Goals from last week:
Daisy
1 - Three conference abstracts for submission next week
2 - List of paper/conference talk figures
3 - Make one figure from list above
1 - Three conference abstracts for submission next week
2 - List of paper/conference talk figures
3 - Make one figure from list above
Dame Eleanor Hull
1. De-clutter and organize my study so it is functional and attractive for the coming semester, and so it will be easy to do a second round of decluttering before the house goes to market.
2. Review the recently accepted article, plan revisions, contact editors with self-imposed deadline.
3. Plan classes, write syllabuses.
4. Eat safely, test one new food; walking or cardio every day, stretching every day, two yoga classes, sit 3x.
5. Two social activities already on the schedule this week.
1. De-clutter and organize my study so it is functional and attractive for the coming semester, and so it will be easy to do a second round of decluttering before the house goes to market.
2. Review the recently accepted article, plan revisions, contact editors with self-imposed deadline.
3. Plan classes, write syllabuses.
4. Eat safely, test one new food; walking or cardio every day, stretching every day, two yoga classes, sit 3x.
5. Two social activities already on the schedule this week.
Earnest English
-Grounding: in bed on schoolnights by 11pm! Eat well. Active self-repair on stressful days: baths, music. Meditate or yoga twice this week.
-Spirited: therapy exercises, HS twice this week; figure out about classes?
-Gardening: check to make sure I have the right artichoke seeds or get them ordered
-Plan and plod: plan and announce a couple 2-hour blocks of working; get stuff done and prep; contact Colleague L and P about backup plans for snow days; get needed two needed meetings on the calendar.
-Writing Project: keep morning time for writing (not work!); finish current research reading (may take another week); 1x; send out to deadline
-Big Report: get in touch with Colleague D and make a regular time for touching base about this. Figure out where we are on this and what needs to be done next.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Finish plan for the month of January.
Walk the dog twice daily.
Write five sentences daily.
Edit one page of Prudence commentary daily.
Good Enough
Woman
1. Read the thesis/dissertation twice before the viva.
2. Read three articles/chapter by external examiner that are not cited in the thesis (others are, but not these).
3. Re-read judgment articles before viva.
4. Review my notebooks before viva.
5. Try to relax during plane flight (I am a nervous flyer, and the weather in CA is a bit stormy today).
6. Finish one syllabus (or two?) while on trip.
7. Enjoy a couple of things in London!
1. Read the thesis/dissertation twice before the viva.
2. Read three articles/chapter by external examiner that are not cited in the thesis (others are, but not these).
3. Re-read judgment articles before viva.
4. Review my notebooks before viva.
5. Try to relax during plane flight (I am a nervous flyer, and the weather in CA is a bit stormy today).
6. Finish one syllabus (or two?) while on trip.
7. Enjoy a couple of things in London!
heu mihi
1) Start running again, which may mean just twice at about 2 miles per run.
(I'm still recovering from bronchitis + a touch of pneumonia. Nearly back to
normal, but I don't want to push it.)
2) Rewrite ch. 1's intro and conclusion. Add in fiddly bits that are obviously missing from the notes.
3) Read the last totally new book for my upcoming grad class.
4) Finish one syllabus.
2) Rewrite ch. 1's intro and conclusion. Add in fiddly bits that are obviously missing from the notes.
3) Read the last totally new book for my upcoming grad class.
4) Finish one syllabus.
humming42
1 Submit book manuscript!
2 Finish syllabi
3 Revise book reviews and resubmit
4 Read 5x
5 Write 5x
1 Submit book manuscript!
2 Finish syllabi
3 Revise book reviews and resubmit
4 Read 5x
5 Write 5x
JaneB
1) Get some exercise, and sleep a sensible amount each night
2) Resist the urge to buy more 'goodies' and eat up remaining Christmas treats slowly and savouringly (is that a word?)
3) Make good use of the writing day (I'm currently thinking of working on a paper nicknamed Ferret, since that is at a point where solid writing might be useful, and perhaps on zero drafts of two grant ideas. need to pin that down!)
4) Send a few emails regarding the possible trip
1) Get some exercise, and sleep a sensible amount each night
2) Resist the urge to buy more 'goodies' and eat up remaining Christmas treats slowly and savouringly (is that a word?)
3) Make good use of the writing day (I'm currently thinking of working on a paper nicknamed Ferret, since that is at a point where solid writing might be useful, and perhaps on zero drafts of two grant ideas. need to pin that down!)
4) Send a few emails regarding the possible trip
karen
Goals for this week:
I return from leave on Friday this week, so goals are pretty limited.
1. Enjoy the rest of the time with family, low expectations and take the easy option on return travel
2. Reconnect with home with some garden time, and very mild declutter/organise as we unpack.
3. Gentle re-entry for one work day - focus on Master's student, start setting boundaries around email checking and system for noting tasks for later and designate times for student appointments.
Goals for this week:
I return from leave on Friday this week, so goals are pretty limited.
1. Enjoy the rest of the time with family, low expectations and take the easy option on return travel
2. Reconnect with home with some garden time, and very mild declutter/organise as we unpack.
3. Gentle re-entry for one work day - focus on Master's student, start setting boundaries around email checking and system for noting tasks for later and designate times for student appointments.
KJHaxton
- edit down acronym paper
- tackle the marking mountain
- come up with a comprehensive to do list
- get out of the house, at least to the nearest Pokestop each day!
- make progress on knitted shawl
Luolin
Goals for the coming week:
Reformat the bibliography
Put a regular block of writing time on my calendar.
Go to sleep by 11pm
Run 2x
Write 1 syllabus
Reformat the bibliography
Put a regular block of writing time on my calendar.
Go to sleep by 11pm
Run 2x
Write 1 syllabus
Susan
So my goals will be VERY modest.
1. Finish and post syllabi for classes that start next week.
2. Clear out email that got backed up at the end of the last semester (things you can do without books)
3. Draft abstract of Way Outside Essay
Depending on what's happening, I may try to go to My Favorite Library for a day to work.
1. Finish and post syllabi for classes that start next week.
2. Clear out email that got backed up at the end of the last semester (things you can do without books)
3. Draft abstract of Way Outside Essay
Depending on what's happening, I may try to go to My Favorite Library for a day to work.
wallywaffles
1. Submit conference abstract
2. Work on study recruitment
3. newsletter, etc.
4. spend time on relat paper
5. Do something fun every day
2. Work on study recruitment
3. newsletter, etc.
4. spend time on relat paper
5. Do something fun every day
JaneB and KJH (and everyone else, of course, but this is mainly about TLQ admin): I have a new DEH e-mail, dame DOT eleanor AT mail DOT com.
ReplyDeleteLast week's Goals:
ReplyDelete1. Read the thesis/dissertation twice before the viva>>>Some chapters once, some twice.
2. Read three articles/chapter by external examiner that are not cited in the thesis (others are, but not these). YES
3. Re-read judgment articles before viva. NO
4. Review my notebooks before viva. NO
5. Try to relax during plane flight (I am a nervous flyer, and the weather in CA is a bit stormy today). AS WELL AS CAN BE EXPECTED
6. Finish one syllabus (or two?) while on trip. NOT YET. MAYBE ON THE PLANE TOMORROW?
7. Enjoy a couple of things in London! DEFINITELY!
Interesting that I didn't list PASS THE VIVA as a goal, but I did that! It went well, and now I just need to fix typos (so many embarrassing typos!) and get the binding done. I think that will have to wait until next week though.
Tomorrow (Sunday), I"ll spend the day traveling back to California, and Tuesday, I teach my first three classes, so there will be a lot of TLQ this week. But some health and family TRQ will be in the mix. It's going to be a challenging week.
This week's goals:
1. Finish two syllabi on the plane.
2. Finish all syllabi on Monday and upload them to LMS.
3. Take kids to farmer's market on Monday (this will be a sparkly thing!)
4. Get all things to Repro for this week and following.
5. Attend two doc appts on Wednesday morning before class.
6. Go to son's robot competition on Wednesday evening.
7. Move like water through the week, especially since I'll be jet-lagged and feeling very unprepared for teaching my classes and won't really have a chance to get caught up during the week.
BTW, thanks DEH, JaneB, and EAM for the congrats! And DEH, I loved the defend with "knives and hope" advice. :) I thought about it when another friend sent me this:
Deletehttps://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/faq-the-snake-fight-portion-of-your-thesis-defense
Well done! Congratualtions on passing the viva - and good luck in the transition home and making your way through the challenging week.
DeleteCONGRATULATIONS!!!! Make sure you celebrate!!!!
DeleteWonderful news! Congratulations!!
DeleteCongratulations! I expect you were in tune enough with your dissertation that you didn't really need to reread anything before the viva. So marvelous to have that in your pocket.
DeleteCongratulations! Glad you checked off the "enjoy London" goal even if a couple of others (that apparently weren't all that necessary) didn't happen.
DeleteGood luck on the reentry. It can be tough, but at least it's the beginning of the semester. There's time to catch up a bit if need be.
Congratulations! Huzzah!
DeleteCONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!
DeleteThat is fabulous!!! Enjoy :)
Thanks, everybody!
DeleteI've packed down the Christmas decorations this week, but tried to substitute a summer theme instead with some sea shells on the mantlepiece and dinners outside. While I don't think we will have time for a trip to the beach this week a trip to the pool (and waterslide) will be fun.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Enjoy the rest of the time with family, low expectations and take the easy option on return travel - DONE!
2. Reconnect with home with some garden time, and very mild declutter/organise as we unpack. DONE! Though I may have started one a more major decluttering streak...
3. Gentle re-entry for one work day - focus on Master's student, start setting boundaries around email checking and system for noting tasks for later and designate times for student appointments. YES!
Next week: A short week as we leave Friday to get travel to a wedding.Still a bit of a transition week as other people come back to work.
1. Get reading lists off to library for three classes.
2. Move more - try to do at least one sun salute every day, 1 x gym, 1 x yoga class.
3. Read 3 x articles (1 per work day)
4. Take packed lunch and snacks to work each work day.
Goals for this week:
I return from leave on Friday this week, so goals are pretty limited.
1. Enjoy the rest of the time with family, low expectations and take the easy option on return travel
2. Reconnect with home with some garden time, and very mild declutter/organise as we unpack.
3. Gentle re-entry for one work day - focus on Master's student, start setting boundaries around email checking and system for noting tasks for later and designate times for student appointments.
I always enjoy a trip to the pool. Glad you were successful with your gentle re-entry.
DeleteMy Mum gets very upset every year when the sparkle comes down, but is traditional enough that it all has to come down on twelth night, no sneaky leaving out a few lights for a month or so to get through the gloomy patches or anything. So my sister and I have both got into the habit of buying her potted bulbs, the sort that have been brought on enough that they will start flowering now, in early January, regardless of the weather - this year I got minature daffodils and sis got blue scented hyacinths. Something like that isn't exactly sparkly, but it's got its own message of warmth to come after winter.
ReplyDeletelast week's goals:
1) Get some exercise, and sleep a sensible amount each night no, and reasonably so considering
2) Resist the urge to buy more 'goodies' and eat up remaining Christmas treats slowly and savouringly (is that a word?) not quite and mostly
3) Make good use of the writing day (I'm currently thinking of working on a paper nicknamed Ferret, since that is at a point where solid writing might be useful, and perhaps on zero drafts of two grant ideas. need to pin that down!) wrote 3800 words of Ferret, set up and ran a new data analysis, and watched a very cute deer wandering up and down outside the window! Wishing now I hadn't chosen Ferret as although it allowed a lot of progress, it's now ANOTHER partly done project on my pile, and I might have been better off working on something less immediately appearing like Problem Child Part 1 Paper 2 (which to be quite honest I just didn't think of when thinking about the Writing Day.
4) Send a few emails regarding the possible trip did. Very stressed about the prospect but I need to try things, right?
the coming week:
grading, grading, preparing for former-PDF's final departure, New Structure Away Day, grading. A thrilling week. NOT. I also see my counsellor for the first time in a month, and don't really know where I am. Up? Down? Calm? Hysterical? Angry? Resigned? Right now, eating my feelings, which, SIGH. Wednesday is a research day - former-PDF and I have designated two days this month to go through all the data and files and so on from Project F and from FavouriteIslands (I did my PhD on scoping out Theme in the area, then PDF did her PhD with me on one aspect of Theme, then Problem Child Part 2 is on a subset of that aspect of Theme but using a research tool I'm an expert in and PDF is a dabbler with, and we also both have roles in SmallFundedProject with a group of others (which has about 18 months to run) and have our own plans to work on at least two other aspects of Theme at some point. But we need to have some pretty open and detailed conversations about that to get it all in writing, mostly because we're both overthinkers rather than because we don't trust each other, if that makes sense). And then there's the Away Day of the new and partly formed (mal-formed?) 'super-department'
I'd love to have flowering bulb plants around, but I have cats instead. Attractive, obviously, but the same old cats regardless of the season!
DeleteI used to force bulbs, and want to get back into the habit. For now, I'm making do with potted cyclamen, which I discovered last year do quite well in my apartment window. I've also still got a potted poinsettia, but it's looking a bit unhappy, probably due to the fact that it's trying to live next to the heat register *and* the window I open at night to cool the place down to sleeping temperature (I have very limited control of the heating system -- on or off, and off sometimes isn't enough).
DeleteI need to force some bulbs. I'm embarrassed to say that getting a pot for forcing those wonderful fragrant narcissus has been on our shopping list. . .for years now. But it's a great idea!
DeleteI hope you and PDF had a productive research day! And I hope the counseling appointment is good.
DeleteBulbs would be a good way to do it, I put plenty in the garden but it never occurs to me to bring some indoors. The scent of spring bulbs always reminds me of the bulb competitions we did in primary school. It was so simple - buy some bulbs, plant them, try to get them to flower 'for the day', take them to the town hall and see if you won!
Deletein (a hybrid of my former department, three smallish former entities with very different missions (a teaching focused unit of 7 academics, a soft money research unit with about 6 staff and a mostly soft money graduate education and consultancy entity with a difficult and powerful-personality leader and about 20 staff of various grades, mostly post-doc-or-grad-but-managed-as-hourly-billable - a very odd culture), and the less coherant but more argumentative half of the Department I used to call Stationary Studies (who appear to be making a bid for power over the structure and resources of the research side of the new entity's mission). It should be Interesting - our Head of School, Incoming, is clearly overwhelmed with email and definitely not managing or replying to things, but maybe we will at least get to hear something about what's going on? Because it's pretty clear that things ARE going on, just... well, interesting times. And I SO HATE uncertainty about things like who is teaching what when we are now counting DAYS to the start of classes. And he just says it's none of my business, and that makes me SO ANGRY. Sorry, over-explaining. But it takes longer to write less!
ReplyDeletegoals for next week:
mostly TRQ, so small goals.
1) continue to make progress with Very Basic Decluttering Project (sometimes keeping things verrrrry simple works for me...)
2) spend an hour on Ferret
3) act deliberately, and take time to deliberate before reacting (I do love words like that where a shift in emphasis in pronounciation shifts the meaning a little, even if they make English such a sod to learn for others...)
Oh, and for sparkle 4) work through part of the tutorial for Scrivener (I want to see if it will help me rework my NaNoWriMo pile of words into at least a coherent pile of words).
DeleteI would be very angry if I were not only not being told what I would be responsible for teaching, but also being told it was none of my business. Those just aren't reasonable working conditions!
DeleteAlso, I'll be interested to hear what you think of Scrivener. I'm curious about it, and some colleagues swear by it.
I too want to hear about Scrivener.
DeleteNone of your business? Harumpf.
DeleteI tried Scrivener when writing my thesis, but it didn't work for me. But Amstr used it, I think, and she loved it. I have other friends who also love it.
In the US, it's Martin Luther King day today, a federal holiday, so I have the day "off"---and a good thing, too, because I still have to finish one syllabus and have a ton of things to do. We're supposed to be doing something social today with people who really are off today, but I could really use the time, because this week's list is very long, and I think my goals here are going to be just a selection.
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
1. De-clutter and organize my study so it is functional and attractive for the coming semester, and so it will be easy to do a second round of decluttering before the house goes to market. INCOMPLETE: not done, but made good progress. I'll hold this one over.
2. Review the recently accepted article, plan revisions, contact editors with self-imposed deadline. YES, 1/2, NO.
3. Plan classes, write syllabuses. YES, 1/2.
4. Eat safely, test one new food; walking or cardio every day, stretching every day, two yoga classes, sit 3x. Food: no, made poor choices when traveling that gave me a bad week, so no testing. Walking: yes. Yoga: yes. Did not sit outside of yoga classes.
5. Two social activities already on the schedule this week. 1/2: one was cancelled. The other was fun.
This week:
1. De-clutter and organize my study.
2. Plan revisions to the recently accepted article; contact editors with self-imposed deadline.
3. Finish writing syllabus. Get more stuff up on Blackboard for both classes.
4. Eat safely; walking or cardio every day, stretching every day, two yoga classes, sit 3x.
5. Two social activities already on the schedule this week.
I needed Monday off as well. Good for you getting the study through the first round of decluttering!
DeleteI find it very hard to be good about food when traveling--perhaps due to the stress of traveling, or the unfamiliarity with the food. Hope this next week is better!
Most of my sparkle comes from knitting, I think, which I've been doing a LOT of--may need to cut back as the semester starts, in fact. My son (age 4) has been commissioning projects from me; right now I'm finishing up a poncho for him.
ReplyDeleteLong-term, I want to work on friendships. I went to a friend's house to chat and drink wine for three hours on Friday afternoon, and it was glorious. How long since I've done that? I hate to even think about it. Years?
Last week's goals:
1) Start running again, which may mean just twice at about 2 miles per run.
DONE! M - 1.4 miles; W - 2.3 miles; F - 2.7 miles.
2) Rewrite ch. 1's intro and conclusion. Add in fiddly bits that are obviously missing from the notes.
MOSTLY. Intro done; some fiddly bits done. Conclusion--no, but I only got 4/5 through the read-through and re-revision of the chapter (which wasn't even on my goals list), so a couple of hours this week could finish it off.
3) Read the last totally new book for my upcoming grad class.
2/3 DONE. At least I know which parts to tell them to skim.
4) Finish one syllabus.
NOT REALLY. Both syllabi are *almost* done--I should be able to finish them off in 30-60 minutes, total. Must do that this week, since classes start next Tuesday.
It's going to be a challenging week: today is a holiday, so no school for Sonny, and on Wednesday I'm getting all of my wisdom teeth out. And then I'm going to one of the marches on Saturday. So I'll probably only have about 2 days to work this week. Thus: Priorities:
This week:
1) Actually finish both syllabi.
2) Finish last book for grad class (two evenings should do it!!)
3) Finish working through chapter.
4) Exercise two times (Mon and Tues).
5) Eat ice cream post oral surgery.
It delights me to think of your son commissioning knitting projects.
DeleteHe loves, loves, loves the yarn store. He told me that next time we go, I won't have to pick out anything--I can just tell him what kinds I want, and he'll pick the colors. The colors he picks are...so bright. So very, very bright. I'm going to have to take him on a dummy trip, I think, and save the real trips for school days!
DeleteWhat fun that your son loves the yarn store! My sons didn't commission things that young, but they still ask, somewhat shyly, if I will make them a hat or a scarf, "if it's not too much trouble." My youngest actually posted a picture of himself and his new scarf on FB at Christmas.
DeleteI completely envy you, heu mihi! Though he doesn't actually say it, my son, I'm pretty sure, thinks wearing mom's creations is lame. (I don't know: he's a teenager and a toddler in an 8-year old's body.)
DeleteI hope the wisdom teeth extraction goes smoothly, especially since you are planning to march a few days later! And I hope you chose a delicious flavor of ice cream.
DeleteI went to see Fantastic Beasts in the theatre last night - and that was pretty sparkly! I'm also going to a political organizing meeting this afternoon, that I am hoping will give me a much needed spark!
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals
1. Submit conference abstract - DONE
2. Work on study recruitment - DONE
3. newsletter, etc. - DONE
4. spend time on relat paper - NOT DONE
5. Do something fun every day - PARTLY DONE
So last week, I kind of fell apart Fri and Sat due to some really upsetting things that occurred (one work, one personal). But I let myself wallow and tried to do some work and do some fun things - and am better now. I'm also taking a grantwriting class, and so far I really like it - and like the chance to meet other postdocs and junior faculty. I'm hoping for some nice collegial relationships through that group. I have to write an entire NIH K grant for this class, so that will be fun/challenging.
Goals for this week:
1. Work on relat paper (my goal is to get this completely revised by the time mentor returns to the US - which is in 2 weeks
2. Draft specific aims for K grant
3. Draft conference award application and send to mentor
4. write outline of diss manuscript before thursday meeting
The grantwriting class sounds like a promising way to work on several goals. Hope it continues to go well.
DeleteAnd commiserations on the difficult stuff. Sometimes one just has to wallow, briefly, before moving on.
For the past few years, I’ve made a list of 100 things I want to do, many of which would be in the category of sparkly: blow bubbles, learn how to make origami bookmarks, wear purple eyeliner...I’m having trouble getting past 10 items on that list for 2017. Maybe that’s just not something for me to do this year, I am not sure. But I have started writing down the Best Things at the end of the day, and that’s been sometimes sparkly: the pink sky at sunset, the delicious pizza I had for dinner, a marvelous phrase I came across in a book I was reading. I do still want to make those origami bookmarks, though. Adding that to my list for the week! http://boingboing.net/2016/02/12/the-origami-bookmark-you-can-m.html
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1 Submit book manuscript!: No, and I won’t mention it again until done.
2 Finish syllabi: Yes
3 Revise book reviews and resubmit: No
4 Read 5x: 4x
5 Write 5x: 4x
Week ahead:
1 Revise book reviews and resubmit
2 Finish film review and submit
3 Read 5x
4 Write 5x
5 Make origami bookmarks
My slogan this week is an old Japanese proverb, one that I learned after Fukishima: fall down six times, stand up seven.
I love that slogan!
DeleteIt is, indeed an excellent one.
DeleteI agree, an excellent slogan!
DeleteAgreed, excellent slogan for the week and perhaps the whole of 2017!
DeleteOn Bringing the Sparkle Back
ReplyDeleteI've said for years that Christmas is too early -- that what we in wintry climes actually need is a midwinter holiday. It turns out there is one, Imbolc, on Groundhog Day. So I'm planning to have a feast that day and celebrate it. It's all about midwinter and the coming of spring (so I might just eat an orange or something). When Absurdist Husband asked if he could put the rest of the Christmas lights away, I said we need lights up through the winter. So: sparkle!
Last Week
-Grounding: in bed on schoolnights by 11pm! Eat well. Active self-repair on stressful days: baths, music. Meditate or yoga twice this week. OKAY, but more work needed here. No yoga, meditation, or baths, but I managed some good food, some sleep, and some music.
-Spirited: therapy exercises, HS twice this week; figure out about classes? OKAY during the week but rocked it over the weekend, finishing up one book and moving into another. I'm also going to get and read to him a book from the library. Classes are on hold, pending figuring out money issues.
-Gardening: check to make sure I have the right artichoke seeds or get them ordered: NO
-Plan and plod: plan and announce a couple 2-hour blocks of working; get stuff done and prep; contact Colleague L and P about backup plans for snow days; get needed two needed meetings on the calendar. SOME OF THIS, but not all.
-Writing Project: keep morning time for writing (not work!); finish current research reading (may take another week); 1x; send out to deadline DEADLINE MET AND RESEARCH READING DONE; Writing is happening, but I didn't make 1x.
-Big Report: get in touch with Colleague D and make a regular time for touching base about this. Figure out where we are on this and what needs to be done next. NO.
Last week was the first week of classes. I managed; I actually got a lot done that was on my list, including boxing things up, making annoying phone calls, addressing stupid situations at work, writing recommendations, etc. But with today's holiday I feel very disconnected from it all. I'll work on getting myself more connected tomorrow. Holidays are for holidaying.
Upcoming Week
-Grounding: in bed on schoolnights by 11pm! Eat well. Active self-repair on stressful days: baths, music. Meditate or yoga twice this week.
-Spirited: keep up therapy and HS
-Gardening: check to make sure I have the right artichoke seeds or get them ordered; other gardendreaming?
-Plan and plod: plan and announce a couple 2-hour blocks of working to catch up and prep; get stuff done and prep; respond to responses; get two needed meetings on the calendar; plod a bit on annual report
-Writing Project: keep morning time for writing (not work!); get documentary watched; fill in annotated bib
-Big Report: get in touch with Colleague D and make a regular time for touching base about this. Figure out where we are on this and what needs to be done next.
Move like water, plod like tortoise, everyone! And let's remember to take great care of ourselves as a slow/radical act in the face of those forces that would rather have us be depleted and disempowered!
I like the idea of celebrating Imbolc (for a lifelong mainline Protestant, I have a decidedly pagan streak. I think it comes from appreciating nature, and the seasons).
DeleteI also like "plod like tortoise"; that works even better than "move like water" for me (I tend to finish things I start, but it often takes a very long time; my dissertation was a case in point. Based on that precedent, there's still some chance that I may die a reasonably well-published scholar, as long as I'm lucky enough to be alive and healthy into my eighties).
Also, in the medieval calendar, Imbolc became Candlemas -- where all the candles for the year were blessed. So --LIGHT!!!!
DeleteYes, perhaps Imbolc may feature in my calendar as an excuse for...something...even if it's light lots of candles and eat dinner by their light.
Delete[I think I'm caught up now, with reflections on last fall's session completed today(!), and session goals set in last week's post. I'm starting weekly goals with week 2]
ReplyDeleteSparkle (or at least light): well, I've still got my advent wreath (really just a row of five tealights in glass holders) up, and, since I don't feel like taking it down, I haven't (I did switch out the 4 purple holders for a mix of multicolored ones). When I feel ready to put that away (and/or run out of real candles), I'll probably set up a single LED pillar candle which can be set to come on at dusk which I bought last year, while my father was dying, as a fill-in for the Christ Candle in the advent wreath. It's a nice reminder that "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it," which resonates for me on a number of levels.
On a more practical level, I've been looking into supplementing the sunrise-mimicking alarm I've been using for some time with some smart bulbs. The alarm works, but winter mornings are still tough, and I've been thinking for some time that I need more wattage, and plotting various setups with timers and extension cords and such. The advantage of waiting a while turns out to be that it looks like smart LED bulbs (I'm looking at the HUE series from Phillips, but there are several systems) can do a lot of what I've been envisioning, with a lot less rewiring/stringing of extension cords than would have been required a few years ago. They're not cheap, but neither is the device that I've used for some time to turn a regular lamp into an alarm, and I'm now on my second one of those (in 2 decades, so not too bad).
And on a whimsical level, especially since I see several other people will be marching on the 21st, and I know we have several fiber artists in the group, I'm hoping to either make (sew) myself a pussyhat ( www.pussyhatproject.com ) or wear one made by someone else to the Women's March on Washington. I've seen a bit of pushback on whether we'll be undermining ourselves by wearing "silly pink hats," but I think it's a pretty clever way to make a visually-striking point about one of the most objectionable (though perhaps not one of the most dangerous) aspects of the incoming commander-in-chief, and to include people who can't march in person. So, although I have almost nothing else pink in my wardrobe, I plan to obtain a whimsical pink hat and wear it proudly.
Goals for the week (other than making/obtaining a pussyhat, and marching):
Delete--Get as much on top of class prep and planning as possible, in hopes of minimizing teaching-related TRQ eruptions this semester (prepare as many class materials as possible in advance, list future to-dos, preferably for entire semester):
--work some movement into each day (with possible rests on Thurs. and Sun. in deference to fact I’ll be walking/standing a lot on Sat.)
--cook ingredients currently on hand (a pot of chili, some more parsley pesto, maybe some carrot soup)
--do some financial stock-taking
--check in w/brother
--coordinate marching w/ friends, spend time w/ them during march
You offer really great strategies for getting/keeping the sparkle!
DeleteThe idea of taking things down when you're ready to resonates well with me. I have a selection of candle holders that come out in December and stay until the weather feels spring-like. They are snowflakes and star designs so more neutral than Christmas. They are also the ones that spin in the heat of the flame so very sparkly. I was given another as a gift a couple of years ago which has birds, and that comes out when the other two retire for the year.
DeleteWe just installed several smart bulbs in our house. Several because we wanted to control the light levels in a room that we couldn't alter the switch, one as a timer light. The novelty of controlling my lights from my phone has not yet worn off, although the timer light programme has a few quirks. I'd not thought of using them to help waking up in the dark but I like the idea.
Topic: Something to bring the sparkly back. The Christmas tree and lights are down and packed away, but I got some coloring books and colored pencils for Christmas, and I am going to color one picture a day. I need something new to do that is colorful and creative, and I think harkening back to my childhood will serve me well.
ReplyDeleteLast week’s goals:
Finish plan for the month of January. Mostly. I have dream planning to do, and am reluctant to get into it.
Walk the dog twice daily. Yes, to her and my delight
Write five sentences daily. Yes, even beyond five daily, which felt very good indeed.
Edit one page of Prudence commentary daily. Yes!
The planning has stalled because I don’t want to look too closely at the dream planning. It does not help that I have to go to a conference this coming weekend in Atlanta, which will be hard, since I have not been there since my father passed away in 2015. One good thing is that I am having lunch with one of my parents’ neighbors who was close to them for decades and very helpful in their last years.
It also helps that I’m not giving a paper, although I would like to get back in that saddle. The last paper I gave, at Kalamazoo a few years ago, was two weeks after my mother passed away, and I did not do well.
I might be able to check in during the conference, but I may be as late as Tuesday, when I will settle back into the home routine. My goals will be modest, given the time away.
Next week’s goals:
Pack and prepare for traveling and for the meetings.
Eat sensibly while traveling.
Write five sentences a day.
Overcome the reluctance and write up dream planning.
This sounds like lucid dreaming, but is that really what you mean?
DeleteNo, not lucid dreaming. I have a new planner (http://dreambook.vision/) which has a large section at the front for dreaming about what one's life will look like one year, three years, and ten years into the future. Ten years is easier, since I will be retired, but I'm avoiding looking three years out like a bad cold. Each time I try, I get the whole "failed medievalist" thing going in my head, despite the reality that I created a reasonably good career out of the wreckage that was the academic job market in the early eighties. Of course, my internal/infernal critic then rises up to say that I wasn't stellar, so of course I couldn't get an academic job, or finish the degree. It's crazy making, and I need to stop. I think I may just skip the three year planning.
DeleteSkipping it sounds like a good idea if it's so stressful. I'm pretty sure the point of these exercises is not to cause more anxiety!
DeleteAnother vote for skipping what isn't helpful, all the more so if you can imagine what will be satisfying 10 years out, when you get to reap the rewards of making the best out of a bad situation (says another survivor a slightly later period of the academic bear market - late '80s/early '90s).
DeleteI hope the conference goes well. I've found that just attending a conference can be quite rewarding, and a fairly efficient way to at least partially catch up with current academic conversations, especially for those of us whose paid work doesn't overlap all that much with our research area.
I have the Dream Planner too, and I skipped most of the long-range stuff because I didn't want to deal with it (too depressing: should I stay at this job? if not, should I be looking outside the academy since I really don't want to become super-scholar?), instead preferring the quarterly and weekly planning. I like the attitude of the ritual stuff as well, but I don't like being told to get into my ritual space when opening the damn planner IS my ritual. I say if it doesn't serve you, don't do it!
DeleteWould there be a way to focus on non-career-related stuff for the three-year dream?
DeleteLast week's goals:
ReplyDelete1 - Three conference abstracts for submission next week DONE, and actually submitted 6 abstracts, yay for awesome collaborators!
2 - List of paper/conference talk figures DONE
3 - Make one figure from list above NOT, BUT THOUGHT ABOUT IT AND STARTED THE MOST CRITICAL ONE.
Thia week's goals:
1 - Prepare everything possible for oncoming (and definitely disastrous) "labour interruption" and hope it doesn't happen
2 - Finish drafting of figure
3 - Run three times for sanity
4 - Write one conference talk
TRQ but important: Keep quiet on opinions regarding point 1, because pre-tenure...
For sheer joy, I went skiing with kid on weekend and it was glorious. On Wednesday I will pick her up early and do it again! Totally worth it :)
Good luck on the TRQ but important; that sounds like a tricky situation.
DeleteAnd hurrah for the gloriousness of skiing! (and hey, if you're out on the slopes, you can't possibly be saying something you shouldn't to someone you shouldn't).
Yes, hurrah for the skiing with kid! That's great TLQ.
DeleteFor my sheer joy/added sparkle, I'm rearranging art work on walls and buying some new paintings. They should arrive this week which is lovely.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
- edit down acronym paper - not done, too much marking
- tackle the marking mountain - a good bit done, but still work in progress
- come up with a comprehensive to do list - yes, unfortunately
- get out of the house, at least to the nearest Pokestop each day! - done
- make progress on knitted shawl - shawl is finished
This week:
- progress on marking
- tackle teaching prep for first week of semester (ugh, module handbooks, updating quizzes, cleaning up notes)
- graduate and spend time with family
I'm slightly irritated about the teaching prep stuff. I'm working from home so am doing what I can by distance and to support specific colleagues, but I feel it's being taken for granted and with limited consideration for simple stuff. For example, scheduling of a couple of things has been changed so I have to now do all the prep in the next week instead of being able to spread it out a little more. Even an extra day makes a difference. Details of who is covering some specific sessions have not been confirmed so I don't know quite what to prep.
On the plus side, I graduate later in the week :)
Congratulations! We'll all hum Pomp and Circumstance in your honor!
DeleteCongratulations on your graduation!
DeleteAnd commiserations on your colleagues' lack of consideration. I know that doing some work may be a welcome distraction, but whatever happened to being genuinely on leave when one is on medical leave?
Congratulations, KJHaxton!
DeleteThanks!
DeleteI had written a longer reply but blogger ate my homework/comment. Formally I'm still working full time (but from home with modified duties/flexible hours). So I still do as much teaching prep/marking/making video lectures as I can to help those covering my classes. And I'm getting a decent amount of research/writing time in. It's amazing how removing the face-to-face stuff can enhance the quality of time spent on work and reduce the quantity of time required. There will be a time for medical leave in all of this, but not quite yet hopefully!
Sparkly? Not sure. . . I'm functioning! Maybe a sparkly cocktail at the weekend?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, here's from last week (and how late I am shows where I am)
So my goals will be VERY modest.
1. Finish and post syllabi for classes that start next week. ONE DOWN (along with almost all assignments up online); second one 90% done
2. Clear out email that got backed up at the end of the last semester (things you can do without books) WELL< managed to eliminate 75 emails. Can do more here...
3. Draft abstract of Way Outside Essay NOT A CHANCE
Depending on what's happening, I may try to go to My Favorite Library for a day to work. NO
Well, not being home was a real bummer. But my mother is out of the hospital, I came home Saturday, and I've done a LOT since I got home. But I'm behind, and won't get the full syllabus for my grad seminar posted until tomorrow (I'm in a meeting out of town today).
Goals for this shortened week:
1. Finish syllabi
2. Write abstract
3. Pay bills
4. Clear desk
If I do this, I'll be where I should have been January 1. Sigh.
That all sounds very busy with a great sense of being pressed. I hope that you have a chance to breathe and get on top of a few things as the week comes to a close.
DeleteTurned out to be a busy but decent week. I took one day off to go skiing when kid had no school, totally worth getting out of a very stressful and demoralizing office for a day. I guess that was my attempt at mindfulness - I took advantage of an opportunity to relax and have fun with the kid and not think about work for most of the day. This week I will try it on smaller scale, but every day instead of one big blow-out...
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals:
1 - Prepare everything possible for oncoming (and definitely disastrous) "labour interruption" and hope it doesn't happen
DONE, and it seems like the worst may not happen... Crossing fingers...
2 - Finish drafting of figure NOT DONE
3 - Run three times for sanity YES!!! AND WENT SKIING TWICE!
4 - Write one conference talk HALFWAY THERE
This week's goals:
1 - Figure 1 for three posters
2 - Don't let conference talks wait and languish - finish 2 of them
3 - Run three times
4 - Data processing for conference posters