What a lovely day we had yesterday: conversation, a little walk, exploring the conservatory and gardens, then a lovely evening with hors d'oeuvres, delicious dinner, dessert, fruit, and ending with a light conversation. We were so fortunate! And today is a new day, so as we start the day, what is it you need today? Exercise? Rest? More conversation? Maybe just sitting in the conservatory with a pleasant book would help you. Whatever it is, what's your plan for today, at this magic place where if you need it, it can happen!
Taking this over into our work and writing lives, since we're into the second half of the session, how do you plan the next phase? Any new starts? A push in the right direction? What's the plan?
Goals from last week:
Daisy
1) Start every day with a research task first, no service before that is done!
2) Finish conference poster – urgent because I forgot about it…
3) Paper revisions for paper related to poster, an excellent excuse to get this prioritized!
4) More modelling work for new local paper, write it down!
5) Don’t schedule any meetings this week!
6) Run some more in nice Fall sunshine and do at least one fun friend thing
Dame Eleanor
Health: yoga x6, weights x3, very short walks, keep trying w/r/t sleep.
Research: topic sentence outline of chapter to writing group; dead language study; read a book; scan some essays.
Teaching: grade submissions from both classes.
Admin: prep for meeting next Monday; take one online training.
Life Stuff: call the bank, write to my dad, take Glendower to the vet again.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell (from 2 weeks ago)
Medical appointments: go to two; make appointments for three more.
10 entries a day on the French drama guide.
Finish the class handout; print out the handout.
1 square foot of desk clearing x three.
Read one article to get back into a long-neglected project.
Heu Mihi
1) Process last two WH essays
2) Proofs of one essay for next issue
3) Article work: Write up notes/draft paragraph on book read last week; start reading another book/read another article for revisions.
4) Run at least 3 times; yoga at least once. (That's about where I've been lately.) Sit, knit, read, muddle through somehow.
Humming42 (from 2 weeks ago)
1 work daily on upcoming conference presentation
2 make progress on grading (would like to get caught up but it’s unlikely)
3 submit most recent last book review
4 do daily creative writing prompts, every day
5 as DEH reminds me, complete overdue training
JaneB
1) self-care: do 3 songs worth of exercise each day, check in again on fruit and veg and protein, clean out the flipping "basket swap", clear off the reading chair in my work area, do something on Halloween D&D
2) teaching: get week 5 materials prepared and start on week 6, fix the second half of the "list items" for my VLE sites (6 sites)
3) admin: get caught up on last stupid CPD thing
4) research: read over what we said we'd do for the grant that got funded, and finish the notes. schedule meetings for grads.
Karen
Teaching - map out scaffolding in prior units for my sem 1 unit
Research - update profile for uni website, return all student writing received by end of Thursday
Self and home - 3 x yoga, clear one box in home office, write and finish garden maintenance list over the weekend.
Susan
1. Finish self-study DRAFT and send it out
2. Grade student papers
3. Draft proposal for sabbatical
4. Make two calls about house stuff (painter and landscaper)
5. Do something not work related
6. Keep up with exercise, healthy eating, decent sleep
A lovely day indeed. This morning the cat-dragon is basking in the conservatory after an early morning aerial inspection of the limits of its current domain and a few elegant loops and dives to entertain some of the village children on their way to the schoolhouse (coincidentally setting dogs barking, which satisfies the cat part in Low Ways it does not admit). I'm very focused on survival still, having had a very wobbly week with my mental health and cold-like symptoms which I think are seasonal allergies (it suddenly went to REALLY damp here which tends to set off mould spores and another round of JaneB's Hypersensitive System Floods Itself With Snot And Itches/Coughs/Sneezes) but which are generally miserable, incompatible with mask wearing and worrying in this Age of Covid. Three colleagues and one student I know of have active cases now, yet the messaging is still that all is well and masks are optional, and my brain is really not handling this well. On top of the workload. Woe is me etc. But reading week is only two weeks away... and I might get two of the days off unless something else is sneaked into my calendar when I'm not looking...
ReplyDeleteLAST WEEK'S GOALS
1) self-care: do 3 songs worth of exercise each day, check in again on fruit and veg and protein, clean out the flipping "basket swap", clear off the reading chair in my work area, do something on Halloween D&D two days. Maybe. Yes on F&V (marginal some days but yes), yes on protein (although CHEEEEEEEESE showed up a LOT), no but I pulled a few urgent items out, no, no (unless buying myself a dark grey witches hat counts, along with artificial vine to wind around it for part of my costume)
2) teaching: get week 5 materials prepared and start on week 6, fix the second half of the "list items" for my VLE sites (6 sites) yes, no, no
3) admin: get caught up on last stupid CPD thing no
4) research: read over what we said we'd do for the grant that got funded, and finish the notes. schedule meetings for grads. no, yes
GOALS FOR THIS WEEK:
1) self-care: do 3 songs worth of exercise each day, check in again on fruit and veg and protein, clean out the flipping "basket swap", clear off the reading chair in my work area, prepare and run Halloween D&D
2) teaching: get week 6 materials prepared and start on week 8, including sorting out rescheduled trip, fix the second half of the "list items" for my VLE sites (6 sites)
3) admin: get caught up on last stupid CPD thing
4) research: read over what we said we'd do for the grant that got funded, and finish the notes. start on pedagogical paper which is somehow now my problem.
I think costume-prep counts, particularly as sometimes the material objects inspire the imagination!
DeleteTea in bed, followed by breakfast in the conservatory, a brisk walk through the gardens, and a writing session in the library. At home, I never have tea in bed, because Sir John and I do not keep to the same schedule, but I've been making a thermos of tea at night, so I can drink it in my study as soon as I get up. It makes me a little more likely to do something like write or work on languages first thing instead of browsing the internet.
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
Health: yoga x6, weights x3, very short walks, keep trying w/r/t sleep. x4, x2, yes, yes.
Research: topic sentence outline of chapter to writing group; dead language study; read a book; scan some essays. In progress; yes (Latin only, though), yes, yes (still a lot of scanning to go).
Teaching: grade submissions from both classes. ONE: gave one class an extension, so they didn't have anything.
Admin: prep for meeting next Monday; take one online training. No (must do that this morning!); BOTH! Yay, glad that's over.
Life Stuff: call the bank, write to my dad, take Glendower to the vet again. Found what I needed online, no, yes. OTHER: Had coffee with a friend, bought some stuff I need for house repairs, picked up my new reading glasses.
This week:
Health: yoga x6, weights x3, very short walks, keep trying w/r/t sleep.
Research: topic sentence outline of chapter to writing group; dead language study; read a book; scan some essays.
Teaching: grade grads' Blackboard submissions.
Admin: meeting prep, deal with four sets of forms from my department.
Life Stuff: write to my dad, drop off a shoe for repair, renew car registration.
I always like the idea of tea in bed, but it never works for me!
DeleteI always run into the problem of having to get up to make the tea, then what's the point of going back to bed?
DeleteThat's where the thermos comes in . . .
DeleteOoooh I love new mornings! For this morning I would like to go for a nice run around the grounds, or maybe a horseback ride since polite ladies probably don’t run, except I can’t ride so I might walk the horse out of sight first and then run! Then coffee! For the rest of the day I would like to work on some writing, so I would like to sit in a sunny spot in the conservatory (while not disturbing JaneB’s lovely cat-dragon, it is quietly purring and making little puffs of smoke in the sun puddle!) and sketch out some notes, and then retire to the library to type things out. In between there will be tea of course…
ReplyDeleteFor work I feel pretty positive that I got over the slump from the last few weeks. Amazing what a good week of progress can do for one’s outlook and motivation! I think working with music helped, will definitely do that again. I’m still behind in grad student feedback because I took the weekend to be screen and mouse-free and worked on kid’s Halloween costume, my garden, and repotted all my indoor plants instead. But I’m glad I did that, it is going to be a busy week so I need to be functional.
Last week’s goals:
1) Start every day with a research task first, no service before that is done! YAY!
2) Finish conference poster – urgent because I forgot about it… DONE!
3) Paper revisions for paper related to poster, an excellent excuse to get this prioritized! PROGRESS
4) More modelling work for new local paper, write it down! NOPE
5) Don’t schedule any meetings this week! YAY SUCCESS!
6) Run some more in nice Fall sunshine and do at least one fun friend thing YES!
I’m very happy with the work I did last week, the poster got me over the hump of starting revisions on a paper on the same topic and I am making really good progress on that. I think this week I can finish the paper revisions if I keep focusing on that. Unfortunately this will be a short week for focused work because the last two days are all-day meetings for something I’m probably taking over next year so I need to be logged in for those.
This week’s goals:
1) Finish enormously giant pile of grad student feedback
2) Finish conference poster and upload all required things for conference
3) Continue with paper revisions for paper related to poster
4) Fun work visit with colleagues coming to town
5) Do modelling during long meetings (it is quiet and only needs periodic input from me so the ideal meeting task)
6) Finish Halloween costume (dragon this year, technically challenging!)
I always love the energy of your comments. Leading the horse out of sight and then running---I can imagine this scene in some Masterpiece Theater production! Yay for starting the day with research and for avoiding meetings and doing a fun friend thing!
DeleteCan I spend the day lounging and reading for pleasure? Looking out at the changing leaves in the garden?
ReplyDeleteWhat I *need* is to move research and writing to the top of the priority pile. Unfortunately, it turns out that I like and am good at chairing the personnel committee: Its tasks include light editing, filing things in their proper places, and generally being organized! All the things I love! So I find myself spending lots of time working on *that*, which, while important, is not the sum total of the work I have to do.
So this week I really must address two big issues in the contingently accepted article so that I can turn that thing around.
Last week: was difficult. TM's work crisis is going to be resolved by him leaving his job. It's for the best--horribly toxic work environment; I can't wait for him to get out--but obviously produces its own sources of stress. We're lucky that we can live (just) on my income without tapping into our savings, and that we were able to build up our savings a good bit during the pandemic. But it's definitely been a strange and emotional week.
What I did:
1) Process last two WH essays - YES
2) Proofs of one essay for next issue - PROOFS OF THREE
3) Article work: Write up notes/draft paragraph on book read last week; start reading another book/read another article for revisions.
- Technically, yes, I did these things. But really only sort of minimally.
4) Run at least 3 times; yoga at least once. (That's about where I've been lately.) Sit, knit, read, muddle through somehow. - YES--actually ran four times!
This week:
1) Address two of the reviewer's comments (which involves reading, thinking, and writing)
2) Prepare my presentation for Italian class
3) Finish my part of journal proofs
4) Compose a bibliography on monasticism and death (???)
5) Bottle beer
6) Continue with the business of muddling through somehow
Gosh, that's a shock! I'm sorry it came to TM having to leave his job, though pleased he'll be out of a toxic work environment. I wish you the best! And congratulations on getting through triple the scheduled proofs. Also, "minimally" and "technically" both count! So does extra running!
DeleteLounging and reading for pleasure are definitely ok, especially given the week you've had. I have spent enough time around churches to know that they can be toxic, so I'm both sorry that TM had that experience, and glad that he can leave it.
DeleteAnd that committee stuff is so fulfilling because limited!
What do I need today? Hmm. It is my great wish to read a novel, alas, there is no time to spare. I’ve struggled to find leisure reading that is enjoyable but doesn’t set off my fiction addiction.
ReplyDeleteMy goal for the second half is to show up. In all the places where I need to show up. Like here, for example. And, as noted below, be on my best behavior, which is also about being kind to myself.
Two weeks ago:
1 work daily on upcoming conference presentation: done, but without daily laboring
2 make progress on grading (would like to get caught up but it’s unlikely): yes, but you know how that happens. There is always more.
3 submit most recent last book review: done but always more to do
4 do daily creative writing prompts, every day: utter failure! Saving them for another month
5 as DEH reminds me, complete overdue training: done
This week:
1 best behavior for a week with meetings on zoom and in person
2 complete and submit two article reviews
3 car wash! (a free bonus with recent oil change)
4 late book review, of course
5 submit creative work to journal
Best behavior sounds like Sunday School when I was 8. I hope it's bearable, and there is some joy.
DeleteI always wind up reading anyway, time to spare or not. In fact, probably the less time there is, the more likely I need the escape!
DeleteNew morning fits with my point in semester, where we are shifting from the teaching semester to summer. Current management strategies are on the interventionist side though, so I can;t quite have the freedom to roam unplanned that I might have liked. Still, I think I will try to move to blocking larger chunks of time for deeper work, and doing so at home rather than the building site that is masquerading as a functional campus at the moment.
ReplyDeleteTeaching - map out scaffolding in prior units for my sem 1 unit - started
Research - update profile for uni website, return all student writing received by end of Thursday - yes, and because I am nice, some on Friday (due date!) as well
Self and home - 3 x yoga, clear one box in home office, write and finish garden maintenance list over the weekend. yes to yoga, home office done, garden maintenance ditched in favour of games and concert (weather was against me), did make elderflower cordial.
This week:
(A slightly shorter week thanks to student-free school day)
Teaching - finish off current unit by releasing feedback and submitting results; finish scaffolding map and start revisions to unit outline
Research - set up writing group (outcome from a lovely cross-discipline event hosted by nearby-department), 1 pomodoro on documentation
Self and home - yoga x 3, go bushwalking this weekend.
Summer! How lovely. I really have to work out how to arrange my life so I can fly to the southern hemisphere for October-March, then head north again, and avoid winter entirely. Games and concert sound fun! Maybe next week you can get to the garden.
DeleteGood morning everyone! I would like to take a walk around the grounds before breakfast, get the blood circulating. I'd love to visit the horses, and maybe go for a ride. (I haven't ridden a horse for 40+ years, so I hope they are gentle.
ReplyDeleteI got the draft of the self-study done, and have probably a week before I get comments from the first readers. So it's a good time to get back to remembering that I'm a scholar! I have books to read, stuff to do...
How I did:
1. Finish self-study DRAFT and send it out DONE!!!!! That sound you heard on Friday night was celebration!
2. Grade student papers NO
3. Draft proposal for sabbatical Drafted
4. Make two calls about house stuff (painter and landscaper) Called painter, not yet landscaper
5. Do something not work related YES
6. Keep up with exercise, healthy eating, decent sleep YES
So I actually did pretty well, barring the grading. I was pretty wiped out by finishing my draft self-study, and then my mother got quite ill over the weekend. It was an upper respiratory infection of some kind, and fortunately antibiotics helped, but I was pretty scared on Saturday. I spent a lot of time visiting, and tracking her care over the weekend, so grading was not on the radar. Now I've got her cold, so went remote for class today: I've told my students not to come to class when they were not feeling well, and I had to obey my own rules!
Goals for this week will be limited because I'm going to a conference. That will take most of the weekend.
Goals for the next week:
1. Do the grading!
2. Get writing prompt for next week up
3. Read manuscript for blurb
4. Contact landscaper, follow up with painter
5. Have fun with friends
6. be kind to myself
I hope by now you're feeling better so you can enjoy the conference! Best wishes to your mother.
Delete