On the subject of time flying past, it's also nearly November, so NaNoWriMo is just around the corner (as is AcWriMo). That means that I have just got back from meeting an actual stranger in a coffee shop for a pre-NaNoWriMo prep meet-up. It was scary... but it was fun once I got there, and there might be some potential for actually making a new friend here (she knew loads of details from Terry Pratchett books, and appreciated the way the absurdity accumulates, and is planning a 'magical realism cosy mystery series based around a tea shop in a small coastal town' which sounds like exactly the kind of thing I need to read). I don't have time for NaNoWriMo, I don't have space in my head for plot and character and stuff, but I need it, so I'm doing it. However, typing and computer work is bad for my various aches and pains, and doing EXTRA typing after work seems rather 'busman's hobby' ish. But I LIKE writing and thinking and organising words...
Which leads me to today's topic - I thought it might be interesting to think about how leisure and self-care often overlap with our work lives. I'm a STEM academic, so at least my fiction and occasional poetry writing isn't directly related to my job - although as it involves sitting at a computer, planning and editing, it's kind of a bit close for comfort. I also like getting out into nature - but that is really NOT a proper escape either because everything I see is informed by my subject knowledge, I'm often catching myself thinking "ooooh, need a photo of that, it would be perfect for that lecture..." or "...if I ever get to teach x...". Being an academic, being a bookish, verbal person, and working in the general environment area (where just about ANYTHING in a landscape can be relevant), it's really hard to think of anything I do that DOESN'T relate to work. Baking? But I do lab work, the source of ingredients and my dietary choices all have environmental implications, etc. etc...
How does it work for you? Do you find it easy to separate work activities and leisure activities, or do they tend to bleed into each other? Any tips on how to improve the separation, or embrace the blend?
Goals for last week
Dame Eleanor Hull
*daily reading/writing (x5), OR a weekly total of 50 pages read, 1250 words written;*grade 1 set of student papers (F&H) and 2 short assignments (sentences, ICW);
*daily exercise and stretching (x6);
*keep up with dead languages;
*deal with paperwork.
Elizabeth Ann Mitchell - carried over
Do the hard phone calls - - asking for permission to take classes,
talking to Admissions, the Graduate School, and the department.
Do some prep work for special issue.
Do some prep work for special issue.
Heu Mihi
1. Sit x 52. Send out journal acceptances for undergrad thingy
3. Edit abstracts for collection and send to co-editor
4. 3x30 minutes on November conference paper
5. 1x30 minutes on language
6. Have a calm, rational conversation about my service load with my department chair
7. Don't go to bed past 10:30
Humming42/Linda
1 Finish and submit next book review
2 Write lit review and outline for DQ
3 Decide about summer funding proposal
4 Regroup.
2 Write lit review and outline for DQ
3 Decide about summer funding proposal
4 Regroup.
JaneB
1) maintain habits (8 items, it's boring to keep listing them)2) research things this week - stet: finish the FlatProject final step of analysis ready to start writing. Finish refereeing the damn horrible article (ugh). If possible, also drawing up a figure for the grant idea called PCfu (ProblemChild follow up) and send the draft to FormerPDF. Sort out FavouriteIslands samples.
3) prepare all teaching materials for the next week. See if I can get out of the field trip (there are several students not going for variously good and indifferent reasons, so we don't REALLY need everyone, and I'm not needed for any specific reason, so...). Grade the remaining 50 short essays (now very urgent) and 60-odd small pieces.
4) start some plotting for NaNoWriMo. (I don't have time but I need the escapism)
Oceangirl101/Jenny
1. finish last ed volume chapter
2. do figures ed vol chapter
3. emails about fieldwork for the summer
4. exercise x 3
5. clean house/laundry/bills things are sort of out of hand
6. Plane tic to memorial service for Mom (seem to be in denial about this and must do)
2. do figures ed vol chapter
3. emails about fieldwork for the summer
4. exercise x 3
5. clean house/laundry/bills things are sort of out of hand
6. Plane tic to memorial service for Mom (seem to be in denial about this and must do)
Susan
1. Finish grading first group of papers (TRQ)2. Comment on draft paper topics
3. Re-read book and write blog post on big but old book
4. Do one admin report that is overdue
5. Keep walking/ exercising
How I did:
ReplyDelete*daily reading/writing (x5), OR a weekly total of 50 pages read, 1250 words written; YES in spirit. I didn't meet the weekly total but I have been poring over medieval Latin which is harder than reading modern criticism or translations, so I'm claiming this as a win.
*grade 1 set of student papers (F&H) and 2 short assignments (sentences, ICW); YES!!! Until midnight Sunday (US Central), I am totally caught up on grading!
*daily exercise and stretching (x6); YES.
*keep up with dead languages; YES.
*deal with paperwork. Oh, and a big resounding NO. Oh well.
New goals:
*daily reading/writing (x5), OR a weekly total of 50 pages read, 1250 words written;
*grade 2 short assignments (summaries; Mab in-class), start grading 1500-word essays; plan when to give two quizzes;
*daily exercise and stretching (x6);
*keep up with dead languages;
*deal with paperwork.
Work and leisure . . . well, it's better now than in the first year of this job, in which my idea of relaxation involved reading Chaucer criticism in the bathtub instead of doing things at a desk. But it certainly is hard to tell the difference sometimes. I feel like life is terribly over-scheduled, partly because I spend so much time driving, partly because if I don't cook, I can't eat, and so if we do something social on the weekend, it's very hard to get all the Life Stuff taken care of. Baking and cooking would be much more fun if it were possible to buy safe food when I have a time crunch, but they're non-negotiable. For over a month I have been thinking it would be nice to get a massage (I have a gift certificate, even), and never feel like I have a free afternoon to do it in. I've also been thinking about the flip side of this, how much more I've been getting done since I decided that I would definitely submit an abstract and go to this conference next spring that falls at such a terrible time but which I love. I still feel like I ought to be working on other projects but research feels really fun and that bleeds over into other areas of life.
ReplyDeleteI do get so bored with cooking and washing and necessities like that. Oh, to be rich and eccentric and have a housekeeper!
DeleteI wish research would feel fun here... come on research, I'm kinda blaming you for part of this...
I also find it hard to take the time for massages or other things I think of as self-indulgent.
DeleteI do love research. Writing is a bit of a slump, then I love editing. Weird, I know.
And I'm with you, Jane, on wanting a housekeeper. The sheer repetitiveness of housework is mindnumbing.
Knitting is a very real non-work, self-care activity for me. It's tactile, it's satisfying, and there's no way that I can academicize it. Fun reading is mostly on the safe side of the line, too, even though I teach literature--if I don't have a pencil in hand, I'm not working.
ReplyDeleteI'm determined NOT to do NaNoWriMo this year, despite the fun of '17 and '18. It's just overwhelming to add 1667 words to the daily to-do list; I don't have a story in mind; and my research has been lagging badly this semester. (Speaking of which, time certainly doesn't seem to be flying to me this semester. I can't believe that I still have something like 6 weeks left! When did October get so long?) I might revise last year's effort, since I think it could be worthwhile, but I'm not making any promises.
Last week:
1. Sit x 5 - Yes
2. Send out journal acceptances for undergrad thingy - Done
3. Edit abstracts for collection and send to co-editor - Done
4. 3x30 minutes on November conference paper - 111
5. 1x30 minutes on language -1
6. Have a calm, rational conversation about my service load with my department chair -Delayed because I called in sick that day. I now know that I wasn't really sick, but at the time I was in such a state of exhaustion that I couldn't tell whether I was ill, getting ill, or just thoroughly over-tired, so I stayed home. Now, of course, I think that I might be getting an actual cold, and I won't be able to call in anytime soon because I can't go missing classes again....
7. Don’t go to bed past 10:30 -Done, but it didn’t matter because I woke up at 2:30 on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning and couldn’t get back to sleep.
This week:
1. Brilliant revision of collection proposal
2. Conference paper/research 30 minutes x 3
3. Language work 30 minutes x 3
4. Calm and rational discussion with chair
5. Sit x 5
Sending you positive, calming vibes for the calm and rational discussion!
DeleteHow did October get so long indeed. I keep moving our long weekend for Veterans day up a week...
DeleteI hope the discussion was a calm and rational one.
Deletegoals from last week:
ReplyDelete1) maintain habits (8 items, it's boring to keep listing them) mostly. Some wobble on the weekend, again, especially due to very late/early reading. But I enjoyed the junk fiction, and worked over 50 hours (despite 30 hour "norm") , so I felt I deserved the idleness...
2) research things this week - stet: finish the FlatProject final step of analysis ready to start writing. Finish refereeing the damn horrible article (ugh). If possible, also drawing up a figure for the grant idea called PCfu (ProblemChild follow up) and send the draft to FormerPDF. Sort out FavouriteIslands samples. no, yes, no to the extras. REFEREEING IS DONE very very relieved
3) prepare all teaching materials for the next week. See if I can get out of the field trip. Grade the remaining 50 short essays (now very urgent) and 60-odd small pieces. yes, yes, yes, yes
4) start some plotting for NaNoWriMo. (I don't have time but I need the escapism) not really
goals for next week:
Delete1) maintain habits (8 items)
2) research - flat project, do SOMETHING (which reminds me, I DID do something on flat project last week... had a long angsty conversation with the project lead about former PDF who appears to have got the hump about something but is also really busy so not replying to messages...)
3) Prepare all teaching materials for next week and if possible make a start on the week after that... but
4) Friday is my birthday. Do not work. Write fiction. Roll around in the writing and the ideas being completely self-indulgent. Also, EAT SUGAR (there is a macademia blondie in the freezer which I may have for BREAKFAST). Hippo bird-day to me!!!
This week might be fairly busy because my sister graduates on Wednesday afternoon quite near to where I live - she and my niece are coming over the day before on the train, and will come to me in the evening to eat and so my niece can meet Fluffball (& we can do some family visit planning...). If I can I will go to the ceremony but stuff may come up... (brother-in-law will drive across on the day and they'll all drive home from the ceremony - that way the Sororial Hound did not have to be boarded). Which is all lovely but, well, the work doesn't stop, does it?
I hope you were able to juggle the family and work parts of your life. Congratulations to your sister on her graduation.
DeleteLeisure vs. self-care: I am trying to be more mindful of making these different parts of my life. Some of the things that I used to loved doing before being a full time academic (ie, reading fiction for fun) no longer seem so fun, especially when I start skimming! I h ave replaced reading with listening to podcasts. Cooking remains both leisure and self-care for me since I really enjoy it, but if I had to do it every day for a family (I don't have kids) I am sure I would like it less. Working out is purely in the self-care mode, as is getting massages (need them for my back) and taking baths and giving myself facials.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. finish last ed volume chapter No, but almost!
2. do figures ed vol chapter No
3. emails about fieldwork for the summer Yes, some
4. exercise x 3 No, x2
5. clean house/laundry/bills things are sort of out of hand Yes, but only a bit
6. Plane tic to memorial service for Mom (seem to be in denial about this and must do) Yes
This week:
1. Finish ed vol chapter, all text, ref and figures
2. Emails for summer fieldwork
3. Midterm- construct new one, grade etc.
4. Bills and laundry and the such
5. Meet with xarpenter for new bookshelves in office
6. Exercise x 2
I've also found that reading isn't as fun as it used to be, which saddens me. I may steal your view of massages as self-care, since it really is true, as my spinal arthritis gets worse.
DeleteCongrats on getting the last chapter so close to done!
Topic:
ReplyDeleteMy Feline Overload has helped me make more leisure time, since she requires significant use of my lap for her sleeping throne. I tend to sit with my laptop on my lap on the sofa, so this has led to a shift away from overwork. Another firm distinction for me is that I review only nonfiction, somewhat academic books so that fiction remains on the side of leisure and pleasure reading.
Last week:
1 Finish and submit next book review: yes, finally.
2 Write lit review and outline for DQ: yes
3 Decide about summer funding proposal: ran out of time, so no.
4 Regroup.: somewhat.
This week:
1 Finish and submit DQ
This needs all of the possible time and attention this week.
Our fur family are very good at enforcing self-care, aren't they? I work on the laptop on the sofa, too. Our standard poodle knows she's too big for my lap, but she puts her head on my feet, which warms them, and makes it difficult to get up or to get stressed about much.
DeleteHmmm. This is an interesting question. I sometimes think I don't have leisure activities. If I don't work right until I go to bed, I watch TV for an hour or so, and I've recently figured out how to stream so am slowly making my way through a series. I can't read for pleasure during the semester. So. . . My walks are both self-care and leisure: I think through life while on them. I've been trying to have a massage once a month, which is really nice. I go out with friends - -one friend and I go up to wine country several times a year, and may even do that this weekend, assuming that there is power up there.
ReplyDelete1. Finish grading first group of papers (TRQ) DONE
2. Comment on draft paper topics DONE
3. Re-read book and write blog post on big but old book NO
4. Do one admin report that is overdue DONE
5. Keep walking/ exercising SOME
Well, I got my post-conference cold, so there was a day and a half when I was in the "my head is stuffed with cotton" mode, so not thinking. THen all day Saturday was at the Diocesan convention. I started knitting, and realized I'd done it on the wrong size needles. EVERYTHING is behind.
Goals for the week ahead
1. Do next set of grading proposals and drafts
2. DO Blog post
3. Write up minutes
4. Create committees
5. Breathe
6. Keep up with walking, keep getting good sleep.
I like your idea of going to wine country. I try to get to the Finger Lakes wineries a few times a year.
DeleteWould you be willing to put a link to your blog here? I lost all my bookmarks in the last update to a new OS. Sigh.
I don't have a blog, but this is part of a series on the Many Headed Monster, an early modern history blog.
DeleteThanks. I'll look for it, since I've drifted more into early modern lately.
DeleteTopic: Like heu mihi, I find knitting an easy thing to keep separate. Creative pursuits, like drawing (at which I am frankly horrible) really provide a counterpoint with writing by keeping the brain open without overlapping too much with work.
ReplyDeleteWriting isn’t quite as clearcut, since my training is in medieval studies, but although I write historical fiction, I tend not to write in the medieval period. As I get further away from doing true medieval studies, I might be able to swing it with little overlap, but so far, my finished works are World War II and late 18th century. I guess that my unfinished work set in 14th-century Paris would be an example of embracing the blend.
I don’t always find it easy to separate work and home, partly because my husband and I have often worked at the same university. One tip we have is that we have a certain point in our commute, where going in we can start talking about work, and coming home we have to stop talking about work. It keeps a nice perimeter of work-free zone around our house.
Last week’s goals:
Do the hard phone calls--asking for permission to take classes, talking to Admissions, the Graduate School, and the department. No, yes, yes, and yes.
Do some prep work for special issue. No.
Analysis: I ended up getting either a bad cold or a mild flu on the way back from vacation, and was pretty flattened by it. I did go to work, but was not exactly productive. On a positive note, I signed up for an academic writing boot camp for 14 days (this was day three), where I committed to writing for a minimum of thirty minutes every day. It’s a good ramp up into being a NaNo rebel, and even though it is early days yet, it seems to be working.
I did call everyone but the Dean about whether I can take classes in the spring. I now have to call my one referee who has not yet sent in a letter for me, as that is what has ground things to a halt. Sigh. I just didn’t have it in me to call the Dean until I know that I will have classes to take.
Next week’s goals:
Continue editing 30 minutes a day.
Write a few hundred words of fiction every day.
Weigh suggestions for special issue.
Do not overwork.
Start knitting the tree skirt.
Enjoy the last day or so of the longest October I can remember (it’s not just you, heu mihi). Float like mist, everyone.