So this week, as I try and recapture a little bit of the slower pace of summer despite the list of work that came back from CrowdedCapital with me, let's talk about the little things that make a difference in achieving our TLQ goals, and that signal "summer work pace" to you - that deeper, steadier, richer mental life we all hope to find in these change of pace months. I think it's ESPECIALLY helpful for those of us who don't have the classic complete change in duties in the summer, whether that's due to endless paperwork, summer classes, geographic differences or just not having that kind of job - we still need to find opportunities to stretch and relax, even if we have to carve them out ourselves. So far we've mostly discussed mental ways of doing that, and as we approach the half-way point of this TLQ iteration, let's think about the physical cues and conditions that help us find the right mental state.
Last week's goals:
Contingent Cassandra (carried over)
--work in some kind of activity --
garden, swim, weights, walk -- on at least 4 days.
--look at upcoming 2 weeks or so for
opportunities for full break days (July 4 weekend should yield some, but can I
find another 1 or 2? I really need them).
Self: organize a couple of
short sight-seeing trips.
Teaching: Organize a couple
of tours for students.
Research: Review 1000 lines
of translation. Make progress on MMP-3 revisions.
House: type packing list and
e-mail it to husband.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell (carried over)
Walk forty minutes a day.
Hydrate and keep track of it.
Finish annual review (quickly becoming TRQ).
Pack and plan for conference (also quickly becoming TRQ).
Touch sabbatical outline and application every day.
Follow book plan for the week.
Good Enough Woman
1) Finish moving son into his
new room.
2) Clear and paint daughter's
room (with daughter's help).
3) Swim 1x. Yoga 1x. Walk dog
3x.
4) Write 2x for 15.
Brainstorm short story ideas (I have decided another summer goal is writing a
short story, but I haven't written one in a long time.)
5) Take donation items to
charity shop.
6) Clear out most of stuff
stacked in hallway. (Even though I have no idea where I'll put it.)
heu mihi (for post 7/10)
1. Read through chapter 5; revise as needed
2. Read through chapter 2 and sketch out revision plan/ideas
3. Make progress on the Mess At The Heart of Chapter 2 (MATHOC2)
humming42
1 write 5x
2 decide what projects to
work on this summer
3 set writing and research
schedule
4 follow up with co-author
5 determine status of
Abandoned Project
6 read a chapter of Natalie
Goldberg’s book
JaneB
1) clear desk at office at
least
2) eat well and get enough
sleep
3) outline
ProblemChildPart2Paper2
4) set resit work (this will
be TRQ sometime soon, but no deadline has actually been set, so if I get it
done NOW it won't be a nasty last minute surprise).
Karen (carried over)
Finish the marking! (not strictly TLQ but will make me feel soo much
better)
Hold 30 mins on Friday for planning, 30 min for reading, 30 min for
writing.
Make a visible change in house or garden (weather dependant) over the
weekend.
KJHaxton
1. create writing plan and
teaching prep plan, do first tasks
2. cake...make the cake
3. knitting - blanket on hold
until new wool arrives, start something with purple handspun wool thinking a
scarf but perhaps with angled ends
4. finish small tasks for
professional commitments that aren't work
Matilda
1) Finish revision of Chapter
1, at least so-called 2nd draft.
2) Finish constructing the
outline of Chapter 2.
3) Meeting with my mentor.
4) 5- minute-exercises
several times a day.
5) Find ‘my own 15 minutes’.
Notorious Ph.D.
• Write 2500 words on Hot
Mess Chapter [start point: 12666]
• 3 days yoga; 3 meditation
• finish reading 1 major
source collection
• Toss or file 30 things
Susan
1. Get rough drafts of
syllabi done
2. Find out how to set up my
personal website, start designing it
3. Keep moving
4. Keep reading
Waffles
1. Figure out goals
2. work on R&R for
election paper
3. Work on reducing scoping
review further
4. recuperate from
conference!!!
Topic: Summer often finds me rousing from my hibernation both physically and mentally. I miss the classroom because I used to prowl around and get a fair amount of movement into my day, but I have found a few alternatives. I walk around campus for at least half an hour every afternoon in good weather. I tried yoga, but have abysmally bad balance, so I switched to Tai Chi. I have a “multiple-positions” desk that I place at standing height for at least 90 minutes in the morning and the same amount in the afternoon. I take breaks to do the Tai Chi when I switch tasks. I also play music that encourages me to dance when I am doing low-brain-involvement work, so I bop around as much as I can while tethered to headphones and the keyboard. At first, my staff and colleagues made fun of me, but when I lost the ten pounds I gained while laid up in January and February, they stopped.
ReplyDeleteLast (two) week’s goals:
Walk forty minutes a day. Actually, I averaged about an hour and a half a day during the conference.
Hydrate and keep track of it. Yes on hydrating, but no on keeping track.
Finish annual review (quickly becoming TRQ). Done 8 days early.
Pack and plan for conference (also quickly becoming TRQ).
DONE
Touch sabbatical outline and application every day.
Most days I did finish some section of the application.
Follow book plan for the week. Nope. Too much else going on, but I did revise the schedule.
Analysis: Lots of movement and note-taking these past two weeks, with dreadful travel added to the mix.Our checked luggage was rifled on the way to the conference, with the airline not caring in the slightest, since nothing was stolen. On the way back, we had mechanical problems, so were moved to a different plane, same configuration. However, DH and I were moved from our seats together, split up into middle seats 20 rows apart, with no explanation. SInce our university has a contract with the infamous airline that drags noncompliant passengers off airplanes, we did not fight overmuch when no explanation was given for the move, but swore never to use the university’s dime for travel in future.
On the bright side, we had a lovely dinner with a dear friend I’ve known since we were young and in graduate school, enjoyed finding some new local restaurants and visiting our daughter and her family, some of whom I had not seen for a couple of years, all of which made up for the horrific customer service on my travels.
Next week’s goals:
Walk forty minutes a day.
Keep track of hydration.
Finish sabbatical application.
Follow the new schedule for the book which began July 1.
Plan for end-of-the week trip to the big city for several doctor’s appointments.
Float like mist, everyone!
I'm amazed at how my weight changes when I'm sitting a lot versus not sitting a lot, so you strategies sound like great ideas.
DeleteAnd I'm glad to know there is not a online video of you being dragged off of a plane.
Sounds like the movement pace increases in summer rather than slowing, and all to the good! Some great strategies there. Glad you got back from your travels without being dragged around or losing things, but really, isn't modern travel purgatorial? Sometimes I think we humans have let ourselves become too civilised...
DeleteNotorious Ph.D.
ReplyDeleteTopic: I'm not sure I have any physical cues, because I still try to stick to my getting-up-early routine, and I go in to the office a couple times a week to work. But at least once or twice a week, I decide not to set the alarm. Actually, most of my physical cues come in the transitions: I take time to walk from one place to another, rather than hopping on my bike or the bus. I even go for the occasional half-hour walk in the evening. I guess that's it: more walking. Not much there. Oddly enough, I'm also going to bed earlier. So: more walking and more sleep. These are both Very Good Things for my physical health *and* my mental health, and I'd love to carry them into the academic year, at least in part.
Last week's goals: Well, it's half-success again. This time I managed to get all of my words and then some done... but almost *none* of the source collection. Now, part of that has to do with some external obligations: a curriculum committee, a thesis student, an external review for a tenure case... but also because it was my BIRTHDAY, and I indulged in not one but TWO two-hour brunches with friends. And I did get my yoga and meditation practice in. Zippo on the "toss stuff out" thing.
The upcoming week and a half promise to be light work weeks, because I'm on nearly full-time auntie duty. So I'm going to keep the same goal categories, but scale back my expectations:
• Writing: 1000 words on Sometimes an Adequate Notion chapter [start point: 700]
• 2 days yoga; 3 meditation
• finish reading 1 major source collection
• Toss or file the stuff from my home desk and bookshelf
That's it! Whatcha got, the rest of you?
It's nice that that summer offers a bit more time in the margins--in the white space between things. Things slow down a bit, and there is less rushing around (usually). And walking seems like a great way to take advantage of that time. A couple of sessions back, we talked about transitions. Too often I use social media as a transition--even if it's just for a few minutes--and I need to work on better options. I did well during and immediately after my sabbatical a couple of years back, but it didn't take long for bad habits to return.
DeleteHappy birthday, and have I hope you have a good time with your niece or nephew!
Happy birthday, dear Notorious! Happy birthday to you!
DeleteHappy Birthday, and Happy Aunting (I'm off to Aunt at the end of the month and looking forward to it!)
DeleteI haven't done very well with summer cues. For the past decade it's been all about the thesis. Now it's all about the house, so I don't have a summer work pattern to count on right now. I've been whinging about that for a few weeks now, so I won't bore you with more. I do hope that after this week (which is a bit hectic), I'll figure something out. It will be nice when the "witch hut" in the backyard is complete. Then a ritual could involve morning meditation or yoga followed by writing--all in my witch hut!
ReplyDeleteRegardless, I don't have to grade anything, and I'm not writing a PhD thesis. These things are awesome.
Last week:
1) Finish moving son into his new room. DONE.
2) Clear and paint daughter's room (with daughter's help). DONE.
3) Swim 1x. Yoga 1x. Walk dog 3x. NOPE. Walked dog twice. That's it.
4) Write 2x for 15. Brainstorm short story ideas (I have decided another summer goal is writing a short story, but I haven't written one in a long time.) NOPE.
5) Take donation items to charity shop. NOT DONE. My delivery vehicle was full with a bed we bought for my daughter on Craigslist. Most of the donation items are in piles on a front patio. We offer things to anyone who comes to our door.
6) Clear out most of stuff stacked in hallway. (Even though I have no idea where I'll put it.) PROGRESS.
There on several things the social calendar this week, along with some appointments for the kids. The BIG THING is that we're getting new carpet on Thursday, and we'll have A LOT of prep to do for that. We're all very eager to get over that hump so that life can get a little bit back to normal, and the kids can get settled in their new rooms. And I can spend less time playing musical piles with all of our stuff.
This week:
1) Write 15 minutes, 2x.
2) Read a few chapters of a book on writing.
3) Walk dog 3x. Yoga or Swim 1x.
4) Move like water, float like mist during the house challenges and chaos.
5) Re-read Solitude conference paper to consider whether or not I'd want to re-visit it for an article.
I am going to be so envious of your witches hut when you finally get it, having a place to go to work is such a useful cue, even better if it's a place JUST for work.
DeleteHope the house stuff goes smoothly!
I posted last night, but I guess I didn't do the final click, or something. So, now to try to remember what I said!
ReplyDeleteBy running away to the UK and leaving all the house stuff to Sir John, I've had the best possible physical cue to switch my focus to research and teaching. It's lovely being here, and I'm trying to make the most of it in every way. Sleep, and thus morning activities (like stretching) have alternated between OK and late, so while I was doing great at stretching every day at home, here it's been alternate days, and I need to improve that.
How I did:
Self: organize a couple of short sight-seeing trips. NO
Teaching: Organize a couple of tours for students. NO
Research: Review 1000 lines of translation. Make progress on MMP-3 revisions. YES and YES.
House: type packing list and e-mail it to husband. NO
It's pretty clear where my priorities have been! I've also done some walking and sight-seeing, and had social activities, since a lot of people I know are visiting. So I'm going to repeat last week's goals for the coming week:
Self: organize a couple of short sight-seeing trips. Stretch every day.
Teaching: Organize a couple of tours for students.
Research: Review 1000 lines of translation. Make progress on MMP-3 revisions.
House: type packing list and e-mail it to husband.
That is very wierd, as your reply last night showed up in my email but isn't there today. Technology does not like me... Hope you continue to enjoy the fairyland experience - or the Male Academic Of The 1950s life, as it also seems to me...
DeleteHmmm...insert random spluttering. I find that by the time I'm used to the chance of pace months, they're over and I have to get back to the regular pace months. The last couple of weeks have been nice as husband has been coming home from work earlier, I've been on sick leave, and it's meant eating at normal times, no work in the evenings, having weekends...you know like 'normal people' do. So for me the biggest mindset thing is keeping more regular hours, getting up a little later each weekday, coming home/stopping work closer to 'bankers hours', having a decent lunch break preferably with a walk in the sun, and planning activities on weekends instead of clean house/do washing/get shopping chores.
ReplyDelete1. create writing plan and teaching prep plan, do first tasks - DONE
2. cake...make the cake - DONE
3. knitting - blanket on hold until new wool arrives, start something with purple handspun wool thinking a scarf but perhaps with angled ends - DONE
4. finish small tasks for professional commitments that aren't work - DONE
I've made a decent head start in my two plans, the teaching one hinging on confirmation of next year's teaching allocation. I refuse to put work into unconfirmed things. I made cake (6 lemon drizzle muffins). The new wool arrived so I added lots of rows onto the big blanket. I also started the purple handspun wool scarf. And I finished the small tasks for professional commitments which was a relief.
This week:
1. Keep on knitting - 12 mm needles and multi-strands is so satisfying.
2. Submit conference abstract, small grant application, reply to important emails
3. work on the first tasks in the writing plan
4. draft ethics application and submit for signatures
This week is a little uncertain - radiotherapy starts so daily trips to the hospital. I get the appointment list tomorrow so will be able to better plan the week once I have them. It's a bit stressful having to go every day for 15 week days but I'll probably feel better once it's started and once I have the appointments. I hope.
I hope so, too. Best wishes!
DeleteHope it all goes smoothly and you find a good new rhythm!
DeleteI had a great week at the conference last week, and am having trouble getting back into things. I’ve done a lot of mindless work since I got back, but I need to do some more substantive stuff. However, this is complicated by my mentor deciding that we are going to write a grant and shift our publication priorities. It is also complicated by my vacation next week, my conference presentation in early Aug, and the slow creeping anxiety of my impending move (and need to find housing!).
ReplyDeleteIn terms of physical cues - I typically make my second cup of tea and move to my desk when my workday begins. Those are good cues. Music also helps focus my attention (I have specific playlists I use for work - it has to be music I know and in the same order every time so I don’t get distracted; I can’t listen to music when I am reading articles and writing though).
Last week
1. Figure out goals - SORT OF DONE
2. work on R&R for election paper - STARTED
3. Work on reducing scoping review further - UGH, not done
4. recuperate from conference!!! - YUPPERS
This week
1. Get R&R close to done
2. Reduce scoping review (make a good pass at it)
3. Tables for SU paper
4. Put together lit for expectancies paper
Do make sure to savor enjoy your vacation time. I hope it will be restorative.
DeleteThat does sound like more uncertainty than you need to deal with right now... hope the vacation is restorative, and you get to take a PROPER break
DeleteI’m a complete homebody in the summer, and teach online when I do have summer classes (starting next week). This summer I’m really focused on getting things done on different fronts: self care, domestic, writing, reading. I aim to end the summer with a feeling of satisfaction. The rhythms of the day are not terribly different other than daylight still lingering after dinner. This makes me glad because more daylight creates the illusion of more time in the day, meaning that there’s still time to get things done if I’ve not been productive.
ReplyDeleteAs a follow up to last week, I haven’t heard from the publisher about RPB, but I did read most of Natalie Goldberg’s book, Long, Quiet Highway. I was a little impatient with it at first but have really appreciated her view on writing as a calling, and as an identity. It’s definitely more a memoir than a guide to writing more or better, although she does that too for the like-minded.
An interesting new development in my summer schedule is notification that my research proposal was selected to represent my college for a national competitive grant. I’m grateful to know that the project is considered worthwhile, and also to have the opportunity to get some support in writing a persuasive application.
Last week:
1 write 5x: 4x
2 decide what projects to work on this summer: yes
3 set writing and research schedule: not yet
4 follow up with co-author: not yet
5 determine status of Abandoned Project: no
6 read a chapter of Natalie Goldberg’s book: yes
I had trouble hitting a stride last week, although I’m not sure why.
This week:
1 write 5x
2 set writing and research schedule
3 set up project notekeeping
4 follow up with co-author
5 determine status of Abandoned Project
6 think about grant application
I envy the homebody bit! Not having to go to the office makes everything nicer in my world, especially in the summer!
DeleteI think the topic this week puts a finger on some of my frustration this summer: the things on which I want to focus -- especially gardening, swimming, and walking -- are precisely the things that say "summer" to me, but they also work best a particular times of day in the summer (early morning for the gardening and walking, mid-afternoon for the swimming), and with my online class going considerably less smoothly than the last time I taught this class on this schedule, I'm finding myself in front of the keyboard when I should, ideally, be outside, and generally tied to the keyboard far more than I'd like.
ReplyDeleteI think it would help to get back to something else I associate with summer: getting up (and also going to bed) earlier. If I could manage a quick email check/answer, then head off to garden (since my favorite walking venue is closed for a few more weeks), I might get more of the "summer" feeling. In any case, it's worth a try.
Goals from two weeks ago:
--work in some kind of activity -- garden, swim, weights, walk -- on at least 4 days.
--look at upcoming 2 weeks or so for opportunities for full break days (July 4 weekend should yield some, but can I find another 1 or 2? I really need them).
Achieved: one or two sessions of gardening, but that, frustratingly, is it. Nor did I manage a day off, even though I badly need one, and (more frustration) we had a run of beautiful weather. I am, however, reasonably caught up with the grading, and set to take tomorrow fully off. And I'm just about halfway through my summer (starting the 2nd half, in fact), so now seems like a good time for a reboot (and for making sure that I do get some break out the parts that really are a break).
So, with all of the above in mind, goals for this week:
1. Take a full day off July 4
2. Garden 2x; swim or lift weights 2x
3. Move toward earlier sleep/wake times
4. Begin making plans for vacation weeks
Good luck capturing some summer feelings and coming up with great relaxing vacation plans!
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI am coming late again. I hope you are having a good time in a first week of July.
Topic:
Little things make difference in summer to me, well, is my feeling of ‘it is summer’. Since when I was a primary school girl, always summer comes with ‘great long holidays’. Even when I become a fully grown up and then there are things always to do even in summer, the feeling comes up when in July. I think what my plan is for this summer, dreaming a trip to a foreign country, having great times reading my favourite books and doing a great work of my field. This great ideas always gradually shrink when the end of August is coming nearer. I close my journal where I wrote my summer dreams, and very reluctantly start to prepare for the class starting in September.
This week’s goals:
1) Finish revision of Chapter 1, at least so-called 2nd draft.- not finished.
2) Finish constructing the outline of Chapter 2.- not finished.
3) Meeting with my mentor. - Done today.
4) 5- minute-exercises several times a day. - I forgot for a few days, but I have made it habit to do some mini-exercises when I brush my teeth, do the laundry and watch TV.
5) Find ‘my own 15 minutes’.- I have moved my desk from the bedroom into the living-dining room, so it got much easier to read books, without hiding in the bedroom-study. Some don’t like it to see opened books and papers scattered in the living-dining room, but it is practical. Tidiness comes second to practicality, if not tidiness and practicality come together.
Analysis:
(This is a little bit grumbling, complaining mode.)I met my mentor and he advised me to move on chapter 2, before finishing chapter 1. I am wondering how people are ‘finishing a chapter and moving on to the next one’, because for me it is difficult to decide ‘this is finished’, considering the future chapters based on this first chapter (my book is to be organized in chronological way). In addition to this darkness, during this important meeting, I felt I was so stupid and did not understanding what he was kindly advising. I often said ‘sorry?’, ‘that means…?’, and ‘am I following you if I understand that..’. Was this because I slept only short hours to prepare for the meeting? Or exhaustion from frequent long travels during these a few days? Anyway, I am going to review what I have done and what I need to do, making a fresh start.
Next goals:
1) Write chapter 2: reading the most fundamental sources first.
2) 5-minute-exercises several times a say.
3) Find ‘my own 15 minutes’ as many as possible.
4) Think positively, work practically.
Have a wonderful week, everyone,
Isn't it frustrating when your mentor and you are not on the same wavelength? I'm someone who writes best when I "write though" the whole project, then go back and rewrite/fix, but other people may really need to work on one chapter until they have it well pinned down. Deciding when things are finished "enough" is a distinct skill, and for many people it's hard. I tend to move on when I feel like the wheels of my brain are spinning, that I am not making progress with the thing to hand, after giving it a fair go, but it's taken a long time to recognise that!
DeleteThank you for your comment, JaneB! Certainly it is difficult to finish 'enough'. Experiences must be of help here, but it is still difficult to me. I envy people who can be confident in finishing 'enough'.
Deletegoals from last week:
ReplyDelete1) clear desk at office at least NO
2) eat well and get enough sleep mixed
3) outline ProblemChildPart2Paper2 ish
4) set resit work (this will be TRQ sometime soon, but no deadline has actually been set, so if I get it done NOW it won't be a nasty last minute surprise). partly
Analysis
Last week ended up starting summery and ending not at all summery, with added stress. Started with a day visiting a sort-of-friend in the country, then two days of increasingly fraught meetings with added meetings, then two days in CrowdedCapital which meant a 5am start, dealing with the humidity and crowded, hectic city etc. The meetings former PDF and I were there for went very well, though - we met with the project leads of the project ProblemChild is linked to (it's a sub-sub-project), and both got a lot of work done on the papers and a lot of really positive feedback about our work - they believe in us, think what we do matters, and said so. And here, I can be a little braggy - former PDF made the connection, so all kudos to her, but it's all MY work and ideas they like, she does the more routine parts but still comes to me for anything more fiddly. We're a good team, but I still lead the intellectual part of it. And on Friday we also had a very stimulating meeting with various scientists about putting together a grant to extend the work, which also went well. The trip really pushed my physical capacity, and I have a cold now :-(, but... productive. Just not on the things I wanted to produce.
And this week, I planned to have a couple of days off, but with the cold I'm mostly napping and doing a little work around the edges (miserable anyway, so...). Thursday I'll be at work (meetings) and Friday we have a School Away Day which is sure to be a delight. NOT.
goals for this week:
1) restructure ProbChildp1p1 following meeting
2) clear desk at office at least
3) be nice to the cold and get enough sleep
4) write up notes from grant meeting and circulate to team
5) set resit work (this will be TRQ the week after next, so would like to get it done this week in a controlled manner) and do timetabling paperwork (due next week, same).
It's not at all summary here (just came through a major cold front), but interesting to think about physical cues that at least suggest a leisurely (or less panicked) way of being. I've been trying to get out into the sun when it is shining, and still mulling over the previous topic about feeling powerful, remembering the feeling of body awareness I had back when I had a regular yoga practice. I'd like to get back to that.
ReplyDeleteLast two weeks:
Finish the marking! (not strictly TLQ but will make me feel soo much better)
YES! (still have to edit comments for posting but marking done)
Hold 30 mins on Friday for planning, 30 min for reading, 30 min for writing.
Ha! NO
Make a visible change in house or garden (weather dependant) over the weekend.
YES - pruned the vicious rosa gallica, wardrobe tidy including letting go of shoes that I never wear.
This week I'm trying to accelerate on getting the semester 2 unit I'm teaching organised, and catching up on things that have slipped over the past few weeks.
1. Yoga - 3 home practices (even if little) and 1 class
2. Garden - plan 2017/8 vegetable crops
3. Office - 2 x 25 minutes of clearing the encroaching chaos of floor clutter
4. Read - one article
5. Write - 1 hour on messy first draft of grass text