Rereading last week’s
posts to compile this week’s list, I was delighted again by GEW’s son’s Lord of
the Awesome! screen name. And since things have been particularly heavy and
difficult in the world of late, I thought I would invite you to engage in some
whimsy. If you had a secret mighty super power identity, what would it be? Or
if there was a mighty super power hero/ine that you would call upon to be of
help, who might that be? Existing superheroes, made-up ones, and Lords of the
Awesome are all welcome. And, you are also welcome to pass the prompt to focus
on goals and tasks instead.
From last week:
Bardiac (carry over)
1. Organize the damned British Library notes.
2. Read the piece I realized I need to read. Take good
notes!
3. Go pick up a botany book for the project.
4. Taxes.
5. Violin
6. Get some exercise!
7. The usual teaching gig!
Daisy
1) Paper text
2) Extra sleep
3) More thesis chapter commenting
Dame Eleanor Hull
1. Self: the usual stretching, exercise, safe eating; make
the damned appointments.
2. Teaching: catch up on the online stuff and award
points; class prep.
3. Research: languages; upload a translation chunk; focus
on the last MMP revisions and permissions.
4. Life Stuff: collect tax docs and list deductions; oil
change; routine vet appointment; re-org kitchen cabinets or paint back stairs.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Two hours x 5 on the sabbatical.
Walk 2.0 miles a day.
Four hours x 5 on the grant.
One hour x 7 on the novel.
Complete heels on first pair of socks.
Good Enough Woman
1) Call to make appointments for mammogram and a couple of
ultrasounds. Bleck.
2) Walk 2x. Yoga 1x.
3) Read one SF story.
4) Morning/evening pages 3x.
5) Spend an hour on fiction writing and an hour on article
writing. C/C how I feel about each.
heu mihi
1. Read two grad documents (getting down to the wire)
2. 30 minutes of writing x 5
3. Get together a very rough bibliography for Time/Space
project
4. Meditate some amount
5. Revise ch. 9-11 of novel
humming42
1 Start work on presentation at the beginning of March
2 Write three more paragraphs for Jewels
3 Continue working on LRP abstract
4 3x recherche
KJHaxton
1. tackle the emails
2. finish organising the assessment activities for next
week
3. go to the writing retreat and work on paper draft and
application thingy
4. try to survive in the current climate of industrial
action
Susan
1. Make significant progress on Keynote, getting through
the next section
2. Read next diss chapter from grad student
3. Do taxes
4. Walk twice (maybe fewer goals will be more successful?)
Topic: Although I think my choice would not be a permanent one, I would like to be the Flash. I was thinking last week that I would like a corollary to the Slow Professor--the Fast Administrator. I would love to tear through many tasks in order to slow down and enjoy the research, writing, and ruminations.
ReplyDeleteOn the higher level, I would like to be Underdog, righting wrongs --but even there, I could use a bit of the Flash in today’s world.
Last week's goals:
Two hours x 5 on the sabbatical.Yes.
Walk 2.0 miles a day.Yes.
Four hours x 5 on the grant.Only 6 hours
One hour x 7 on the novel.No.
Complete heels on first pair of socks. No.
Analysis:
The first paragraph I wrote was all whining about my past week, so to spare all of you reading it, I deleted it. It was a bad week of unexpected tasks, but thankfully it is over. Today, I had a lovely day totally submerged in my sabbatical project, made even better by my wonderful family cooking lunch and dinner so that I could continue to trip my way through the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. I’m still feeling the afterglow!
Next week’s goals:
Two hours x 5 on the sabbatical.
Walk 2.0 miles a day.
Three hours x 4 on the grant.
One hour x 4 on the novel.
Some craft project for one hour per day.
Here’s to a productive week and to being peace like a river (thank you, Lord of the Awesome, also known as GEW, for that wonderful turn of phrase) Excelsior, everyone!
I think your Flash Administrivia superpower would be combine nicely with Daisy's magical days. Just think of the productivity!
DeleteI'm sorry you had a bad week, and I, for one, do not mind the whining, so whine away if you so choose.
Your sabbatical work day--with provided food!--sounds fantastic. I hope you get a another one soon. And I hope you tend to that novel this week!
Hurray for the afterglow of being in the writing flow and having awesome support from family.
DeleteWell, I think that my real secret superhero identity, as unexciting as it may sound, is the Tidier. I can tidy up anything!! anywhere!! anytime!!! (E.g. I taught my son's Sunday school class this month--oh, so not playing to my strengths, let me tell you--and my greatest accomplishment was clearing out the horrifying mess of a supply closet in the classroom while the kids played.)
ReplyDeleteIt may not be exciting, but I love tidiness, so I'm happy with it.
Last week:
1. Read two grad documents - DONE
2. 30 minutes of writing x 5 - DONE; got a good draft of my conference paper, and the related article is also drafted. A few weeks of this daily writing business really did the trick!
3. Get together a very rough bibliography for Time/Space project - DONE: very preliminary, but this is for a very future project, so that's fine for now.
4. Meditate some amount - TWICE
5. Revise ch. 9-11 of novel - DONE
I'm surprised by all the "Dones" above. Last week was February break for my son--a weird New England thing, apparently, where grade-schoolers get a week off in February--so it's pretty incredible that I managed to do anything at all! I have no idea how this worked out so well.
This week:
1. Finish revising novel
2. 30 minutes of writing x 5. Tasks, in order of priority: (1) finish conference paper, (2) revise Silence, (3) plan for Wonder
3. Misc: Read grad document and prepare for meeting; apply for teaching thing; CC proposals; follow up on admin tasks
4. Meditate some amount
5. Grade all the things
6. Yoga x 2 and running x 3
Please please please come visit me. I will cook for you, or read a paper draft, or even do some grading for you, if you will put your tidying superpower to work in our house!
DeleteI...fantasize about tidying other people's houses. Like my mom's. Or my in-laws'. Although the latter really calls for a dumpster more than anything else.
DeleteI would like to get in line for behind DEH for a visit from THE TIDIER. Most of my house isn't too bad, but I've got some closets and a garage that need your heroic guidance.
DeleteYou obviously had at least one other superpower at work this week in order to get so much done while your son was off from school. (Side note: Northern California, which does not include my area, has a week off in February. It's called "ski week.")
Little did you realize how exciting your superpower would be! I could use a visit from the tidier as well. Just think of the masses celebrating your grand tour of the States--you've got all the way to California covered so far.
DeleteSeriously, you nailed all your goals--good job! Especially with your son home! I don't think we have the February break here in upstate NY, although we did have a snow (or freezing rain and ice) day last week.
Add another stop to your tour :) I can tidy my mother's place, but not my own.
DeleteIf I told you my secret superpower, I'd have to kill you.
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
1. Self: the usual stretching, exercise, safe eating; make the damned appointments. YES. Not only made but went to the appointments. Results are normal.
2. Teaching: catch up on the online stuff and award points; class prep. YES. I'm kind of winging it on prep, but wotthehell.
3. Research: languages; upload a translation chunk; focus on the last MMP revisions and permissions. YES, YES, got one permission, waiting for another to process, still working on revisions.
4. Life Stuff: collect tax docs and list deductions; oil change; routine vet appointment; re-org kitchen cabinets or paint back stairs. NO, YES, YES, NO.
I feel like I got a lot done, even though I did less than I listed. Getting the medical stuff done clears a large hunk of mental load, as does sending the e-mails about permissions and awarding points for the online discussions from last month.
This week:
1. Self: the usual stretching, exercise, safe eating; get a massage.
2. Teaching: grade one set of papers; finish a writing assignment; prep something interesting for lower-div class.
3. Research: languages; upload a translation chunk; finish last MMP revisions and send that off.
4. Life Stuff: collect tax docs and list deductions; paint back stairs; do one other house thing.
Oh, good news for normal results! Those kinds of tasks/activities can take up so much more mental space than time.
DeleteI mean, Good news about normal results. I think. Prepositions are allusive this evening.
DeleteYou have gotten a lot done, and you are right to be proud of doing the medical stuff. It is so difficult to find the time and overcome the unwillingness to have these things done. And it's good to hear the results are normal; that has to help relieve some mental stress.
DeleteDONE with MMP revisions. Done-de-dun-dun-done. And I painted the stairs on Tuesday. So I have done two things this week.
DeleteLet's not think about taxes. What are extensions for, after all?
In our house, my superpower is Fixer of (and Setter-up of) Technology, which is SO WEIRD because I'm really not good at tech. But the problems my family tend to have are the kind of things that really just require good Googling skills so I can find easy fixes. Case in point: Last Tuesday, my daughter's touch screen stopped working on her phone right after a boy texted her, saying, "I've heard rumors that you like me. Is that true?"* She called me, bawling her eyes out. Her dad was no help (I'm not sure he even tried, despite the fact that he has a B.S. in engineering.) I fixed it within 60 seconds of walking through the front door.
ReplyDeleteAs for a superpower that would really help me? I would like a Typo Eliminator superpower. I am very prone to mistakes. I would also like some kind of energizing superpower to increase my motivation to get up and get busy. And maybe a Tedium Tolerator superpower so I would be more likely to do the quotidian stuff that I tend to neglect.
Last week:
1) Call to make appointments for mammogram and a couple of ultrasounds. Bleck. NOT DONE.
2) Walk 2x. Yoga 1x. WALKING DONE. YOGA NOT DONE.
3) Read one SF story. DONE! I READ THREE!
4) Morning/evening pages 3x. ONE TIME.
5) Spend an hour on fiction writing and an hour on article writing. C/C how I feel about each. NOT DONE.
I really need to make the lab appointments, but it's so hard to do that when the schedule/calendar is already overwhelming, but I'm sure I can find a Wed or Thurs afternoon to go in. I was sad I didn't get number five done. I had some time set aside on Friday, but that time got taken up when a family member called. But catching up with her was overdue, so that was good TLQ time, too.
This week:
1) Make mammogram and ultrasound appointments.
2) Make oil change appointment (thanks for the reminder DEH!).
3) Pay taxes?
4) Read 2 SF stories.
5) Write 15 minutes, 5x. (Any kind of writing)
6) Walk 2x, Yoga 1x.
7) Do minor tailoring for daughter's dress for the dance (by Thursday at the latest!)
*This is a boy she has liked for several years. The happy ending: She told him the rumors were true, and he texted, "Good because I like you too." They are going to the dance together (although it seems rather theoretical since they are arriving there separately?).
Oh, what a cute story about your daughter! I can't imagine what it would have been like, though, to have had cell phones in middle/early high school--so many more ways for one's crush to ignore one....
DeleteI would love to have some Tedium Tolerator as well. I often think about JaneB writing about how she sneaks up on her less-desirable projects, and it seems like the Tedium Tolerator might help there.
DeleteSign me up for the Tedium Tolerator. I'm updating my bibliography, and slogging through the online indices is, well, tedious.
DeleteA writer friend of mine often tells me when I say I don't have time to write, to write five sentences. "Surely you have time for five sentences," she says. It often works, and I find myself writing in little crannies of time. Maybe that would help?
I want the ability to step out of "regular" time for one day out of every 10 or so(need limit to not abuse it!). Need an extra day for finishing a paper, just step out and a magic day appears... New snow on ski hill, just step out with kid and play for the day...
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals:
1) Paper text PROGRESS
2) Extra sleep YES, and ENJOYED
3) More thesis chapter commenting DONE
This week is going to be a catch-up and prepare week. Kid has major events all weekend and half the week, I have evening work stuff to go to, so there won't be much wiggle room for anything that needs thinking or concentrating. Goals will be modest and related to making life easier for the next month by planning ahead.
This week's goals:
1) Prep next 3 weeks of teaching
2) Spend time planning and doing accounting for grants
Yes, I would need to limit times I would use that, or I'd always be on magical time!
DeleteGood idea to put planning on your goals. I'm always putting off planning, to my detriment.
For Harry Potter fans, this sounds akin to Hermione's Time Turner. I think doing double time all the time would be exhausting, but the occasional extra day would be fantastic.
DeleteI’d like to have the superpowers of Glinda the Good Witch who, in addition to have really delightful magical stuff to use, also knows that everything is going to work out just fine. I’ve lately lost touch with the eternal optimism that has typically been present for me, and I can think of many ways that would benefit me right now.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1 Start work on presentation at the beginning of March: slow start, now TRQ
2 Write three more paragraphs for Jewels, nope
3 Continue working on LRP abstract, yes
4 3x recherche, mostly
Week before last, it was delightful to be in spaces where writing and research were flowing but last week was really difficult. My internal negative editor is highly opposed to LRP and certain that I don’t have the chops to write about something that’s outside of the norm for me. So there’s been a lot of internal debate about the best investments of time and mind.
This week:
1 LRP abstract on Thursday
2 Presentation on Friday
3 Daily recherche
4 Set actual deadlines for March (so I don’t spend spring break just reading novels)
It’s so hard to do any other than reading novels. Ever.
DeleteI hope that you have optimism superpowers this week!!! Just click your heels. The power has been with you the whole time!
Superpower: I don't think I have one, though people think it's getting tons of stuff done. I don't feel I get enough done. The superpower I would like is that of the tidier/organizer. I'm overpowered by life stuff.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Make significant progress on Keynote, getting through the next section YES
2. Read next diss chapter from grad student NO
3. Do taxes NO
4. Walk twice (maybe fewer goals will be more successful?) NO (it was too cold!)
What a crappy week. I had a colleague call me to a meeting to tell me I was a terrible person. It kind of wiped me out. Also, lots of energy around a search that I have chaired...
I'm getting ready for a trip across the Atlantic, so working on keynote, and various other stuff. (I was going to give Keynote in the UK, but it was going to be the week that was all on strike...) So:
1. Finish a good draft of keynote
2. Read dissertation draft chapter
3. Walk twice?
4. Work on 7 hours of sleep
Oh no! It seems to me that there is no way you could be a terrible person. I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I hope this week is better and that there are no such ambushes. And I hope travel planning and keynote writing goes well. So are you still giving s keynote on the UK? Or no? Because of the strike? You’re still going though...
DeleteI have photographic evidence that you are are a kind and generous person!
Delete