In keeping with the last few sessions, I’d like to introduce a theme that you are welcome to engage or ignore. Let’s say these 12 weeks are some kind of narrative: a television series, a film, a novel. Metaphorically, what genre do you see evolving during this session? Detective story? Romcom? Prime time drama? Sci fi space exploration? You might consider what you’re anticipating circumstantially and/or what you are wishing for as this short-run story. You don’t have to stick to your story for the whole session--as other questions come up, you might change genres completely. So if you have an otherworldy fantasy novel this week, you might your dream locale in Peru or Tokyo another week.
Format as usual: comment on topic if you wish, consider how things went last week, set goals for next week. Wishes for you to run with the stars.
Last week’s goals:
Contingent Cassandra
Set goals
Dame Eleanor Hull
Complete syllabuses for two classes (done this morning).
Complete at least two of the four documents I need for annual review.
Get back to living in my time zone.
Plan a “personal syllabus” for the semester, showing both grading and writing
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Write the sabbatical report.
Write 1500 words a day.
Half an hour knitting daily.
Draw once a week.
GoodEnoughWoman
1) Stick to food plan. Prepare satisfying meals. Track effects on skin, joints, etc.
2) 7500 steps daily, or sub with 7-minute workout and 20-minute yoga
3) Write 500 words of novel.
4) Create very rough draft of conference paper by excavating relevant text from dissertation. Read two chapters of relevant monograph.
5) Finish syllabi.
6) Hem son’s curtains.
heu mihi
1. Homework for teaching workshop (Thursday).
2. Finish syllabi and assignments.
3. Weekly accounting.
4. Daily stuff: writing, sitting, exercise. (I'm giving myself one more week off language.)
5. Ch. 5: Read 2 more chapters of Relevant Book; get/order library books; print current draft.
6. Write 4000 words of NaNo18.
humming42
1 finish and submit two reviews
2 work on February essay instead of panicking
3 submit article review
4 catch up on correspondence
JaneB
1) Teaching
Mark PrettyPictureAssignment. Arrange to talk to leaders of the two new modules, and create finalised list of what I'm responsible for in each of them (I hate team teaching...)
2) self-care:
get over "vacation jet lag", drink 1.5-2 l of water a day and focus on hitting >5 fruit and veg portions a day.
3) Research and writing
work with FlatProjectVisitor to get them over the latest "block" in doing the data collection and analysis (they're here all week). Set up first new run for ProblemChild2. Work on ScaryPilotPaper - send zero draft to rest of team by end of week. meet with LikesMaths (a PhD student) to go over plans for LikesMaths1 revisions. Plan, complete and submit abstracts for Quadrennial conference (actually TRQ this week...). Talk to newsletter volunteer about SocietyTHing newsletter
4) making stuff and being creative: complete current block of research-themed knitting.
5) domestic chaos reduction
Book at least two sessions with CRW. Remove layer of christmas detritus from living room.
KJHaxton
1. Ascertain what I need to do for screencast presentation and draft it
2. Locate/dig out all the stuff on Albatross and International and Workload so they are easy to find when I have time to work on them.
3. Mark and give feedback on all items of coursework that have been lurking on my desk (7 group projects and presentations; 36 small pieces of work; 36 reflective diaries)
4. complete teaching admin prep for forthcoming semester (3 module guides, 2 module intro presentations, 5 sets of assessment guidelines - 2 articles, 2 portfolio, 1 poster/presentation), put all teaching events in diary and check rooms are suitable/check for clashes)
5. Prepare documents for meetings week after (outreach) and week after that (sustainability)
6. Chase up ethics on Workload project
7. Finish and Submit ethics on Enhancement project, student project 1 and 2
8. Draft Workload funding application and send to boss
9. Draft Social Workload presentation if accepted for conference
Oceangirl101
1. Finalize syllabus and gather all course readings, print syllabus
2. Look at R and R notes for re-submission due end of month
3. Look at Encyclopedia entry, write 200 words if time
4. Go to Costa Rica with two old friends for much needed rest and relaxation on Wednesday
Susan
1. Get rough draft of syllabus done
2. Write 1000 words on Collaboration
3. Finish one book review
4. Walk
5. Go to pottery class
6. Try to go to bed so I get enough sleep.
Waffles
Weekly goals?
I often think that I would love to see one of the Shakespeare histories set in academia- I think academia has exactly the high emotion and competition needed to make a damned good Shakespearean history (like one of the Henry plays - drama! Murder! Intrigue!). A friend of mine (mentioned just below) suggested I get a musical made based on one of my studies (my study on the effects of trump on a marginalized group) - which could be super interesting. In terms of the movie of my life currently - it would definitely be a musical. It would be the story of a plucky postdoc with humble beginnings (who might be more complex than she lets on) new to the big city and the big university, and her falling in love with completely inappropriate people, being mansplained by far too many, her wide-eyed, naïve explorations of the ivy league and of the culture of both the Ivy and NYC, and the search for a faculty position. In one musical number, she would literally battle imposter syndrome and would get (possibly) mortally wounded. The ending would be ambiguous - did she conquer everything or did she succumb? Maybe there would be a sequel.
ReplyDeleteLast night I talked with a friend of mine from undergrad who is a trained project manager (I think she does consulting work). She is going to do a little training for our postdoc group this week, so last night she gave me some tools and some homework. My homework was to make a list of all of my projects, a couple sentences about each of them, the big tasks to be done for each, and the status of each. I just finished my list and am completely overwhelmed - I have 35 projects on my list. My friend said that if you have too many projects on your list, you create a bottleneck. I think that is what I have done.
Posting here definitely helps though. She suggested however that I form a group to do a daily morning check in about what I had done the day before, what I planned to do today, and what obstacles I am facing. I did something like that during my PhD, but not currently. I may go back to doing so because I really do best when I am focused on my goals.
For this group, I am going to stick to my weekly goals till my K is in. Here are my current goals:
1. Get all feedback on K and make all relevant revisions.
2. Take care of all references in K.
3. Revise biosketch
4. Update my NCBI profile
5. Get JAMA peds paper in better shape.
6. Talk through my obstacles related to my F32 paper with California mentor/collaborator (this paper makes me feel so inadequate).
7. For my crafting goal: Embroider a uterus! I did multiple crafty projects over the break (some miniature embroidery and I made a llama pillow) - super fun!
I would watch that musical.
DeleteMaybe when the K application is finished the bottleneck will be less clogged?
Too bad can't just stick something inside the bottle to loosen things up.
that really is far too many things - your poor brain must be panicking trying to keep track of them!
Deletewaffles, I could not have anticipated such a brilliant response to the prompt. Literally battling imposter syndrome! I'm weeping with laughter.
ReplyDeleteWith 35 projects (!), I'd try to figure out what is most urgent and if anything can be classified as a cold case to be revisited at some future point. It's exhausting to keep so many things in rotation all at once.
Indeed! You've set a high bar for prompt responses, Waffles! I,too, liked the imposter-syndrome battle. And embroidering a uterus has got to be one of the more interesting goals this week. Can that be accomplished in a week, or are you just making a start?
ReplyDeleteIn retrospect (and with the perspective of now having spent considerable time in other parts of the American higher ed system), the Ivy League is, in many ways, very weird. I think maintaining some sense of that -- whether one calls it naivete or just an outsider's perspective -- even as one takes advantage of the benefits on offer, is wise, and healthy. Given your academic specialty, I suspect you're well-equipped to do that.
I think I'm going to come back to the genre question, since I seem to having trouble coming up with one. I can think of some to reject. I don't want it to be a captivity narrative, at least not unless we're coming in in medias res, toward the middle/end, and that seems a bit overdramatic anyway. Bildungsroman might work, except the conventions of the genre are rather youth-oriented (so it would have to be a subversive one, starting in middle age -- hmm, is there a starting-in-the-middle theme developing here?). Perhaps some sort of narrative of exploration (if, once again, that's available to a middle-aged woman, and as long as it doesn't lead to a captivity narrative). Something episodic and incremental, with the whole being greater than the parts, also feels about right.
ReplyDeleteSo I'll mull that over, and maybe come back and add some additional thoughts. For the moment, here are my goals for the week:
--Do some sort of movement on at least 3 days, spread over at least 2 modes (walking, stretching, weight-lifting, gardening/snow clearing)
--Complete at least one of my individual contributions to curricular project (2 would be better)
--Continue curriculum-project planning & organizing (beyond attending meeting & assigning reviews as submissions come in, which is TRQ at this point)
--Take at last a half-day break and schedule a full-day one for next week
--Work on habit of writing first thing in the morning (even if it’s class materials and/or curricular project contribution at this point)
--Brainstorm some topics/questions for morning reflective writing later in coming weeks
--Work on habit of professional reading at end of day
--Work on getting to bed earlier
(since I'm posting 2 hours later, my time, than I need to have lights out in just about a week, I definitely need to work on that last one. More movement will help with that; I usually tend to be pretty tired for a few days when I restart an exercise program)
Maybe there's a kind of Doctor Who narrative, that we can enter in media res? "As we left off last week, Contingent Cassandra was..."
DeleteScheduling movement and breaks is so restorative. And I suspect that if it's not on the schedule, you won't take that time for yourself.
Like Cassandra, I'm having a little difficulty with the theme; and, perhaps similarly, I suspect it's because I'm too old. When I was younger, it was easy to imagine myself as the plucky heroine surmounting obstacles, but now I don't have the same challenges and the plot seems pretty repetitive. Further, the twelve-week timeline means that this session wraps up with a few weeks to go in my semester, so even a modest climax will lie in the future. So the best I've come up with is a sort of military campaign: laying supply lines and making sure they stay open, stocking various caches, fighting skirmishes as necessary, but mainly preparing for the big end-of-term battle to finish grades and K'zoo* preparations against deadlines. Apologies to anyone who doesn't care for the military metaphor.
ReplyDelete*International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI; happens every May; big deal for medievalists.
How I did:
Complete syllabuses for two classes (done this morning). YES.
Complete at least two of the four documents I need for annual review. YES (the easier two, not those due soonest, sigh).
Get back to living in my time zone. YES. Happily, I have no night class this term, so I can observe a consistent bedtime.
Plan a “personal syllabus” for the semester, showing both grading and writing. YES (see comments to last week's post for details, if you're interested).
New goals:
Health: the usual sleep, stretch, exercise, eat safely.
Research: finish incorporating edits into revised introduction, send to editors; keep up with language work.
Teaching: assign and check one set of in-class writing; post an essay assignment; set up teaching-plan documents for both classes.
Admin: finish annual documents.
Life Stuff: assorted dull tasks.
Another resolution for the don't-like-warring-theme reader could be that you are setting up a peacekeeping force or a sit-in of some kind (says the Hippichick).
DeleteYou have a lot of YES for your week! Getting back to the time zone I am sure is a relief. I have some cross-time-zone travel coming up over just a weekend and hope I can manage it gracefully.
So I haven't had Internet at home in a week, with no end to the blackout in sight (Verizon is "working on it"), so maybe I'm in a period costume drama?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, check-in will be quick as I'm trying to get as much done as possible while briefly in the office (and online) today!
Last week:
1. Homework for teaching workshop (Thursday). -Done
2. Finish syllabi and assignments. -Mostly
3. Weekly accounting. -Worked 1054 minutes; 58% research, 41% teaching (prep), 1% service. Also, forgot to put this in last week: 2 nights off alcohol--yes, plus.
4. Daily stuff: writing -YES, sitting -x4, exercise -YES.
5. Ch. 5: Read 2 more chapters of Relevant Book; get/order library books; print current draft. -YESSES all around. (I've been reading a lot, sans internet.)
6. Write 4000 words of NaNo18. -YES
What with all the reading, I've decided that I need to reread Malory's Morte d'Arthur RIGHT NOW. So that's getting added to my schedule.
This week:
1. Really finish syllabi and assignments.
2. Write 4000 words of NaNo 2018.
3. Notes on ch. 5 research; reread ch. 5 and start taking notes and start preliminary integration of new research.
4. Exercise x5, sit x5, write/research x5.
5. Weekly accounting; two nights off alcohol.
6. Read Malory books 1-3
You had an action-packed week, with reading, writing, and teaching...and just a pinch of service. And you wrote 4000 words! The blackout could certainly lend itself to deciding on a genre and theme. I hope you get internet service back at home soon.
DeleteOn the topic: the reality feels like one of those mid-century novels in which people wander through life doing very little but having it described in wordy, weighty, solipsist prose. And where everyone is so bound into their middle or fading-upper class milieu that you want to shake them but they'd probably dissipate into dust like a staked vampire, with less glitter. The sort of novel which is beyond tedious to read but won prizes and collects acclaim so you carry on reading wondering why you don't seem to "get it" or give up with a faint and dusty sense of guilt and relief mingled.
ReplyDeleteI'd prefer to be the sidekick in a nice cosy mystery, the kind where the problems AND their solutions are all clear at the end, and the only people who are actually negatively affected thoroughly deserved it, except maybe the victim who usually died off screen before things even start. And where all the scary stuff happens to the protagonist and the side-kick mostly sympathises, patches up, and unknowingly or knowingly provides the key information for the solution. Preferably from their cosy kitchen or bijou flat or rustic rocking chair.
Or a multi-volume fantasy epic of which these weeks are probably a couple of should-have-been-edited-more-ruthlessly wandering around in the woods chapters in the middle of volume 2, which is always the tricky one - you know, volume 1 saw the awakening of realisation of the existence of the Quest, the training of the heroine, and the overcoming of the initial challenges, ending with a satisfying-feeling victory (this seems like a nice metaphor for undergrad to permanent position, in my world). Volume 2 is where you realise all is not happy ever after, there's actually a larger threat to the world, but the exciting stuff and the final battle and (usually, hopefully) victory will all be book 3 (and possibly books 4, 5 and so on). So volume 2 is usually a lot of wandering around collecting a Party and McGuffins (e.g. useful magical objects to aid in the quest, the identity of the big bad or the heroine's parents, the special herbs or legendary jewel demanded as payment for help by the dragon) and having Angst (why is it my job/oh no the king who I thought was Good turns out to be Complicated and maybe a Front For Evil/why are people still dying if we Cleansed The Plague Well or Staked The Vampyre?). Wandering around in a forest looking for a poorly defined McGuffin whilst the author enjoys themselves doing Character Development and writing Byplay, describing the woods in itch-inducing detail, or desperately wondering when their imagination will actually deliver some concrete action, feels very like being a mid-career academic at the moment...
1) Teaching
DeleteMark PrettyPictureAssignment. Arrange to talk to leaders of the two new modules, and create finalised list of what I'm responsible for in each of them (I hate team teaching...) DONE, not done (they're both away), partly done (because they're both away, but one has set up a very clear shared document so I can at least see the current plan).
2) self-care:
get over "vacation jet lag", drink 1.5-2 l of water a day and focus on hitting >5 fruit and veg portions a day. DONE, DONE, 6/7
3) Research and writing
work with FlatProjectVisitor to get them over the latest "block" in doing the data collection and analysis (they're here all week). Set up first new run for ProblemChild2. Work on ScaryPilotPaper - send zero draft to rest of team by end of week. meet with LikesMaths (a PhD student) to go over plans for LikesMaths1 revisions. Plan, complete and submit abstracts for Quadrennial conference (actually TRQ this week...). Talk to newsletter volunteer about SocietyTHing newsletter. DONE (we had a really productive week... but are now blocked by something else, which is Not My Problem), DONE, NOT DONE, DONE, DONE, DONE (wow! This looks good... even if it was mostly at the expense of teaching stuff that is urgent...)
4) making stuff and being creative: complete current block of research-themed knitting. I've done 66 rows of 80
5) domestic chaos reduction
Book at least two sessions with CRW. Remove layer of christmas detritus from living room. NO, started
I'm actually feeling over the cold now, but I wasn't doing great at the start of the week. My voice is ropey and I'm still a bit sniffly/snotty and my energy levels are up and down, so I need to carry on being careful and doing what I can to avoid getting another one. This was rather a pain of a week since having visitors kind of bound me to doing certain hours, and I ended up having to be on campus 5 days (sigh). On the plus side I guess that helped with the vacation jet lag thing, and the distraction of working with people is useful when you're feeling a bit sorry for yourself! Had a bit of teaching drama mid week (online exam possibly compromised, and might have needed a whole new set of questions setting, but fortunately that was resolved at the eleventh hour), and there are a lot of small problems around, but that's hardly anything new.
The coming week: I need to try and move some stuff around and make a cattery booking so I can go visit the parents at the end of the week (to make up for missing the new year visit), and teaching prep things are becoming urgent (all the exam questions have to be set for the end of the week, which means I need to know WHAT I AM TEACHING in quite a lot of detail, but I don't, because people are away... Sigh. And set up VLE sites, which is teeeeedious, and... stuff). I've got to do a longish phone meeting in the middle of the week, but that's better than the "let's all meet in a central location" trip originally proposed (this is about ProblemChildPaper1, again. The lead funding person, who is retired, likes to meet in person for fairly small reasons e.g. this one is about rewriting the discussion section to address the referee's concerns. That would have required 8 hours of public transport for me if all connections worked, on top of the meeting - and we all know how good I am at picking up germs on trains or buses, plus I'd've had to pay for it myself out of pocket. So... no), and we've got a "mini retreat" taking up most of Monday to kick off some teaching redesign (AGAIN. GAH!).
DeleteGoals for the coming week:
1) Teaching
Mark two small assignments. Make a detailed list of teaching prep needed and check the (frequently changing) online timetable. Set the first half of the exam questions for the new module with the short answer exam (which needs lots of questions). Start to enter resit exam questions for first year module (not due until July, but if I don't do it now it will be a lot more work then...).
2) self-care:
do something not-work every evening other than stare at the phone, go to bed early on work nights, drink 1.5-2 l of water a day and focus on hitting >5 fruit and veg portions a day.
3) research
Work on ScaryPilotPaper, send zero draft to rest of team. Set up second new run for ProblemChild2. Comments on FlatProjectAdjacentDocument. Make sure newsletter for SocietyThing is progressing. Reply to emails about Gallimaufray.
4) making stuff and being creative: finish current block of research-themed knitting and start a test swatch for the next one. If I go to the parents, work on the giant crochet project.
5) domestic chaos reduction
Book at least two sessions with CRW. Remove layer of christmas detritus from living room. Catch up with washing up (I did catch up with the laundry last week, that was a small but pleasing thing...)
JaneB, I knew you would clarify my problems defining the narrative! (Why is it I'm the lit prof and I can't do that?) Now that you mention it, the "develop and defend supply lines" story I came up with is very like volume two of either quest or War Epic, but your version is so much more entertaining. And absolute agreement to what the real life feels like and what sort of story I would prefer to be in!
DeleteSo many delightful narratives! I feel like I'm in an MFA workshop all over again. I'm also particularly amused by FlatProjectVisitor, who could have a cameo in Waffle's musical as well.
DeleteMany things are done, and I hope your health continues to improve.
Or maybe JaneB could be in my musical to help coach me through my blocks? Kind of a twist on My Fair Lady?
DeleteWaffles
FlatProjectVisitor is at a very similar career stage of Waffles (although less prestigiuous institution context/juggling slightly fewer projects) - we actually spent a few chunks of time during the week talking about Imposter SYndrome and ways to overcome it, about how to get the best out of her brilliant but tricky to work with primary mentor, and about her juggling of papers, grant applications and job applications, mostly whilst waiting for the computer to do things!
DeleteI feel like I'm a women's fiction narrative: woman has just turned fifty, and although she pursued advanced degrees and a career is now at a turn. Usually in these novels, she's a recent empty-nester. She has goals--she wants to write a novel, she wants to be more fit--but mostly she lies around and eats scones. Then she finds out that her husband is cheating on her, and she sells her house and moves to the beach and writes her novel while fallen in love with the local carpenter, surf teacher, or veterinarian.
ReplyDeleteThe difference is that I still have my husband and children, so I have to experience my rebirth in my current lovely house with my lovely family.
Last week's goals:
1) Stick to food plan. Prepare satisfying meals. Track effects on skin, joints, etc. DONE
2) 7500 steps daily, or sub with 7-minute workout and 20-minute yoga. DONE.
3) Write 500 words of novel. DONE. At least 500 words of notetaking, so I'll count it.
4) Create very rough draft of conference paper by excavating relevant text from dissertation. Read two chapters of relevant monograph. DONE and HALF DONE.
5) Finish syllabi. DONE.
6) Hem son’s curtains. DONE.
Not bad!
This week:
1) Prep for classes; send all handouts to reprographics in a timely matter.
2) Make a significant dent in the garage.
3) Outing with daughter to a play.
4) 500 words or 90 minutes on novel.
5) One chapter of Minds in Motion.
6) 90 minutes on conference paper.
7) Exercise: 7500 steps, yoga, or 7-min workout.
9) Complete Letter of Recommendation.
10) Complete accreditation work for one standard.
Hmmm. That seems ambitious.
Your narrative could be a "she was already home" story--of the woman who goes searching for something she had not lost. And then the family that was there waiting for her celebrates her return.
DeleteI hope your ambitious week is coming along swimmingly. Ambitious but also doable.
Since I am at such a transitional period, I feel like I am in a sci-fi dystopian novel where the world is all scorched earth. I need to find my way through this new world, hopefully with a team of like minded others. Today is the start of classes and I am woefully unprepared, so its the first day of the new world and I am feeling my way through it- some things are sort of the same (teaching), but since my concentration level is so low during my grieving it all feels different. And I have to navigate the waves of grief that sometime come up in inopportune moments.
ReplyDeleteI did ok with last week's goals:
1. Finalize syllabus and gather all course readings, print syllabus Yes, No, Yes
2. Look at R and R notes for re-submission due end of month Yes
3. Look at Encyclopedia entry, write 200 words if time Yes
4. Go to Costa Rica with two old friends for much needed rest and relaxation on Wednesday Yes!
This week
1. Organize first day of teaching, develop BB website
2. Deal with graduate student drama (2 of them, ugh)
3. Meetings with University Media folks for upcoming conference
4. Reintegrate into the department after being gone, do my best to not cry publicly (although I am sort of ok with this and really beyond caring)
5. Work out 3 x
I’m the awkward, bookish character in a Japanese high school anime. My school is haunted by a ghost who keeps interfering with student activities, so we can’t get anything done. I can hear the ghost talking to me but can’t decipher what it says. Still, I’m accumulating notebooks full of gibberish in the hope that I can find the key to understand what it wants, and what we should do.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1 finish and submit two reviews: one submitted, one in progress
2 work on February essay instead of panicking: somewhat, maybe more panicking required
3 submit article review: done
4 catch up on correspondence: some
This week:
1 prepare for classes and write syllabi
2 finish reading current books for review
3 write timeline and outline for February essay
Topic: If I am looking at my professional life, I’m with GEW in women’s fiction, struggling with my middle-aged identity. I plan to use my spring-steel spine to assert what I want out of life, pushing the unnecessary parts of my professional life into the shadows beyond the spotlight.
ReplyDeleteIf I look at my fiction, it is a bildungsroman where the apprentice witch finally learns to control her craft and create the magic she desires. There will be lots of out-of-control sparks that set things alight, as well as sparks that fizzle in midair. Eventually, there will be a controlled magic that can be safely sent out into the world.
Last week’s goals:
Write the sabbatical report. Yes.
Write 1500 words a day. No, maybe about half that.
Half an hour knitting daily. Yes.
Draw once a week. No, but I did find some subjects.
Analysis: The sabbatical report was moving into TRQ territory, so I had to finish it, especially since I am meeting with my dean tomorrow. I have not been able to create 1500 new words, either on the dissertation or fiction, but I think it is due to a renewed bout of insomnia. I have kept up with the knitting, partly because I am knitting curtains for the bathroom window that the next door neighbors can stare into from their bedroom window. The urgency helps keep me on track! As for the drawing, I am terrible at faces, so I thought I would find some pictures that look like some of my characters. I did manage to find several, so I hope to draw them soon.
Next week’s goals:
Survive the meeting-rich week -- seriously, four or five meetings every single day!
Write conference presentations.
Knit half an hour a day for sanity.
Write 500 words a day.
Edit 4 pages a day.
Draw one character’s face.
May everyone have a lovely rest of the week. Float like mist!
I love the sparks, fizzles, and controlled magic. I hope you are finding the brilliant sparks in the corners while enduring meetings, meetings, meetings!
ReplyDelete