At the end of every good journey movie, be it a road trip, a quest to find the oil or cast the ring into the fires of a volcano, or a trip through the vastness of space, there comes a point when the end credits roll and the lead characters stroll, polka or drive their way off into the sunset. We've discussed our fantastical goals, and we've thought about what we take on the way, this week: what's playing when the end credits roll on that goal?
Lots of us in survival mode at the moment, I hope this week is productive and a wee bit easier for all.
Lots of us in survival mode at the moment, I hope this week is productive and a wee bit easier for all.
Amstr
-plan menus and grocery shop
-exercise 4x
-in bed by 10:30pm most nights
-10 pages of MF
-rev 2 PB manuscripts
Contingent Cassandra
--regroup
Dame Eleanor Hull
1) Self: daily exercise, yoga (2x, preferably), enough
sleep, work on at least 2 languages, do the necessary cooking so I can eat
safely.
2) Research: 8 hours, focusing on product. I hope to put all
the revised bits together and work on transitions, maybe get it to the point
where I can ask a friend to look it over.
3) Teaching: grade two sets of assignments (another one
comes in tonight, along with the one I didn't do last week). Also read a diss
chapter and think up good advice.
4) House/Life: finish packing the guest room, get discards
out of the house, get estimates on window washing.
Elizabeth Anne
Mitchell.
Create a pinterest board for the war bride novella.
Get my verification of employment form from HR.
Find and hang out winter clothes.
Edit at least five pages of the book.
Write at least four pages of the novella.
Walk more than 45 minutes a day.
Put in ILL request for the research book.
Good Enough Woman
1) Drink at least 36 oz of water per day (this is my first
step to increase water intake with hopes it will help my allergies and joints).
2) Write 5x for at least 5 minutes or 50 words.
3) read article and make revision notes
4) pay bills (this is TRQ now)
5) Make reminder cards for stretching, etc.
6) Put grading schedule in calendar
7) Investigate other conference options for possible new
funding request
8) 1.5 hours of walking
heu mihi
1) Lit review/bibliography for the conference paper I want
to submit
2) Catch up on teaching and service work (esp. grading and
curriculum proposal review)
3) Meditate x 3
humming42 (held oer)
1 complete and submit
small Park project
2 get in touch with
co-author
3 review conference
papers, round 1
4 get organized and figure
out what to do next
JaneB (held over)
- survival
Karen
1. Do one remaining jog for Couch to 5K
2. Make progress on marking
3. Set up clear weekly goals and plan on Sunday night.
KJHaxton (held over)
survival
Matilda (held over)
1. Finish revision
and writing Chapter 1.
1-1. Finish writing
draft of Chapter 2.
4. Do exercise
(anything is ok) several times a day.
5. Have less bread
and less biscuits.
6. Write my journal
every day.
6-1. No e-mails
during research time.
Susan
Goals for next week:
Finish paper grading
Read book for book review
Walk twice + 3x workout
Keep practice of not bringing iPad to bed, and reading a
real book
Waffles (held over)
1. Do other review
2. Finish draft of
LHF grant (this has to happen as it goes through mock review next week)
3. Respond to
editor’s comments on aging paper
4. Get most of the
revisions for trans R&R done
5. Work on PTSD paper
some more
I have been sort of aimlessly working on whatever is in front of me without a sense of goals or purpose. I’ve realized I need to talk to my postdoc mentor on the amount of admin stuff I do to help her. I don’t mind - but now that I have my own funding, I am supposed to be 100% on that, not on her grant. So, technically I am not paid for the stuff I help her with. Also, her new postdoc (who is paid by my mentor’s grant) essentially has refused to do anything that doesn’t lead to a publication. I don’t want to watch them rack up pubs while I get swamped with admin tasks. Finally - I don’t think the other postdocs where I am do any admin stuff - they are just supposed to do research. I really don’t want to have my progress hampered because my mentor is hesitant to ask admin staff to help her with stuff (and she does have admin support). The issue is that I benefit from helping her - I like being helpful to her and I like working on stuff with her, and she feels like I am her right hand - and that feels good. But, the last time she was in town, all of our time together got eaten up with talking about these kinds of tasks rather than my projects and development. That’s not good. I think my goal is to reduce the level of admin work - not end it completely. I also have suggested the new postdoc needs some level of admin responsibility, as admin stuff has to happen to keep research going - and we need some processes and procedures put in place to improve our current research infrastructure to make it easier for us all to do work. And that can’t all fall on me (esp. since I am not paid by that research project and they are!!).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I didn’t set goals last week - so here are my goals for this week. I really need to make some significant progress on all of them this week - my mentor is out of the country for a couple of weeks, so it is a good time to focus.
1. Finish a really good next draft of grant and get some feedback (esp on aims and qual section).
2. Write PTSD intro (really bad draft of intro)
3. Read over diss and make outline for pub from it
4. Make progress on all 4 review papers I am part of (ugh).
5. Work on F32 paper.
I need to get better at working on multiple projects at once. I tend to focus on one thing and one thing only - but that is’t being helpful. I also am having challenges finding my flow/routine here, and that has caused me to be less effective at getting work done.
Waffles
I often find myself in stimulus-response mode, working on whatever is in front of me. Goal setting and planning may help, as you say. One thing I do, with some good results, is to block time for certain projects. Otherwise I hyper-focus on one thing to the detriment of the others--in fact, I have to set alarms to jolt me out of it. Maybe that will help you juggle several projects?
DeleteThat all sounds overwhelming! I'd imagine it could be difficult to extricate yourself from admin work without putting off your mentor. But it can be so freeing to draw clear boundaries.
DeleteWhen I've got a bunch of projects going, it helps me to have one as a focus for each particular day. If I end up spending the whole day on the one thing, that's okay. If I get stalled out or need a break from it, I can pick up another project. I've also found the "three things" lists really helpful--having three items on the To-Do list that must be done. It helps focus my attention more clearly.
I hope this week is super productive for you!
Would it help to frame other postdocs taking on more admin (where this isn't admin that should be done by admin staff) as part of their skills and career development? Presumably they are working towards taking more of a leadership role on projects so they should be exposed to how that side works...
DeleteTo me, you have always seemed good at working on multiple projects! Nevertheless, I'm sorry you are struggling with role definition and routines. I hope you have been able to hunker down this week.
DeleteI wonder whether it would help to separate the admin stuff into the more clerical/routine stuff (which probably should be handled by staff whose job that is) and the more strategic/planning stuff (setting up routines and such, which is more the sort of stuff I'd imagine you could list with some benefit on your c.v., or describe in a cover letter, because it's the sort of stuff that the head of a project needs to do). It sounds like separating the routine, delegatable stuff from the strategy/planning stuff might not be one of your mentor's strengths, which explains why so much of it is falling to a (very able) postdoc. Though I wouldn't put it this way to her, it might be helpful to her as well as you in the long run to better separate the two, since you'll presumably move on at some point. If you're going to do at least some of this sort of work on a volunteer basis (and I can see the argument for doing so), then you probably want to concentrate on the part of the work that develops new skills, or at least strengthens those you'll still need when you have someone to who to delegate routine tasks.
DeleteIt sounds like that might be another tricky part of the picture: can *you* delegate tasks to support staff, or other postdocs, in her name, or do you have to get her to do so? The latter is, of course, more complicated, on multiple levels.
At least it sounds like you're settling in, and sussing out the dimensions of the situation, which isn't too bad for a few months in.
And it certainly sounds to me, too, like you're juggling multiple projects pretty effectively (which doesn't mean you can't do so even more effectively, and/or with less stress).
Topic: In my movie, the final credits would show me writing in a room of my own, a study filled with art and books, the window near me showing a view of water and mountains. Music would be playing in the background, and a couple of dogs would be sleeping before the fireplace.
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals:
Create a pinterest board for the war bride novella. On the docket for this evening.
Get my verification of employment form from HR. Yes.
Find and hang out winter clothes. Not yet--Indian summer has put that off until next weekend.
Edit at least five pages of the book. Yes.
Write at least four pages of the novella. Only 2 pages of new words; some worldbuilding.
Walk more than 45 minutes a day. Yes. I’m handling the increase to 45 minutes pretty well.
Put in ILL request for the research book. No.
Analysis: One evening, hubby and I had coffee with a friend we met at a previous institution, who has extended family in the area. Another evening, we had dinner with some friends. It was instructive in showing that we don’t tend to get much accomplished in the evenings, since neither evening had a big impact on my accomplishments for the week. It was also good for us to get out, and outside, for a change. I tend to fall too easily into a rut and do the same thing every evening, obsessively watching the news and getting upset, I also get far too invested in work. I’m not performing neurosurgery, and no one will be maimed by ny taking an evening or two off. I’m not at all surprised that so many people in this group are in survival mode. I can’t figure out quite why, but it is a tough session for most of us, it seems.
I am finding that alternating my scholarship with my fiction is helping keep both fresh and interesting. I’m having fun finding music and pictures for the playlist and pinterest boards. I’ve not been able to bounce ideas off anyone this week, but I’ve done a fair bit of thinking through scenarios and hypotheses by myself.
Next week’s goals:
Write committee recommendation to send to full council (TRQ)
Return library books (TRQ)
Find and hang out winter clothes. (approaching TRQ with temperatures in the mid-30s next week)
Edit at least five pages of the book.
Write at least four pages of the novella.
Walk more than 45 minutes a day.
Put in ILL request for the research book.
I hope everyone is doing okay and remembering self-care while in survival mode. Float like mist, everyone.
Here's to community and getting out of the house! Evenings connecting with friends sound just lovely.
DeleteYour final credits sound lovely, too!
That final scene does sound blissful. And wonderful that the fiction and scholarship are bouncing off each other so well.
DeleteYes, I'd like to be in your movie.
DeleteAt the end of my movie, I’m sitting on a patio by the ocean with my feet up, reading. I grew up close to the ocean and had no idea how much I would miss it when I moved to a landlocked town.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to getting caught up, especially with grading/marking. I am really committed to not letting things pile up this semester, but they did, and it frustrates me. I know I will feel more content and capable if I do better managing that part of my workload. Tedious as it is.
Two weeks ago:
1 complete and submit small Park project: yes
2 get in touch with co-author: yes
3 review conference papers, round 1: yes, and round 2
4 get organized and figure out what to do next: yes
This week:
1 get caught up on grading and service
2 finish two book reviews
3 get in touch with people I have not kept up with
4 make task lists for upcoming projects
5 draft outline for blog post
Sending out wishes for peace and contentment.
Congrats on accomplishing everything on your list!
DeleteHello, everyone,
ReplyDeleteI have missed one week! I needed to write to summarize what I have done during that week, but somehow I couldn’t. Reflecting what you have done that week and considering what to do next is one of the core of this group, but I couldn’t…
Topic:
Oh, the end of my movie, I will still on the train and watching outside, with a big suitcase with me, that is, the start of the next journey.
1. Finish revision and writing Chapter 1. - I have worked a lot, but I need to work more. I can see a goal, but a little bit far.
1-1. Finish writing draft of Chapter 2. - Not yet!
4. Do exercise (anything is ok) several times a day. - Sometimes. I try to do some light exercise anytime when I remember it.
5. Have less bread and less biscuits. - Less biscuits, but rather more bread.
6. Write my journal every day. - Nearly done.
6-1. No e-mails during research time. - Well, no.
Goals for next week:
1. Finish revision and writing Chapter 1.
1-1. Finish constructing the outline of Chapter 2 and start to write the draft of Chapter 2.
4. Do exercise (anything is ok) several times a day.
5. Have less bread and less snacks.
6. Write my journal every day.
6-1. No Internet surfing during research time.
Have a great week, everyone!
I'm doing your 6-1, as well. This week, I decided on certain sites that I can visit in the morning, certain others that I can have during lunch or after 5, and everything else (except library and similar research-related sites) is a No Go all day. I'm also on a news fast. Headlines and that's it.
DeleteI dropped out of FB on August 1, and have felt exactly zero temptation to go back. Best decision I've made all year--I highly recommend it (or similar, depending on your personal addictions etc.).
DeleteThank you for your comments! Well, I also need to make sure that no e-mail checking included, for I easily jump from 'just reading e-mails' then to other unnecessary web-sites...and also this is a kind of my personal addiction, because I sometimes read some nice old-emails, remembering the past.
DeleteI've been reading old blog posts! Mine, Undine's, Dr Crazy's. Mostly after 5. In the morning I get TLQ, some comics, weather.
DeleteI never got on FB and the only reason I ever have regrets is missing pictures of my nephew's children. I just have to visit and take my own.
Hm, I don't know; no answer to the prompt is coming to me.
ReplyDeleteLast week felt full of busy-ness without much accomplishment. Now that the big manuscript and my tenure file are in, I'm feeling unfocused, in a somewhat unpleasant way. (Not actively unpleasant, but I don't like it.) I need to find a way to re-ground myself in my work.
Last week:
1) Lit review/bibliography for the conference paper I want to submit -
Sort of. Bibliography yes; I don't know what I really had in mind by "lit review," but I'll try to keep doing some light reading on the subject this week. I did rough in an abstract last week, so that was good.
2) Catch up on teaching and service work (esp. grading and curriculum proposal review)
DONE.
3) Meditate x 3
NO. I just need to reset entirely on the meditation thing, somehow.
THIS WEEK:
1) Reread conference paper from June, make a list of possible revisions and expansions, and send it off to writing group.
2) Write in journal daily or close to it.
3) Stay on top of service work etc: Letter of rec, blurb for colleague, all prep for Wednesday's reception, confirm Spring talk.
4) Read 3 articles towards conference paper.
FWIW, I find it's really hard to shift attention after finishing a book ms. It's just so much concentration. It takes some time to think.
DeleteI would be interested in hearing how people regroup after a BIG project. Do people start thinking about the next shiny thing? Escape into Netflix? Buy new bedding and clear out the bathroom cabinets?
DeleteI suppose the last two don't really help one get re-grounded with work. Maybe reading a new book in the field? That was my inclination after the PhD thesis: read some new and interesting books in the broader subject area.
Alas, I've mostly been reading novels (which has been delightful but not so productive).
At the end of the movie, I'm riding out of town to take on the next adventure. Not sure what the music is, but it shows that I'm not just competent but confident in my ability to handle the next challenge. (And this is an interesting prompt: all my responses have had me leaving someplace-- the other one was Mary Poppins with her umbrella up floating away...)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, last week:
Finish paper grading - One set done. Massive procrastination
Read book for book review: no
Walk twice + 3x workout - one walk, but three workouts.
Keep practice of not bringing iPad to bed, and reading a real book : 3 days: finished my book, and then BAD HABITS
Analysis: My graduate seminar has me reading a book a week. Adding a book for review to that is, well, challenging given my other obligations. The grading: one sign of of weak essay prompt is that I struggle to grade it; I asked students to do something I thought they knew how to do, and it turns out they don't. :(
At work, there was a small tempest that took time; I have lots of colleagues who go into instant high dudgeon. So...time and energy.
Goals for this week:
1. really finish the grading
2. Start the book -- next week's book for my seminar I've read, so that's good.
3. Walk two times, along with my 3 workouts.
4. Return to reading a real book in bed.
Sounds like you need another good bedtime book.
DeleteStudents do, indeed, seem to need more and more scaffolding to accomplish writing tasks that most of us seem to have learned by osmosis, unconscious imitation, or *something.* As a writing teacher, I really shouldn't complain; I'll certainly never lack for work, though whether the pay will be adequate is another question. But I do sometimes think back to the few-sentence essay prompts I received in college, and wonder why that worked (more or less) then, and doesn't now (and I don't think it's just a difference between institutions).
DeleteAnd yes, things that drain emotional energy are as or more draining than things that simply require time to deal with.
Final credits: definitely a bloopers reel.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
-plan menus and grocery shop--no, but I finally realized that my avoidance has to do with the complicated prospect of trying to fit my healthy heart diet with foods I like in with my son's pescatarian diet and my husband's and daughter's tastes. So I decide to plan mine, and let them work out what they want to do.
-exercise 4x--2x (I need to schedule in for next week)
-in bed by 10:30pm most nights--ish? Not great at this one.
-10 pages of MF--nope.
-rev 2 PB manuscripts--nope.
The past week was kind of a wash--a lovely two days with my husband, constantly interrupted by texts from my mom and my daughter; a "snow day" for my kids; a semi-productive day; and another day off for my husband. The weekend was filled with teaching (super fun! and exhausting!) and decluttering (not fun! still exhausting!). This week is looking up, though.
Goals:
-plan menus and grocery shop
-exercise 4x
-in bed by 10:30pm most nights
-10 pages of MF
-prep MS to submit to agents, update agent list, develop query strategy
That food matrix does sound challenging. I'll be curious to hear how the strategy goes and how the rest of the family fares. :)
DeleteThe opening credits show me, in the current house, surrounded by boxes, at a desk piled with books and papers, a cat curled up in the middle of everything. The closing credits show me in a different location, surrounded by boxes, at a desk piled with books and papers, a cat just nosing its way out of a box . . . .
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
1) Self: daily exercise, yoga (2x, preferably), enough sleep, work on at least 2 languages, do the necessary cooking so I can eat safely. Mostly YES: skipped one day's exercise entirely and still rarely do much at night, but I find even a couple of minutes helps with sleep, so I just do that and call it good.
2) Research: 8 hours, focusing on product. I hope to put all the revised bits together and work on transitions, maybe get it to the point where I can ask a friend to look it over. 5 hours, still integrating and working on notes, but definite progress.
3) Teaching: grade two sets of assignments (another one comes in tonight, along with the one I didn't do last week). Also read a diss chapter and think up good advice. Grading: ONE set, plus 2 papers from the other. YES to diss chapter (easier than I thought it would be).
4) House/Life: finish packing the guest room, get discards out of the house, get estimates on window washing. YES, YES, NO. We still need to find a home for Sir John's big desk; the charity that came to take some other furniture didn't want it. Although we don't want to move the desk again, it's not an obstacle to marketing the house, so that's something we can wait on.
Running in place department: I heard back on a resubmitted MS; it's accepted subject to further revisions. I mostly agree with the revisions and do think they'll improve the paper, but they were couched in (what I heard as) condescending tones, which did not make them easier to take on board. I already revised the bejesus out of that one for the R&R, so I was grumpy about more changes (and I'm already backed up with various projects), and it took me a whole day to work through the comments and my feelings about them. I talked about this with my undergrads, to point out that no one really likes getting their writing critiqued, but here are some tips on how to deal with it . . . after that, I had to take my own advice.
New goals:
1) Self: daily exercise, yoga (2x, preferably), enough sleep, work on at least 2 languages, do the necessary cooking so I can eat safely.
2) Research: 8 hours on main project, focusing on product.
3) Teaching: grade two sets of assignments
4) House/Life: get estimates on window washing.
5) Remember my session goals: Live with uncertainty and work the process.
I love the circular narrative mode you've envisioned. And I also like your session goals; they're definitely challenging.
DeleteCongrats on progress in every area!
And bummer about the additional revisions. :(
But good news about the acceptance? Yes?
DeleteGEW, yes, but I've had rejections that made me feel better! As a conference paper, the idea had an enthusiastic reception, so I expected editors to feel the same way. I had to work at imagining a wryly humorous reader winking at me as s/he said things like "dafter ideas have been suggested."
DeleteThat does sound like a reviewer with an odd sense of humor that doesn't translate very well onto the page (especially in the reader-review genre).
DeleteI, too, like your circular narrative, all the more so because I've been watching a mouse pop its head out of a heating grate and explore my kitchen floor for crumbs (which tend to be available) the last few evenings. (S)he's very cute, but I really need to add some finer-mesh screen to the grate before (s)he settles in too comfortably, or brings friends and family along. Either that, or I need to adopt a cat, but I don't think I'm quite ready for that, logistically or financially, yet (but I should add a cat or two to the study scenario below, as well as a birdfeeder or two for them to watch. Mice, chipmunks, squirrels, etc. are good, too, but outside).
End credits (TLQ version): Relaxing with a gin and tonic and a book on a comfy couch (at my house, or in my witch hut, or at a mountain cabin), with a bookshelf behind me that holds a couple of my published novels. Credit subtitles also indicate that I've published two articles from my dissertation. There might also be a cat on my lap, but I've recently started to suspect my chronic itchy eyes are from a newly develop cat allergy, so maybe not. (My family would appear in a different movie.)
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals:
1) Drink at least 36 oz of water per day (this is my first step to increase water intake with hopes it will help my allergies and joints). MOSTLY DONE.
2) Write 5x for at least 5 minutes or 50 words. DID THIS 3x.
3) read article and make revision notes. NOT DONE.
4) pay bills (this is TRQ now). DONE.
5) Make reminder cards for stretching, etc. NOT DONE.
6) Put grading schedule in calendar NOT DONE.
7) Investigate other conference options for possible new funding request NOT DONE.
8) 1.5 hours of walking HALF DONE.
This check-in is late, and my grading stacks are unbelievable big right now, but I'll still post a few goals for Friday-Sunday:
1) Write five minutes (or 50 words), 3x.
2) Finish one stack of essays.
3) Walk 2x.
4) Procure/order necessary halloween party and costume items for daughter and son.
5) Maybe have date with husband?
Number four stresses me out and always takes up way too much of my time and mental energy.
I like the idea of your family having their own movie -- and presumably, also, their own wardrobing department, so Halloween costumes are taken care of. I suppose the old bedsheet-over-the-head trick is out of the question? Perhaps not the greatest idea this year, anyway, given the resurgence of the Klan and the possibility of confusion. "Hobo" was the other default/last-minute option during my childhood (wear oldest/holiest clothes, smear dirt here and there), but that has its complications, too.
DeleteIt's interesting to see the credits breaking down into those who have achieved a well-deserved rest in pleasant surroundings and those who see themselves starting out again. I'm reminded of the end of the Chanson de Roland:
ReplyDeleteSeint Gabriel de part Deu li vint dire:
'Carles, sumun les oz de tun emperie!
Par force iras en la tere de Bire,
Reis Vivien si succuras en Imphe . . ."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Li emperere n'i volsist aler mie.
'Deus,' dist li reis, 'si penuse est ma vie!'
Pluret des oilz, sa barbe blanche tiret.
Saint Gabriel came with a message from God:
'Charles, summon your forces from your empire!
Go in strength to the land of Bire,
to rescue King Vivien in Imphe!'
The emperor really did not want to go.
'God,' he said, 'how painful is my life!'
Or, as Bujold would say, "The reward for a job well done is another job."
I'd happily borrow Elizabeth Anne Mitchell's ending, except my study would have a set of French doors leading to a good-sized garden (probably with the desk chair facing in the opposite direction, to minimize distraction/temptation, but a sofa across the room facing the view, for more relaxed moments). Mountains and water are optional, but a certain amount of surrounding green space (woods), and extensive walking trails through same are not. I've got a fondness for tow paths, which tend to run along water, so there might be water after all. Not sure about music (for someone who likes music, and sings in a choir, I don't actually listen to music all that much, so imagined soundtracks don't come naturally).
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm not quite sure how this scenario relates to the dream of a year off, since my ideal setting for that would probably be a major city with a university (but a walking path, preferably along a river or through woods, or failing that a garden cemetery that doesn't mind walkers, would still be nice). I guess the scene is more of an ideal ongoing writing venue.
The goal for last week (really the week before last at this point) was to regroup. I managed that, at least by midweek this week.
The goal for this week (which is nearly over) are:
--catch up with grading (getting-to-be-TRQ to make space for TLQ -- an upcoming conference and planning book orders and course descriptions for next semester)
--fit in a bit of exercise
--work on the garden (fall cleanup deadline is approaching, so this is becoming TRQ-ish)