists of duties and responsibilities for the coming year. Even when it involves minor tweaks, it is still a lot of typing.

    Last week’s goals:
    Finish first quarter planning. No
    Declutter my electronic files ½ hour x 4. Yes
    Declutter the paper piles on my desk ½ hour x 4. Yes, x 6!
    Write twenty minutes x 7. Yes
    Walk 20 minutes x 5. Mostly--4 times
    Stand at the desk 2 hours x 5 Yes, x 6!

    Analysis:
    I found it very hard to do the planning in the whirlwind of paper and such strewn about, so I concentrated on cleaning up the electronic and paper files in my office. I went to the office on the weekend, turned my Spotify on and got a lot filed, shredded, or recycled. I never get to blast music in my veal-fattening pen, so it was actually fun. Now I just need to attack the home office with the same vigor. Then I can return to the planning.

    I did find myself writing, mostly cathartic ramblings about my birth family and the stresses at work, but it was good to put pen to paper. It was actual pen to actual paper, which I sometimes need to do in order to connect with what I’m writing. I think it has to do with the drivel I am often typing into pixels, although I sometimes create pixels of stunningly insightful conclusions, LOL.

    And finally, I did move more. I stood and bobbed a bit, letting one knee or the other relax; I walked more; and I often remembered to just get up out of the chair, and go up in the stacks from time to time, even if students did accost me and ask me questions!

    All in all, a reasonably good session, and a great group to have my back on accountability. Thank you to Susan and Karen for hosting, and the great topics this session. I learned a lot from all of you. Move like water, float like mist!

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    1. Yay for the weekend filing! Maybe something like that would work for some of my House Sorting tasks. Thanks for the idea.

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  8. That's funny. I had a reflective comment following the one about my weekly results. I guess blogspot ate it. I'll be back later to reconstruct it.

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  9. last week:
    it's going to be tough. it was tough

    1) referee third paper realised not due until 31st - postponed!
    2) spend an hour on the Annual Report for Old Admin Job (about 35 pages of bureaucratise. There are bits that can be cannabalised, but it takes energy) no. Hate. Too many 'issues'
    3) make a list and make sure grading is done in order of urgency list made, grading progressiing veeerrrrryyy slooowwwwllllyyy but so far I have made deadlines
    4) spend a couple of hours on Christmas stuff (wrapping parcels to mail, cards - at least overseas stuff) nope. lost address book, lost temper, lost will to live
    5) leave work early one day to mail parcels, and go into town to replace the box of chocs I accidentally ate whilst marking/brooding this weekend and have a fancy hot chocolate at the fancy coffee place (even if I have to take grading there with me) did leave work early to mail one thing and to fetch a repeat prescription. Bought some small christmas treats to take to a meeting the next day which went down VERY well
    6) eat well, exercise, sleep a lot, put self first hah
    7) write conference talk yes... ish
    8) make calls, write emails about stuff for ME.a bit

    Bah humbug, can we have an extra week before Christmas please???

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    1. Second you on the extra week to Christmas. Getting desperate...

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    2. I found my address book - yay!

      Now I have no excuse not to make and write the cards. Yes, make. I AM an idiot sometimes, to plan such a thing...

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  10. session goals

    1) survive and deliver my classes acceptably, if possible without needing sick leave from teaching I did need to get some cover in when my voice went and when I was too anxious, but I wrote everything, marked everything, and the cover was for the most basic of 'now do this' computer skills practical classes - and I wasnt' supposed to be teaching them int he first place in my understanding, as Incoming had assured me there would be someone else doing the classroom side of it- so I think this one was pretty much met
    2) Have full drafts of two (closely related) papers from the project I call Problem Child. This requires actual data generation (from simulations) as well as writing Have a full draft of paper 1, and the outline and technical information written for paper 2 - so about 75% met
    3) Be up to date with refereeing, reviewing etc. (current queue is 2 papers, one book) and minor writing (one 2000 word chapter for an encyclopedia thing, conference talk) that book kind of fell out of the queue, oops. Other stuff is refereed/reviewed, the chapter went in, the conference talk happens tomorrow. I also worked on at least 4 other papers, led by collaborators but still needing input, and one of them is accepted!
    4) look after myself - eat reasonably, spend enough time in bed (sleep is erratic and sometimes elusive, but I can at least rest my eyes and feet for the right amount of time), exercise gently, be kind to myself mixed, very mixed. Was ill for most of the session though, and it's been a uniquely hard semester, so mixed is better than not at all
    5) probably this should be my number 1 - act deliberately. Act with purpose and intent, NOT reactively, and as if I am a person who matters as much if not more than all the things around me. this is clearly a life work, but I have done better at it, thanks to this group and to stretching the budget to pay privately to see a counsellor once every couple of weeks. It's definitely what I NEED, even if sometimes it's hard work

    To put some guesstimated quantities on it:
    1) 80%
    2) 75%
    3) 95%
    4) 40%
    5) 60%
    = 70% overall

    Probably one of my more successful TLQ seasons!

    Thank you, hosts and friends, companions on the road, anchoring voices in the storm - and here's to another more-successful-than-not year next year as well.

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    1. Given the health issues, and the work issues, 70% is pretty impressive.

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  11. My revised goals are still in reach before the end of the year I think... I've made a lot of progress on these, but of course I'm not entirely happy with what I managed either.

    Revised: 2 papers... R=R over break maybe?
    Verdict: MOSTLY DONE, can finish over break.

    This has been my hardest term personally since starting my job. The logistics were a nightmare, the flood didn't help, and the insane uncertainty at work made the term incredibly stressful. I don't know what, if anything, will change next term, but I do know I have to find a way to work better within the current constraints and stress.

    Thank you for a great session and wonderful support from our hosts and all participants! And congratulations on all the successes reported above :) May the break be a real break, and leave everyone refreshed for the next term!

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  12. Thanks to all of you for being part of this community, and especially to Susan as co-host.

    Reflecting on my session goals and a really rough few months, I can sum it up in saying that my goals didn't align with reality - or, perhaps, that reality became more progressively misaligned with my goals. Tomorrow I'm on leave for a month, with a commitment to 2 weeks of no work email. Beach, hammock, gin and tonic - that's about all I can handle at the minute.

    But I am optimistic about coming back after the break and working on ways to put up some boundaries to enable TLQ and keep me away from the edge of burn out, which is where I have been recently. And my optimism comes from the discussions, reflections and models shared by this group. So thank you again and best wishes for a sunny or snowy festive season as appropriate.

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    1. Enjoy your leave, and good on 2 weeks with no internet. The beach and G & T sounds perfect. And I hope you can manage the boundaries in the spring/fall: that's my challenge too.

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    2. My goals didn't align with reality either - and I like how you frame it that way!

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  13. Hey, all. I've been struggling with kidney stones for the past several days and will have to do a proper check in later. Thank you Karen and Susan for co-hosting, and I look forward to the next session!

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    1. Ouch! Hope things soon improve!

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    2. Oh, dear. I hope you can manage the pain!

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  14. Better late than never! Thank you all for being part of this community: and thank you, Karen, for co-hosting. It is always a good challenge for me to hear from you, and to think about how I work. I waited till the last minute partly because I had to finish something!
    LAST WEEK’s goals:
    1. Submit revised proofs by tomorrow night. DONE

    2. Get index drafted over the weekend – FINISHED, at 4 AM this morning

    3. Submit proposal for cool spring conference - DONE

    4. Write response to personnel review - DONE

    5. Don't get too far behind on grading. – Well, not so much

    So: doing the index was harder than I expected. This is the first time in I don’t know how long (on the order of 30 years) that I’ve effectively pulled an all nighter. But the proofs are done. Behind on grading, but that will be done by tomorrow night. I got a bunch of little things done, but I have put off a lot of life stuff that now needs to be caught up with (paying bills…)

    For the session:
    I’ve been experimenting with various ways of keeping my weekly goals that protects me from getting caught up in moment to moment stuff, which is my biggest challenge. I’m doing better at making paper lists that I track. And I think it helps. The challenge is my calendar, which I don’t entirely control.
    1. I have a paper to finish for a conference with pre-circulated papers. It's due this week, and it will be done. * It was done. *

    2. I have a long overdue book review that needs to get done *It was done*

    3. I have footnotes to check. Once I've finished the book review, I want to do as much of this as possible. * Done, as much as will get done.*

    4. I have a paper I wrote a year ago for a conference/essay collection, but the essay collection has not found a home, so I'd like to publish it. It needs a bit of polishing, so if there's time, I'd like to do that. Substitute: expand talk from summer conference for journal forum. * Started on that, but not finished, As soon as I finish grading. . .*

    5. Return to reading fiction: I keep thinking this will happen, and I'm hoping that as my mind gets free of the book, I will do this. * Maybe now? I read one novel. *

    6. Sleep: I work best when I get about 7 hours of sleep a night. One of my feline alarm clocks does not like this, but I'd really like to get to bed early enough so this can work * Mostly. The election, and then the end of the semester, kind of wrecked me. *

    7. Exercise: I go to an exercise class three days a week; I'd like to add walking twice a week. That depends on the sleep. * No. And (with my cold) I haven’t made the exercise class in two weeks. Sigh. *

    8. Friends and family: I need to stay connected to people, just hanging out and talking. * A bit, maybe less than I’d hope. *

    9. Copyediting and proofreading book, complete index * DONE. *

    All in all, I did pretty well. The Faculty Senate stuff has been a bit more overwhelming than I expected, (or it’s sped up faster than I expected) but it’s interesting. My class went well, but a new prep is always a new prep. So. . . The things that I didn’t do were self-care – reading and exercise.
    But the good news is I have one more set of proofs (next week?) and then I am DONE with the book. I’m planning to take it relatively easy for the spring, with no do or die things, and nothing big. I have two different “next projects”, and I’ll dip my toe into both. (My grad class is related to one, I’ve proposed a conference paper on the other.) I’m hoping with the book done, my mind will feel freer. My goal is to figure out a schedule that protects regular time to think, read, and maybe write. And not to let it get eaten by email, book of the face, twitter, etc.

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  15. Where has the week gone?

    Goals for the session
    1. incorporate regular writing/editing sessions for several projects interspersed with writing fits (1500 words in a couple of hours). - not so much
    2. Make progress with two research projects: scary and house, mainly by revising and using the research tools on cohorts. - data gathered, house data partly analysed but two data sets still to analyse
    3. Submit one paper and get another one 'nearly there' - not so much
    4. Make stuff! - yes, wee hats, Christmas cards, so Ok
    5. Be more present in this group - I swing by to check in and keep track but I want to find more time to comment. - yes to a point

    I've also read a helluva lot of books - Good Reads Challenge for 2016 currently at 113/52 books.

    This week:
    1. get out for a walk every day building to 3 miles - I've got to 2.5 miles
    2. mark 1st year info ret and 3rd year infographics - 1st year stuff done, saving 3rd year for next week
    3. produce some problem sheets and answers for students - yes partly, more to do
    4. tackle literature reviews - yes partly
    5. type in data from house project. - nope
    6. make christmas cards - yes now to write them
    7. work on cookery book - a bit

    Not bad really, looking forward to some down time over Christmas. There's a pile of marking and I'd quite like to get data entered for house and scary over the break but most of that can be done while curled up in a comfy chair watching rubbish TV!

    Thanks to our hosts for this session, and happy holidays to all.

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  16. I didn’t really do a great job on my goals for the session. This is partly because my expectations were too high, because the election distracted and depressed me, and other things came up.
    THIS SESSION:
    1. Approximately 5 grant applications for project #1 (actual number will depend on my fellowship app currently under review). Most due in November. - ONLY 3 DONE
    2. Intersections paper - NOT DONE
    3. Discrepant paper - NOT DONE
    4. Stress Model paper (this may wait as it's complex) - NOT DONE
    5. Aging paper - IN PROGRESS
    6. CS paper - IN PROGRESS
    7. Stigma paper - NOT DONE
    8. 2 grant apps for project #2 - NOT DONE

    I did better last week (or rather two weeks ago at this point).

    Past week
    1. Review abstract submissions for 2017 conference - DONE
    2. Start revisions on rejected paper :( - DONE
    3. Make outline for paper based on diss - NOT DONE
    4. Review and edit med student's paper - DONE

    This week:
    1. Finish edits to rejected paper and send out
    2. abstract for local conference
    3. Edits to BI paper

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  17. allan wilson
    Hi all, it feels strange to be back after completely falling out of the group. Life intervened. there has been a series of events taking my attention, most involving family, some involving work. However, one unexpected joy brought some resolution last week, for which I am enormously thankful. I am still working on a few others. My session goals were partly achieved, so I am happy about that.
    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 have worked a lot on this, trying to keep moving and keep active. Despite that, I have put on weight which I am unhappy about. So, my next goal is to try and keep the exercise patterns and eat more healthily to match.

    2) to be calm, especially as Christmas draws closer. Not sure yet what my strategies will be here.
    Well, I think I am calmer. I have weathered a number of storms, and come out the other side. A lot of talking, thinking, and walking has helped. So, I feel really mentally tired but at least still in one piece.

    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.
    Neither resubmitted, which is massively disappointing, but both ended up (we decided) needing rewrites. 1) paper 1- a particular section for which a co-author needs to do the work, and hasn't done. I feel particularly disappointed about this, as he truly doesn't want to grapple with it, and it is outside my area of expertise 2) paper 2- a rewrite of the whole introduction, with downstream effects on the rest of the paper. We have almost finished this - a new draft was completed, but now needs a final tweak. I am confident it will be finished by Christmas, but probably won't be resubmitted until early Jan. The co-authors have been great on this one, and the paper is much better because of the re-write.

    4)to work on drafts of three other papers, so each has a complete manuscript form. One is almost done, but again we have a major holdup with one co-author and their section; one is partially done and I will work on it for the next few days to try and get a draft completed before Christmas; the third, we have most of the data sorted (bar a couple of things we need to re-run in the lab), a few graphs drawn, but still a way to go.
    All in all, aspirational session goals, none of which feel like complete successes, but all of which have helped me stay on track with life and work.

    Finally, a very happy Christmas to you all. I am hoping for a calm and happy 2017.
    allan wilson

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    1. Good to hear from you, and glad to hear that you have had unexpected joy! We all need it. It sounds as if you did remarkably well considering that life intervened!

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  18. A *very* late check-in, as I plan my goals (late) for the next iteration. At least this check-in will is a bit more upbeat than it would have been in December, when I was feeling very tired and (perhaps therefore) a bit discouraged.

    It was a hard semester, for reasons I don’t entirely understand, though carried-over tiredness from a hard spring and not enough of a real break over the summer definitely played a role, as did a logistically-difficult teaching schedule (4 sections of the same class on 3 different schedules) and trying something new early in the semester and waiting too long to regroup/replan when it didn’t work quite as planned. I spent a lot of time falling, and feeling, behind, and spending time I’d planned to devote to household matters and/or recreation on trying to catch up (or just dully doing the thing that required the least effort – usually surfing the internet – because I was feeling too tired/overwhelmed to even take small steps toward figuring out what to do, and doing it). While I don’t think it was the primary problem, the election was just plain bizarre, which made it even easier to be sucked into reading about it (since the next four years promise to be equally bizarre, and alarming, this may be an ongoing problem, and I’ll need to find a balance between remaining aware and ready to resist when and if I think I can make a difference while tuning out the day-to-day craziness. I have had some personal experience with narcissists, and a certain amount of distance can help a lot).

    I *did* mostly keep up with the grant project, including attending the conference, and I mostly got enough sleep, though not necessarily on a regular schedule (and one continuing question I have is how important a regular sleep schedule is for me, and, if it isn’t, what kind of schedule would work best. I do know that getting enough sleep – which may mean more than an average of 8 hours a night, at least at some times of year, for me – is very important; I like sleep, and I don’t function well without enough of it). I also kept in at least sporadic contact with family and some friends, and made the most of a couple of opportunities to connect.
    Interestingly, I also made pretty good progress on some of the goals, especially the self-care ones, toward the end of the semester and, especially, over winter break, which makes me think that having them in mind all fall helped a bit (though it was also dispiriting to be continually aware of not meeting them). In particular, I found some ways to move during the sitting-intensive conference weeks (and actually overdid it a bit, leading to some additional aches and pains, but then regrouped), and I’ve worked my way back into cooking most of my own food.

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    1. For the spring, I’m trying to be a bit less ambitious, while also keeping in mind that somehow I need to keep chipping away at the self-care and household/financial goals, and I want to keep working toward getting that “infrastructure” in shape so I can get back to more professional activities of the research/writing kind (at the same time, I continue to be aware that that part of my life really slowed down when I began teaching in the summer on a regular basis, and that home- and self-care also took a hit, year ‘round, at about the same time. The answer seems pretty clear: to restart my research/writing activities, I probably need to take at least a summer, and preferably regular summers, if not every summer, off. A research leave of some sort – which in my case means winning a fellowship – would also obviously help. There are some chicken-and-egg issues with that – those who do research and writing tend to get opportunities for more research and writing, which makes sense on some levels, but makes it very hard to restart a research program mid-career. But a bit of additional income from a modest inheritance (which hasn’t started arriving yet), combined with the possibility of a promotion and raise in the near future, offer some hope. In the meantime, I’m mostly trying not to beat myself up about not getting more done, or about how long it’s taking to climb out of a hole that I didn’t dig all by myself).

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