Those of you who have been around awhile know that I'm a cycling fan and spend a large hunk of July watching the Tour de France (at home on TV, so far, but some year I'm going to be in France for it!). At this time of year, I tend to think in cycling metaphors.
Sometimes, riders start a race in not-great shape due to recent illness or injuries, and use the race itself to train for the race. They may not be candidates for the overall win, but over the course of three weeks (the length of the Grand Tours, the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France, the Vuelta à España) they can shape up enough to win some stages, or even a jersey in the mountains or points competitions.
Similarly, sometimes riders suffer injuries or illness during a race, not bad enough to abandon, but enough to slow them down for awhile. They can continue to work for higher-placed teammates. Here, Dylan Groenewegen, a sprinter on the Jumbo-Visma squad, comes to mind. He crashed in the first stage of this year's Tour, near the end, and lost the opportunity to win the stage. One of his lead-out men took the stage and the yellow jersey, so at least his team did well. Then Dylan came back and won stage seven.
On the other hand, Tejay Van Garderen (one of only four Americans in this year's race, and the most likely to place well) crashed out of the race on stage seven. He's now cheering on his team from home while his broken thumb heals. Mark Cavendish, a British sprinter, stayed home altogether, because his team director didn't think he was fit enough for the race. He went for a ride with a five-year-old "to cheer us both up."
I think I'm managing to ride back into form. At least, this past week I had more good days than bad ones; stuff is getting done. I'm also helping out my teammates on the latest round of Huge Honking Translation edits, so even when I'm not making progress on my own goals, I can do something for the team. It's something.
How's your race going? If you're not winning, can you ride back into form? Can you help out the team? Can you cheer someone else up? Let us know how you're doing and what your goals are for the coming week.
Dame Eleanor Hull
1, gym/walk/swim x6, stretch x6, usual low-FODMAP cooking.
2, pay bills, make an appointment for maintenance.
3, keep writing/editing R&R.
4, further translation editing.
5, continue planning courses, ~ 2 hours.
6, drill grammar or vocabulary x 3 in one language.
7, make appointment to get replacement passport.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Contact Associate Dean.
Contact Department Chair.
Contact supportive administrator.
Call for doctor's appointment.
Finish job application.
Finish peer review.
Two hours on Prudence apparatus.
Three hours on file cabinet.
Good Enough Woman
I hope you’re feeling okay. Best wishes!
heu mihi
1. 5 hours of copy-editing
2. Two thirty-minute sessions on Wonder
3. Language x 4
4. Sit x 3 (please!!)
5. 2 hours of yard work
6. Clean the house in preparation for Saturday visitors
7. Finish reading monograph; 30 pages of Proust
Humming42
1 Draft Time abstract
2 Write and submit a review
3 Blog post
4 Write for Tiny Project every day
JaneB
1a: 5-10 minute exercise routines, track noodling and sleep (as a step towards changing the habit), journal daily
1b: pick up the spaces that have been decluttered, make another appointment.
1c: park the square I was working on and start a new version. Touch one other crafty project
2a: Spend a day on Fragment and send emails about FlatProject, review an article, complete application for pointless but potentially gratifying thing
2b: start making some lists, send more emails about the recce visit
2c: Find samples for FavouriteIslands analysis and pass any that need it on to technician. Clear off my lab corner so I can start analysis on the ones I didn't finish last summer.
3: extras: half an hour of office decluttering
oceangirl101
I hope the trip and research are going well!
Susan
1. Finish edits on text of Memorial. (I got comments from the editor, which were "BE BOLD", so . . .)
2. Start working on footnotes for Memorial (There are a lot of placeholder ones)
3. Keep walking
4. Enjoy London
5. Keep reading for fun
Waffles
Did you get your K revision done?
I really *need* to think of myself as riding back into form, because there is *so much* to do in what remains of July. "[S]he's not panicking at all," as the late great Paul Sherwen used to observe of people dealing with flat tires etc.
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
1, gym/walk/swim x6, stretch x6, usual low-FODMAP cooking. YES, even branched out slightly w/r/t cooking (safe, but not just all the standards).
2, pay bills, make an appointment for maintenance. NOPE.
3, keep writing/editing R&R. MINIMALLY.
4, further translation editing. YES, LOTS.
5, continue planning courses, ~ 2 hours. NO. (OK, maybe a little panic.)
6, drill grammar or vocabulary x 3 in one language. YES.
7, make appointment to get replacement passport. YES.
Next week's goals:
1, gym/walk/swim x6, stretch x6, usual low-FODMAP cooking.
2, pay bills, make an appointment for maintenance.
3, conference paper draft for writing group; touch R&R so I remember what I'm doing with it.
4, further translation editing.
5, continue planning courses, ~ 2 hours.
6, drill grammar or vocabulary x 3 in one language.
7, assemble paperwork for passport appointment.
I definitely hope I can ride into form - after a stressful couple of weeks (although getting a little better), things don't let up until early August, when I have some leave booked. I have to take that time OFF, for me, but I almost certainly won't get the chance to start teaching prep until September, which is stressing me out. Many things are!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, this coming week should be good for the writing, as we have a Faculty-sponsored writing retreat. I'm not attending all the days, only three of them, and I'm leading the retreat on two of those, but that's still a good opportunity for quality writing time. even if I will have to mostly spend it on preparing my talk for the conference at the end of the month...
last week's goals:
1a: 5-10 minute exercise routines, track noodling and sleep (as a step towards changing the habit), journal daily no, not well, yes. The latter was useful, at least
1b: pick up the spaces that have been decluttered, make another appointment. mostly, yes and had a long sessions yesterday - my kitchen is TRANSFORMED (and we've only done the worktops and above work-top cupboards, there's more to do). And it was really enjoyable to make supper and do some cooking for the week (I know it's summer but my digestive system often objects to raw salads, so I make salads with a few fresh ingredients but mostly veg which have been roasted or steamed then chilled...) today, so I hope I can maintain it. It might help with the general food incompetence...
1c: park the square I was working on and start a new version. Touch one other crafty project no and no
2a: Spend a day on Fragment and send emails about FlatProject, review an article, complete application for pointless but potentially gratifying thing half a day, yes and now one of the problems is being redone on my office computer (sigh), no but made some progress
2b: start making some lists, send more emails about the recce visit not really but did discuss and progress some issues, yes and it seems to have gone off well
2c: Find samples for FavouriteIslands analysis and pass any that need it on to technician. Clear off my lab corner so I can start analysis on the ones I didn't finish last summer no and no
3: extras: half an hour of office decluttering no, but I did fix some collapsing piles of books so they are more stable...
Plus I also did the proof-checking for LikesMaths first paper (which I co-author), and addressed some revisions and issues for both ProblemChildren, 1 & 2, so that was some kind of research progress.
next week's goals:
Delete1a: 5-10 minute exercise routines, track noodling and sleep (as a step towards changing the habit), journal daily
1b: pick up the spaces that have been decluttered, make another appointment (for early August).
1c: park the square I was working on and start a new version. Touch one other crafty project
2a: Complete application for Pointless But Gratifying, complete as much data analysis and write as much of the conference talk for Fragment as possible, get the conference poster sent off for printing, write up a first draft of FavouriteIslandsGrantIdea, process FlatProject results when they come off my computer, help out with data analysis for another paper to be presented at the conference (writing days)
2b: continue making teaching related lists
2c: Find samples for FavouriteIslands analysis and pass any that need it on to technician. Clear off my lab corner so I can start analysis on the ones I didn't finish last summer.
3: extras: half an hour of office decluttering, start organising things for the conference trip (e.g. check all places where I tend to leave foreign currency to see if I need any more Euros, dig around in various places I put stuff to see if I can find the new pair of linen trousers I'm sure I bought in the end of season sale last year and put away somewhere since it was too cool to need them, check my passport hasn't vanished or changed its expiry date whilst I wasn't watching, the usual sort of disorganised person who stresses about travelling stuff. Fortunately Fluffball, whilst being a cute cuddly boy of great friendliness, has very little situational awareness about things like the connection between suitcases and Unusual Activities and him being taken to the Luxury Penal Colony of "cat camp" so I can do things I could never dare do with Furball in the house)
I bet it feels great to have a transformed kitchen! May that serenity carry over into other areas of your life.
DeleteLOL "Luxury Penal Colony"---that would be the rhinestone-studded-collar prison?
Topic: In cycling terms, I am hopeful that I am riding back into form. At worst, I plan to cheer on my team since I'm feeling positive enough to do that. I did get a lot more done than I thought I would be able to do. In addition, I’m trying not to diminish what I accomplished; I refuse to tell myself that I only did the easy stuff, or the stuff that didn’t take a lot of time. My dean sent "Beating the Summer Writing Blues" from Inside Higher Education, which is about preserving writing time, to the library writing group (which is sanctioned to use four hours a month of “work” time to write). Despite the irony of her sending it, I want to preserve more of my writing time. So, I am highlighting the writing and organizing session goals for the rest of the summer.
ReplyDeleteLast week’s goals:
Contact Associate Dean. Yes
Contact Department Chair.Yes
Contact supportive administrator. Yes
Call for doctor's appointment. Yes
Finish job application.Yes
Finish peer review.Yes
Two hours on Prudence apparatus. No
Three hours on file cabinet. No
Analysis: While I did well looking for escape hatches, I didn’t prioritize my writing and organizing goals, but threw my energies at helping my staff figure out the new system. Although that task was important and urgent, I need to figure out a better balance.
Even so, I do feel as though I took care of myself physically and mentally more than I had been doing, so that was a small win.
Next week’s goals:
One hour x 6 on Prudence apparatus.
One hour x 5 hours on file cabinet.
Three hours on the writing course.
Meditate x 5.
Here’s to a good week, everyone. Float like mist.
Sounds like you're doing well looking after yourself and others. Thanks for the reminder to float!
DeleteI have a very concrete situational change this week (but only this week, as well as one week in August) that will help me ride back into form: FARM CAMP. Not for me, but for my kid. He's out of the house from 8:30-3:30 every day. Plus, he's doing VBS with my husband (The Minister) on Tues-Thurs evenings. This means that I HAVE UNINTERRUPTED TIME ON MY HANDS.
ReplyDeleteOf course, next week we go to the beach, during which time I will Do No Work.
Last week I had a little cold, but, looking back, I see that I did better than I realized. Of course, my goals were hardly grand.
1. 5 hours of copy-editing - DONE
2. Two thirty-minute sessions on Wonder - DONE -x
3. Language x 4 -x2
4. Sit x 3 (please!!) -x2. I had a chat with my stepmother about my (entirely common) troubles with sitting, though. She's taken boddhisattva vows in the Shambala tradition, so she's got some credibility here. And she told me that she alternates sitting with going to the gym! As in, she might not sit on the days she works out. That...really changed my thinking. Maybe I can just think of ensuring that I do some self-care at least once a day, with sitting being an option.
5. 2 hours of yard work - DONE, all on Saturday
6. Clean the house in preparation for Saturday visitors - DONE, with considerable help from my family
7. Finish reading monograph; 30 pages of Proust - DONE!
This week, I'm going for broke:
1. 5-10 hours on edits for monograph
2. 2-4 hours on Wonder
3. Read 30 pages of Proust (finish Sodome et Gomorrhe)
4. Read another monograph
5. Read grad student's chapter
6. Do all the beach prep (which is considerable, as I like to prepare for trips as I might prepare for death)
7. Exercise x5, language x5, sit x??
You goals last week seemed really balanced and realistic, all things considered, and you seemed to do a great job with them. This week's goals seem similar, but just ramped up a bit. I hope it's productive. And I hope your beach prep doesn't take over the last half of the week, which is what I always let happen.
DeleteI kind of love beach prep too much--and also, I feel that I must wrap up absolutely everything in my life before I go on a trip. Like, I should clean the garage, and pay all the bills (because I can't do that from afar? Or a week later, when I get home?), and finish every book I'm in the middle of, and, I dunno, write a will or something. I confess that I enjoy it. I think that the anticipation of leaving gives me the illusion that there's a neat and tidy end to all the projects.
DeleteDoes your stepmother exercise mindfully? I usually want distraction at the gym, but I love doing kitchen things with my full attention on them, and I think that counts for meditation.
DeleteK revision is submitted as of Friday! I took the weekend off - went to the Lights for Liberty vigil on Friday, to Queens for a picnic (and Manhattanhenge) on Sat, and then to a musical about a queer black usher who is writing a musical about a queer black usher.
ReplyDeleteToday back to work. I had been putting off some difficult emails about authorship and other awkward things. Got those mostly done first thing - which exhausted me. Then I did a review (revised paper that was worse than the original submission!) and now am doing pre-interviews for some potential postdoc hires.
Goals for this week:
1. Make progress on R&R
2. Answer questions on qual manuscript (hopefully after my questions about authorship are cleared up)
3. Figure out what needs to be done for victimization paper
4. Make a plan for SOQIR papers
5. Make a plan for a relationships and health paper
6. Figure out where to send desk rejected no-longer-JAMA peds paper. :(
7. Set meeting with coauthors to talk about other rejected paper (got good feedback at least)
Congratulations on K! And on a weekend off!
DeleteCongratulations, and I hope the feedback helps you find a good home for the rejected paper.
DeleteThanks for the well-wishes, DEH! I'm really doing quite well, all things considered. It's been a tough few weeks though. I had a visitor--my cousin--during the hardest days of my chemo cycle, and while the idea was that I could rest and she would help, it didn't really work out that way (although she did cook a nice dinner for all of us!). The good news was that I limped along and wasn't comatose the whole time (as I feared I might be), so we actually spent some good time together.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the day she left, my husband had to leave, too, because his mother was quickly declining. He arrived at her house Sunday night, and she died Monday afternoon. He's been there over a week, working to clean her house and settle her effects as much as he can. I think he'll be home tomorrow. It's been a rough journey for us this summer.
Instead of going back to my last check in, I'm just going to list some accomplishments:
Spent a few hours on syllabus changes (for new material) for fall classes
Cleaned out tea cabinet
Cleaned out pantry and put dry goods in new containers
Got cabinet organizers and organized baking pan cabinet
Wrote 500 words yesterday on a short story
Walked several times, did some yoga
I'm going to do my session check in this week if that's okay:
Session Goals:
1) 5 hours of exercise per week--Maybe not 5 hours, but at least 5x.
2) 5x meditation per week--No. I have not integrated this into my routine.
3) 5 hours of writing per week--No, but I have done some writing.
4) 5 hours of prep work per week--Most weeks, except chemo weeks..
5) 5 hours of house chores per week (organizing, gardening, etc.)--YES
6) 5 new family-friendly plant-based meals to add to the repertoire--NOT YET
I think I'll carry on with these session goals, maybe changing #1 and #3 to 5x rather than 5 hours. The two will be similar, but some of my exercise sessions are 30-45 minutes, and same with writing stints.
This week:
1) Write 5x
2) Exercise 5x (and get at least 5000 steps most days)
3) Take daughter to waterpark on Tuesday
4) Enjoy anniversary celebration. Try to relax and not worry about what's happening with kids, chores, academic tasks, etc.
5) Check in with son to see if he wants to go on any special outings
6) Find one good plant-based meal to try
7) Get 201B and 201C syllabus work mostly done. Write two sets of study questions for new texts.
I'm starting to feel like all of my summer "down time" is going to come to an end soon. After this week, I have a chemo week, and then we might go on a two-week trip (which will include my MIL's memorial service), and then classes start mid-August. It's freaking me out a little bit. I have LOVED having a lot of relaxation time this summer.
I'm so sorry about your mother-in-law. What a rough time for all of you. But it's great that you've allowed yourself some time to relax this summer!
DeleteI agree that exercise x5 instead of 5 hours is reasonable! 30-45 minutes of exercise is definitely enough.
Very sorry to hear about your mother-in-law! Your family is getting hammered this year, so I hope that means you'll get a break from the universe once you get through this.
DeleteOn exercise, even I (the gym rat) have been cutting back on workouts, so you have company!
I am glad your husband was able to see his mother before she passed. Thinking of you and your family. I too am doing my best to not get into the "summer is ending" panic but it is hard to put off.
DeleteI watched the Tour de France for several years and I do miss it. Unlike a sporting event that lasts a few hours, the Tour has a long running narrative that can be unpredictable. This summer, it’s Canadian football and anime.
ReplyDeleteI spent my reading/writing/research time this week with a very long but lovely review book. It took a lot of time and I didn’t get more than that completed. I wish I had a domestique to help me rally this particular summer Tour.
Last week:
1 Draft Time abstract: no
2 Write and submit a review: yes
3 Blog post: no
4 Write for Tiny Project every day: no
For the time being, I’m putting aside Tiny Project.The Perform abstract was accepted for a conference in October. I finally received notification that an abstract I submitted for a collection was accepted, and that article will be due in November. Then there’s the ever December paper. I’m teaching for the next six weeks and have a new online course to develop before Fall classes start. So I am trying to grapple with my Shiny Object Syndrome and focus very specifically on the things in front of me that need to be done.
This week:
1 Write and submit review due this week
2 Keep up with grading and comments
3 Write something every day
After this week, I will have a better sense of the flow through the rest of this session.
This year is very interesting! With some of the big guns out, and others not doing great (ex. Sagan leads in points but has only taken one stage win), there's room for other people to blossom. I am delighted to have Alaphilippe in yellow again, and the stage when Ciccone took the yellow jersey for a day was exciting.
DeleteCongratulations on your acceptances! I hope you're able to flow through your daily writing while you keep up with teaching.
I got back late Saturday night from my trip and have been battling jetlag. I also lost my cell phone and had to replace that as well. And I came home to a house with a faltering AC in a heatwave. UGH. The AC guy is here now, a small miracle! Some excellent news is that the work trip went well and things are pretty well organized for next summer's research. It went just about as well as it could have, so I am grateful for that. This means it was smart for me to take time away from the book to get things set up for next year. I feel a bit more hopeful that I have some exciting new research on the horizon.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of my race I have been faltering of late on the book writing, mostly due to work travel and clearing out my Mom's house. I hope to be in better riding form tomorrow- today I am spending cleaning up emails etc. and tomorrow I hope to get back to the book.
Last two weeks:
1) meet with govt officials, local offices to discuss 2020 project Yes
2) give back analyzed objects and organize at the Museum, discuss idea for exhibit Yes and sort of
3) meet with landowners/council of elders to get permissions Yes, 75% gave permissions and mayor gave me his stamp of approval to the entire community which was big
4) see my second family (my adopted family at my field sites) only a bit
5) travel to a new island and see if I want to work there Yes
6) eat some really yummy fish, swim and snorkel as much as I can, hike, enjoy a beer or two, and generally get away from it all for awhile. It was cold so no snorkeling or swimming but lots of fish and not lots of email.
This week:
1) go through 2 weeks of mail/email, bills etc.
2) get AC fixed
3) exercise 3x
4) fun 2x
5) outline last bits of Ch 3
6) write 2000 words
7) choose books for fall (I know, I am seriously late)
Welcome home! I'm glad you had such a good trip. It sounds very promising for future work. I'm also glad to see that I'm not the only one who is way late in ordering books for fall---I just did it yesterday.
Delete