the grid

the grid

Sunday 19 August 2018

June-August Journey Week 11

This trip was planned for twelve weeks, so we're heading into the finish; next week, we'll report on session achievements. Does anyone remember volunteering to run the next TLQ session, or do we need to put out a call for session organizers?

On board ship, we'd be packing and getting our scheduled slots for disembarkation, trading contact info with people we'll probably never see again, tipping the staff, hunting through the cabin for that one lost earring, and wondering how badly crumpled the items in the "not wanted on voyage" trunks will be. I hope we'll all stay in touch, and that the transition to land-based life will go smoothly.

This week, I have been musing on some advice from a management consultant, having followed a link I found in the Ask A Manager blog. The ideas I found most useful were that it is easier to improve things you already do than it is to change yourself; and that one way to figure out what you are doing well is to write down your expectations (or goals, or hopes) when you take a key decision, and then check back later.

I've been applying this in a daily way, not writing things down but trying to ask myself "What results do I expect?" when I start the day reading blogs, studying a language, or going outside to do a little weeding (the most common things I do first thing). I'm going to try to substitute something other than blogs for my first activity, once the term starts. I have found that it is easier to face working on a language I know better than to drill one I'm in the early stages with, and also that I very much enjoy getting outside early in the day. The take-away is that I want to do something quiet while I wake up, not too strenuous, but I want to avoid things I have trouble moving on from. I'm going to try to substitute reading a book or weeding for the blog addiction.

As usual, respond to these ideas if they speak to you, report your progress on your weekly goals, analyze what went well or badly, and set goals for the coming week. Is there anything you want to be sure to address before our final check-in?

Bardiac
Have a great trip (please come back and tell us how it went).

Dame Eleanor Hull
Self/health: Yoga and cardio at least 5 times each (try for 7), weights 3, make appointment for eye exam.
Research: 6 hours revisions, 2 hours language, 60 pp reading.
Teaching: syllaboi for two classes.
Life Stuff: several things too dull to list.

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Finish packing.
Minimize time on campus.
Enjoy the long weekend.
Take some work, but don’t obsess.
Practice good self-care.

Good Enough Woman (held over)

1) Draft a revision incorporating all reader feedback (except, perhaps, the bibliography stuff)
2) Do at least 20 minutes of yoga per day.
3) Do all three syllabi.
4) Submit reading packet to reprographics.
5) Walk the dog twice.
6) Take some time to enjoy the back yard.
7) Spend some quality time with my son while my daughter is gone.

Heu Mihi (held over)

1. Sit x6
2. Read a dissertation
3. Read a book
4. Read 30 pages of Proust
5. 3 hours on Wonder
6. Brew beer
7. Arrange and print most pages of anniversary book
8. Prep 2nd and 3rd weeks of undergrad class
9. Have a sense of humor and be willing to let some of this nonsense go, please

Humming 42
1 read over Sweet and determine next steps/schedule
2 finish and submit current book review
3 edit submitted book review
4 start building online course

JaneB
1) self-care: focusing on drinking enough water, on taking time to eat the food I choose, on moving a little extra each day (at least back stretches), "sitting".
2) analyse at least 3 samples in preparation for FavouriteIslandsMeeting
3) go through the rest of my notes from meetings two weeks ago and take small actions, plan/record large ones, related to my various papers and grant applications in progress.
4) make travel plans for FavouriteIslandsMeeting
5) Prepare for societything meeting
6) have conversation with former PDF about ProblemPaper2
7) spend an hour on teaching prep

oceangirl101
1. Write convergently on Ch 3 and Ch 7, including data tables. 5 days x 4 hrs per day
2. Do an external tenure review
3. Meet with co-authors about paper, read and make comments
4. Meet with illustrator about maps, drawings for book
5. Start PT for arm
6. Fun x 2
7. Exercise x 3

Plant Girl
1. Finalize syllabus for first class, including printing out some worksheets, etc., for the first week of classes.
2. Submit some reimbursement requests (which requires learning where the dept photocopier is and how to use it).
3. Go to a workshop on our CMS, which I have used before but am not a pro at.
4. Finally, try not to flounder while my husband is out of town. As someone with mental health issues I don't do well when my primary support system is missing, so I try to reach out to friends, but as we all know, academics often have friends very far away. So my text messaging will go up for sure!

Susan
1. Revisions on WITCH (minor, but necessary - it may be a "lovely article" but it isn't quite ready for prime time.
2. Finish syllabi, start building course websites
3. Read 3 more journals
4. Print out Violence, figure out what more needs to be done
5. Read article for review
6. Keep walking

Waffles
1. Revise aim 1 paper and have it near finished by the time I get back
2. Have a plan for election surveys
3. Make table of findings for YRBS paper

What Now?
Keep my head above water!

27 comments:

  1. So much for moving this summer. "Live with uncertainty and work the process" is going to have to remain my motto.

    How I did:
    Self/health: Yoga and cardio at least 5 times each (try for 7), weights 3, make appointment for eye exam. Cardio YES, Yoga NO, Weights YES, appt NO.
    Research: 6 hours revisions, 2 hours language, 60 pp reading. NO, APPROX, NO. Teaching prep ate my life.
    Teaching: syllaboi for two classes. IN PROGRESS.
    Life Stuff: several things too dull to list. I did the easiest/most daily things but not the longer-term ones.

    New goals:
    Self/health: Yoga and cardio at least 5 times each (try for 7), weights 3, make appointment for eye exam, try to move sleep time to or toward 10-6.
    Research: 4 hours revisions, 2 hours language.
    Teaching: syllaboi for two classes.
    Life Stuff: fill in & mail a form, do car thing, clear some tabs, make a deposit, find an i.d. number.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Out of curiosity, if it's not to doxxy, what languages are you learning?

      Delete
    2. I'm best in the Romance group; I try to keep up a couple of modern languages and Latin. I'm learning ancient Greek, and that's the one that feels like too much first thing.

      Delete
    3. Gah. Good thing I called today about the eye exam. They only do them on my teaching days, so I snagged the last appointment this week, before classes start!

      Delete
    4. Work the process. Indeed, indeed.

      Delete
    5. I'm sorry it doesn't look like the move will happen. I know you really wanted to put that behind. I think your quotation is a good one about "the process" and "uncertainty." I hope you can still find some peace within that uncertainty.

      Delete
  2. I'll try & read that later - I love Ask a Manager!

    It's not been a good week and I am struggling with my mental health/physical health connections. As usual. Just... I'm tired. And the random crying when alone thing is starting again which is not a good sign - and I'm really stressed. Well duh!

    Anyway. The first three days of the week were fairly dire and stressful, but then I spent two days with my sister's family which was good, actually great (but didn't fix my stress levels which makes me pretty sure this is a mental health low not just a bad week. Sorry if tmi!).

    goals from last week:
    1) self-care: focusing on drinking enough water, on taking time to eat the food I choose, on moving a little extra each day (at least back stretches), "sitting". Ish. Some of the time. I keep trying.
    2) analyse at least 3 samples in preparation for FavouriteIslandsMeeting two and a third. The third one I started on was a really stubborn one... but this is acceptable
    3) go through the rest of my notes from meetings weeks ago and take small actions, plan/record large ones, related to my various papers and grant applications in progress. NO!!! Grrrr... I am getting really fed up of carrying the notebook from those meetings backwards and forwards and forgetting to do anything with the notes...
    4) make travel plans for FavouriteIslandsMeeting no. I'm feeling overwhelmed but that isn't helpful. (also I suspect part of me thinks I'm going to end up pulling out of this and don't want to waste MORE money and... I hate being me sometimes).
    5) Prepare for societything meeting working on it. Mostly on top of things
    6) have conversation with former PDF about ProblemPaper2 Multiple conversations, and a somewhat aggressive email conversation with the whole project team, and in conclusion we have to start the whole wretched modelling over again and I have just had ENOUGH OF IT. But we kind of have to, I suppose. I just wish former-PDF, who is driving this, would do all the work too but that's not how this works. We'll manage, I know, but it was the Last Straw for the week)
    7) spend an hour on teaching prep nope, see 6...

    THIS WEEK: I have a day and a half of meeting prep (and other meetings, sigh, especially a half day with a self-invited visitor), then three days of workshop hosting (which will hopefully involve some cool science conversations etc., but...) then another half day of meetings. I am going to skip the field day part of the workshop which will give me a few hours at least for other stuff (I'll have to be at work to get them off and then meet people on their return, but...). I am trying at least.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Goals for next week
      1) self-care: focusing on drinking enough water, on taking time to eat the food I choose, on moving a little extra each day (at least back stretches), "sitting".
      2) analyse at least 1 sample in preparation for FavouriteIslandsMeeting
      3) make travel plans for FavouriteIslandsMeeting
      4) Prepare for societything meeting. Enjoy said meeting.
      5) spend an hour on teaching prep
      6) do NOT think about ProblemChildren at ALL.

      Delete
    2. I'm so sorry you are struggling. Is there anything we can do to help?

      Delete
    3. Thank you! You guys just being here helps - the lows aren't really something I can be honest about at work or with family (they tell me they worry about me - which makes me feel blamed - and that I should just get a different job - which is reeeeeally not helpful for a just-about-adequate grant-less mid-career academic in a lousy job market to hear (plus when I'm in these states I can mostly do the urgent bits of my job but that takes all my "spoons". I struggle to wash enough clothes for the week, can't work out packed lunches, can take twenty minutes to choose between two vegetarian sandwich options in the coffee place at lunch if they've run out of the veggie soup (and I have deliberately made the habit of going to the place where the only foods I can have are soup or those two sandwiches, the place with the wider range of food is too much extra thinking/deciding needed), and eat one of two reasonably healthy but virtually instant food options that I always have in stock every evening because those are the only way I avoid all week toast and chocolate binges which are good in the moment but lousy overall - how the heck am I going to interview, negotiate, pack up an office and a home and move it to another city? On my own?)). I don't need to explain WHY our work is wonderful and addictive and horrible, or why I can't just get another job despite having "all those degrees", to you. And you care without there being too much expectation that I perform correctly in return, or judgement later.

      We've made a really great space here and I'm proud of us!

      Also, I made it through this week, saw my counsellor, binge-read a satisfying novel with a happy ending last night, got a yarn delivery this morning then had a wonderful four hour nap, and I am juust about starting to get out of the grey. Even if the break in the clouds only lasts for the long weekend, I'll take it!

      Delete
    4. I'd love to take the last paragraph to create my TLQ:

      read a satisfying book
      get a yarn delivery
      take a four-hour nap

      If only our goals could always look like that.

      Delete
  3. Last week started off well with a real insight into how to structure my book. But then I fell into a morass of meetings and other things. This week I am giving myself Mon and Tues to work on research and then Wed to Friday to do teaching prep.

    Last Week
    1. Write convergently on Ch 3 and Ch 7, including data tables. 5 days x 4 hrs per day NO, probably about half
    2. Do an external tenure review YES
    3. Meet with co-authors about paper, read and make comments YES
    4. Meet with illustrator about maps, drawings for book YES
    5. Start PT for arm YES
    6. Fun x 2 YES
    7. Exercise x 3 YES

    This week
    1. Finish comments on Info Flow and send to collaborators
    2. Look at new graphs for foodwebs
    3. Write or work on tables 2 x 4 hours for book
    4. Rework two syllabi, varied teaching prep
    5. PT for arm x 2, gym x 3
    6. 2 fun things

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's great to hear that you had a useful insight about structure! I find structure very difficult; I always want to go in several directions at once. Boo meetings.

      Delete
    2. Morass of meetings. Isn't that just exactly how it feels to be in there? Lost, bitten by invisible itchy bugs that keep buzzing at you, entangled in goop and plants... :-(

      Ah, meetings, where work goes to die...

      Delete
  4. Got back at the end of last week from a conference and writing retreat in California. Both were mostly good, with some weird stuff thrown in. I completely vegged out afterwards for two full days and basically just binge watched “The Americans” and now am back to the land of the living.

    1. Revise aim 1 paper and have it near finished by the time I get back - I WORKED ON THIS A GOOD CHUNK DURING THE RETREAT AND WILL FOCUS ON IT TOMORROW AGAIN.
    2. Have a plan for election surveys - YES! WE HAVE A PLAN!
    3. Make table of findings for YRBS paper - YES - DONE!

    This week:
    1. Send postdoc report to higher ups (this is cheating, I did this this morning!)
    2. Respond to emails from when I was gone! (cheating again as I responded this am)
    3. Do review for JMIR
    4. Write up YRBS results
    5. Work on asthma discussion
    6. Aim 1 paper - revise results
    7. Figure out next steps for couples study
    8. Finish intersectionality section
    9. Revisions to body image paper

    A few nice things about the conference: 1) Plos One (the open access journal) asked me to be on the editorial board. That’s a bit too much work for my current stage (postdoc), but I met with them while I was at the conference and they suggested I serve as a guest editor - so I’d be editor of 1-2 articles a year. I’m super excited about this as I am a big believer in open access both because I research marginalized groups and this gives them access to research and because clinicians in my specialty rarely have academic affiliations and can’t thus keep up with the literature. Open access makes it more likely they can keep up with advances in the field. 2) I won an early career researcher award and my colleagues took me out for a lovely dinner after the awards ceremony. 3) I did a presentation I was a bit iffy on. A PhD student asked me a question I couldn’t answer, and I felt like a moron. Afterwards she and others praised my presentation and she asked me to provide mentorship on a presentation she was doing. She has emailed me twice since then - and she is really lovely. She said our symposium was the best she attended - which was really sweet. The conference was close to where I grew up, and I haven’t been back to the area in a long time. It was really nice being there and makes me wonder if I’d want to land back in that area. My parents moved away when I was in college, but I have a sweet cousin who lives there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Congratulations on the award! That's great, and from your list of accomplishments earlier this summer, well deserved. It's a relief to hear that someone like you also binge-watches after conferences; they can be so intense that recovery time is necessary. And it's good you had a nice time back near where you grew up. I always have very mixed feelings when I go back.

      I absolutely cheat like that with list items, so that's fine, no worries! Congrats on knocking off a couple of things early in the week!

      Delete
    2. Wow, it's really your summer :-)

      Delete
    3. Congratulations on your award and all of the positive feedback! That's wonderful. And I'm glad you had such a great visit back here in California.

      Sounds like the TV binge gave you a nice system recent for your NYC re-entry! Sometimes maybe we just need to accept that we need to make time for that kind of thing and set any guilt aside. It's all part of the process.

      Delete
  5. DEH, I love the vivid and true-to-life descriptions of this week’s prompt. I’m happy that I have the response to how was your summer: “I read all the books!” It was like summer when I was a teenager all over again. I refuse to dwell on the things I didn’t accomplish.

    Last week
    1 read over Sweet and determine next steps/schedule: yes
    2 finish and submit current book review: yes
    3 edit submitted book review: no
    4 start building online course: no, working on all the other F2F classes instead

    Also, the required meeting to initiate the online course won’t happen until mid-September, so I can focus on finishing syllabi for other courses this week. Classes start next Monday, so there’s all that back to school personal care that I need to do in order to present myself as professional.

    This week
    1 edit submitted book review
    2 write all syllabi
    3 make arrangements for reading group
    4 add structure to Sweet paper and figure out lit review/methods

    A deep breath, a firm release. Onward!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds like a GREAT summer! I am happy to say that I also read a lot of books and did a lot of crossword puzzles. Early on, I thought about restorative things to do after having strangers in my house (now I think chance would be a fine thing!), and started doing those things even though no one has come to see the house. It's been fun!

      Delete
    2. Oh, how I love those summers. Maybe I need to try & plan a Christmas break that could be a little like that...

      Delete
  6. Thank you for carrying me over! I was on vacation last week, and, while I had my computer, I didn't really do a single work-related thing, not even answering emails.

    So, two weeks ago:
    1. Sit x6 - x2, I think, plus kirtan. Or maybe x3. Not 6, though.
    2. Read a dissertation - No
    3. Read a book - Yes
    4. Read 30 pages of Proust - No
    5. 3 hours on Wonder - Yes
    6. Brew beer - No; our digital thermometer was broken.
    7. Arrange and print most pages of anniversary book - Yes
    8. Prep 2nd and 3rd weeks of undergrad class - No
    9. Have a sense of humor and be willing to let some of this nonsense go, please - Yes. Also, I needed to do an emergency chest freezer defrosting, so that bumped a few things from the list.

    This week, I need to CATCH UP and get ready for the term, which starts two weeks from today. That seems like a lot of time, but Bonaventure is home until the middle of next week, and boy does that kid like attention. Yesterday we made a cloth doll together, which took HOURS. He loves his crafts (which frequently become mostly MY crafts, since sewing, etc. is pretty hard for him so far).

    This week:
    1. Revise 100-level syllabus for Diversity program I'm a part of
    2. Dissertation
    3. Read and give feedback on exam rationales for grad student
    4. Grad syllabus
    5. Reread “Read” (essay I wrote 3 years ago for a collection; just got feedback; revision is due on Sept. 3!!); make revision notes
    6. Sit x 6
    7. Exercise x 5
    8. Complete anniversary book
    9. Brew beer (cheating a bit because I did this yesterday)
    10. Make a big pot of tomato soup (tomato season is always a little hectic around here)
    11. Email catch-up: student publication; department party; TA mentoring

    This is a really long list, I know, but some of it should be pretty quick, and it all sort of needs to happen!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It will all be much easier because you are relaxed and refreshed by your vacation!

      Man, I hate those "wait and hurry up" submissions. I don't mind zipping through things when the editor is also zipping, but waiting years for feedback and then having a short turn-around time is just obnoxious.

      Delete
  7. Topic: A friend of mine, trained in management, always asks me, “What results are you looking for?” It is helpful, even if my answer is to quiet my brain, or lower my heart rate. I work best in the morning, without interruptions, and so can get to work with minimal meditation and coffee. Both needs grow larger as the day and its interruptions wear on. I need to shift difficult reading to the morning, and writing has always been best in the morning. Editing can work in the afternoon, along with somewhat mindless things like glossaries and footnotes.

    Last week’s goals:
    Finish packing. Done
    Minimize time on campus. Done
    Enjoy the long weekend. Done
    Take some work, but don’t obsess. Done
    Practice good self-care. Done

    Analysis: We had a lovely time with the children and grandchildren, helped along by sleeping in a hotel, rather than stealing our granddaughter’s bed. Our middle-aged backs do better in the hotel.

    Also, I had fantastic (well, better than expected) news from my nephrologist, who said that the stone is now lodged in a place where she can break it up with a laser. Huzzah! She does not want to do surgery, given I have had 6 or 7 previous abdominal surgeries, so twice the huzzahs! It will not be an easy process, involving two times under anesthesia, and a fair amount of pain in the middle, but it is so many times better!!

    Since it is Wednesday evening, I’ve cheated on the first goal for next week. I was so relieved at the news, the other half and I took an impromptu trip back to the Finger Lakes for a couple of days. We plan to do a winery tour, and have planned room in the car for some wine to return with us. I brought some work to do while the other half sleeps in tomorrow, so I feel virtuous.

    Next week’s goals:
    Take good notes at doctor's appointment.
    Enjoy celebratory wine trail.
    Read a couple of articles.
    Plan the stone removal and after-stone month.
    Practice good self-care.

    Have a wonderful rest of the week. Excelsior, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What wonderful news! I am so glad you can avoid (more) surgery. And your trips sound lovely. Yay!

      Delete
  8. Since I've been absent for a few weeks, my last TLQ goals are a bit dated. But thank you for carrying them over! Here they are with a quick overview below:

    1) Draft a revision incorporating all reader feedback (except, perhaps, the bibliography stuff)
    2) Do at least 20 minutes of yoga per day.
    3) Do all three syllabi.
    4) Submit reading packet to reprographics.
    5) Walk the dog twice.
    6) Take some time to enjoy the back yard.
    7) Spend some quality time with my son while my daughter is gone.

    I have done all of these things, except for regular dog walking. I missed recent check-ins because things were busy, and also because I did some traveling. Here is a DONE list:

    1) Submitted article revision
    2) Finished all syllabi
    3) Completed the first two weeks of the semester
    4) Took daughter and her friend to LA for three days
    5) Attended the science fiction WorldCon in San Jose last weekend

    I also contracted laryngitis, chest congestion, and a nasty and had to limp through this past week while sick. But then yesterday, I just rested ALL day and said no to work and most family things. I didn't even prep or grade. It felt SO good to just rest and be still. Today, I'm doing a little grading, but still sitting around in order to try to get better. Tomorrow I might need to take my daughter back-to-school shopping.

    Goals this week:
    1) Rest as much as possible
    2) Read three SF stories
    3) Write for 20 minutes x2

    I think that's it for this week. It makes me tired to think about anything else. It's been an intense (but good) few weeks.

    ReplyDelete