I also want to again congratulate heu mihi on receiving tenure. Huzzah!
*When I used to surf, we'd always talk about how the more you surf, the more you want to surf. Our phrase for this was "stoke builds stoke."
Daisy
1) Finish figures for paper!
2) Plan out new paper :)
2) Plan out new paper :)
DEH
Self-care: the usual, plus 25 knee pushups with good form.
Research: finish and upload a chunk of translation; start the next one. Go over proofs. Work on teaching and research statements for Full application.Teaching: grade two sets of papers; write a final exam.
Admin: prep for meeting; fill out some paperwork.
House/Life: pay two bills; reconcile accounts; call plumber; clear a desk.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Cull out the materials to pack for the sabbatical office.
Finish packing for the move to the future office.
Proofread the edition 1 hour x 5.
Transcribe handwritten notes 1 hour x 5.
Plan sabbatical, remembering the adage that living well is the best revenge.
GEW
1) Support daughter and comfort her if things don't go her way, but without taking on all of her emotions.
2) Integrate feedback on article to get it ready to submit.
3) Schedule son's b-day dinner.
4) Order son's b-day gifts.
5) Exercise twice.
6) Write 500 words of fiction.
7) Oh, yeah: Do all the things I need to do to host a pre-dance party for a pack of seventh grade girls (without going overboard or feeling the need to have the same quality of food that the other mom had when she hosted).
8) Try to remember what the things that's going on this Saturday that I've forgotten.
heu mihi
1. Take some contemplative time to think about what I want/need to do to make myself feel like less of a mess. (Mostly I just need to make it to May 2, but I’d still like to plan and get organized.)
2. Exercise within reason. Don’t be hard on myself. Take walks when possible (the weather is good).
3. Prep final classes, including next week’s.
4. Complete Gen Ed reviews.
5. Touch research/writing in some way.
6. Prepare for graduate student’s oral exams (next Tuesday).
7. Grade batch of papers.
8. Get all of this done so that I can enjoy family time on Saturday.
humming42
1 Proofread manuscript page proofs
2 Write index
JaneB
1) submit GrantINeverShouldHaveStarted
2) do SOMETHING non work other than eat, mess with phone and stress about work when I get home in the evening
3) fill out big form for SocietyTHing as far as possible
4) read latest version of SurprisePaper and edit for English.
Topic: I need to return to my writing rituals. Although I have gotten better at writing anywhere, I still write best at a cleared desk, listening to instrumental music I know so well it does not intrude, burning incense (or essential oils if I will set off alarms with incense). I usually clear my head by daydreaming about what interests me about the project and how success would look and feel.
ReplyDeleteMy emergency ritual, if none of the above works, is to take a walk or go for a swim, doing the same daydreaming.
Last week’s goals:
Cull out the materials to pack for the sabbatical office. Done
Finish packing for the move to the future office. Done, or will be in a few hours
Proofread the edition 1 hour x 5. Only three hours
Transcribe handwritten notes 1 hour x 5. Done
Plan sabbatical, remembering the adage that living well is the best revenge. Done
Analysis:
Whenever I had a free moment (see below for the scarcity of free moments), I planned the sabbatical, creating lists of research questions for each library. I had fun perusing library collections for resources that might figure into future projects. If I am ahead of schedule with this project, I can allow myself a few hours to look at them. I did a lot of daydreaming about various projects, which is only a partial reason why I didn’t get all the proofreading accomplished.
The major reason was last week was off the rails. Everyone at work suddenly realized I was going to be gone May 1st, and panicked. I had back-to-back meetings last Wednesday from 9am through 4:30pm, with a 20-minute break. Someone actually asked to meet with me in that 20-minute stretch, but I took joy in telling them I planned to eat lunch and I was not going to meet during my lunch. My other days were nearly that bad, but with hour-long breaks for lunch. I blocked the entire day tomorrow, and I refuse to touch work after that until November.
Sorry for whinging (and for stealing the word from my UK friends, but the onomatopoeia is so wonderful). I find it freeing to have been so put upon recently, in that I have no guilt whatever about leaving for six months. My staff are all well-trained, eminently professional people, who will be absolutely fine during my absence.
I am headed to work today to finish packing up my old office. I have packed everything that will go to the sabbatical office, and my husband has offered to store all my personal belongings in his office, so it shouldn’t be too onerous to finish up. I can store the left-over work files in an empty student cubby.
Next week’s goals:
Unpack in the sabbatical office.
Try out the schedule to see if the time is sufficient, or too much, and adjust accordingly.
Proofread the edition 1 hour x 5.
Transcribe handwritten notes 1 hour x 5.
Walk 5 miles x 7.
I hope everyone has a productive week. I expect I will be much happier when next we meet. Excelsior!
It sounds like you got a lot done despite all the work-crazy. Enjoy your first week of sabbatical, and an impressive amount of walking!
DeleteI, too, would feel freed by all of the put-uponness. And I'm so excited that your sabbatical begins this week! What a wonderful feeling. (Do you think people will try to find you in your sabbatical office?)
DeleteAs for writing at a clear desk with instrumental music and aromatherapy, I think you are heading into about six months of that gloriousness. May the first days be wonderful!
(And I like how you get started by daydreaming about your topic and visions of success! I might have to try that.)
It sounds like everyone set out to make SURE you had no regrets or guilt about taking your very well earned sabbatical! I'm looking forward to vicariously enjoying your freedom...
DeleteI am excited for your sabbatical! Just having to endure an *entire* day of meetings would make me want to run down the hall throwing confetti. I look forward to hearing about the pleasures of daydreams, research, and not setting off the smoke alarm.
DeleteThank you all. The first days of the sabbatical have been wonderful--quiet and full of editing and new words.
DeleteGEW, I have been successful at hiding in the sabbatical office, I think because it is in another building. However, I will have no problem telling people to go away, given how put-upon I was toward the end of April.
How I did:
ReplyDeleteSelf-care: the usual, plus 25 knee pushups with good form. Mostly YES. More walking than gym-ing, but I’m active; pushup form is improving, and I’m up to 2 sets of 13.
Research: finish and upload a chunk of translation; start the next one. Go over proofs. Work on teaching and research statements for Full application. YES, NO, PARTLY, YES. (Am paralyzed with horror at the number of times I have taught a significant-to-the-major course.)
Teaching: grade two sets of papers; write a final exam. YES and YES.
Admin: prep for meeting; fill out some paperwork. YES, NO (if it’s the paperwork I’m thinking of now).
House/Life: pay two bills; reconcile accounts; call plumber; clear a desk. Haha . . . NO.
This week’s goals:
Self-care: the usual, plus 30 knee pushups with good form.
Research: finish and upload a chunk of translation, maybe two. Finish proofs. Work on teaching and research statements for Full application.
Teaching: grade one set of papers..
Admin: fill out some paperwork; finish setting up new Moleskine.
House/Life: Do something beyond the usual keeping us clean and fed.
Topic:
I need a bit of stoking. I’m being rather too laid-back about All The Things. Due to horrific road construction, I’m leaving early and staying late on campus days. Thirteen-hour days lead to my not wanting to do anything much on home days. For awhile I had a good “write first” habit going, which of late has degenerated into “first spend a couple of hours reading the archives of entertaining Australian blogs.” And having written that and taken a break for breakfast with Sir John, there it is, e-mail from a collaborator wondering when she can have the next chunk of translation. External motivation will have to suffice till I can find the internal stuff.
It seems that despite need of stoke, you're still being productive. I would think that the previous search for images, combined with the Full app, combined with house stuff could make it difficult to keep the "write first" habit. This time of year, I feel so scattered that any concentration work is difficult.
Delete"Setting up a new Moleskine" sounds super fun. Maybe that will provide some stoking? Any ideas about what else would?
I really like the image of stoking. I've no interest in surfing (my family always teased that I could trip over a bank note taped to a flat pavement - my sense of balance is pretty bad and I have a dodgy hip which makes all the sort of crouching and balancing stuff even more... interesting. So it's a good thing I never actually WANTED to surf...), but the word choice immediately made me think of Ivor the Engine and Idris the dragon who laid her eggs in his fire-box (imagine a bad attempt at a welsh accent here). I definitely feel low on fuel, and in need of a steady pace of stoking to get up the last false summit and long slow haul...
ReplyDeleteI have done the last of my classroom teaching, just got a grading mountain of multiple weeks (groan) and lots of individual meetings with students (and meetings, so MANY meetings) to get through. 53.5 hours this week though (with a few rather unproductive hours in there towards the end of the week because I was running out of pretty much everything... I had Saturday OFF though which was nice although not good for the marking)
last week's goals:
1) submit GrantINeverShouldHaveStarted YESSSSS! (about five hours ago, but I DID IT!!!
2) do SOMETHING non work other than eat, mess with phone and stress about work when I get home in the evening read two more rubbishy novels. Satisfying!
3) fill out big form for SocietyTHing as far as possible YES and it went to collaborators for comments about 7pm on Friday)
4) read latest version of SurprisePaper and edit for English. no progress this week :-(
Well, 3/4 is not bad! But I really need to sort out a few domestic things - the upstairs loo needs a plumber (it continues to drip after flushing but isn't leaking. yet...)
next week's goals:
1) read latest version of SurprisePaper and edit for English.
2) make a full marking list and a realistic plan
3) do something other than mess with phone each evening - at least one evening, do something OTHER than reading
4) finalise paperwork for visiting student!
So glad to hear you managed to submit that grant! It sounds like a week with much progress.
DeleteWell, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who's fallen a bit off on the good writing habits this term. Not that I'm glad to see others struggle, of course, but at least it isn't just me! The last few weeks have just felt very off-schedule, and I don't work as well when I'm off-schedule. I like regularity and routine. I'm very much looking forward to getting into the summer routine; classes end tomorrow, and then I have about two and half weeks of miscellaneous (including a three-day workshop, a one-day workshop, and Kalamazoo), and then everything is just wide open until we leave on a short vacation in late June! Hooray!
ReplyDeleteWhat does work for me, and worked well up until a couple of weeks ago, was writing first (except on the 8:30 teaching days). It took me a very long time to come to that well-known conclusion.
Last week:
1. Take some contemplative time to think about what I want/need to do to make myself feel like less of a mess. (Mostly I just need to make it to May 2, but I’d still like to plan and get organized.) NOT DONE—sort of forgot what I meant by this.
2. Exercise within reason. Don’t be hard on myself. Take walks when possible (the weather is good). Yoga x 2, ran x 2, walked a lot.
3. Prep final classes, including next week’s. This week - DONE; next week’s - about 90% done. I’ll have time on Monday to finish.
4. Complete Gen Ed reviews. DONE
5. Touch research/writing in some way. DONE, technically. I spent half an hour or so transcribing my writing group’s comments on to my version of Silence. Considering this a success.
6. Prepare for graduate student’s oral exams (next Tuesday). NOT FINISHED—I’ve read 1 of 3 essays. But I’ll have plenty of time on Monday to finish.
7. Grade batch of papers. DONE
8. Get all of this done so that I can enjoy family time on Saturday. DONE!
This week:
1. Dive back into Silence on Wednesday and Friday. Read at least two articles.
2. Prep for TA meeting.
3. Meditate some amount (this has really fallen by the wayside; let's try again!)
And that's all! Keeping the list short for now.
The end of the academic year is always so messy, it feels like a very long drawn out whimper (with meetings) when you always hope for a sharp, clean cut. I used to envy Fie's decriptions of her very intense marking period and final deadline, then summer just...started. So nice! (although the grading clearly wasn't).
DeleteThis week, I was productive with writing/research. What helped was that my family let me have the time I needed, and I didn't exercise. This week reminded me that not everything can be prioritized at the same time. I will have to think about this. The only time I had really good, productive TLQ routines was when I was on sabbatical. The PhD work happened in phases and binges, and maybe that's how research/writing will have to be--like my own personal AcWriMo.
ReplyDeleteThis week:
1) Support daughter and comfort her if things don't go her way, but without taking on all of her emotions. SEE BELOW.
2) Integrate feedback on article to get it ready to submit. DONE! SUBMITTED!
3) Schedule son's b-day dinner. DONE!
4) Order son's b-day gifts. NOT DONE.
5) Exercise twice. NOT DONE.
6) Write 500 words of fiction. NOT DONE.
7) Oh, yeah: Do all the things I need to do to host a pre-dance party for a pack of seventh grade girls (without going overboard or feeling the need to have the same quality of food that the other mom had when she hosted). DONE!
8) Try to remember what the things that's going on this Saturday that I've forgotten. DAUGHTER'S FIRST TRACK MEET. DONE.
I will not have to comfort a sad daughter because she got Annie! She will play the lead in the musical next fall! Her middle school (which is a regular, neighborhood public school) has an amazing drama program, mostly because of one teacher who devotes a ton of time and money. We just found out this morning. She is a good actress and has been working hard with voice lessons this year. I'm very excited for her, and I can't concentrate on my work today.
However, I'm not sure I'm totally meeting that first TLQ goal since I'm feeling heart-hurt on behalf of all of the other girls who did not get the role. There are many talented girls in her grade, and I know many of them (and their families) will be dealing with disappointment today. I also wonder about how my daughter and her drama friends will handle these difficult dynamics, and I'm taking on all the feels.
Anyway, I'm very pleased that I submitted the journal article! I think having a specific goal with a specific deadline is good for me. And doing the work and submitting the article did, in fact, build my stoke to look for similar opportunities. I mean, the article is likely to be rejected, but I'm glad I put it out there, and I love that I was able to submit it to a decent, open-access journal.
And I don't feel too bad about the goals I didn't meet. The week felt productive.
This week:
1) Try to concentrate despite the Annie mania, my son's upcoming birthday, and my father-in-law's weekend visit.
2) Order/acquire son's birthday presents. Stay calm about the birthday dinner happening on Sunday (homemade enchiladas for 17 people). Avoid procrastinating prep work. .
3) Stretch a little during the days. Try push-ups like DEH?
4) Write 500 words of fiction.
5) Grade first stack of essays by Wed. Grade stack of revisions and in-class essays by Thursday. Grade half of next set of drafts on Friday. (There is a lot coming in right now!)
I think that's good enough for this week. I'm entering that "limp along to the end" stage of the semester. Two more weeks of classes and then finals. (Our semesters are LOOOONG: 18 weeks.)
Now I'm off to lunch with Janet Napolitano.
Congratulations to daughter, and to you for a productive week despite Annie-mania! If your school has a good drama teacher I'm sure they'll have experience at handling all the emotions around casting - I've been very impressed at how well my (drama-mad, drama-llama-from-birth) niece handled getting a major role last year and a very minor one this year, and my sister said the drama teacher had talked to them all about casting, and done a lot of intervening when necessary, which helped a lot.
DeleteLimping along doesn't matter as long as you get there!
Yay journal article! And Annie! Wishing us all a quick wrap on the lagging semester.
DeleteJaneB, Well, it turns out the drama teacher and new director have really f*cked up. Today, my daughter's best friend, M., who also went for the role, told someone else that the new director (not a teacher at the school, but he's there to assist the teacher who can't do everything because it's too much) had chosen to do the play Annie just so that he could cast M. in the role. His assistant (a freshman at the local high school who happens to be really close friends with M.'s older sister) told M. all of this and told her that she was going to get Annie. Then, from what I've heard, the actual drama teacher stepped in and said, no, R. (my daughter) is going to get the part because she demonstrated more commitment to drama this year. (That's the way we've heard that it went down.)
DeleteSo now my daughter feels like the director doesn't really want her in the role (and she might be right), many of the cast members know about these details, M. is hugely disappointed, and my daughter doesn't feel like she can celebrate and feels like crap. And my daughter and M. might have difficulty dealing with all of this and their friendship.
Until now, I really liked the director they brought in. He's funny and good with the kids. But he has gone about this SO badly. The grown ups should present one voice to the kids. And the 9th grader who spilled all the beans, well, she's a ninth grader, so . . . that's going to happen if she's in the room when they have these discussions, which maybe she shouldn't be.
I started to write a strong worded email telling the grown ups to get their act together, but I don't know. My daughter doesn't want to be a tattle tale. She also doesn't want to go to school tomorrow and I don't blame her. Talk about drama.
Oh, my heart hurts for your daughter! What a stupid, unnecessary, and hurtful situation the director put on these kids.
DeleteI am delighted by “stoke builds stoke” because it reminds me that I have disconnected from the joy of research. Maybe I can find my way back there. I’m determined to figure out how.
ReplyDeleteWhile I have been anxious about having page proofs come in during the last two weeks of classes, I now find this a great coincidence, that these things will be DONE and I can sort out what I want to do this summer.
Last week:
1 Proofread manuscript page proofs: yes, and
2 Write index: yes, and
This week, still at it:
1 Proofread manuscript page proofs
2 Write index
Corrected proofs and index are due on Thursday, and I know I will spend the rest of the week doing end-of-semester grading slog and writing an exam. But the future is right around the corner!
I'm sure it was a crazy week, but I hope you got through all of it and can see some "research joy" ahead!
DeleteFor the short session I think the most important thing for me will be to NOT lose momentum since there is such limited time before I go away. For that it has really helped to do writing first every day, and leaving other stuff until later since the urgency is less with classes over. I also printed out the title pages of the two new papers and stuck them where I can see them as a nice visual reminder of how fun it is when they eventually come out!
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals:
1) Finish figures for paper! SO CLOSE... found three more samples that really should be in this paper, so have to make more figures than planned...Oh well, for a good cause!
2) Plan out new paper :) YES! SO much fun!
This week's goals:
1) Finish the new figures
2) Do edits with co-authors
"Writing first" seems to be a common refrain. I hope it goes well this week!
Delete