Hello! I wanted the title to this first post to be inclusive of both halves of the globe; I hope that it isn't simply confusing.
Welcome to the new session of TLQ! Unless I'm mistaken--please correct me if I am--we'll go for 14 weeks, which will take us right up to the start of September.
For this first week, please introduce yourself (newcomers welcome!), create some goals for the session, and add in your goals for the week. Our purpose here is to create a place for support and accountability as we progress towards the professional and/or personal goals that often get sidelined in the day-to-day busyness of our lives.
If you'd like an additional prompt, I invite you to think about what initially drew you to your career/discipline. If this is something that still sustains you or gives you pleasure, are there ways in which you can keep it in--or bring it back into--your life for the next few months?
About me: medievalist (in English department), recently promoted to Full Prof, American midwest, married to a man (nom de blogue: Sir John Hull), 3 cats, trying to sell our house and move nearer my workplace. This is turning into a long-drawn-out process.
ReplyDeleteSession goals:
1, underpinning all the rest, maintain healthy exercise and eating routines.
2, live with uncertainty and work the process w/r/t house.
3, finish 3-year-old R&R.
4, conference paper/part of book chapter.
5, plan all 4 classes for next year.
6, regular reading/study of foreign languages.
This week:
1, gym/walk/swim x6, stretch x6, usual low-FODMAP cooking.
2, meet with real estate agent, light gardening.
3, review essay, comments, past plans, books here/needed.
4, read/note two essays in ILL book.
5, continue planning courses, ~ 2-3 hours.
6, read at least 1/2 hr x 3 in a strong language, drill grammar or vocabulary x 5 in a weaker one.
I'm trying to make a lot of progress on work early in the summer, since (a) I don't know when/if I may have to shift to high gear on the moving process, (b) I'd like to spend a lot of time in July watching the Tour de France, (c) I have at least one trip planned in August, and classes re-start in the last week of August.
What initially drew me to the Middle Ages: three books I read when I was 8 or 9, at least one given me by my older brother, Bullfinch's Mythology: The Age of Charlemagne, The Once and Future King, and LOTR. I still work on OF and Arthurian literature, and regularly teach both Arthurian lit and some of Tolkien's shorter works, so really, nothing ever changes with me! Well, in my teens I wanted to be an engineer but I got over that, except that I married one and still think of writing as a sort of construction project.
I hope the house showings and selling go well. It's so difficult to keep things in a state of being within 30 minutes of showing.
DeleteYou list some of my favorite books from childhood, but I ended up enamored of archaeology at the time. Fascinating what turns our interests, and therefore our lives, take.
Oh, I wanted to be an archeologist from ages 5-16! But then I discovered I was good at math (prior to previous experience/belief), and wanted to see what I could do with that, and when I reached my limit there I went back to literature, and now one of my hats is Book Archaeologist. :-)
DeleteI am a mid-to-late career tenured Associate Librarian at an R1 in upstate New York, living with a husband, the Philosopher; two sons, the Political Philosopher, who is beginning PhD studies this fall, and the Astronomer, who is in full angst about whether he has the chops to pursue a subject he enjoys; and a spoiled Standard Poodle, who is quite arthritic despite thinking she is still a puppy. She and I have that delusion in common. I have advanced degrees in Medieval Studies, and have used that expertise in my current career for scholarship on early printed translations, especially those of classical authors.
ReplyDeleteI found medieval literature in college during a semester in which I had a Chaucer course for my English major and a Medieval French literature course for my French major. My French professor at one point described medieval literature as a “nuit etoilée,” a phrase that ignited a spark for me. I had been telling everyone I wanted to be a professor since I was thirteen, and now I knew which discipline called me.
Although that semester is now decades ago, I still dive into medieval literature like a sunwarmed pool on a July afternoon. I have had to realign my research to include aspects of rare book scholarship, but I don’t regret a day spent earning my medieval studies degrees.
Session goals (shamelessly pulled from last session):
Organizing Goals:
Create and execute a clear organization to the scholarly apparatus for Prudence.
Slash and burn through three lateral file drawers.
Writing Goals:
Edit three pages a day of Prudence.
Health Goals:
Get through surgery and recovery.
Continue to walk, dance and move.
Continue to eat better than I did a year ago.
Creativity goals:
Write at least fifteen minutes a day on a creative project--novella, novel, or story bible.
Knit for at least a half-hour daily.
Goals for the coming week:
Get through surgery.
Set up follow-up exam.
If fully cognizent, email associate dean and head of department.
If possible, spend a half-hour on the faculty review document.
If possible, begin article review.
I missed supporting and being supported by this group, and am glad to be back. Have a great week, and float like mist, everyone!
Good luck with your surgery! I hope that you're feeling well and enjoying some good self-care.
DeleteThank you, heu mihi. Not surprisingly, I had some complications, so I will be out for two weeks instead of one. I'm binging Netflix and suddenly falling asleep due to the pain meds. It's a very self-indulgent time. :)
DeleteHello all! I am a mid-career scientist in the UK in a mixed department (STEM, Social Science & Humanities) which delivers a range of programmes which I pseudonymise as Beach Studies, Beach Science, Shellology etc. We are Undergoing Change - some of it good (the head of department who was a very bad manager for me has officially left, as has Very Difficult Colleague who bullied me and others for many years, then apparently reformed but retained the capacity to become scary and irrational for no reason - his absence feels like a great weight gone now I'm coming to believe it's real). I have indifferent health, my career is stalled, and there are a lot of work pressures. My summer is full of non-summery things like meetings and trainings, and summery but work-intensive things like conferences/workshops. I share my cluttered house with an idiot but loving middle-aged boy-cat (Fluffball, aka Doofus), and I ought to make visits to various friends and family across the country. OUGHT to, but do not entirely want to. The top goal for the summer is refilling my personal reserves - the coming year is going to have a lot of workplace challenges, but after multiple disappointments and realisations about just how stalled I am (and realising that it's likely NOT just chance, that my trajectory is rather different from my male peers), I want to be a lot firmer about my boundaries and about voicing what I need, as well as continuing to be good at the things I care about - supporting students and colleagues, teaching well, thinking deeply. And to do that I need to feel grounded and well rooted, rested, and replenished.
ReplyDeleteI like studying pretty much everything (except French and economics - & the former was more about bad teachers than anything. Also I have a very bad memory for vocabulary, regardless of subject - I temporarily lose English words like "pencil" and "guinea pig" on the regular despite having a very large mental lexicon - so don't have the right basics for modern languages. One of my alternate selves does medieval and pre-medieval languages though, I'm sure...). I made choices of subjects/study paths with an eye to keeping options open, and assuming that science tended to be harder to get back into went to university to take a mixture of science subjects. I moved over the course of my undergrad (always for good reasons) from very hard science to a squishy and field based area, found my pet topic in a very badly delivered lecture on a wet Tuesday in February of second year when I realised there were parts of science where one person might also have very good reasons to study history and archaeology and half a dozen technically distinct scientific disciplines alongside their lab work, and did my PhD in mid-pies in the place I refer to as FavouriteIslands because they are. The disadvantage of being a relative generalist is getting pushed out of teaching one's actual specialism by people who refuse to broaden their niche, but... that's life. Also, I am verbose, apologies
Session goals fall into the usual two aspects of TLQ, the self and the Work.
Delete1a - self-care. water (lots), food (eat well), sleep (get into better habits), calm (cultivate it), less noodling (more deliberate choices)
1b - creating domestic order (a sub-class of self-care, but one with particular needs right now). continue to make progress with decluttering, with particular goals of having a kitchen I want to use and to have gotten a series of small handy-person-needed tasks done.
1c) making things. I want to get on with the research-related squares which have been quite neglected, finish never-ending project (which is in cotton yarn so pretty summer-handwork-friendly) and a pair of socks. Work on my NaNoWriMo novel from last year, and if I find the right mental space write some poetry.
2a - research writing. Get ProblemChild2 dispatched if possible to its first choice journal. Fragment (a new project F paper) - this will be a conference presentation in July and should become a complete paper manuscript by the end of the session. And get FlatProjectFirst into a fairly complete draft (assuming the problem I spotted last week is just a quirk and not an oh bug*ger we need to redo everything). Also write equivalent of one research grant application.
2b: teaching prep (to make space for more calm in semester). Key areas are "new" modules (complete rewrites of the GiantFirstYearModules, which I rather resent right now) and setting up a new teacher bag and teaching prep system (I like making systems).
2c: research data and admin things (I need to do some sample analysis on samples from FavouriteIslands, work out some storage solutions for twenty-mumble years of samples which are bursting out of their boxes and implement them, and refresh our collection of teaching/outreach visual materials for my core area, so it comes under research as it will be fun...).
This coming week I have to finish all grading, have various meetings plus a dental appointment, and have to prepare and deliver a pub science thing one evening, so keeping goals small:
1a: water consumption, setting up bullet journal lists for the summer to track good habits, eating up some things that snuck into the groceries over the last month (sweets, white bread...)
1b: the decluttering woman is coming tomorrow: we will tackle the wardrobe and the last third of the back bedroom...
1c: find out where the squares went (I suspect the decluttering woman had me put them with all my other knitting supplies as they are no longer on my desk which makes me forget about them) (we decluttered my desk! It's ace... but also weird.
2a: Skype with PDF about progress with pulling out data for Fragment, chase up email with FormerFlatProjectPDRA who hopefully was checking the "quirks" I noticed.
2b: start making some lists, send email about recce visit
2c: Find samples for FavouriteIslands analysis
3: extras: half an hour of office decluttering, watch a marvel movie when my marking is done
I love your verbosity!
DeleteGood luck with the busy week--I hope that you find some time for soothing self-care and pleasurable activities in there.
I love your verbosity as well, JaneB. Isn't it amazing to find a topic from a talk? I found Christine de Pizan in a very badly delivered presentation at K'zoo many years ago.
DeleteI hope your self-care goes well and becomes habit. I need to declutter, too, although I live with people who may not be hoarders, but like to keep their stuff. However, they are very good about encouraging me to take care of myself.
I’m humming42, recently promoted professor teaching in the humanities at a mid-sized third-tier state school in the US Southwest. I fell into my area of research while working on my masters, which was in an interdisciplinary program centered in an English department. My background was in English and literary theory, but I ended up going down the interdisciplinary path. One unforeseen benefit was that I had imposter syndrome as a literary scholar because of all the books I didn’t read that any decent lit person should have read. I’m relieved that is no longer a concern.
ReplyDeleteThis summer has stacks of things I have committed to do, so I need to take care to make time and space for TLQ as well.
Responsibilities:
1 teach 2 summer classes
2 write and develop two online classes
3 write six book reviews
TLQ goals:
1 submit Perform abstract
2 write Perform as if I will present in Fall
3 write and submit Slow
4 develop full outline for Tiny Project
5 organize and outline for December essay
This week:
1 submit Perform abstract
2 finish current book, write and submit review
3 sort out possible subject list for Tiny Project
4 build online component for independent study
Also, I missed you all when I skipped out on the Intersession and am glad to be back.
DeleteWelcome back!
DeleteWelcome--it's good to see you again!
DeleteWelcome back humming42. I am also glad that imposter syndrome based on having read a certain corpus is a thing of the past.
DeleteI'm karenh (hi agin, it's been a while), and I'm based in a satellite campus in a regional southern hemisphere university. The weather this week has started the shift to winter, so the inclusive title for this session was very timely! I have a number of hats at work - some of which are more mundane (too many postgraduates, developing content for a new course on the fly as we teach it in); and others are the low-level managerial headache inducing type, the major one of which is a teaching and learning leadership role. At home I have two primary school aged kids, a partner with a workplace Undergoing Vision Change, and a menagerie of small animals.
ReplyDeleteHow I got into my current field is more of an accident than anything - my undergraduate and PhD work were in English but more on the cultural studies/women's studies interdisciplinary edge. I'm now in the creative arts as a result of looking for any possible work when I moved to Small City, and starting casually tutoring into vaguely related subjects before being in the right place and right time when hiring options came up. Definitely feeling imposter syndrome, and the fun of trying to learn new things in public, but I also like having a slight detachment and different perspective that comes with not tied to a single discipline.
This session covers
TLQ session goals:
- have a creative work complete to the point of showing to collaborator
- have a complete first draft of conference paper
- complete WIL project to the point of having report/actions written up
- complete coursework masters internal review to the point of having draft proposal ready for senior leadership group
- do a park run
This week:
- do 2 x running, drink a water bottle each day
- send email to field people
- write and send panel abstract
- vanquish the marking pile!
-spend 1 hour planning WIL workshop 1
I'm finding it very interesting to hear about how people got onto their paths, whether they were straight or winding!
DeleteGood luck with the marking!
DeleteIt's fascinating to me that several of this group have created interdisciplinary niches. I imagine it does lead to imposter syndrome if one concentrates on the traditional disciplines, but all of you are doing such interesting things, none of you should feel that way!
DeleteI think another aspect of interdisciplinarity is that it can be particularly lonely - one rarely find one's own people at one's institution, and it's easy to feel like you're Doing It Wrong in established field communities, even nominally interdisciplinary ones. Maybe we're partly drawn to THIS community because of that aspect of our interdisciplinarity?
DeleteHi Everyone, I too am back after skipping intersession.
ReplyDeleteAbout me: I am a mid-career (how did that happen?!) researcher at a SLA university on the East Coast. I live alone with my cat Phoebe. I do field based research in the social sciences, but this summer I am staying at home to finish my book to go up to Full Professor in a few years. Its been a bear of a book to write for various reasons, one of which is that I simply much prefer to write articles than to write books. The book is late in terms of my contract- ie. I have already asked for two extensions. That being said, I lost my Mother this past year and could probably ask for another extension without a serious amount of push-back, although I am unsure, i.e. my editor told me last August that this needed to be my last extension, but then I took family leave and lost my mother in November. So I am anxious about finishing the book and really just personally want it to be over as well.My goal is to complete as much of the remaining book writing left (3.5 chapters) this summer. And I hope to continue to find/figure out some sort of post-tenure balance in terms of being social with friends and self-care, the latter will include lots of gardening and exercise this summer.
TLQ session goals:
- complete 2.5 chapters of book (or more)
- work on resilence and time paper with colleagues
- widen/strengthen group of local friends/support network
- self care: eat well, garden, exercise 4x a wk
This week:
- write 4,000 words of Ch 3
- meet with student and colleague about ongoing research/article
- organize mid-summer trip to fieldwork location to organize permits/permissions for next year
- exercise 4x
- fun things 2x with friends
- one house related thing (garage door?)
What initially drew me to my field: it marries my diverse interests (history, art, religion, science), it has a field component so I get to travel and live in foreign countries, it has a lab compopnent so I get to be a geeky lab scientist during the school year. I like the diversity in my discipline thematically, but I do not like the lack of diversity in the field gender and race wise. Some of that I teach about in my courses, some of that I work against by trying to be a good mentor/role model to my own students.
Welcome back and good luck with the book! We'll be cheering you on.
DeleteIt's good to see you again. And I second DEH's book-related encouragement!
DeleteAnd I third the welcome back as well as the book encouragement.
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ReplyDeleteHello! I'm late to respond to my own post. Hope that doesn't bode ill for the whole session.
ReplyDeleteI'm heu mihi, a mid-career (it still feels weird to say that, but I haven't been able to claim junior status in a while) medievalist at a public R1 in the Northeastern U.S. I live with my husband, The Minister, a part-time pastor and academic theologian; our almost-seven-year-old son, Bonaventure; and a Very Old Lady Cat, whom I shall call the Dowager.
The basic foundation at the root of my career is that I always loved reading. I know, pretty much all of us did, but that's still what I go back to when I think about why I became, first, an English major, then got a Ph.D. in Comp Lit, and now teach literature. The medieval part probably came from the fact that I always liked feeling extra intellectual and pursuing things that were a little on the margins of what was considered "normal." Plus, I loved castles and all that.
This summer, I want to keep reading at the center of my days. I managed to read quite a bit last summer--a good balance between academic/work-related and leisure reading--and I plan to do that again.
My other big aims for the summer are to get a handle on some of the gardening around here, exercise and be outside a lot, and enjoy myself!
Session goals:
1. Read 20 books (mix of work and leisure)
2. Meet deadlines: (a) submit Death essay by June 15; (b) draft/write/submit up to four conference abstracts (due June 3, Sept. 15(?), Sept. 15(?), and Oct. 1); (c) submit proposal for edited collection by Sept. 1; review copy-edited book MS (June/July-ish--depends on when it comes in)
3. Revise Wonder essay and figure out where to send it next
4. Revise novel draft from NaNo 18
5. Yard work for 3 hours/week
6. Run 6 miles one time
7. Language study (30 minutes, 5 times a week)
8. Sit (in meditation) some amount
This week:
I finally got my first round of gum grafts this morning, so I'm going to make sure that I give myself an easy week. Plus my mom is coming to visit for a few days, which means I'll get little done. If I'm very very good, however, I will:
1. Write abstract due June 3
2. Finish one leisure book
3. Read half of an academic book
4. Wrap up a student's Incomplete
5. If time: read grad student's work
6. Sit x 3
I'm going to stop there, because that sounds like too much already. And I'm supposed to take it really easy for a few days!
Why is it so hard to get serious reading done? I never feel that I'm reading enough. I often think I will read in the evening but by the end of the day I don't absorb anything I run my eyes over. There are only so many things I can do "first thing"!
DeleteI need about 4 first-thing-in-the-morning slots per day....
DeleteSorry for the gum grafts. They hurt...
DeleteSo far, it's been better than I'd anticipated, but I don't want to speak too soon...! And I enjoyed taking yesterday as a true day of rest.
DeleteI've had gum grafts, so I sympathize. I suspect if you are feeling okay now, you might be over the worst of it. Here's hoping, anyway!
DeleteYes to the extra early mornings! Also, Augtember - an extra month between August and September to finish up summer stuff, get properly ready for teaching, and have some ACTUAL HOLIDAY!
DeleteHello All, I'm somewhere at the end of early career or the beginning of midcareer, you know, the bit where one is no longer eligible for funding for 'new' academics, but hasn't got the heft that very well established academics have. Probably doesn't help that I've drifted from my initial area quite heavily, and have spent a couple of years with health issues that have longer term side effects like fatigue. Whether you want to call it a limited number of spoons, or a limited number of 'functional hours', my working week needs to be pretty carefully managed. I'm still getting used to this.
ReplyDeleteThis summer, well, I sort of need goal-less goals. The point where I slip up with TLQ is that I still have no sense of what I can reasonably achieve in a period, while accommodating restricted hours and inspiration, and allowing a bit of energy for 'contingency'.
So my goal-less goals:
1. to build in writing time into my schedule. Aim: 1 hour per day.
2. to research-analyse-write deliberately and to a plan. Aim: make a plan for each project
3. to work modestly on teaching prep to make space during semester time for items 1 and 2 on this list. Aim: 1 half day per week
4. to work modestly on admin tasks to make progress, but on a schedule that suits me, not the latest 'emergency'.
This week:
1. finish the marking: 1 set of exam scripts, 1 set of coursework, 1 set of exams to moderate (I think)
2. pull together engagement project reading and start reading it
3. refine plans for next year's teaching.
This week is going to be about clearing the desk of marking.
It is very difficult to get used to a more limited number of functional hours---I sympathize! I'm better than I was but it's still variable and apparently nothing like the good hours of some of our powerhouse participants. You just have to keep on keeping on and figure out what works. I hope you can get outside the marking this week and still get the rest you need.
DeleteEven in my "youth" with much higher numbers of functional hours I struggled to assign priorities and get things done... academia eats everything you throw at it and cries "more! more!" (I imagine a sort of very loud brassy Raven croak here, something between a bad but enthusiastically blown trumpet and a creaky gate).
DeleteI too struggle with limited spoons - and VARIABLE spoons, the beggars, so some weeks I plan carefully and feel competent then wake up Wednesday to a nearly empty spoon drawer. There are spoon gremlins living with the sock-thieves in my house, and between them they clearly repel the marking elves... Keep on keeping on!
I'm Susan, a senior faculty member at a research university on the west coast. I am a widow, and live near my university in a smallish (for California) city with two cats, who keep me in line. My 88 y.o. mother lives in town, and I have varying levels of responsibility for her, depending on her health and her needs. My sister will come and stay in my house in July, so I have that month off from responsibility for Mom.
ReplyDeleteLike so many others in this group, I got into my field as a reader, and I thought my field of study would be Russian history after reading War and Peace at 14. My stalled progress in Russian and a good other course changed my geographical focus...
Session goals:
1. Finish Violence
2. Review collaboration paper (almost done)
3. Finish memorial
4. Prepare two semi-new courses
5. House stuff: roof, new floor for bedroom, new ceiling fans? Decluttering
6. Keep (return to) walking
7. Read for fun as well as work
This past week was a bust -- I did a little work, but too many interruptions. My mother has not been well - maybe another stroke? - and has needed more attention. And I'm recovering from a hard semester. (Everyone says it was a hard semester, so . . .) But I finally excavated a large section of my desk, and may get some more done. Today I made a couple of calls I've stalled on for months, so that's another success.
Goals for the week ahead:
1. Make progress on violence
2. Do more desk excavation (1 hour)
3. Get the first set of book orders in
4. Walk regularly
I'm sorry to hear about your mother's new problems. But it's good that you're starting to recover from a hard semester---yay phone calls!
DeleteWhat do you think about co-hosting with heu mihi this summer? Do you still want to, or would you like me to step in for you? Either way is fine with me!
I'd be happy to share the work with either one of you! I've already drafted a post for tomorrow, though, so there's no rush to decide.
DeleteIt seems to have been a rough semester for everyone. I'm sorry to hear of your mother's new health issues--it is so draining to deal with aging parents.
DeleteGood for you on decluttering. I find physical work helps with chasing away the mental stress of a hard semester, too.
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ReplyDeleteI have been teaching composition/literature/critical thinking at a two-year community college in California for 21 years, so I am mid-to-late career, I suppose. However, I am an early career researcher, having just finished my PhD two years ago.
ReplyDeleteLike others, I loved to read. But as an undergraduate, I didn't think I was good enough at English to do graduate work in literature, so I went to grad school for counseling and college student development, and then worked in students affairs for several years. But that is a career for extroverts (and I am not one of those), so I returned to school for an MA in English. 10 years into teaching at my college, I started the PhD. I was inspired to focus on my specialty, c18 Brit lit when I read "Fantonmina" by Eliza Haywood and thought, "What the hell? THIS was written in the 1720s? Why has no one ever told me about this?" It blew my mind and directed my mid-life-crisis PhD.
I have a husband (I should call him Mr. Maths) and two great teenagers: one girl (The Actress) and one boy (The Programmer). We have a cat, a dog, and some lizards.
This summer will be focused on health. I was recently diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer, and I started chemotherapy last week. Chemo will last three months, and then I will have radiation. I won't be a super fun summer, but I am glad that I don't have to worry about work too much right now, except for doing some (kind of fun) prep work for fall. I'll be on a reduced load, but I want to be mostly prepped.
Session Goals--As I started developing them, the rule of FIVE started to emerge, so I'm going with it. I will be kind to myself if chemo makes things too difficult now and then. And I will re-evaluate in a few weeks to see if maybe I need to go with a law of THREEs.
1) 5 hours of exercise per week
2) 5x meditation per week
3) 5 hours of writing per week
4) 5 hours of prep work per week
5) 5 hours of house chores per week (organizing, gardening, etc.)
6) 5 new family-friendly plant-based meals to add to the repertoire
I know I'll be doing a lot of reading, and I'm not going to make myself read one thing or another. I'm just going to read what I feel like reading.
This week--I'm late to the game, so I'll keep things moderate.
1) Exercise 3 hours.
2) Write 2 hours
3) Meditate 3x
4) Tidy rocking chair area and dresser top in bedroom.
5) Enjoy some lazy time while husband is out of town and kids are still in school! But read books and watch good shows. DON'T SPEND ALL MY TIME ON TWITTER!
I like the way that you've structured your summer plans! 5 hours a week is more flexible than my usual 5x/week (although those x's are usually half an hour), because if I miss a day, then I'm irrevocably behind. I need to think about this!
DeleteI hope that the chemo has started off okay. Sending you healing thoughts....
GEW, I was awol when you found out your diagnosis. I am sending many positive, healing thoughts your way. I hope your chemo is going well. Take care of yourself.
DeleteI too really like the fives - it is pleasing to eye and mind, AND has flexibility. Hope you manage to have a refreshing summer despite all the medical stuff.
DeleteI have just been making mac cheese with a lot of butternut squash in the sauce (which lets you use less of the fatty goodness without loosing creaminess) and caramelised red onions and peas mixed in. It's early June, I have a cold (booo!), there are some hard meetings this coming week (students who claim to be "devastated" by their grades, a new contract restructuring process which is scary) AND it's RAINING (in a grey, chilly, damp way not a refreshing summery way) - so it was clearly comfort food time.