All that means that it is time to review progress this session, celebrate our achievements, note any lessons, and plan for the next few months! That's quite enough of a topic, so I won't suggest anything else. Thanks everyone for taking part, for your company on the journey of scholarship and survival-with-integrity in the modern academy which we're all making, for your comments and inspiration. I'll finish by repeating the poem DEH shared with us in week 8:
What Any Lover Learns
by Archibald MacLeish
Water is heavy silver over stone.
Water is heavy silver over stone's
Refusal. It does not fall. It fills. It flows
Every crevice, every fault of the stone,
Every hollow. River does not run.
River presses its heavy silver self
Down into stone and stone refuses.
What runs,
Swirling and leaping into sun, is stone's
Refusal of the river, not the river.
by Archibald MacLeish
Water is heavy silver over stone.
Water is heavy silver over stone's
Refusal. It does not fall. It fills. It flows
Every crevice, every fault of the stone,
Every hollow. River does not run.
River presses its heavy silver self
Down into stone and stone refuses.
What runs,
Swirling and leaping into sun, is stone's
Refusal of the river, not the river.
Last week's goals:
Contingent Cassandra (carried over)
1) Get grades in (TRQ, but also necessary to having a bit of
time to concentrate on TLQ)
2) Figure out what I'll do when in the next month as much as
possible
3) Keep lifting weights; get in the pool; move some more
mulch if weather cooperates
Dame Eleanor Hull
Self: twice-daily stretching and some form of cardio; get
back to the gym; adjust sleep schedule.
Teaching: finish two syllabuses.
Research: 6 hours (4 x 1.5 hrs).
House: finish packing study and guest room. Garden work as
needed.
Other: campus errands.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell (carried over)
Walk forty-five minutes a day.
Work on Prudence one hour a day.
File thirty minutes a day.
GoodEnoughWoman
1) Return the ill-fitting pants and shoes I ordered for the
kids.
2) Walk 3x. Swim 1x.
3) Write 500 words.
4) Start drafting course outline for new course proposal.
5) Go through article to change British punctuation and
spelling to American punctuation and spelling.
6) Go to doctor's appointment and move like water in
response to whatever I learn..
heu mihi
This week: Keeping it very modest because it's Friday, so I
have a pretty good idea of what I'll be able to accomplish (= not much; was at
the in-laws' Sun-Wed and have no child care this week):
1. Annual faculty report
2. Process (with help of husband) approx. 50 pounds of paste
tomatoes
humming42
1 submit article review (TRQ)
2 finish chapter 1 revisions
3 spend time working on grant proposal
4 draft rough outline for Snow
JaneB
1) tick off 6/10 of BlackSummerProject
2) work out shape of Picky Paper as it stands
3) Gallimaufrey review and possible grant - collect up
comments so far, pull together, propose tasks others can do, send out emails
4) clear my office desk!
5) enjoy working with the Visitor
6) move more!
Karen (carried over)
1) finish abstract ahead of extended deadline
2) draft theme area grant application
3) do one pomodoro of office tidying
4) move more (2 x yoga, 1 x walk - think about downloading a
couch to 5k app)
KJHaxton
1. trip to big city
2. trip to conference
anything else is a bonus
Matilda (carried over)
1) Finish first draft of Chapter 2.
2) 5-minute-exercises at least twice a day.
3) Find ‘my own 15 minutes’ as many as possible, and do
something.
4) Re-consider my plan.
Notorious, PhD (carried over)
-3000 words this week
-3 yoga/four morning meditation
-One source collection
AND... clean up desk mess!
Oh -- you know, I'm going to add to my list: "Finish
one nagging task." I have three, so I should be able to pick. Decluttering
the mind.
Susan (carried over)
1. Make sure I've ordered desk copies of all books for fall
2. Keep moving
3. Keep reading
Waffles (carried over)
1. Outline for expectancies paper
2. Asthma paper - figure out next steps
3. Email guy from Tennessee
4. pack, clean, pack, clean, and random details related to
packing and cleaning!
Session goals:
Contingent Cassandra
--Make consistent progress toward making at least one kind
of movement (walking, swimming, weight-lifting, gardening) part of most days.
Dame Eleanor Hull
*First six weeks: primary goal is packing up my house and
doing necessary maintenance to sell it. I'm trying to put in 1-2 hours a day on
research and teaching tasks.
*Five weeks in UK: in addition to teaching responsibilities,
which involve field trips as well as classroom work and grading, visit two
places of personal significance, and ramp up the research considerably, since I
will be living a few minutes' walk from a major research library that calms and
inspires me.
*Final three weeks: take a week off from all work, then prep
for the fall semester, mop up whatever tasks need mopping. With any luck,
unpack in new place.
*Product goals: sell house, move; review all sections of
translation that I have yet to review; get two R&Rs out the door (probably
a good UK task); read, take notes, and move my book project forward; finalize
syllabus for UK teaching; plan for fall classes.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Session mantra: Move, contemplate, create
Plan and draft sabbatical request.
Walk at least half an hour every day.
GoodEnoughWoman (GEW)
1) Do all things necessary to get kids set up in their own
rooms (rooms that will be good sanctuaries for them for the rest of their time
at home). This will involve MUCH moving and purging (and building of a backyard
"office/library/studio/witch hut").
2) Eat the rainbow and help my family do the same.
3) Move more and build family practices for kids to do the
same.
4) Just read daily and widely, regardless of topic. As for Dune,
I'm not sure.
5) Write 5x per week, min of 15 minutes. Finish a chapter or
a short story.
6) Since we aren't traveling as much, take advantage of
local attractions and activities.
7) Spend more time on family to improve relationships,
future memories, and bonds. (The relationships are good, but they definitely
played second-fiddle to the PhD for the past year.)
heu mihi
The first three are non-negotiable:
1) Revise Norway talk (by 6/18)
2) Draft tenure statement (by 6/1); revise it (by 7/1)
3) Write ACLA paper (by 6/18)
The other big goal is...finish Book 2! I don't need to have
this done by the end of the summer, strictly speaking, but for various reasons
I want to. This involves the following sub-goals:
4) Revise chapter 3
5) Revise chapter 5
6) Revise ch. 2 as best I can
7) Finish tenure portfolio (which I need to do anyway)
8) Prepare for final read-through (by fixing notes and
obvious problems in some chapters)
humming42
1 As ever, write 5x/week
2 And also, read 5x/week
3 End of month Pop revision
4 Revise and resubmit book review
5 Meet deadlines for Talk project
6 Draft outline for workshop
7 Outline and lit review for Snow project
8 Pick and complete a project to submit for conference
JaneB
1) domestic chaos reduction and self-care
2) having a good set of lists of preparation for late
September, and having the main logistics for the early October fieldtrip in
place
3) submit two ProblemChild papers and have the third close
to ready
4) make good progress on PickyPaper
5) finish and submit that GrantINeverShouldHaveStarted!
6) go through and act on all the notes from SouthernCountry
conference I just attended, the two March Meetings, and the things I've left
aside in my email since January (or at least add them to a single list).
7) slightly stretch: get Ferrett ready for submission, have
a complete draft of Gallimaufrey Review, and have started NextGrant (whatever
that will be).
Karen
1. Put in promotion application
2. Have a documented map of full new degree structure
informed by one feedback cycle
3. Make progress on KL project (application); Grass
(conference paper, data gathering); and Farm (creative work)
4. Create more functional spaces at home with a focus on
lounge room, bedroom, and built structures in the garden.
5. Nurture self with improved sleep, regular exercise.
KJHaxton
1. Complete and recover from treatment, get back to work full-ish time
2. create oral presentation and poster for (assuming
abstract accepted) and attend conference at end of summer
3. Finish big blanket and purple scarf knitting projects
4. Start and finish a printing project
5. Submit ethics form for House project
Matilda
1) Finish the revision of the first drafts of Chapter 2~5.
2) Make a concrete plan of the structure of the book.
3) Establish good eating and exercising habits.
Notorious, PhD
• draft two book chapters (crappy draft okay)
• Revise co-authored article MS (this one's a maybe;
chapters are the priority)
• Go through all papers/files in home & office &
e-mail inbox and throw away or properly file everything.
• Reboot my physical fitness
Susan
1. Desk clearing/deck clearing: I ran away for a bit over a
week in the UK right after the end of our term (a talk and a paper), came back
and almost immediately had to drive my mother 250 miles for an event at my
niece/nephew's school. (Why this is a late check in). My desk/study is a TOTAL
disaster. I need to clear off the stuff from this past year's teaching to make
space for next year, and to be able to work.
2. Course preparation: I'm teaching a new graduate seminar,
and an altered version of a course I've taught before. I want to get ahead on
them so it's not all last minute.
3. Finish Old Conference paper and submit it for
publication. (the proceedings were supposed to become a volume, but didn't, and
I've been encouraged to submit this to a journal.) Probably needs a week or so
of work, but nothing too extreme.
4. Make revisions to "Way Outside", a paper that
took over the last session, when I get comments from the editors. (This paper
is in another discipline (English) and another century (20th) from that I
usually work in, which is why it has it's name.) My hunch is that it's close to
done, but like Old Conference, it needs a week or so to polish it, deal with
formatting questions, etc.
5. New Project 1: I have a plan for a short book that is
largely synthetic. I want to start writing/outlining
6. New Project 2: I am thinking through my next BIG project
(I'm assuming 8-10 years), and I'd like to spend some time reading/thinking
about how I might approach a big broad subject.
7. Read. I have been trying to get back into reading
novels/books.
8. Walk regularly. When I'm not teaching, I need to pay real
attention to keep myself moving.
9. Relax. I just published a book, and I am trying not to
make myself crazy with deadlines.
Waffles
1. Submit trans paper
2. Resubmit aging paper
3. Resubmit relat paper
4. Submit gender paper
5. Submit discrepancy paper
6. Submit PTSD paper
7. Submit scoping review
8. Get a handle on longitudinal paper
9. Figure out story for IPV paper
10. Figure out story for suicide paper
11. Move?
Well, it's been a while. Thanks for carrying me over so many times. And now I'm the first check-in. So here goes:
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that I did get a real break from routine, if not entirely a restful vacation: one longish car trip to a brief visit to see family, another longish car trip to see the eclipse, and a brief archives stop worked into the 2nd return journey. And I did some interesting reading that falls at the intersection of family history and my academic interests (and ties at least tangentially to contemporary events, especially those in Charlottesville). That reading, and those events, remind me that my academic writing might actually have some social purpose, since there are apparently stories that still need to be told (though whether to tell them in academic or other genres remains a question; one advantage of being fairly certain that I'll never be on the tenure track is that I have more freedom in how and where I choose to publish).
So even a brief break seems to have served its purpose: I'm feeling reasonably energized and ready for the new term. I've managed to do a pretty good job of preparing for the new semester in the 3 days I've been home, and am hoping that starting the semester relatively on top of things will make for a more manageable fall term, but we'll see; there are several projects that I've either been ignoring (the pedagogy project) or from which I've taken a sanctioned break (the church search -- another member of the committee has kindly been monitoring the inbox for the last 2+ weeks) that I now need to start juggling again.
As far as my single goal for the summer -- make consistent progress toward making at least one kind of movement (walking, swimming, weight-lifting, gardening) part of most days -- goes, I definitely didn't manage either the "consistent progress" or the "part of most days" part, especially during the beginning of the summer. I've made a bit more progress in the last 4-6 weeks, including getting into a fairly regular routine of lifting weights (not the obvious thing to work on in the summer, but the most convenient, at least when I'm at home, since I have the equipment right in my apartment. I also gave myself permission to do just the hand weights, which require no preparation whatsoever other than picking them up -- the ankle ones require some attention to shoes and socks and such -- which helped.) I also worked in a few walks during my travels, and got into the pool (with new goggles which work very well; apparently the technology has improved in the decade since I last bought a pair) yesterday.
I'm not sure what the moral (if any) of any of the above is, except that, at least for me, focusing on a single goals doesn't necessarily make that goal easier to attain if the conditions for adding *anything* to my routine aren't right. Though I really have little to complain of compared to challenges others in this group are facing, I did start the summer tired, with no real break from the spring term, which didn't help. Though I remember the last time I taught the longer summer term as not so bad, I don't think I had any other project going that summer. With the addition of the church search (and, I think, a particularly difficult summer class, with a higher-than-usual number of students who kept disappearing then reappearing and wanting my help in catching up just when there should have been a lull), it was hard to get to any sort of "fresh start" point until the summer term was nearly over (at which point the summer itself was nearly over). So I'll ask for one of the shorter summer terms again (I always do, but the answer isn't always "yes"), preferably the one that follows immediately after the spring term, and leaves the longest possible uninterrupted summer break, and hope I get it next year. And I'll keep working toward the point where I can take a whole summer off.
DeleteUntil that's possible, I also need to work on identifying what kinds of shorter breaks I find truly refreshing. I was a bit surprised to discover how helpful my travel-focused break was in that regard; actually getting away, though exhausting in some ways (sheer hours on the road; needing to give much more thought than usual to supplies of everything from reading/listening matter to food to clothes), turned out to be considerably more rejuvenating that I expected (I did also sneak in a couple of no-obligations days at home, which helped). I'm wondering if I can replicate that effect without actually leaving home overnight: maybe a day-trip now and then would provide a similar reset?
So I guess that's a carry-over question for the fall: what is truly rejuvenating, and how can I fit it into a busy schedule?
Thanks again for bearing with my spotty participation. I'm up for a fall session if others are, and will try for more regular "attendance."
CC, your question about what is "truly rejuvenating" is a good one. Something great to think about when time is limited.
DeleteI hope you got a good view of the eclipse totality!
It's really hard to work out what is really rejuvenating, especially when there's a deep habit-rut leading to comforting but less effective options (junk food, TV, whatever)... do share any strategies you find!
DeleteFor me, the habit-rut in the last 6 months or so has been obsessive reading of the news (which, since it isn't doing anything to improve the present political climate, and definitely isn't improving my sense of hopelessness or helplessness, probably isn't productive). So getting away from that, while still staying reasonably informed, is a goal for the fall.
DeleteAnd I did have a spectacular view of the eclipse, thanks; I traveled to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the weather was perfect (a few puffy clouds, but none obscuring the sun), the scenery beautiful, and NPS staff and volunteers most helpful in managing the crowds and providing information, porta-potties, and other needful things.
I wanted to share this blog post from Cal Newport, who gets at one of those nagging questions about how we talk about "writing."
ReplyDeleteWhen Writing is More than Writing
As a professor who also happens to opine publicly about productivity, I’m often invited to stop by dissertation bootcamps — a semi-annual ritual at many universities where doctoral students gather to hear advice and work long hours on their theses in an atmosphere of communal diligence.
Something that strikes me about these events is the extensive use of the term “writing” to capture the variety of different mental efforts that go into producing a doctoral dissertation; e.g., “make sure you write every day” or “don’t get too distracted from your writing by other obligations.”
The actual act of writing words on paper, of course, is necessary to finish a thesis, but it’s far from the only part of this process. The term “writing,” in this context, is being used as a stand in for the many different cognitive efforts required to create something worthy of inclusion in the intellectual firmament of your discipline.
In my own academic work, for example, these efforts include the general synthesis of trends in search of new openings, the struggle to read and understand existing papers, probing for a fresh attack on a problem, trying to work through the technical details needed to pull an argument together, and, of course, the careful grind required to write up the results clearly — each of which presents a unique mental experience and its own set of challenges.
The tendency for bootcamp attendees to sweep such varied activities together into a generic term like “writing” is a minor linguistic quirk, but I’m beginning to believe that it points to a potentially broader problem: our culture lacks a sufficiently nuanced vocabulary for discussing rigorous cognitive efforts.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, if, as Boas famously claimed, the Eskimos have dozens of words for “snow,” then in an emerging knowledge work society, we should have more than a handful of words to describe the mental efforts on which, more and more, our livelihoods depend.
Hmm, I wrote a response to this that went poof. Oh, well. It was nothing profound. I have started Newport's "Deep Work," on audiobook.
DeleteThis is something we often talk about in my "real life writing group" - what constitutes writing. We've agreed that anything contributing to a paper or research application counts, so weekly goals often include "compose an email to..." or "read the instructions carefully..." - reading tasks, note taking, transcribing, data analysis, populating tables, drawing conceptual models, they all count!
DeleteThat's really interesting point. When I talk with HDR students about writing I do try to break down the various stages/tasks involved in writing, but there's a lot of the pre-writing activity that is essential for writing that I don't have good descriptions for. Do you think this might be an effect of disciplinary differences in working with ideas and/or something more going on?
DeleteI think part of the problem goes back to dissertation-writing, when we (or at least I) were warned not to get stuck in the "research"/reading phase (as if that were an entirely separate activity, which it really isn't). I can't really count myself as an experienced academic writer, but I do feel fairly comfortable moving back and forth between reading and writing, and between reading primary sources and reading criticism, these days. I'm not sure quite when/how I got to that point. I'm also not sure whether some of the same psychological barriers would return if I had to write to deadline, and/or in preparation for a tenure review (there *are* some advantages to the non-tenure track).
DeleteI'm starting with the task check-in. Here goes. This week:
ReplyDelete1. Annual faculty report. YUP--it's never as bad as one thinks it'll be. I'll need to read through it again and make sure that I'm not leaving anything out, but it isn't due for a while, so that's no problem.
2. Process (with help of husband) approx. 50 pounds of paste tomatoes. CLOSE ENOUGH: A few dozen are still ripening for freezing, so there's not much to be done with them. I made about 80 tomatoes' worth of pizza sauce and 25 tomatoes' worth of puttanesca, a family favorite; my husband made a large batch of salsa and used some in various curries and other sauces. We're getting in shape for the winter.
SUMMER GOALS:
The first three were non-negotiable. These were all accomplished in due course:
1) Revise Norway talk (by 6/18)
2) Draft tenure statement (by 6/1); revise it (by 7/1)
3) Write ACLA paper (by 6/18)
My tenure file will require another read-through, but I believe that I have everything in place. Whew! Here's hoping for a good result. I don't think that I have anything to fear, but this short tenure clock (I'm starting my third year at Idyllic State) is a little freaky; will the administration expect me to have a second book done? They shouldn't, but our Provost had, in the last few years, summarily denied tenure to a dozen or so people who had had positive reviews at every other level. HOWEVER: She's been promoted, so she won't be assessing my case! Relief! And the craziness of university administration!
The other big goal was to finish Book 2, which involved the following:
4) Revise chapter 3 - DONE
5) Revise chapter 5 - as DONE as it can get until someone sends me some images
6) Revise ch. 2 as best I can - DONE!!!
7) Finish tenure portfolio (which I need to do anyway) - DONE, essentially, as discussed above
8) Prepare for final read-through (by fixing notes and obvious problems in some chapters) - NEARLY DONE: I hope to get there this week.
I actually thought that I'd had the final read-through as a goal for the summer, but I didn't, so Lo! I achieved my goals! That's probably a genuine first for me.
So what was different? I'm hypothesizing three things:
1) I've actually grown accustomed to working on my research and writing regularly and steadily, so immersing myself in it this summer wasn't a shock.
2) (Probably most important:) I'm at a point with this book where I can--I hope--really see the end, so I actually know what I want to say when I'm working on a chapter. As I was revising, I found myself thinking, "This paragraph doesn't say what it should. What it should say is---" and then...writing the paragraph! I don't know that that has ever, ever happened to me before, and certainly not with such regularity.
3) Traveling a lot throughout the summer. I was worried about this, and I'm already planning for a much quieter summer next year, but I think that it worked out well, especially in May-July (I was a little burnt out by August). Knowing that I only had, say, 12 working days to get chapter 5 into shape meant that I worked *hard* on those 12 days, and made real progress daily. And then I'd have some time away while I was traveling, and that helped with the mental rest.
Still, I'm looking forward to far fewer conference presentations next year (two, I'm hoping, as opposed to this year's five) and some nice relaxing time at home. And no European trips, probably! I love traveling to Europe, but it's exhausting, and two summers in a row was a lot.
I don't know exactly how to move all this forward into the fall. I do think that I have some nice specific tasks to work on in the early part of the semester (the final-ish read-through of the manuscript, writing the conclusion, sending it to the editor), but it's going to be a busy semester, too, and I'm a little worried about getting exhausted and burnt out. Well, no sense worrying about that ahead of time, right?
Yes, no sense worrying, but a bit of planning seems fine I think. Maybe thinking about CC's question: what is truly rejuvenating? Then you'll have some good strategies in your back pocket if you need them.
DeleteCongrats on the great book progress this summer! Do you have to wait until spring to get the tenure decision? We'll all be rooting for you.
Sounds like a great summer! Worrying is definitely not useful; in terms of planning, what I find most useful is to have specific tasks, like your list or even broken down further, and to always "park downhill", so that when I do have a piece of writing time (especially towards the end of a day or when I'm stressed about all the small stuff) I don't have to make decisions, just act - decision fatigue is, I think, the biggest impediment to me making progress in the busy times.
DeleteBig congratulations on putting your tenure package together! And I'm so glad to know that the "you shall not pass" admin won't get in your way.
DeleteThank you GEW and JaneB for hosting in this space that always feels welcoming and safe. This was a weird summer: I didn’t do many things I set out to do, yet I still feel quite satisfied with how I spent my time. I read more than I usually do, I got some house projects completed, and I didn’t totally abandon Trying to be a Writer. So:
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1 submit article review (TRQ): yes
2 finish chapter 1 revisions: almost
3 spend time working on grant proposal: no
4 draft rough outline for Snow: no
Session goals:
1 As ever, write 5x/week: often, then I stopped tracking for reasons unknown
2 And also, read 5x/week: yes, this was the summer of the book
3 End of month Pop revision: yes
4 Revise and resubmit book review: yes
5 Meet deadlines for Talk project: because rbp, postponed
6 Draft outline for workshop: because of parent care, did not participate
7 Outline and lit review for Snow project: because rbp, postponed
8 Pick and complete a project to submit for conference: no, because of rbp
Wishing everyone well until we meet here again.
All in all, that seems like a good summer indeed. I, too, read quite a bit this summer, and doing so is good for my soul.
DeleteI hope you're still feeling motivated for the rbp as you move into fall!
Being satisfied with your summer is the nicest feeling!
DeleteJaneB, if WordPress had a "like" or "love" function, I'd place one here. :)
DeleteLast week's goals:
ReplyDelete1) Return the ill-fitting pants and shoes I ordered for the kids. NOT DONE. I forgot!
2) Walk 3x. Swim 1x. DONE.
3) Write 500 words. NOT DONE, but I did some good thinking and planning.
4) Start drafting course outline for new course proposal. DONE.
5) Go through article to change British punctuation and spelling to American punctuation and spelling. NOT DONE.
6) Go to doctor's appointment and move like water in response to whatever I learn.. DONE.
SESSION GOALS:
1) Do all things necessary to get kids set up in their own rooms (rooms that will be good sanctuaries for them for the rest of their time at home). This will involve MUCH moving and purging (and building of a backyard "office/library/studio/witch hut"). DONE.
2) Eat the rainbow and help my family do the same. NOT DONE.
3) Move more and build family practices for kids to do the same. SORT OF.
4) Just read daily and widely, regardless of topic. As for Dune, I'm not sure. SORT OF DONE.
5) Write 5x per week, min of 15 minutes. Finish a chapter or a short story. NOT DONE.
6) Since we aren't traveling as much, take advantage of local attractions and activities. DONE.
7) Spend more time on family to improve relationships, future memories, and bonds. (The relationships are good, but they definitely played second-fiddle to the PhD for the past year.) DONE.
Starting back to school this week made it clearer that a big reason I had trouble with writing and work stuff this summer was that I was focused on house and kid stuff. Even though I started back to teaching this week, I had more time to get things done for myself since the kids went back to school, too.
The things for me to think about are big picture sorts of things. I'm having a difficult time deciding what role research will play in my work life now that the PhD is finished. As as instructor at a two-year college, I'm not required to publish. I had planned on continuing on with a modest research agenda, but I'm feeling really challenged by the lack of access to the databases and books that I need. I'm just not sure it's worth it.
So, questions for self: Do I continue my research and attempt to publish scholarship? Or do I keep writing but switch to fiction?
Thanks JaneB for co-hosting with me! And I like your suggestion about buying a new notebook. I might follow through on that. :)
Without asking any questions, I hope that your medical reports etc. are favorable. Wishing you well.
DeleteAnd spending time on kid and house stuff sounds like a great post-Ph.D. summer! I'm glad that you were able to do so much with them in the last few months.
This does indeed sound like you had a great post-PhD summer. It's going to take time to work out a new rhythm, to "train" family and have them train you in how everyone can get some of what they need without anyone feeling judged or put upon...
DeleteNew notebooks for everyone are definitely the Cool Thing To Do!
It sounds like a good summer to me, with time to nurture the relationships that support you.
DeleteWith keeping the research side going, are there any (relatively) local institutions with research activity in your area that you might be able to connect with? And potentially get access to specialist resources through?
Thanks, heu mihi. I'll get a follow up in six months, but no immediate action needed (thyroid nodules).
DeleteJaneB and Karen, yes it was a good summer even though we need to work on rhythms, and, to be totally frank, I think we need to work on the marriage a bit more. Too much dividing and conquering over the years.
Karen, I need to look more into possible resources nearby. I do have some within a couple of hours. Right now, it just seems like a lot of effort for little return even though I love my research area. Must think on it.
I hear you on the long term effects of divide and conquer. My kids are younger than yours, I think, but I'm at the point where I have to consciously move from us as complementary logistics machine to human beings with an emotional connection.
DeleteMy first reaction to the resource-access issue is to think that community college professors really ought to have full access (databases and all) to the resources of the 4-year institutions in their system. But I know that database purveyors are very (possibly increasingly) restrictive about these things.
DeleteAlternatively or in addition, professional associations and Ph.D.-granting institutions should be addressing this need, which is very real. (At this point, I'll probably be able to work for my present institution, which has great library resources, until I'm eligible for emerita status, which includes continued access, but otherwise access to library resources is the only reason I'd consider adjuncting again).
One thing I noticed a while ago: many campuses across the country have Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes, and joining one of those (usually? always?) brings access to library resources. It's not free, but it may not be as expensive as paying for library access alone (if that's even possible), and, although the chief audience is retirees, there's actually no age limit.
So, *if* you decide you want to keep doing research, that might be an option worth considering.
The last week:
ReplyDelete1. trip to big city - DONE
2. trip to conference - DONE
anything else is a bonus - a few bonus items were done.
So I made the trip to the big city and wasn't quite as tired as I worried I'd be. It was a good trip to have made. I then went to the conference with my two posters, then onto the in-laws for a couple of nights. I am so tired right now that typing hurts. It's probably the most I've done over 6 days since October so I'm really pleased at doing it all but I suspect this week is pay back in the form of brain-crushing exhaustion. Oh well, was worth it.
Session Goals:
1. Complete and recover from treatment, get back to work full-ish time - DONE
2. create oral presentation and poster for (assuming abstract accepted) and attend conference at end of summer - DONE
3. Finish big blanket and purple scarf knitting projects - DONE
4. Start and finish a printing project - PARTIALLY DONE
5. Submit ethics form for House project - NEARLY DONE
I'm pretty pleased with the session overall, I was on sick-leave then phased return to work for the majority of it and really anything I got done in the circumstances was a bonus. Other things that went well included getting a small grant for an outreach activity, being asked to carry on with two particular committees, reviewing a fair few journal articles, planning a couple of new research collaborations, and getting a fair bit of teaching prep done.
Thank you to JaneB and Good Enough Woman for hosting. I think I missed responding to the call for hosts for the next few sessions but I'd be happy to co-host with someone.
Karen said she could co-host the next session ("now-ish" until Christmas) - could you liase with her or let me know if you need connecting? That would be brilliant!
DeleteSounds like a pretty impressive summer, especially with all the Life Stuff going on - and congratulations on doing well in the Big City and at the conference, I find either of those things exhausting even when I'm completely healthy so both in one week is a great test of recovery in my book!
Thanks for the offer to co-host!
DeleteI thought I'd put up a breathing week/sign up post to give people space for the transition back into semester, and then run a 15 week session through to Christmas. Would you be happy to do alternate weeks?
Congratulations (again) on completing your treatment, and I hope you are, in fact, feeling recovered (despite feeling tired from your recent activities). Your level of productivity in this session seems very impressive, so I'm glad you are pleased. I hope you're able to rest this week from the previous BIG WEEK. Happy knitting!
DeleteJust chiming in to say I, too, am amazed at how much you've gotten done while theoretically "on leave." It sounds like the BIG WEEK has tested your present limits a bit -- and helped you to identify them. Maybe not a bad thing?
DeleteThanks all...the summer hasn't been bad and the 'big week' was particularly challenging for a multitude of reasons.
DeleteKaren - I'd be happy to cohost with you through to Christmas. My email is kjhaxton at gmail if it's easier to organise that way.
Starting with goals for last week: I lost some time to a migraine-like headache early in the week (and stupidly tried to ignore it a little too long so when I did leave to go home I had to stop twice to be sick :-( ). Suspect it was at least partly "self-inflicted" (the one trigger I can readily identify is postural, too much late night phone screen reading in bed does it, as does driving without enough breaks, and a couple of other things that "get" to my left shoulder/neck/upper arm area), and I spent more time than I expected on people interactions - some really great (Visitor from OtherSideOfThePlanet has been a delight to work with; HighSchoolStudent is shy and young but had a great work ethic and seems to have enjoyed her time with us) and some painful (colleagues...).
ReplyDelete1) tick off 6/10 of BlackSummerProject NOPE
2) work out shape of Picky Paper as it stands NOPE
3) Gallimaufrey review and possible grant - collect up comments so far, pull together, propose tasks others can do, send out emails NOPE
4) clear my office desk! NOPE
5) enjoy working with the Visitor YES!!
6) move more! ish
However, I DID do some other things - worked on Ferret and ProblemChildPaper3, fed back on chapters to three grad students, did some teaching prep, and applied for some internal money to go to a conference. So it wasn't a bad week overall, despite the half day of getting the headache (moderately productive), the remainer of the day feeling sorry for myself in the dark (sigh), and the next day being a "headache hangover day" (slow and grumpy), just not what I PLANNED.
So sorry about the migraine. I see my husband go through them occasionally (rather rarely, thank goodness), and my son had one around age six. I think my husband is triggered by dehydration, and my son might be triggered by screens and lighting. I've never had one, but I have GREAT sympathy. Do take care!
DeleteThis has been a pretty bad summer in some ways, good in others. Bad in that there has never been a point when I felt free to focus on MY work - teaching stuff has been constantly intruding. Also, I took on a little too much - I didn't realise how demanding ProblemChild would be (or rather, that it would continue so long into the summer!), but I am not good at working out how long things take or saying no, so some of it is on me. I let GreenSummerProject go unless I was directly asked for things, let someone else who I know isn't very dynamic take the lead on YellowSummerProject (so guess what, it only got partly done), and have tried to just keep doing SOMETHING on the rest of the pile whenever it comes to mind. Maybe not the most targetted strategy... but I'm not good at "musts" and having choices tends to keep me working at SOMETHING most days better than having One THing.
ReplyDeleteGoals for the summer:
1) domestic chaos reduction and self-care not great. But also not awful!
2) having a good set of lists of preparation for late September, and having the main logistics for the early October fieldtrip in place not entirely, but should be in place by the end of this coming week
3) submit two ProblemChild papers and have the third close to ready one and two are with the main project leads (PC is a sub-project of a sub-project of an enormous project, and the project leads have to approve all papers) and will be submitted by Thursday this week, to two very good journals, and paper three has an extension until 31st September - we have produced a detailed outline, and I've written one of my three sections, so we're in decent shape - not as far on as I hoped, but close.
4) make good progress on PickyPaper ish? I've done some things to it, and feel I have a better idea of what there is to write up. It needs, deserves, some focused time, but I don't have it left. SIGH
5) finish and submit that GrantINeverShouldHaveStarted! it is NEARLY ready to go - but we've let it run on long enough that we now need to rethink the dates (fieldwork seasons matter), and one of the people I need to consult is off in a rainforest apparently without internet (but with enough signal to tweet regular "look how cool my life is" pictures and swanks. SIGH).
6) go through and act on all the notes from SouthernCountry conference I just attended, the two March Meetings, and the things I've left aside in my email since January (or at least add them to a single list) I've gone through email from January to June, and that was quite a task! And done a lot of catching up stuff. Haven't touched the notes, oops...
7) slightly stretch: get Ferrett ready for submission, have a complete draft of Gallimaufrey Review, and have started NextGrant (whatever that will be). Ferrett has made progress, Gallimaufrey Review has also made progress but is not complete (it's bigger than it was meant to be...) and I have lots of ideas for NextGrant but am ignoring that for now
I've also worked on Tagalong paper (which should be submitted by the end of September) and ExcessivePaper (got rejected from the ambitious journal we put it into at the start of the summer, ir now resubmitted to a not quite so ambitious one after a substantial rewrite), helped LikesMaths with a paper from their MSc and DrVisit with the English for a paper, and pushed BlackSummerProject along its way (we're looking at paper submission by the end of December). Oh, and HighSchoolStudent produced some useful pilot data for YellowSummerProject, and working with Visitor from OtherSideOfTheWorld has also involved writing a smallish grant application, and should lead to one or two more grant applications and two papers. So although it was a bitty summer and a lot of things aren't actually finished, I've PROGRESSED a lot of things.
DeleteBut not enough domestic things. It's SO HARD to put things for me first. And hard to know how much is laziness and how much actual barriers...
I vote for actual barriers.
DeleteAs I get used to feeling the way I feel when I eat safely, I'm finding it much harder to work on the days when I feel ill, and realizing how much of the time I used to feel ill. I think it wasn't always as bad as now (as you note, getting old is not.fair.), but I used to beat myself up for laziness and wonder if I was depressed, and now I am sure I was neither lazy nor depressed, just ill. I do get bored with my FODMAP-safe foods, but I'm not bored with feeling comfortable, alert, and able to work. Cut yourself some slack!
Thanks. I'd like to believe I'll find my "magic solution" sometime...
DeleteI vote for actual barriers too. Good lord, that an awful lot of work completed over the summer!
DeleteI think that one thing that does get obscured with domestic work is that it is actual work - with cognitive as well as physical and emotional load. And when you've filled that load up elsewhere, plus don't have anyone to remove barriers for you, of course domestic work is going to drop out.
It seems to me you've had an amazingly productive research/writing summer, especially considering all of the people stuff you had going on.
DeleteAnd I agree with Karen that the domestic work has some challenging factors. This summer, when I had to paint walls, that was easy. But when I had to clear out a whole room and figure out what to keep, what to throw away, and where to put stuff? SO HARD.
I know we always say these things, but maybe next session you can figure out to focus on the domestic stuff, OR just get some rest and leave the house to the chaos.
I'm always amazed at how much you have going at any one time, and how much you get done. So I, too, would vote for actual barriers, including both health and supervisors who seem determined not only to keep moving the goal posts all over the field, but also to switch the game being played entirely at random intervals (I'm not very good at sports metaphors, since I'm neither very good at nor interested in sports, but I think you get the idea; from a fellow lover of a certain amount of structure and predictability, it's just not fair, and -- in more adult language -- unlikely to support and increase worker productivity).
DeleteIs humming42 me? I feel I could start with the same words: thanks to our hosts, and while I haven't done everything I set out to do, I've done a lot and can't see how I could have done more.
ReplyDeleteHow I did last week:
Self: twice-daily stretching and some form of cardio; get back to the gym; adjust sleep schedule. YES, YES, More or Less.
Teaching: finish two syllabuses. Finished ONE.
Research: 6 hours (4 x 1.5 hrs). 2 hours.
House: finish packing study and guest room. Garden work as needed. Sort of? Study is mostly done. Guest room not. Garden got some time and looks pretty good!
Other: campus errands. YES.
So, a pretty good week.
Summer goals were:
*First six weeks: primary goal is packing up my house and doing necessary maintenance to sell it. I'm trying to put in 1-2 hours a day on research and teaching tasks. RESULT: still working on the house, but much has been done. I think I gave up on research and did just enough prep to be ready with my summer course.
*Five weeks in UK: in addition to teaching responsibilities, which involve field trips as well as classroom work and grading, visit two places of personal significance, and ramp up the research considerably. RESULT: taught, went on field trips, visited one place and gave up on the other, did a lot of reading and writing.
*Final three weeks: take a week off from all work, then prep for the fall semester, mop up whatever tasks need mopping. With any luck, unpack in new place. RESULT: took two weeks off (didn't mean to, but some food reactions intervened); am not entirely prepped for the fall term (but my second class doesn't meet till Wednesday, so there's time); mopping up is on-going (of course).
*Product goals: sell house, move; review all sections of translation that I have yet to review; get two R&Rs out the door (probably a good UK task); read, take notes, and move my book project forward; finalize syllabus for UK teaching; plan for fall classes. RESULT: definitely better on process/progress than on product. The house is not yet on the market (but soon, soon); I've done only a little translation; the R&Rs are not done (but soon, soon); still have not got back to the book; teaching stuff has got done, because it had to. That's why we're here, right? to keep trying on the things that don't have to be done right now.
It sounds like a satisfying and productive summer - summers are never long enough, but all that progress has to feel pretty good!
DeleteYes, that's why we're here. Soemtimes we don't finish all we'd like, but imagine if we weren't strategizing about the TLQ at all.
DeleteI hope your back is doing better and that you're feeling good as the semester starts.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI missed check-ins several weeks and now this is the final check-in. So I know things don’t go as I planned and wanted, but anyway this is the final week.
Thank you very much for hosting, GEW and JaneB, both you are so wonderful. Thank you for you all joining this group, reading all of your comments and check-ins is always inspiring.
So this is the final week. For the session goals, what I did was reviewing my chapter 1-2, but wasn’t able to cover chapter 3-5, which I need to plan how to write and revise rather from the first. Good side is that I really understand now how I need to work, construct and consider my study as a whole. I now know it is not only writing, but also such an enormous, comprehensive project. I thought I had known that, but I had not really understood what it would be like before starting. This means I really started to write a book. It will take much longer time and efforts than I had expected, I know, but it is worth challenging, for myself as a scholar.
Thank you all, and I hope to join you again, and have a good summer-end season!
"Good side is that I really understand now how I need to work, construct and consider my study as a whole. I now know it is not only writing, but also such an enormous, comprehensive project. I thought I had known that, but I had not really understood what it would be like before starting. This means I really started to write a book. It will take much longer time and efforts than I had expected, I know, but it is worth challenging, for myself as a scholar."
DeleteMatilda, it seems that you've made great progress on your understanding of your project and of yourself and your work! This is fantastic. And you sound really motivated, which is also wonderful. Congratulations!
Thank you for your kind words, GEW. Yes, I can see it as progress, and I can go forward. Thank you!
DeleteHi all from the house of plague - on the winter side of the world we've been sharing a nasty flu around and my family has been down with it for the last week and a half.
ReplyDeleteI think my overall comment on this session, and on my very infrequent appearances, is that I need to find ways of running with a bit more buffer/white space not just in daily life but projects as well. And saying no.
Anyway, in terms of what I've done:
1. Put in promotion application - NO. Advised to hold off for a year by Head of School, mainly due to politics at senior levels, and I can see his point.
2. Have a documented map of full new degree structure informed by one feedback cycle.YES.
3. Make progress on KL project (application); Grass (conference paper, data gathering); and Farm (creative work). KL application DONE, Grass paper DONE, data gathering PROGRESSING, Farm PROGRESSING
4. Create more functional spaces at home with a focus on lounge room, bedroom, and built structures in the garden. SOME SMALL FORWARD MOVEMENT
5. Nurture self with improved sleep, regular exercise. NOT SO MUCH
In unintended TLQ goals, I've co-authored two SOTL papers, put in one extra (successful) internal grant application. So overall, not a bad run, really.
Karen, it sounds like you got important things done this session, which is great!
DeleteI hope you and yours start to recover soon, and perhaps a goal for the next session (again) can focus on white space/sleep/self-care. We just have to keep trying, don't we?
Topic: First, many thanks to GEW and JaneB for their hosting this summer session. Second, apologies for my spotty accountability, especially in August, which slammed me the first and last weeks, and found me uninspired, tired, and unproductive in the middle weeks.
ReplyDeleteThe summer was more productive than I expected it to be on several levels, so I won’t complain any more about the lost weeks of August. I have been better at moving, and keep up with my walking and using the standing desk. I have also been doing a lot of contemplating about work and life and the state of the universe, although I still have to fight the urge to plunge into the first thing that meets my eye in the morning, instead of adhering to the plan. As for creating, I had a banner month in July and I will try not to let August overshadow the accomplishments. I finished the sabbatical proposal (and a spare), and kept up with my schedule and outline on Prudence. The major accomplishment of August was that I finally began to get organized in a better way than I have been able to do in years, both at home and at the office. I shredded at least two reams of paper, and recycled the equivalent of a Smart Car. I filed, despite my unwillingness, because it could easily fill brainless moments.
The last two weeks were mixed, as I have detailed above. I am going to review the schedule and adjust it to reflect starting again on Prudence. Also, my amazingly creative niece has been working to update my blogs. I plan to have new posts for thier official unveiling this weekend. It is a crisp almost-fall day here in upstate New York, so I feel like planning my fall projects.
Last week’s goals (carried over from the week before):
Walk forty-five minutes a day. Yes
Work on Prudence one hour a day. No
File thirty minutes a day. Yes
Session goals:
Session mantra: Move, contemplate, create
Plan and draft sabbatical request. Yes
Walk at least half an hour every day. Yes
Thank you all for your support this session, and I look forward to the Fall/Spring incarnation.
Elizabeth, I'm glad it was just a good summer, and that your body was healthy enough to move and walk! You seemed to have done a lot of walking, keeping up a regular TLQ habit, which is fantastic. And, really, the same seems true of your attention to Prudence, despite the challenges of August. I hope that you can carry over your successes into the fall even as things get crazier at the office.
ReplyDeleteCrisp, fall weather sounds lovely. Enjoy a cuppa!
Thank you, GEW! I'll clink cups with you in hopes of continuing successes for us both!
DeleteAnd that was supposed to say "such a good summer," I think. The word "just" doesn't seem right there.
DeleteCheers!
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ReplyDeleteHbse