In a culture that privileges busyness and productivity, it can be difficult to remember that we need balance in our lives, and part of that balance is about making sure you include breaks, rest, and restorative things in your planning. I forget that pressing on when I lack the will, enthusiasm, or focus usually ends badly. So as our adventures continue, it’s time to think about taking a break. I’m reminded of how many video games have sleep built in for characters that enable to them restore their strength and “gain life.” If you/your character in this narrative had the opportunity to take a day off anywhere in the world (real or fictional world!), where would it be? What would you do? And how can you translate that into something you can include in the week ahead?
Last week’s goals below. Looking forward!
Contingent Cassandra (carried over)
--Movement on at least 3 days in at least 2 modes, including at least one weight-lifting session
--Complete second individual contribution to curricular project
--Deal with technical issue; get curricular-project peer reviews assigned to others; work on my own editorial reviews
--Deal with 3 curricular project loose ends: review form, copyright/licensing page, and description page
--Continue curriculum project planning and organizing (schedule at least conference-presentation planning and grant-report writing)
--Continue morning writing on days I'm working at home (individual curricular project submission; topic brainstorming)
--take or at least schedule a day off in the near future (this week or next)
--make progress on financial stocktaking and organizing
--Decide what professional book I should read next (and maybe start reading it)
--Keep working on getting to bed earlier
Dame Eleanor Hull
Health: the usual sleep, stretch, exercise, eat safely.
Research: work on conference paper 1; keep up with language work; ILL one or more books; more translation style checking.
Teaching: Make up writing assignment 1 for gen ed class; assign and check online work for two snow days.
Admin: semesterly form; new form.
Life Stuff: more dull tasks (pick any three). Cook something new.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Survive the airports.
Survive the committee meetings.
Give the presentations.
Knit half an hour a day.
Write 500 words a day.
Edit 4 pages a day.
Draw one character’s face
Good Enough Woman
1) Walk or yoga or 7-minute workout x3
2) 200 words related to novel
3) Help to make sure Husband feels celebrated; surrender to party planning and prepping on Sunday.
heu mihi
1. Weekly accounting
2. Write 2500 words of fiction, at 500/day (maybe having daily goals will keep me on track. I'm really sick of this project, but I don't want to abandon it so close to the end!)
3. Exercise x5, sit x5, write x5, language x5.
4. Book revisions: Enter edits into chapter 5; keep working on M via AP; contact editor for next steps.
5. Finish Malory book 8 and read 50 pages of book 9.
humming42
1 Submit February essay
2 Submit one book review
3 Submit article review
JaneB
1) Teaching: finish small assignment marking, check marking for big module (TRQ but it's here so it can be ticked off). 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 fourth new run for ProblemChild2. Reply to emails about Gallimaufray.
4) making stuff and being creative: start test swatch for next block.
5) domestic chaos reduction Remove layer of christmas detritus from living room. Catch up with washing up.
KJHaxton
1. Complete sustainability application draft
2. Finish and submit Enhancement ethics
3. Start planning major outreach event
4. Make progress on Albatross edits
5. Mark coursework (new semester marking)
oceangirl101
1. Submit job description for post doc
2. Read and comment on grad student's proposal
3. Start and maybe finish hard R and R
4. Figures for Encyclo - make a list
5. Begin to look at figures for book and email figure person to see where we stand
6. Gym x 3 plus one more movement activity
7. Fun x 2
Susan
1. Finish last course updates (TRQ)
2. Finish graduate fellowship recommendations (TRQ)
3. Finish conference program (TRQ)
4. Do taxes (TRQ)
These should all be done by Friday, so the weekend is free
5. Start reading book for review
6. Keep up with exercise
7. Keep sleep schedule
waffles
1. Talk to mentor about a couple things that I need her help thinking through (e.g., how to talk about sample size for aims 1 and 2)
2. Revise K based on those discussions (hoping we can talk through them today)
3. Read over entire K very carefully (maybe have my mac read it to me). My mentor tends to be a bit sloppy when she edits (due to track changes) and leaves a lot of errors in her wake, so I need to check carefully for those. (of note, I really wish she would lower her amount of editing as it feels like just writing style changes rather than helping to make things better).
4. Separate sections into separate documents
5. Send it to my grants person!
6. Work on JAMA peds paper a bit to see if I can make results clearer.
I would love to have a day very close to the beach somewhere pleasantly warm but not hot or humid: southern California or Baja, say. I'd start the day with a 3-4 mile walk on the beach at sunrise, and spend the rest of it hanging out on a shaded patio or balcony with a view of the water and some bougainvillea, alternately working a jigsaw, doing crosswords, and reading something very fluffy. Those activities are a fairly regular part of my life; what I really want is the warmth, color, and sea air.
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
Health: the usual sleep, stretch, exercise, eat safely. YES.
Research: work on conference paper 1; keep up with language work; ILL one or more books; more translation style checking. YES, YES, NO, NO.
Teaching: Make up writing assignment 1 for gen ed class; assign and check online work for two snow days. YES, YES.
Admin: semesterly form; new form. NO; YES but it needs to be re-done with more info.
Life Stuff: more dull tasks (pick any three). Cook something new. TWO, and one was a big one: made an appointment for retirement counseling. Not that I really plan to retire within the time span I'm being counseled on, but it's time to start figuring out options and actions. Cooking: I didn't make anything truly new, but did do a couple of things not in the standard rotation.
New goals:
Health: the usual sleep, stretch, exercise, eat safely.
Research: work on conference paper 1; keep up with language work; ILL one or more books; more translation style checking.
Teaching: Grade the full set of upper-div class's first papers.
Admin: semesterly form; re-do new form.
Life Stuff: more dull tasks (pick any three). Cook something new.
As to my notebook layout revisions: in addition to a page or half-page per day, I'm setting up a page-per-week to track exercise and time in bed (bedtime/when I got up), and a page for tracking fun things I did or nice things that happened, and pages for monthly goals and monthly accomplishments. All of these things could be worked out from the page-per-day format, but I think it might be good to be able to see the week's exercise, or nice things, at a glance rather than paging through.
Your day off sounds dreamy....
DeleteOne of my favorite things about bullet journaling is the opportunity to create different perspectives to track things. I used to do daily, weekly, and monthly spreads, in addition to tracking sheets (that I lovingly called Every Damn Day). I put all of this in past tense because I'm back to rudimentary online lists and living on the edge of TRQ all the time, but I hope to settle in for better work flow and planning soon.
DeleteSo, I think my character would be unable to take any breaks - and instead would become super sick as a way of being forced to take a break. And this is exactly what happened this week. We have an open office and once of the PhD students came in for an hour SUPER SICK. Her desk is right next to mine - and she was coughing and sneezing. And then on Tuesday, I was sick. So that has been super fun and definitely adds some drama to these final stages of needing to turn the K in. In my musical, my character would definitely have some crazy fever dream sequences that she is unsure are real or a dream (nightmare?). This mirrors my editing of the K - my cognitive abilities are low - or are they heightened? Am I making my K better or worse? Is the huge consistency flaw I found on Friday real, or is it just because the illness and the foggy brain causing me to doubt myself? Will we ever know??? I guess it all fits in nicely with my actual literal fight with imposter syndrome in my musical - what is real and what is not?
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Talk to mentor about a couple things that I need her help thinking through (e.g., how to talk about sample size for aims 1 and 2) - DONE
2. Revise K based on those discussions (hoping we can talk through them today) - DONE
3. Read over entire K very carefully (maybe have my mac read it to me). My mentor tends to be a bit sloppy when she edits (due to track changes) and leaves a lot of errors in her wake, so I need to check carefully for those. (of note, I really wish she would lower her amount of editing as it feels like just writing style changes rather than helping to make things better). - DONE
4. Separate sections into separate documents - DONE
5. Send it to my grants person! - NOT DONE! Delayed until Monday - hopefully my brain is firing on all cylinders tomorrow!
6. Work on JAMA peds paper a bit to see if I can make results clearer. NOT DONE!
This week:
1. Finish up the research strategy, aims, and candidate statements and send them in
2. Collapse
3. Attend the 20+ hour K workshop that our school is hosting (and that we are "encouraged" to attend) which is the weirdest timing ever bc it starts the day my K is due. On the final day, I have to tell the other postdocs what it was like applying for a K. So that is also fun. Humblebrag postdoc will be on the panel with me. That should be fun. He once announced at a meeting that I needed more training than he does and that he had to "dumb [himself] down" in his application to "make it look like [he needed] training still." UGH. I really had better get a better score than him on my k!!!
4. Try to work on JAMA paper if I have any bandwidth.
5. Interview possible undergrad workers.
6. Regroup about all of my projects and set new priorities and goals.
Brain-fog is normal in the last week or so of grant polishing - the fear of making it worse, the inability to tell what some things even mean any more... sorry to hear you have the lurgy, that really won't help...
DeleteBrain fog is nasty. Perhaps we need a discussion about battling the 'bad guys' like brainfog. I hope it clears.
DeleteHumblebrag needs to go jump in a lake. And not in a good way. UGH.
DeleteI would love to have a discussion about brain fog on here!!
DeleteKJHaxton: Look for a prompt on the bad guys this coming week! Thanks for the inspiration.
DeleteI would like my character to take a break about now. My character (urban fantasy) would have to recharge from doing stuff with sleep in snuggly duvets, icecream without consequence, and snuggling with the cats. I've been doing a decent amount of the latter. We got two kittens last October. They spend a lot of time with me when I'm home and have largely curtailed my knitting.
ReplyDelete1. Complete sustainability application draft - nope but deadline got changed
2. Finish and submit Enhancement ethics - nope
3. Start planning major outreach event - a bit
4. Make progress on Albatross edits - a bit
5. Mark coursework (new semester marking) - does printing them count?
This week:
1. Mark coursework
2. Majorly plan outreach event
3. Submit ethics
4. Make serious progress on Albatross edits
5. Complete sustainability draft
6. Followup from outreach meeting
Technically 2, 3 and 4 are TLQ, 1 is TRQ and 5 and 6 are...well...something!
I'm going to start a band and call it icecream without consequence.
DeletePrinting out the coursework absolutely counts toward completing. It's one of the necessary steps.
Didn't come by last week because the post wasn't up when I did my usual review-and-look-ahead Sunday Meeting on Sunday then on Monday I heard I didn't get the admin job I wanted and I have been caught between excessive teaching prep and exam problems and students being needy on the one hand and anger and misery on the other - not getting that job seems to have been the straw which maybe didn't break the camel's back, but certainly opened the dam to all the frustrations of the last n years. Of course, anger/misery lead to Bad Sleep, grieving, comfort eating and searches for displacement and self-soothing activities, none of which are usually great for productivity even without all the teaching stuff. Got to get back on the wagon this week...
ReplyDeleteTOPIC
My imaginary self, who is still wandering around in the woods being grumpy and insect-bit and is now probably Not On Speakers with any of her companions and has acquired an annoying and inconvenient injury not serious enough to actually merit sympathy or a day off, wants to spend a day on the porch of a mountain inn with a pile of blankets, a snowy view (no bugs), a steady supply of hot spiced cider, hot chocolate and little nibbly biscuits, and a comfortable but not excellent book so that gazing vaguely into the distance and napping can also happen. She'd also like a dose of amnesia about the stupid Quest and the stupid Complexities of Life and all that sort of thing. Then have an early night in a huge feather bed to which she is magically Not At All Allergic, with several cats of unusual cuteness and cooperative co-sleeping habits (i.e. do not cause her to wake up from dreams of being suffocated by a fur hat, or leap on delicate parts at 3am, or take big muzzle-soaking drinks then stick their faces curiously into her ear, or cry plaintively from under the bed until she is convinced they are injured then when she gets up to check they leap into her warm spot and fall instantly, adorably, spikily asleep).
carried over goals
1) Teaching: finish small assignment marking, check marking for big module (TRQ but it's here so it can be ticked off). 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...) YES, YES, YES for the first five weeks, YES, NO, NO. Also began to deal with horrible mess new computer systems have made of the other first year module's overall marks - marks are wrong for every SINGLE student which is quite impressive really (not all in the same way, either) - and wrote various lectures/class plans
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. some evenings, some evenings (but too much waking up in the middle of the night to stress/cry), yes, mostly
3) research: Work on ScaryPilotPaper, send zero draft to rest of team. Set up fourth new run for ProblemChild2. Reply to emails about Gallimaufray. YES plus editing round on DrVisit2's first paper, YES seventh new run going as I type, one of them not both
4) making stuff and being creative: start test swatch for next block. yes. Didn't work as originally planned, have begun an alternative. FIddly
5) domestic chaos reduction Remove layer of christmas detritus from living room. Catch up with washing up. begun, it's no WORSE than it was...
The week that was - well, grr. No day off, had to be in for meetings :-( And capped off by the Decluttering person not being able to come this weekend due to bad weather and me getting a postural migraine type headache from too much phone use as a distraction, which ate a big chunk of last night and today when I'd hoped to do teaching prep and some Fun Things For Me. Oh, and Incoming just emailed to say he can't teach the class at 9am on Monday (TOMORROW) at 9am in the module we're sharing, can I do it? Can. Don't want to. Will. grumble.
Deletegoals for next week:
1) Teaching: get prep for Scary New Lab Class done, prepare for the following week, mark small set of essays.
Set the first half of the exam questions for the new module. Start to enter resit exam questions for first year module.
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, refined sugar free week.
3) research: Hopefully finish new runs for ProblemChild2 and start analysis. Reply to difficult email about Gallimaufray. Finish draft of grant idea for circulation to collaborators.
4) making stuff and being creative: finish test swatch. Look for rest of yarn for colourwork block, start that.
5) domestic chaos reduction. Complete removal of christmas detritus from living room. Catch up with washing up. Hoover things.
Wouldn't it be nice if Incoming would offer to take over some of your teaching as a thank-you for covering for him?
DeleteI'm sorry for all of the compounding frustrations.
I do want to tell you, though, what a delightful writer you are--I love your description of your wished-for day off!
And that description shows that you truly understand cats!
DeleteI wish I could float by and transport you to that mountain inn with books, biscuits, and the enormous bed. I hope things will fall into place into good ways for you with Incoming's Outgoing.
DeleteCommiserations on the admin job turn-down. Having read the longer reflection over at your place, I'd say it definitely sounds like time for setting some boundaries around supposedly "developmental" activities that lead nowhere (and perhaps an accounting of same to Incoming's replacement as head of department or division or whatever you've got these days), not to mention an insistence that you actually get the accommodations you need (easier said than done, I know, and a heavily spoon-depleting activity in itself. Ugh.) More "leadership" and "career" "development" activities seem to be coming down the pike in my neck of the woods, without any noticeable creation of additional career tracks for anybody but administrators (who of course list provision of said activities as achievements on c.v.s, end-of-year reports, etc., etc.).
DeleteAnd I, too, would like a couple of feline companions of the sort you describe (though I must say the warm-spot-snatching technique is quite clever, though it would certainly be annoying in the middle of the night).
I'm sorry about the admin job. Having been turned down -- or not even considered -- for a bunch of admin jobs (both filled by mild-mannered white guys) recently, I hear you. What's been important/useful for me is to say, right, you don't think you need me, fine. I'll do what I need to and focus on my own stuff now.
DeleteI'm really sorry about the admin job too. Your situation just seems harrowing and I keep hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel for you!!!
DeleteI don't have a particular setting in mind, although DEH's beach, long walk included, sounds heavenly. I would also spend large stretches of the day knitting, perhaps while watching the surf or chatting idly with a beloved friend, and then reading something pleasant and easy and comfortable.... Ahhh.....
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Weekly accounting: 32.5 hours actual work, 22% research, 49% teaching, 24% service. It was a week of many meetings.
2. Write 2500 words of fiction, at 500/day--DONE, barely.
3. Exercise x5 -YES, sit x5 -YES, write x5 -YES, language x5 -x4..
4. Book revisions: Enter edits into chapter 5 -YES; keep working on M via AP -NO; contact editor for next steps -Received and reviewed draft contract.
5. Finish Malory book 8 and read 50 pages of book 9. -NO; pretty much forgot about this. And I seem incapable of getting out of Book 8. Tristram is bogging me down in a big way.
This week:
1. Weekly accounting
2. Exercise x4, research x5, language x5, sit x5.
3. 2500 words of that stupid novel which I now hate.
4. Forget P. Instead, finish ch. 5 revisions and start on ch. 4--address structural issues.
5. Malory through p. 400!!!!
A dear friend and member of my dissertation committee told me to take care with the topic I chose because there would be days that I would hate it. Many projects later, I've come to see the days of hate as reaching a certain intimacy with a project--it's a sign to me that you're deeply engaged and know it so well that when it resists, you just feel hateful. For a day or two.
DeleteI like this question! Really anywhere that provides a pleasant natural setting for a long walk in temperatures somewhere between about 30 and 70 degrees (appropriate garb available), good food (cooked by someone else), and a comfortable reading spot would do very nicely. Bonus points for having it mostly or entirely to myself (give or take the person cooking the food).
ReplyDeleteI did manage to take a walk today, for the first time in a long time (weather is unseasonably warm here, *and* my favorite local walking spot -- a national park with a single entrance point and lockable gate -- is open now that the US government is fully open again, at least for the time being). So that's a start (and I will happily claim it as part of the week's achievements, since the week is well begun).
Goals from 2 weeks ago [+ outcomes]:
--Movement on at least 3 days in at least 2 modes, including at least one weight-lifting session [not really. Maybe one stretch session in there?]
--Complete second individual contribution to curricular project [no]
--Deal with technical issue; get curricular-project peer reviews assigned to others; work on my own editorial reviews [yes to technical issue; some reviews assigned; have not worked on own editorial reviews]
--Deal with 3 curricular project loose ends: review form, copyright/licensing page, and description page [no]
--Continue curriculum project planning and organizing (schedule at least conference-presentation planning and grant-report writing) [didn't do any conference-presentation or cfp planning writing; did write the grant report]
--Continue morning writing on days I'm working at home (individual curricular project submission; topic brainstorming) [some days; did a bit on individual submission, if I recall correctly]
--take or at least schedule a day off in the near future (this week or next) [no]
--make progress on financial stocktaking and organizing [no]
--Decide what professional book I should read next (and maybe start reading it) [I'm in a Faculty Learning Community, so readings for that are going to count for now]
--Keep working on getting to bed earlier [very mixed success]
Basically, I was done in by a combination of TRQ stuff associated with the beginning of the semester and the final report for the curriculum-project grant becoming TRQ. I did get the grant report in (and the semester started), so that's something. But there's still a good deal of work to do on the project itself (this is the problem with grants, I find: all the administrivia associated with them takes away time from the project itself. And at least in the case of this project, the amount of money available for stipends thanks to the grant is pretty minimal, and the amount of money available to compensate someone -- me -- for the work associated with administering the grant not at all proportionate to the amount of work involved. So I'm not writing any more grant applications for the project, though I've told colleagues I'm happy to support them if they want to, and I'm happy to keep working on the project. Fortunately the project doesn't actually require money, just labor from the participants and some technical/cyber infrastructure support from the university, which is available without any further grant-writing. So we'll go with what we've got unless and until one of my colleagues wants to take up the grant-writer/PI mantle -- and yes, I find it rather funny to be designated a PI, given the scale of both the project and the amount of funding, but that's what it says on the application and the official award letter and the report. At least I think I've managed to distribute the funds responsibly, with appropriate accountability and transparency and all that. That's the scary part, since I have absolutely no training or preparation for that part of the job.)
So the overall goal is to get back on track, without overwhelming myself (I think I knew that last list of goals was a bit much, and so it proved). So,
DeleteGoals for the coming week:
--At least 1 walk, 1 stretch session, and 1 weight-lifting session, preferably on 3 different days.
--Follow up on editorial and peer reviews for curricular project (both my own and those assigned to others), especially my own editorial review of contribution by colleague who will soon be on maternity leave.
--Make progress on second individual contribution to curricular project
--Continue morning writing on weekdays I'm at home (1 day on individual contribution, 1 day on reflection for FLC)
--Talk to colleague about possible conference-presentation proposal on curricular project
--Take a day off (Saturday?)
--aim to be in bed by 9 p.m. each night (even if reading)
Getting caught up can be a challenge when the semester starts with big obligations/projects. Dedicating yourself to making ongoing progress is the best strategy, I think.
DeleteI'm curious if the national park fared badly during the shutdown? I've been horrified by some of the things I've seen at parks.
Because this one was fully shut down (it's an island, with one entrance, via a bridge with a lockable gate, which was locked for the duration, and no real boat access), it seems to have done quite well. The wildlife probably enjoyed the respite from the humans. I, too, have heard of damage elsewhere.
DeleteTopic: My character could use a day at a cozy mountain inn, say in the Catskills or the Adirondacks. A brisk hike to admire the mountains on a crisp autumn day, followed by reading a book while enjoying spiced tea by the fire sounds just the ticket.
ReplyDeleteAs for transferring that into my week, I can just glimpse the Catskills on one hill during the drive home from work. I can take a walk around campus or my neighborhood, despite it being winter, not autumn. The tea is easy to come by--not as plentiful in its variety at work, but I do have enough tea at home to open a shop (so the Philosopher says). The fire is also not available at work, but is on every evening at home, with me ensconced on the chaise longue next to it.
Last weeks' goals:
Survive the airports. Yes, with a long delay, but survived.
Survive the committee meetings. Yes, thank goodness, done for six months!
Give the presentations. Yes, and they went well, to the point of being asked to give a longer one this summer.
Knit half an hour a day. Yes.
Write 500 words a day. Not even close, sadly.
Edit 4 pages a day. Only 3 days.
Draw one character’s face. No. I am completely struggling with this goal.
Analysis: The past week was half conference and half re-entry to work. The conference wasn’t bad, the weather was nice, and I got to visit with family on both sides of the marital tree, which was extremely cheering. Then I walked back into hell. I cannot say more. I have been trying to keep my mind on things of importance, but it is hard to ignore the biting blackflies that are swarming around me and my staff at the moment. I find myself trying to research and write, only to fall back into the anger and disappointment.
On a positive note, I am continuing to exercise and watch what I eat, despite wanting to devour everything in sight from the stress. I am up to walking five miles a day, and have lost six pounds in the past six weeks. I am continuing to knit for stress relief, and to meditate several times during the day. The writing is slow, but I hope that the work situation will resolve itself in a few weeks. I am still struggling with drawing--I feel so inept, it is hard to pick up the pencil, even though I know I’ll never get any better if I never practice.
Next week’s goals:
Write 500 words a day.
Draw one picture this week.
Write and post a snippet of the novella.
Knit half an hour a day.
I hope everyone has a calm, wonderful, and productive week. Float like mist, all!
Oh, sorry about the biting blackflies. That does not sound good. Sending internet tea and sympathy.
DeleteDitto what Susan says. I had coffee with my department chair yesterday--a very rare purely social visit--and learned about some ugly things going on nearby. There's an ever-so-naive part of my brain that can't understand why people persist in being unkind to one another. I'm sorry that's in your circle these days.
DeleteMy rest day is in the west Dorset countryside, where I can go for a 3 or 4 mile hike, then sit in the pretty cottage and read a good book for pleasure, after which a lovely dinner with good friends will appear, and include good wine.
ReplyDeleteThis week? Not happening. THough I did take yesterday pretty much as a sick day. But I don't think that really counts. And the Church thing that takes me out of town on Saturday makes me go to a lovely place in the Sierra Foothills.
Anyway, How did I do?
1. Finish last course updates (TRQ) Done (need to upload to LMS, but done)
2. Finish graduate fellowship recommendations (TRQ)DONE
3. Finish conference program (TRQ) DONE
4. Do taxes (TRQ) Done
These should all be done by Friday, so the weekend is free
5. Start reading book for review NOT DONE
6. Keep up with exercise Some, but not really. Too much rain.
7. Keep sleep schedule One bad night, but mostly OK.
Oof. Got the taxes done easily, but the grad applications were held up by a glitch in our new admissions system that our chair had neglected to tell me about (and then blamed me for not knowing). Fortunately, the Associate Dean helped me, but Friday afternoon was not happy. Finally got the program finished on Monday, when I was coming down with something, so I made a bunch of mistakes which have now been fixed.
I don't think it's surprising I got sick. Not very sick, but just wiped out, fuzzy. I needed a rest day.
Anyway, goals for the week ahead are limited because I have to go to a church event on Friday afternoon/Saturday. However, I have relatively limited reading for Monday, so should have some time on Sunday. But I hate losing my one free day.
1. Write book review
2. Catch up on emails (get down 100 in my inbox)
3. Read ILL book that needs to be returned.
4. Start walking again
5. Keep up good sleep schedule, going to bed at 10 PM or soon after
Fantasizing about that Dorset day...
Oh, and a parenthetical observation about life in higher ed these days: we keep getting new systems that are supposed to help do X better. We've got the new grad admissions one, we've got another new one for merit reviews, we've got a 3rd for assessment, never mind the LMS, the grant tracking one,room scheduling,financial reporting, etc etc etc. What these do is make it easier to do things without staff support, but they make the lives of faculty members harder. Many of these we only use once or twice a year, and all are (to be polite) idiosyncratic. On the other hand, most staff only work with some of them...
DeleteA good week behind you! It is ridiculous how the technology intended to make our lives better and easier always adds a layer of stress and difficulty.
DeleteI was going to say a riverside cabin or little house on the beach, but I like the idea of a an English countryside cottage, too. Any charming place will do where I can read and write and look out the window and take the occasional walk. This week, I can try to spend some time reading/writing in the witch hut--the lovely structure that my husband built for the backyard. I might even be due for a couple of hours at a coffee shop. I haven't been getting out the house much.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1) Walk or yoga or 7-minute workout x3--DONE.
2) 200 words related to novel--NOT DONE.
3) Help to make sure Husband feels celebrated; surrender to party planning and prepping on Sunday.--DONE.
This week:
Not much time left. I'm realizing that if I don't check in by Sunday, I'm screwed until Thursday. M-R are always rushed and packed, and this week has been so even more than usual because of my daughter's mock trial events. Still, maybe I can get a little TLQ in this weekend.
1) 1.5 hours on conference paper.
2) 1.5 hours on novel.
3) Exercise x2.
4) Take son on outing.
5) Pay bills.
Oh, and I'd also like a finish a scarf for my mother-in-law so my husband can take it to her when he goes to see her in Colorado next weekend.
DeleteBetter late than never- I am struggling to keep up with things and just feel overly busy. But I am really looking forward to Spring Break where I have no plans whatsoever other than to catch up on sleep and things around the house and some work. This week an old nerve injury came back unexpectedly so I have been dealing with facial nerve pain etc. not fun. My ideal break would be spent at a house on the beach somewhere, taking walks and just staring at the waves. Getting a walk or two outside here this coming week would help.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Submit job description for post doc Y
2. Read and comment on grad student's proposal Y
3. Start and maybe finish hard R and R started but not finished
4. Figures for Encyclo - make a list No
5. figure person to see where we stand on book Sort of
6. Gym x 3 plus one more movement activity Yes
7. Fun x 2 Yes
This week
1. Prep lab for class
2. Grad student meetings x 3
3. R and R- continue
4. Start conference paper
5. Figures for book- meet with figure drafter
6. Gym x 3
7. Fun x 2