Session 3 2021: Welcome to the house

The butler graciously accepts your invitations and invites you into the foyer. Would you like tea, coffee, a glass of champagne or sherry?

As many. of us negotiate returns or beginnings this year,  you might want to reflect on what makes you feel welcomed? What actions, signals or rituals invite you to feel at home? In a spirit of kindness, how might we extend a welcome to those around us without burning ourselves out? 

This week you. might want to add session goals if you didn't last week, or refine those goals with a chance to reflect on them. Otherwise, please do share what your goals are for this week.

For the record, here are the session goals, and weekly goals, as posted last week:

Daisy

Session:

Research: I have five papers that need to be finished. That’s it, that’s all… Two are brand new, and two are close to done and have been through some review already, one is new and written and needs to be reviewed by co-authors and I need to be the organizer and compiler of everything. So I really need to focus and find a way to move them all forward and not let the harder ones languish forever…

Students: I want to get new grad student started off well, get current grad students through the rigours of writing a thesis.

Life: In the Fall gardening category I want to remember to plant bulbs (I never do), and move hostas to make new flower beds. In other life things I want to continue my excellent exercise regimen from last session and give time and attention to something creative for my sabbatical

This week:

1) Teach well and make sure the students enjoy the process.

2) Get a few revisions done on either old paper.

3) Get to know teaching area well enough to be in charge next year.

Dame Eleanor Hull

Research: draft and/or expand two book chapters. [Same for the fictional version of Dame Eleanor.]

Teaching: deliver effective courses, grade promptly, do a little prep of spring courses. [Prepare for tutoring sessions, seek out new students for when this lot go up to university.]

House/Life: unpack at least half the boxes in the garage. Put the garden to bed. Do at least ten things on my list of Stuff That Will Stay Done. [Go through at least half of the trunks in the attic, put the garden to bed, do at least ten things . . . ]

Time Management: take Sundays and at least half of Saturdays off from work, and work more efficiently on weekdays to make this possible. [Observe the Sabbath, and take Saturday to prepare to do so.] This will depend on

Health: manage food and exercise so as to sleep adequately on a regular basis. [A lady does not speak of such pedestrian needs, which we all share, though dear Lady Fortescue insists that this attitude enables considerable suffering, especially among the genteel poor; NB, reflect further upon this point, as Lady F v. insightful.]

Goals for this week:

*write 2000 words

*correct Johnson Minor's execrable Latin translations and prepare for Miss Baddesley's Greek lesson

*open and inspect Sir John's crates from his sojourn on Crete

*retire to bed at a suitable hour

*ask Cook to prepare frozen custard, under threat that if she does not, I will attempt it myself. NB, if this prompts her to quit, send Morrison at once to employment agency; also ask Lady F for suggestions: perhaps hotel cook would like to work for smaller establishment.

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell

Goals to come

heu mihi

Session goals:

1. Take time to stop doing things.

This means: sit, go into the forest, do yoga, rest, knit, enjoy my family.

2. Write steadily and calmly.

This means: Finish WH and SUBMIT IT, work up a rough draft of paper due in February (which will also inform chapter 1 of big new project), submit grant proposal and sabbatical application, submit Kzoo abstract on time.

3. Take an Italian class!

4. Do good things for others

This means: Write letters/postcards for political activism group, eat more vegan meals (twice a week?), respond reasonably promptly to emails, stay on top of big committee

This week:

1. Complete my part of WH intro and send it back to co-editor

2. Grade paper from incomplete from *last fall*, for Pete's sake (I only got it a week or two ago)

3. Submit Kzoo proposal

4. Yoga once; sit daily during the week; run as possible/appropriate

5. Read the research-related stuff that I've been trying to get through lo these many days (half a chapter and 2/3 of an article)

humming42

Teaching

Do the usual

Draft proposal for new program

Research

Draft DQ book proposal

Write quality presentations for three online conferences

Submit to favorite spring conference

Creative

Organize existing drafts of poems and flash nonfiction

Create a submission plan

Commit to and enjoy online classes

Domestic

Finish cleaning office

Build and fill bookcases

Clear all recycling from house and garage

JaneB 

Goals for the session:

Sad but realistic goal for the session: SURVIVAL (i.e. all my classes were covered to a minimum level, I am alive without long covid, my grad students haven't sacked me, and I have not told the university to stuff its job where the sun don't shine. Also I didn't actually make the state of the house WORSE and the cat is thriving as far as an anxious, dumb, cautious cat who apparently was put on this earth to shed fluff can thrive). Setting goals is depressing because they keep being wrecked by circumstances...

Goals for the coming week:

1) self-care: do 3 songs worth of exercise each day, bring the downstairs basket up and the upstairs basket down and PUT AWAY the items in each (hereafter "basket swap"), improve one small area of the house somehow.

2) make a list of the essential VLE work I need to do before students return, and a schedule for doing it over the next 2-3 weeks

3) get caught up on stupid CPD videos and things

4) read over what we said we'd do for the grant that got funded, and make some initial notes.

Goals for this week. (and the next week – posted in week 1 due to late post)

1) self-care: do 3 songs worth of exercise each day, "basket swap" at the end of the week, improve one small area of the house somehow. Clear off the reading chair in my work area.

2) make a list of the essential VLE work I need to do before students return, and schedule it - do as much of the three first trimester skills-led modules as possible (do knowledge-led next week)

3) get caught up on stupid CPD videos and things

4) read over what we said we'd do for the grant that got funded, and make some initial notes.

5) redo figures for Ferret (long standing members may recall that this paper has appeared for seevral years now...)

Karen

Teaching: finish up this semester without getting behind, set up external connections and partnerships for sem 1 2022 unit.

Research: pilot SOTL project and present paper on it, see three PhD/Masters students to submission.

Self and Home: maintain planting schedule, get out (in some way shape or form) each week, get home office fully functional given there's at least one more year of hotdesk hell to come.

Susan 

Goals:

1. Research: get rough drafts of last two chapters of Famous Author, a short book I'm writing about someone you have heard of. Usually do at least two writing sessions a week

2. Teaching: keep up with classes, don't get overwhelmed

3. Admin: I'm drafting the self-study for the graduate program review. It's due at the end of September but mid-October is probably reasonable

4. Other service: I'm finishing (this week) work on both a book prize & article prize; I've got a tenure review; a jacket blurb; and a ms to read for a colleague. I'm also president of a scholarly organization, so stuff will come up about it.

5. House: 3 house tasks (clean ducts, refinish floor in guest room & paint guest room)

6. Keep up with exercise, multiple kinds. (biking, strength, maybe more yoga)

7. See friends, see my mother

8. Read for fun