Hello all! This is a short session—only 12 weeks—so I didn’t
post a mid-session check in. With two weeks remaining, this is a good moment to
look back at your session goals and see if you want to adapt your goals for the
week ahead.
This also seems like a good moment to put out a call for our
next host, although I think there may be existing commitments that I’m not
remembering.
Looking forward!
Contingent Cassandra
Session goals:
Highest priority (do or at least review/plan each week):
--Increase movement (stretch, walking, and weight-lifting) & other self-care that supports it (routines, sleep, food)
--Make continued progress on curricular project]
--Take regular half- or full-day breaks (and figure out what makes them genuinely refreshing: long-form reading is usually a good bet; what else?)
Medium priority (try to fit in 2 or 3 in all but the busiest weeks):
--Make continued progress on financial planning (in particular, get taxes as far as they need to be well before 4/15)
--Work on reflective writing
--Work on professional reading
--Make enough progress on garden projects to be ready for spring inspection (some but not all of the projects are strenuous enough to count for movement goals as well)
Highest priority (do or at least review/plan each week):
--Increase movement (stretch, walking, and weight-lifting) & other self-care that supports it (routines, sleep, food)
--Make continued progress on curricular project]
--Take regular half- or full-day breaks (and figure out what makes them genuinely refreshing: long-form reading is usually a good bet; what else?)
Medium priority (try to fit in 2 or 3 in all but the busiest weeks):
--Make continued progress on financial planning (in particular, get taxes as far as they need to be well before 4/15)
--Work on reflective writing
--Work on professional reading
--Make enough progress on garden projects to be ready for spring inspection (some but not all of the projects are strenuous enough to count for movement goals as well)
Last
week (carried over)
--Walk
at least 2x, lift weights and stretch at least 1x each
--Communicate
with OER project group (group email; also send email to my co-coordinator that
I just discovered sitting in my drafts folder)
--Do
curricular project conference poster proposal (this is now TRQ, since it's due
3/1)
--Regroup,
or at least plan to regroup, on curricular project and things more generally,
including scheduling a day off as soon as midterm grades are in.
Dame Eleanor Hull
Session goals: Live with uncertainty and work the process
w/r/t selling the house.
Complete one conference paper (drawn from translation introduction).
Draft second conference paper (related to book project).
Manage teaching/grading efficiently.
Get tax stuff taken care of in a timely way.
Make arrangements for June and August trips.
Complete one conference paper (drawn from translation introduction).
Draft second conference paper (related to book project).
Manage teaching/grading efficiently.
Get tax stuff taken care of in a timely way.
Make arrangements for June and August trips.
Last week:
Health: exercise, stretch, sleep, eat safely.
Research: keep up with language work; more translation style checking; edit introduction based on new editorial comments.
Teaching: Check off in-class writing.
Admin: prep for meeting; write a letter.
Life Stuff: Deposit, pay bills, assemble tax stuff. Use and look at calendar regularly. Pull self together.
Research: keep up with language work; more translation style checking; edit introduction based on new editorial comments.
Teaching: Check off in-class writing.
Admin: prep for meeting; write a letter.
Life Stuff: Deposit, pay bills, assemble tax stuff. Use and look at calendar regularly. Pull self together.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Session goals:
Organizing Goals:
Continue to organize the dissertation files, which I swear reproduce at night.
Continue to organize the new veal-fattening pen, with the goal to minimize.
Writing Goals:
Write 750 words a day, whether morning pages, character profiles, or back story.
Edit three pages a day of the sabbatical project.
Health Goals:
Walk at least forty minutes a day.
Use the standing desk at least three hours a day.
Keep current with medical appointments.
Creativity goals:
Draw once a week.
Knit for at least a half-hour daily.
Organizing Goals:
Continue to organize the dissertation files, which I swear reproduce at night.
Continue to organize the new veal-fattening pen, with the goal to minimize.
Writing Goals:
Write 750 words a day, whether morning pages, character profiles, or back story.
Edit three pages a day of the sabbatical project.
Health Goals:
Walk at least forty minutes a day.
Use the standing desk at least three hours a day.
Keep current with medical appointments.
Creativity goals:
Draw once a week.
Knit for at least a half-hour daily.
Last
week (carried over):
Write
500 words a day.
Draw
one picture this week.
Write
and post a snippet of the novella.
Knit
half an hour a day.
Good Enough Woman
Session Goals:
1) Draft and complete conference paper to be delivered first week of April.
2) Write 5,000 words of of novel.
3) Do regular exercise (aim for 7500-10,000 steps daily, and substitute with yoga and 7-minute workouts).
4) Stick to healthy-eating commitments.
5) Meet various and emerging family needs/goals as they arrive with grace and intention.
1) Draft and complete conference paper to be delivered first week of April.
2) Write 5,000 words of of novel.
3) Do regular exercise (aim for 7500-10,000 steps daily, and substitute with yoga and 7-minute workouts).
4) Stick to healthy-eating commitments.
5) Meet various and emerging family needs/goals as they arrive with grace and intention.
Last week:
1) Bake something for daughter's school Open House and sign
up ahead of time for a volunteer slot.
2) Catch up with DE training, including backing up my laptop and upgrading software.
3) 1 hour on conference paper
4) Walk the dog once or twice.
5) Finish self-evaluation.
6) Take son to aquarium store.
2) Catch up with DE training, including backing up my laptop and upgrading software.
3) 1 hour on conference paper
4) Walk the dog once or twice.
5) Finish self-evaluation.
6) Take son to aquarium store.
heu mihi
Session goals:
1. Daily things x5: Language, exercise, write, sit.
2. Finish revisions to book - ch. 5, ch. 4, and intro.
3. Work on Amy: if not a full draft, then a full pre-draft + clear sense of where it's going.
4. Keep up weekly work-logging unless I decide after a few weeks that I hate it and want to stop.
5. Health: no alcohol 2x week, more fruit and nuts, fewer chips and sweets.
6. Fiction: Finish NaNo from 2018--about 20,000 more words.
1. Daily things x5: Language, exercise, write, sit.
2. Finish revisions to book - ch. 5, ch. 4, and intro.
3. Work on Amy: if not a full draft, then a full pre-draft + clear sense of where it's going.
4. Keep up weekly work-logging unless I decide after a few weeks that I hate it and want to stop.
5. Health: no alcohol 2x week, more fruit and nuts, fewer chips and sweets.
6. Fiction: Finish NaNo from 2018--about 20,000 more words.
Last week:
1. Weekly accounting
2. Write 2 hours a day (10 total)
3. Sit
4. Yoga x2, run once if I can
5. Grade all the things by the end of Sunday so that I can just write over break
2. Write 2 hours a day (10 total)
3. Sit
4. Yoga x2, run once if I can
5. Grade all the things by the end of Sunday so that I can just write over break
humming42
Session goals:
1 submit February essay
2 complete and submit four book reviews
3 plan for March conference
4 create plan and work on December essay
5 create plan and work on Tiny Project
1 submit February essay
2 complete and submit four book reviews
3 plan for March conference
4 create plan and work on December essay
5 create plan and work on Tiny Project
Last
week (carried over):
1
Submit TRQ book review
2
Submit 3 article reviews
3
Post to reading group
4
Submit seminar draft notes
KJHaxton
Session Goals:
1. Deal with edits to Albatross book chapter when they come and send back by deadline
2. Deal with revise and resubmit on International paper that have been stalled since September
3. Draft and submit sustainable paper once I've dug out and analysed the data
4. Submit small funding application for Workload project and get started on it if accepted
5. Submit small funding application for other project once I've figured out what it will be.
6. make a concerted effort to do crafty things each week
1. Deal with edits to Albatross book chapter when they come and send back by deadline
2. Deal with revise and resubmit on International paper that have been stalled since September
3. Draft and submit sustainable paper once I've dug out and analysed the data
4. Submit small funding application for Workload project and get started on it if accepted
5. Submit small funding application for other project once I've figured out what it will be.
6. make a concerted effort to do crafty things each week
Last
week:
1. finish the marking
2. prep the classes for the week after
3. draft outlines for new paper
4. continue to deal with the small things.
2. prep the classes for the week after
3. draft outlines for new paper
4. continue to deal with the small things.
JaneB
GOALS FOR THE SESSION (for
reporting/record keeping)
1) Teaching
1a) by the end of Jan I want to have a complete teaching plan, and to have done all semester 1 grading.
1b) February and March, support project students appropriately, keep their records up to date, and be up to date with other teaching.
2) self-care:
2a) establishing better self-care habits
2b) sugar-free February
3) Research and writing: a paper's-worth of research and writing (these items may be substituted with items of equal value...).
3a) data collection. Complete second set of simulation runs and data analysis for ProblemChildPaper2.
3b) writing drafts: FlatProject1 from one page outline to a zero draft, ScaryPilotPaper from crappy zero draft to full second draft.
3c) revision and resubmission (and proofing) for LikesMaths1 and ProblemChildPaper1
3d) miscellaneous writing: completion and submission of abstracts for Quadrennial Conference, two newsletters for SocietyThing, blog post for FlatProject, grant outline FunButProbablyUnfundable
4) making stuff and being creative:
4a) complete three blocks (including current one) and design two more for research-themed knitting.
4b) large crochet project - starting the next China Blue section
4b) Groves crappy zero draft completed
5) domestic chaos reduction
5a) four sessions with the Chaos Reduction Woman
5b) reach point where have had the electrician in to fix the bathroom fan and quote for a couple of other jobs.
1) Teaching
1a) by the end of Jan I want to have a complete teaching plan, and to have done all semester 1 grading.
1b) February and March, support project students appropriately, keep their records up to date, and be up to date with other teaching.
2) self-care:
2a) establishing better self-care habits
2b) sugar-free February
3) Research and writing: a paper's-worth of research and writing (these items may be substituted with items of equal value...).
3a) data collection. Complete second set of simulation runs and data analysis for ProblemChildPaper2.
3b) writing drafts: FlatProject1 from one page outline to a zero draft, ScaryPilotPaper from crappy zero draft to full second draft.
3c) revision and resubmission (and proofing) for LikesMaths1 and ProblemChildPaper1
3d) miscellaneous writing: completion and submission of abstracts for Quadrennial Conference, two newsletters for SocietyThing, blog post for FlatProject, grant outline FunButProbablyUnfundable
4) making stuff and being creative:
4a) complete three blocks (including current one) and design two more for research-themed knitting.
4b) large crochet project - starting the next China Blue section
4b) Groves crappy zero draft completed
5) domestic chaos reduction
5a) four sessions with the Chaos Reduction Woman
5b) reach point where have had the electrician in to fix the bathroom fan and quote for a couple of other jobs.
Last week:
1) self-care: FETCH PRESCRIPTION, do something not-work
every evening other than stare at phone, go to bed early, drink 1.5-2 l of
water a day and focus on hitting >5 fruit and veg portions a day, cut down
refined sugar.
2) making stuff and being creative: do yarn order for colourwork block, play with patterns.
3) domestic chaos reduction: Catch up with washing up. Buy birthday card(s).
4) Teaching: prepare for next week (shouldn't be too bad), set first half of exam Qs for new module, set up resit exam for first year module, plan redesign of two first year modules (sigh)
5) research: Continue ProblemChild2 analysis. Model runs for FlatProject. Reply to difficult email about Gallimaufray. put draft of grant idea firmly aside
2) making stuff and being creative: do yarn order for colourwork block, play with patterns.
3) domestic chaos reduction: Catch up with washing up. Buy birthday card(s).
4) Teaching: prepare for next week (shouldn't be too bad), set first half of exam Qs for new module, set up resit exam for first year module, plan redesign of two first year modules (sigh)
5) research: Continue ProblemChild2 analysis. Model runs for FlatProject. Reply to difficult email about Gallimaufray. put draft of grant idea firmly aside
oceangirl101
1. Write 1.5 chapters of the book, finish R and R on edited
volume paper, write a conference paper, finalize an Encyclopedia entry. Will
manage this with three days of writing 500+ words a day, two days of editing
and/or research for 90 min.
2. Work out 4-5 x a week (walking, gym, or Pilates)
3. Self care x 2 a week(PT, therapy, massage)
4. Do something fun x 2 (if want to be social then be social, but if this means I go to a movie by myself that is ok too)
5. Do stuff around the house- at least one thing per week (look for new decorator, prune garden, get handyman in, furniture repair etc).
2. Work out 4-5 x a week (walking, gym, or Pilates)
3. Self care x 2 a week(PT, therapy, massage)
4. Do something fun x 2 (if want to be social then be social, but if this means I go to a movie by myself that is ok too)
5. Do stuff around the house- at least one thing per week (look for new decorator, prune garden, get handyman in, furniture repair etc).
Last
week:
1. Complete text small Encyclo entry
2. Work with drafter on Book figures and Encyclo entry
3. Look at Ch 3 outline of book and spend two days organizing notes/outlining and/or writing bits
4. Work on conference paper - crunch numbers for 3 hrs
5. Meet with GIS paper about future grant writing/student research project
6. Fun x 2
7. Exercise x 3
8. Handyman out to house to do some projects, start to think about summer gardening
2. Work with drafter on Book figures and Encyclo entry
3. Look at Ch 3 outline of book and spend two days organizing notes/outlining and/or writing bits
4. Work on conference paper - crunch numbers for 3 hrs
5. Meet with GIS paper about future grant writing/student research project
6. Fun x 2
7. Exercise x 3
8. Handyman out to house to do some projects, start to think about summer gardening
Susan
Goals for this session:
Teaching: I'm teaching a new course this term, a freshman seminar, but it's related to what I think will be my next book. I need to do the syllabus for that, and plan the teaching, but I think it will be more grading stress than preparation stress. By the middle of the semester I want to begin to use the teaching to support writing.
Research:
I have two essays to work on right now - one I'll call "Collaboration" is a third joint essay with a friend for one of the companion volumes. It's due at the end of June, and we're trying to get a draft pretty far along this month. The second, Violence, was submitted for a volume that changed its focus after the first round, so I have to do some edits and shift the focus back to what it was before.
The third project is a short book I call "Author", which will connect to my teaching.
The final project I'll call "Editing", where I am co-editor of a big book (30 chapters). I've just sent the table of contents to the editor of the series, and once I get a contract, will be doing a bunch of administrative work in contacting authors for the chapters we've outlined.
Life/self-care:
1. I used to do pottery before I moved here, and I have signed up for a class that starts tonight. I see this as reclaiming a part of myself.
2. Exercise: I go to a class 3 days a week, but want to add walking at least twice a week.
3. Sleep: I've been working on this for years, but I would like to get closer to 7 hours of sleep a night than I do now. It makes a huge difference.
4. Keep the house and desk under control. I'm not naturally tidy, but I've realized I get paralyzed when stuff accumulates. So I need to give myself an hour a week to keep the house under control.
Teaching: I'm teaching a new course this term, a freshman seminar, but it's related to what I think will be my next book. I need to do the syllabus for that, and plan the teaching, but I think it will be more grading stress than preparation stress. By the middle of the semester I want to begin to use the teaching to support writing.
Research:
I have two essays to work on right now - one I'll call "Collaboration" is a third joint essay with a friend for one of the companion volumes. It's due at the end of June, and we're trying to get a draft pretty far along this month. The second, Violence, was submitted for a volume that changed its focus after the first round, so I have to do some edits and shift the focus back to what it was before.
The third project is a short book I call "Author", which will connect to my teaching.
The final project I'll call "Editing", where I am co-editor of a big book (30 chapters). I've just sent the table of contents to the editor of the series, and once I get a contract, will be doing a bunch of administrative work in contacting authors for the chapters we've outlined.
Life/self-care:
1. I used to do pottery before I moved here, and I have signed up for a class that starts tonight. I see this as reclaiming a part of myself.
2. Exercise: I go to a class 3 days a week, but want to add walking at least twice a week.
3. Sleep: I've been working on this for years, but I would like to get closer to 7 hours of sleep a night than I do now. It makes a huge difference.
4. Keep the house and desk under control. I'm not naturally tidy, but I've realized I get paralyzed when stuff accumulates. So I need to give myself an hour a week to keep the house under control.
Last week:
1. Work on collaborative piece on THursday and Friday: save
late afternoon for grading and other admin tasks
2. Do fellowship apps
3. Keep up with conference details
4. FInish other admin stuff on GE
5. Catch up on email, which has once again multiplied...
6. Walk twice
7. Get into reading
8. Get good sleep
2. Do fellowship apps
3. Keep up with conference details
4. FInish other admin stuff on GE
5. Catch up on email, which has once again multiplied...
6. Walk twice
7. Get into reading
8. Get good sleep
Waffles
Session
goals?
Last
week:
So, my goal for this week is to choose one manuscript, make a
super detailed list of what I need to do to make it good enough to send to a
co-author - and make a detailed plan for when I will get each of those pieces
done.
I can't believe there are only two weeks to go. It's probably because Easter is a long way off yet!
ReplyDeleteSession Goals:
1. Deal with edits to Albatross book chapter when they come and send back by deadline
DONE and resubmitted and the proofs are DONE! It's finally done (project started in 2011 and it's DONE DONE DONE)
2. Deal with revise and resubmit on International paper that have been stalled since September
Nope
3. Draft and submit sustainable paper once I've dug out and analysed the data
Data has been dug out (got 5 years apparently, I play a long game sometimes.
4. Submit small funding application for Workload project and get started on it if accepted
Application abandoned because of stuff, but am making progress through bits of project that didn't need funding.
5. Submit small funding application for other project once I've figured out what it will be.
That's this week's task.
6. make a concerted effort to do crafty things each week
So-so, can't get into a project, not sure why.
Last week:
1. finish the marking
DONE but more came in ...BOOO!
2. prep the classes for the week after
Nope, horrible mental block caused by forces of darkness
3. draft outlines for new paper
I dug out the data and made a very general outline.
4. continue to deal with the small things.
Sort of doing this, sort of badly.
I'm just so tired. Tired of politics at work, tired of politics in the UK, tired of being tired, tired of not having time to do stuff I want to do, or stuff I need to do. Just so freakin' tired. I'll keep my session goals the same but for the one I've done.
This week:
1. Analyse data for sustainable paper, collect literature and be prepared to write at Friday's writing retreat (if I go, generally too tired on Fridays so may not be wise)
2. Write class for Tuesday, review class materials for Thursday
3. Write class for week after.
That would be enough really.
The forces of darkness are a pervasive threat. Maybe make a protective amulet as a crafty project?
DeleteSeconding the SO TIRED.
DeleteThe days are getting longer, and I'm probably more fed up now than I was in proper winter...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteYes on the protective amulet! I just marvel at how we manage to have so many different kinds of projects spinning around us all the time, some which demand our attention with endless screaming and others which quietly sit by, lonely, waiting for some time. The TLQ/TRQ phenomenon rings true here.
DeleteWell, this is interesting. I’d forgotten all about session goals, which were replaced in my mind by the story about mapping the unfamiliar terrain, etc., for the campaign beginning after this session.
ReplyDeleteSession goals: Live with uncertainty and work the process w/r/t selling the house. YES: plan to re-list next week.
Complete one conference paper (drawn from translation introduction). NO: conference cancelled (just as well).
Draft second conference paper (related to book project). NO: will have to kick this into high gear in April.
Manage teaching/grading efficiently. YES (well, maybe I could do less prep, but I'm getting papers back pretty quickly).
Get tax stuff taken care of in a timely way. UM. Will try to do this before the session ends.
Make arrangements for June and August trips. NOT YET: this keeps cropping up on my weekly lists, but I need to get Sir John in on the planning. Maybe this week.
In place of the conference papers, research time has been going to continued work on the translation, and to dead language study. I think I’m impressed that I soldier on with the languages, although sometimes I wonder if it’s a good idea to keep at them when it’s at the expense of progress on writing projects. But if not now, when? I love studying other languages.
Last week:
Health: exercise, stretch, sleep, eat safely. B+
Research: keep up with language work; more translation style checking; edit introduction based on new editorial comments. YES, NO, SOME.
Teaching: Check off in-class writing. YES. Plus wrote two new assignments.
Admin: prep for meeting; write a letter. YES; started the letter.
Life Stuff: Deposit, pay bills, assemble tax stuff. Use and look at calendar regularly. Pull self together. YES, YES, NO, YES, SOMEWHAT.
Other Life Stuff done last week: phone consultation with pension advisor, somewhat inconclusive b/c I don’t know what my salary bump for promotion will be (a colleague later gave me a figure that is more substantial than I expected, so yay); basically I should check again in about 3 years. Looking at this stuff also reminded me to change my beneficiaries, so I did that. Teeth cleaning.
And goals for the coming week:
DeleteHealth: the usual; try a digestive enzyme that is not a lactobacillus of any kind.
Research: Complete the translation work (intro, style checking).
Teaching: Grade two sets of papers.
Life Stuff: get the house tidied up to re-list, get tax stuff to the accountant.
Basically I have Three Things for this week: translation, grading, house. I'm blogging spring break chez moi.
Wow, you did some truly challenging TLQ last week that wasn't on your list: phone calls, financial paperwork, and the dentist. Bravo.
DeleteAh, I should have done a half-point check in on session goals just to size up what we thought would be happening in comparison with what is actually happening. Making adjustments, finding new paths. I'm planning on a final wrap on the narrative for the session for next week.
DeleteGEW: thanks! I thought so too. :-) To be fair, for the phone call I signed up online for an appointment and they called me, which helps.
DeleteH42: no criticism intended! Just noting what took over in my mind---even though I resisted the narrative prompt at first, it got a grip on my imagination!
Hi all. I don't recall any plans for the next iteration? Our usual summer session is May to August, quite a long one, so I guess we have two options - a short intersessional from the end of this one to the end of April (which I'd be happy to host) then a long summer session (volunteers?).
ReplyDeleteOr we can split the next 5 months into two shorter sessions?
Any suggestions/offers?
Totally selfishly thinking about the rhythms of my semester, I'd suggest a slightly longer intersession, going to mid-May, and then starting the summer session after that. I'd be willing to co-host one or the other, if the other person or people involved can be flexible about who takes which weeks: once again we're trying to sell our house and move, so I can't be sure when my crunch points will be.
DeleteI like DEH's suggestion, and am up for co-hosting whatever and whenever.
DeleteYes, mid-late May works better for the US semester (but not quarter) system.
DeleteI'm happy to co-host either one.
ReplyDeleteGOALS FOR THE SESSION
1) Teaching
1a) by the end of Jan I want to have a complete teaching plan, and to have done all semester 1 grading. well it's all done NOW so I guess, yes
1b) February and March, support project students appropriately, keep their records up to date, and be up to date with other teaching. on track here. at last!
2) self-care:
2a) establishing better self-care habits many wobbles
2b) sugar-free February managed a week
3) Research and writing: a paper's-worth of research and writing (these items may be substituted with items of equal value...).
3a) data collection. Complete second set of simulation runs and data analysis for ProblemChildPaper2.yes to the runs, no to the analyses... yet
3b) writing drafts: FlatProject1 from one page outline to a zero draft, ScaryPilotPaper from crappy zero draft to full second draft. FlatProject1 might happen in March. I can't right now even recall what ScaryPilot is which says a lot about my current state of barely-a-day-ahead-ness! note - looked it up in my journal, and actually it's nearly a zero draft, just needs some analysis doing and inserting by the lead person who has it in her meticulously managed work plan for March, so...
3c) revision and resubmission (and proofing) for LikesMaths1 and ProblemChildPaper1 PCP1 is making painful progress, LM1 is a little slowed by LikesMaths PhD defence, corrections, moving home, and starting a new position! But we negotiated an end of April due date for the revisions and are on course for it
3d) miscellaneous writing: completion and submission of abstracts for Quadrennial Conference, two newsletters for SocietyThing, blog post for FlatProject, grant outline FunButProbablyUnfundable Yes, one, no, begun
4) making stuff and being creative:
4a) complete three blocks (including current one) and design two more for research-themed knitting. completed current one, just about designed two...
4b) large crochet project - starting the next China Blue section no - but this would have been a parent visit activity as crochet is a good accompaniment to TV and chatting for fidgety fingered me, and I still haven't made it there...
4b) Groves crappy zero draft completed not touched
5) domestic chaos reduction
5a) four sessions with the Chaos Reduction Woman one scheduled and cancelled due to snow, one completed, two scheduled
5b) reach point where have had the electrician in to fix the bathroom fan and quote for a couple of other jobs. working on it...
Actually these seem to have been a reasonable set of goals, for once... apart from the self- care, but that is always a work in progress.
last week:
Delete1) self-care: FETCH PRESCRIPTION, do something not-work every evening other than stare at phone, go to bed early, drink 1.5-2 l of water a day and focus on hitting >5 fruit and veg portions a day, cut down refined sugar. yes, mostly, some days, some days, made 5 6 days out of 7, not great
2) making stuff and being creative: do yarn order for colourwork block, play with patterns.yes, no
3) domestic chaos reduction: Catch up with washing up. Buy birthday card(s).not any worse, done
4) Teaching: prepare for next week (shouldn't be too bad), set first half of exam Qs for new module, set up resit exam for first year module, plan redesign of two first year modules (sigh) yes, no, yes, begun
5) research: Continue ProblemChild2 analysis. Model runs for FlatProject. Reply to difficult email about Gallimaufray. put draft of grant idea firmly aside no, yes, no, yes...
Ugh. I'm tired and fed up and nothing is new in any of that! And there was an ice-cream-eating accident which isn't very good for me or my mood...
Next week
1) self-care: do something not-work every evening other than stare at phone, go to bed early, drink 1.5-2 l of water a day and focus on hitting >5 fruit and veg portions a day, cut down refined sugar.
2) making stuff and being creative: play with patterns
3) domestic chaos reduction: Catch up with washing up. send mother's birthday present and remember to call on the day. Session with Decluttering Woman next Saturday.
4) Teaching: prepare for next week, set first half of exam Qs for new module, set up resit exam for first year module, go to meeting about redesign of two first year modules (ugh)
5) research: Continue ProblemChild2 analysis. Try and set up time to talk about FlatProject draft. Reply to difficult email about Gallimaufray. Make list of projects in progress so I DON'T foget things...
Happy to see so much yes and done on your session goals.
DeleteSelf-care is, by its very nature, a work in progress. Way back when I was in college, I was complaining about body image to a queer friend in his 40s. He let out a huge laugh and said, "Oh, honey, your body never stops changing!" I try to remember that, and to remember that my self-care needs are fluid not fixed, even though cultural discourse says we should adopt a permanent lifestyle transformation to be better, stronger, faster. It just doesn't work that way, because we are not permanently just-so.
Today is a real Spring feeling day. I am a bit in awe of it. Life feels a bit better now, certainly way better than it did a few months ago. Time is the ultimate healer. It helps that I finally started writing the book again too, although it has been a slog.
ReplyDeleteSession Goals:
1. Write 1.5 chapters of the book, finish R and R on edited volume paper, write a conference paper, finalize an Encyclopedia entry. No on 1.5 chapters of the book, but did start writing Ch 3. Yes on conference paper, yes on Encyclo entry (other than figures which are in prep)
2. Work out 4-5 x a week (walking, gym, or Pilates). Sort of, I have managed 3x a week
3. Self care x 2 a week(PT, therapy, massage) Yes
4. Do something fun x 2 (if want to be social then be social, but if this means I go to a movie by myself that is ok too) Yes
5. Do stuff around the house- at least one thing per week (look for new decorator, prune garden, get handyman in, furniture repair etc). Yes, lots of this done but still more to do
Last week:
1. Complete text small Encyclo entry Yes
2. Work with drafter on Book figures and Encyclo entry Yes
3. Look at Ch 3 outline of book and spend two days organizing notes/outlining and/or writing bits Yes
4. Work on conference paper - crunch numbers for 3 hrs NO
5. Meet with GIS paper about future grant writing/student research project Yes
6. Fun x 2 Yes
7. Exercise x 3 Yes
8. Handyman out to house to do some projects, start to think about summer gardening Yes
This week:
1. Write 1000 words of CH3
2. Encyclo figures to drafter
3. Rank post-doc apps
4. Start grading class papers
5. Fun x 2
6. Exercise x 3
7. Send tax stuff off
Excellent to complete the majority of sessions goal *and* have Fun x 2 and Exercise x 3. I hope springlike weather continues and joy continues as a result.
DeleteOh,my. I don't know quite what to make of the speed with which January, February, and part of March have passed. I'm ridiculously behind with grading, not to mention TLQ goals, and I'm not really sure why, unless you count trying to keep up with the curriculum project, plus joining a faculty learning community, plus having one section that keeps losing days to snow days and needing to go online. The bottom line seems to be that it really doesn't take much, give my usual load (or at least my ability, or lack thereof, to cope with a 4:4 all-comp load. I know many do, with far less drama). Accumulated tiredness tends to play a role in the spring term as well; while I don't get as much of a break over the summer as I'd like, I get some. This was one of those Dec./Jan. stretches that didn't really involve much of a break, for various reasons.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, that said, let's take a look at session goals:
Highest priority (do or at least review/plan each week):
--Increase movement (stretch, walking, and weight-lifting) & other self-care that supports it (routines, sleep, food)
--Make continued progress on curricular project]
--Take regular half- or full-day breaks (and figure out what makes them genuinely refreshing: long-form reading is usually a good bet; what else?)
Medium priority (try to fit in 2 or 3 in all but the busiest weeks):
--Make continued progress on financial planning (in particular, get taxes as far as they need to be well before 4/15)
--Work on reflective writing
--Work on professional reading
--Make enough progress on garden projects to be ready for spring inspection (some but not all of the projects are strenuous enough to count for movement goals as well)
Well, I actually have been getting back into a fairly regular walking routine in the last 2-3 weeks, and very much enjoying it. That's a pretty major achievement, given how bad I am at re-starting, how much I enjoy it, and how much it supports other good things. So that's worth celebrating.
I've made some progress on the curricular project, but that's mostly in the form of report-writing, editing publicity-type copy written by someone else, and finishing a conference proposal. Somehow I really need to fit progress on the actual project into the next few weeks, before things become truly crazy, and to convince other participants to do the same. And I'm not sure that's going to happen this week (spring break), since catching up on grading and some time off are the highest priorities.
I haven't really taken a full day off since the semester began, but have had two nice long lunches with friends, and a few very low productivity days (which don't really count, but do demonstrate the value of taking actual time off before I end up taking accidental, much less pleasurable time off).
As for the medium priority stuff, I need to do my usual pre-tax-day triage (figure out what needs to go into a tax extension and figure the rest out after the semester is over) and concentrate on getting the garden minimally ready for inspection.
There has been sporadic professional reading, including one (relatively short) full book, the things I needed to read for the faculty learning community (mostly actually finished; a few in the last set skimmed), and some stuff for a class at church that overlaps with professional interests. So while I can't say I've been pursuing that goal in any organized way, it hasn't been entirely neglected.
I think I actually started a "questions to write about" file, but that's it (and probably will be mostly it) for reflective writing.
As for the goals that turned out to stretch over the last two weeks, they were modest, and (therefore?) I didn't do too badly:
Delete--Walk at least 2x, lift weights and stretch at least 1x each [walked quite a few more times than 2x; stretched with some frequency; didn't lift weights]
--Communicate with OER project group (group email; also send email to my co-coordinator that I just discovered sitting in my drafts folder) [done]
--Do curricular project conference poster proposal (this is now TRQ, since it's due 3/1) [done]
--Regroup, or at least plan to regroup, on curricular project and things more generally, including scheduling a day off as soon as midterm grades are in. [absolute minimum of regrouping done; still need more. Midterm grades are still not in, but I'm taking a day off tomorrow anyway.]
Goals for the coming week (which is, as mentioned above, spring break, but I'll be mostly catching up, and participating in a day-long assessment one day):
--Continue walking regularly; also stretch and lift weights at least 1x each
--Take a full day off (tomorrow) (this can and will be done)
--Do tax extension request
--Work on garden at least one day
--Clear out back of car to enable transporting of garden materials for more work
--Take at least a half-day off later in week (this might turn out to overlap with gardening or taking a longer walk)
--Fit in one bit of reflective writing if possible
--Set stage for continued work on curricular project (this may just mean catching up with grading and class planning, since the grading load for the next 3-4 weeks actually won't be too bad if I can clear the backlog, though there are other things to do, such as an annual report and some committee work)
Oh, and one more fun, garden-relevant goal for the week:
Delete--order seeds and bulbs for the spring (3 sources)
I have never been good with gardening or even houseplants, so I'm a bit awed and inspired by you and other folks here who manage to grow things. It does seem like a project that can have high yield in terms of meditative practice and usefulness.
DeleteI hope the (at least half) day off brings you goodness.
Growing things can also be an exercise in frustration and wheel-spinning (search my blog for creeping bellflower). I'm permanently scarred. Steer clear, is my advice. I hope one day to be able to cope with growing a few things in pots on a balcony or patio.
DeleteDEH--I think I'll leave the growing things to my husband, who has both experience and enthusiasm.
DeleteI've been fantasizing about gardening this week, but I know from experience that I lose interest and enthusiasm after approx. 1 day. Unfortunately, the flowers aren't done when you put them in the ground. Neither is the weeding a one-off. If only!
DeleteHowever, our yard needs things to compete with the infernal bishop's weed, so I'll be planting some stuff anyway.
I agree with the others that this stretch of the TLQ journey seem to be passing very quickly!
ReplyDeleteSession Goals:
1) Draft and complete conference paper to be delivered first week of April. NOT YET. OOF.
2) Write 5,000 words of of novel. HAHA
3) Do regular exercise (aim for 7500-10,000 steps daily, and substitute with yoga and 7-minute workouts). NOPE.
4) Stick to healthy-eating commitments. DONE, but now falling of the good path.
5) Meet various and emerging family needs/goals as they arrive with grace and intention. YES.
I have not been doing a great job with my session goals.
Last week:
1) Bake something for daughter's school Open House and sign up ahead of time for a volunteer slot. DONE.
2) Catch up with DE training, including backing up my laptop and upgrading software. TECH WORK, DONE. Still need to do some catching up.
3) 1 hour on conference paper. NOT DONE.
4) Walk the dog once or twice. NOT DONE.
5) Finish self-evaluation. ALMOST DONE.
6) Take son to aquarium store. DONE.
This week:
1) One hour on conference paper.
2) 30 minutes freewriting and brainstorming for novel. I don't think I'll get much written during this term, but maybe I can plan and be ready to write over summer.
3) Pay bills.
4) Start taxes.
5) Avoid having a heart attack while daughter is on field trip (with the 8th-grade band) to Disneyland.
My most favorite take away from TLQ is realizing that I can start again...the session ends, a new one begins, and we can set new goals and figure out what we want to do next. And for me, all session, it's been trying to do what I said I would do last week.
DeleteWishes for minimal worries about the Disneyland trip!
Moving the book deadline up has definitely changed things. Here's my term-goals check-in:
ReplyDelete1. Daily things x5: Language, exercise, write, sit. --Mostly. Have sidelined a lot of this in the last few weeks of revision; I'm ready (or almost ready) to get back into them.
2. Finish revisions to book - ch. 5, ch. 4, and intro. --On track, I think! And not just these revisions, but the whole book....
3. Work on Amy: if not a full draft, then a full pre-draft + clear sense of where it's going. --No, not at all. Will work on this in the next session.
4. Keep up weekly work-logging unless I decide after a few weeks that I hate it and want to stop. --Yes
5. Health: no alcohol 2x week, more fruit and nuts, fewer chips and sweets. --Yes.
6. Fiction: Finish NaNo from 2018--about 20,000 more words. --Have written more than 20k, but I have like one more scene to do.... I'll try to draft that before the session ends, just to be DONE.
Last week:
1. Weekly accounting: 37.25 hours (did not work on weekend); Research/writing 36%, teaching 45%, service 19%
2. Write 2 hours a day (10 total) -Did more than this--about 13 hours, I think.
3. Sit --One or twice?
4. Yoga x2, run once if I can --Yoga yes, running no
5. Grade all the things by the end of Sunday so that I can just write over break --Graded one class's worth but not the other
This week: is break! So I'll be able to breathe a bit around the workload.
1. Finish MS revisions?
2. Read & comment on mentee's essay
3. Get back to running (x3); yoga x2; sit x5
4. Clean the house
5. Teaching misc: rec letter, grading, sample essay, watch silly movie, read
Joy for break! I hope you're having a marvelous and also productive week.
DeleteI'm managing to increase my running intervals on the treadmill (knees won't really take pavement anymore). It feels great! I hope you get some good runs in this week.
DeleteI'm so glad I didn't do session goals so that I wasn't hit with how far behind I am when I read this post! :)
ReplyDeleteThis week:
I made detailed lists of what I need to do to move two publications forward.
PTSD paper
1. Get references
2. Add in how victimization was measured
3. Outline discussion
4. Email team about interactions
5. Find syndemics articles
6. Find reference about PTSD being super bad
Asthma paper
1. Fill in with more details about measures
2. Figure out what stats need to be done to tell a good story
3. Possibly re-run stats and revise results
By the way, for my crafty goals- I successfully (but kind of sloppily) embroidered a uterus!
I see in your goals for this week that good work of breaking projects down into do-able tasks, something I'm planning to do for next session (or over spring break, really) since I didn't do it this session and therefore never had a way to make progress because it all seemed unmanageable.
ReplyDeleteI'm so intrigued by the goal "Figure out what stats need to be done to tell a good story." This sounds like the best blending of qualitative and quantitative work.
Session goals:
ReplyDelete1 submit February essay: Yes, now on to R&R. I’m committed to adding to the lit review and support for this essay.
2 complete and submit four book reviews: Not sure, but I am mostly caught up. Books have come in late, throwing off my schedule.
3 plan for March conference: Yes. Now I need to decide I want to do this conference again next year.
4 create plan and work on December essay: No, but workplan will be a spring break project.
5 create plan and work on Tiny Project: No, and this workplan will also be a spring break project. Some folks on Twitter were having a playful conversation about how academics always have a book they’re working on, but they’re not working on it. Mine is Tiny Project. And I really want to write it,
Last week (carried over):
1 Submit TRQ book review: Yes, gladly.
2 Submit 3 article reviews: 2 of 3
3 Post to reading group: No
4 Submit seminar draft notes: No
This week:
1 Submit film review
2 Get 75% caught up on grading
3 Recruit judges for March conference
4 Recruit participants for April conference
Oh, jeez. This is depressing.
ReplyDeleteGoals for this session: I won't change them, but was I over optimistic!
Teaching: I'm teaching a new course this term, a freshman seminar, but it's related to what I think will be my next book. I need to do the syllabus for that, and plan the teaching, but I think it will be more grading stress than preparation stress. By the middle of the semester I want to begin to use the teaching to support writing. HA NO.
Research:
I have two essays to work on right now - one I'll call "Collaboration" is a third joint essay with a friend for one of the companion volumes. It's due at the end of June, and we're trying to get a draft pretty far along this month. The second, Violence, was submitted for a volume that changed its focus after the first round, so I have to do some edits and shift the focus back to what it was before. KEEP THIS
The third project is a short book I call "Author", which will connect to my teaching. WELL, I WROTE A GRANT PROPOSAL!
The final project I'll call "Editing", where I am co-editor of a big book (30 chapters). I've just sent the table of contents to the editor of the series, and once I get a contract, will be doing a bunch of administrative work in contacting authors for the chapters we've outlined. DONE WHAT I CAN NOW
Life/self-care:
1. I used to do pottery before I moved here, and I have signed up for a class that starts tonight. I see this as reclaiming a part of myself. DONE, THOUGH HAS BEEN FRUSTRATING AND NOT GOOD
2. Exercise: I go to a class 3 days a week, but want to add walking at least twice a week. HA, NO
3. Sleep: I've been working on this for years, but I would like to get closer to 7 hours of sleep a night than I do now. It makes a huge difference. KEEP THIS
4. Keep the house and desk under control. I'm not naturally tidy, but I've realized I get paralyzed when stuff accumulates. So I need to give myself an hour a week to keep the house under control. HA NO
Session goals: Have I mentioned that I said yes to altogether too many things in the fall, and now it's come to bite me? Yes, well. If I get through the semester having finished Violence and a good draft of Collaboration, I'll be thrilled. I've applied for a fellowship in June that will be on Author, so I've done what I can.
As for self -care, the pottery class has turned out not to be a good fit, and instead of relaxing, I find myself stressed about getting there, stressed about my abilities, and generally stressed because . . . And exercise has been bad. Meh.
Last weeks goals
DeleteLast week:
1. Work on collaborative piece on THursday and Friday: save late afternoon for grading and other admin tasks YES, KIND OF
2. Do fellowship apps DONE
3. Keep up with conference details MOSTLY
4. FInish other admin stuff on GE DONE
5. Catch up on email, which has once again multiplied...Yeah, no
6. Walk twice NO
7. Get into reading YES
8. Get good sleep NO
At this point I am in the triage mode, doing things when they absolutely have to be done. I'm on far too many committees, and the work on them picks up steam as the semester progresses, and I'm organizing this conference next week. BAD. The one good thing is that I'm not taking my iPad to bed, so I'm reading books (and I'm trying to read actual books, not on kindle, given the stack on my bedside table.) Finished Michelle Obama's book (fascinating for any teacher, esp. if you teach students from non-elite backgrounds), but that was reading till 2 AM after I'd worked past midnight on fellowship applications. And this morning I woke up from a nightmare at 4 AM, so that was not a good night's sleep either. Just so so tired. (Not helped by UK wild politics this week, or my god-daughter's miscarriage, etc.)
Goals for this week(brief, because it is Thursday!)
1. Spend 4 hours reading for Collaboration. If I can do more, great, but that's a start.
2. Grade papers
3. Finish conference stuff
4. Buy wine, beer & soft drinks for conference
5. Keep reading at night
6. Get back onto good sleep pattern