Hello everyone!
I loved reading about all the gardens and non-gardens! I like the plans to not add anything complicated and to not fight against nature…
Next week we will be reviewing our session goals because it will be week 8… These always sneak up on me unpleasantly so just a heads up that it is coming!
The thoughts on external supports were also really interesting. What does come out clearly is that no one thing or one person can deliver all the supports we need, we have all cobbled together eclectic networks of support from various quarters. And we all want/need to do a better job of staying in touch with those support networks, so maybe that is this week’s prompt…
You can invite someone from your extended support network to view your cabin in progress and possibly give advice and encouragement and maybe even to help you shop for indoor plants or patio furniture... Who would you invite? Who do you need right now? What will you do together? What would your guest bring to the visit, metaphorically and physically?
(Bonus points for the week if you follow up this imaginary invitation with a real life catch-up with the visitor!)
Have a lovely week!
Last week’s goals
Daisy
FINISH paper
edits
Write 2 draft abstracts for next conference
Something fun with kid
Something fun with friends
Dame Eleanor Hull
Keep core work hours.
Health: cardio daily, stretch x6, track bedtime.
Research: 30 min x6 (various projects), dead languages x3 each.
Teaching: write more assignments, keep building VILE sites, grade another whole
bunch of stuff.
Life stuff: mail a present, do something fun.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Read three articles.
Write at least two pages of the guide.
Outline at least two articles.
File at least one banker’s box.
Scan at least one banker’s box.
heu mihi
1) Process journal article
2) Edit other journal article
3) Finish vignette--really--do work on it this week!
4) Prep next week's readings and read for the following week (this
working-ahead thing in my grad seminar is really helping me so far, but it's a
little hard to keep track of)
5) Effort with exercise, despite the weather
6) Contact R to arrange a get-together sometime.
Humming42 (carried over)
1 write content for symposium submission site
2 grade all the things due this week
3 work on March conference presentation
4 spend five hours on DQ
JaneB
1) call GP about anxiety etc., go to middle-aged-female
check appointment (ugh)
2) do teaching prep for week 4
3) make time to read or do D&D prep 4 days
4) Do some literature searching for Why
5) nag people about the May Training Course
6) try to get ahead with the reading for the brand new unit I'm teaching in
week 5
Karen
1. Finish all feedback on postgrad exegesis
2. Add 500 words to KL, check in with co-authors
3. (Pending admin decision) figure out tool for online delivery of next week's
class, exemplar for interactive done
4. (Pending admin decision) Get all risk assessment and field trip paperwork
done
5. Do 3 x couch to 5K, 2 x yoga
6. Bottle tomato and plum sauce
Susan
4 days on Famous Author
Finish interviews & Reports
Pull some weeds
Keep up with exercise
Do something fun
My literal-mindedness gets in the way here. If I were really building a cabin on the west coast, I would want one of my contractor-relatives (choice of two) to visit and advise. Even if he ticked off the people doing the work, I'd rather know early if I need to fire them and get better people in. But if I'm not actually engaged in construction, these relatives are in no way supportive of me/my work. Well, I guess I have sometimes done work in one of their houses while visiting family, so in that sense supportive, and I do like visiting their part of the world. But in terms of the life I'm living these days, I don't think they're who I need.
ReplyDeleteWho or what I do need is a question worth pondering. Warmer weather and Somewhere That Is Else are high on the list! Some days I just want to start driving south till I hit 70 degrees and then check into the nearest hotel with an outdoor patio where I can sit.
How I did:
Keep core work hours. MOSTLY. This works really well: when I do need to do something else in "core hours," it's clear how much time I need to make up, and when I can flex to.
Health: cardio daily, stretch x6, track bedtime. YES, x5, YES (v good).
Research: 30 min x6 (various projects), dead languages x3 each. YES? x3, x0. Far more time on one side project than any main one, but it's done now.
Teaching: write more assignments, keep building VILE sites, grade another whole bunch of stuff. YES, YES, YES, but it just keeps coming!
Life stuff: mail a present, do something fun. YES, YES (dinner out, with live music!). EXTRA THING: tightened buttonholes on a sweater whose buttons I finally replaced a few weeks back.
New goals, probably pretty much the same again:
Keep core work hours.
Health: cardio daily, stretch x6, track bedtime.
Research: 30 min x6 (various projects), dead languages x3 each.
Teaching: write more assignments, keep building VILE sites, grade another whole bunch of stuff.
Life stuff: collect tax stuff, do something fun.
All those "yeses"! Dinner out with live music! Yay!
DeleteYou are having an excellent streak on all the good life habits! And glad the side project is done now.
DeleteCongrats on the consistency and focus!
Chores first!
ReplyDelete1) call GP about anxiety etc., go to middle-aged-female check appointment (ugh) no to both - had a migraine, the harbinger of the storms that crossed the UK this weekend - Dudley and Eunice, which just don't feel like proper storm names somehow), and wimped out of the GP call. Again. Stupid anxiety
2) do teaching prep for week 4 yes. Not too stressful apart from the bit where other people didn't do stuff and I had to remind as kindly as I could
3) make time to read or do D&D prep 4 days one day, but that is more than last week, and it was a kind of bumper day as I read an entire frivolous mind-candy novel and prepared a fun short session for the two players who could make it this week - they both are in the middle of mock exams, so we spent an hour in our imaginations exploring some woods on an early summer evening looking for one of the small gnomes who are travelling with the group & constantly get into minor trouble (in this case, got stuck in brambles whilst trying to catch glow-worms). A very pleasant break!
4) Do some literature searching for Why um. No.
5) nag people about the May Training Course no responses. Sigh
6) try to get ahead with the reading for the brand new unit I'm teaching in week 5 made some progress here. Teaching just wins right now.
This coming week I have a LOT of booked up time - 26 of my nominal 30 paid hours are with other people already! - so prep for the following week is going to take priority. I also have a dental appointment for a tooth repair. And my car is in the garage waiting for parts (sigh).
1) call GP about anxiety etc., go to dentist.
2) do teaching prep for week 5
3) make time to read or do D&D prep 4 days
4) Do some literature searching for Why (I have a write in for my final year students so have a bit of time!)
5) nag people about the May Training Course
6) do latest batch of marking (drafts)
That looks dull.
Right now, I do NOT want any visitors in my cabin, it will be MINE! But I do have one very restful friend who is almost as introverted and grumpy and DONE with people as I am, and who really deserves a nice break (they've had an even worse pandemic than I have; their bosses are not thoughtful people, and they've had to deal with a (long expected, non-Covid) parental death and a health crisis). We have overlapping tastes in mind-candy books; if they arrived with a nice large bag of books to share, and some of the kind of chocolate I like (dark, with nuts or marzipan or nougat), then I will ensure that I also have plenty of books for them to browse and that my cupboards are stocked with the kind of super milky milk chocolate they like. And we will make piles of buttered toast and tea, and read our books in peaceful harmony (probably in different spaces for much of the visit). And that would be OK.
Gosh, isn't it disheartening to know that there is no way in normal space-time that one can physically fit all the requirements for a week into the work time available and you are overrun before it begins. In those kinds of weeks, I tend to get rather ruthless about making actions happen in meetings, or delegating, or just praying for cancellations...
DeleteI do think that a greta sign of introvert friendship is telling someone that 'you don't count as people', and someone who will sit near you immersed in their own reading/making is perfect. Maybe your cabin needs a decent sized letter box so there is more space for care-packages rather than visitors.
Glad you got some D&D prep and fun into what looks like a pretty awful week. Hang in there and be just as kind to yourself as you are to your colleagues... Good luck with the insanity of meetings!
DeleteLove Karen's "not people" comment - that is so very true. Some people are A LOT of "people", others are not people at all and sometimes only the latter kind will do fir visits!
Reporting first
ReplyDelete1. Finish all feedback on postgrad exegesis. Hah - no! But a couple of productive session with the postgrad workshopping sections already done.
2. Add 500 words to KL, check in with co-authors. Contacted co-authors, added some feedback and notes from writing group.
3. (Pending admin decision) figure out tool for online delivery of next week's class, exemplar for interactive done. Still have to figure out tool use exactly, but decision made, delivery platform booked at least, and exemplar done.
4. (Pending admin decision) Get all risk assessment and field trip paperwork done. Done for now.
5. Do 3 x couch to 5K, 2 x yoga. Yes yoga, no to running - why do I delusionally keep thinking I will get up early for that?
6. Bottle tomato and plum sauce. Yes, but burnt the elderberry syrup :(
This week:
1. End week with all VILE discussions cleared and week 2 and 3 checked and ready
2. Finish postgrad exegesis and sorting examiners
3. 3 x KL writing focus/500 words
4. Keep things ticking over with household, go to bed by 11.
On the theme - I think that it might be interesting to invite people who I know, but who are in slightly different circles from me - to get a different perspective on the place without the weight that comes from having close family or friends. Strictly practically, I would probably reach out to people who have done major building or rural living projects before, but in the more allegorical mode, I am thinking about the power of weak ties. With the sense that the height of the Omicron wave having passed in my area, there was a little bit of socialising/networking last week, and seeing people that I haven't seen, in some cases for a couple years, reminded me about how much that extended space enriches me when it isn't just the virtual nods of social media likes.
Lots of things done!
DeleteSo glad you are getting to see people you have not been around lately. Those connections are so nice to revive.
"Bottle tomato and plum sauce. Yes, but burnt the elderberry syrup"---this sounds like an incident in a Barbara Pym novel!
DeleteGoals got somewhat derailed by post-conference clean-up and a huge amount of stuff that came due for the next big conference. And student stuff… Sooooo much student stuff… If I’m finding it overwhelming I know students are too so I’m working very hard to be both efficient and encouraging, not always an easy combination!
ReplyDeleteLast week’s goals
FINISH paper edits NOPE, BUT PROGRESS
Write 2 draft abstracts for next conference VERY CLOSE
Something fun with kid YES
Something fun with friends YES
This week’s goals
FINISH paper edits
Finish 2 draft abstracts for next conference
Finish student feedback for thesis chapters
Do grant accounting
Set up purchases for new grant
Something fun with friends
Since this is my fantasy cabin and anything is possible, I want a very old friend to visit. She’s from my previous life before academia, and one of my closest friends even though we have not actually seen each other in person for 16 years… She’s got zero cabin-building or construction skills, but will be happy to help me shop for the wine cabinet, go to the garden center for pretty herb pots, and will do her own peaceful thing, and read and walk on the beach and cook without having to be entertained or kept busy! As Karen puts it above, she’s totally “not people!” in the best possible way. And we have a phone date set up for later in the week, I want those bonus points!
Progress is good! Too bad you have so much student stuff while you're on sabbatical. I'm glad you got to do two fun things!
DeleteMy co-editor! I would love to catch up with her, and to debrief about life. Also my mentoring group friend from right here...whom I keep intending to text about getting together.... OK, going to do that this week!
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1) Process journal article
-No
2) Edit other journal article
-Yes (I don't know, I've forgotten which was which, maybe Yes to 1 and No to 2)
3) Finish vignette--really--do work on it this week!
-Ummm no
4) Prep next week's readings and read for the following week
-YES, and I really want to keep up with this schedule!
5) Effort with exercise, despite the weather
-Effort made. Not wildly impressive, but sufficiently effortful.
6) Contact R to arrange a get-together sometime
-NO, this is the local person I keep not contacting
This week:
1) Respond to editor about accepted article
2) State taxes and start visa application
3) Two Gen Ed reviews
4) Grad class: Notes on next week's reading, at least read the new stuff for the following week (so I can decide if I need to ditch it)
5) Research: Last pass on vignette 1; very short vignette on JNST
6) EMAIL/TEXT R
In other news, I think that I may be lactose intolerant? Both my mom and my brother recently self-diagnosed, and a conversation with a gastroenterologist followed by a conversation with my brother made me think that maybe the low-level discomfort I've often been in, always, isn't normal? So I'm trying a dairy-free month, which involves learning some new cooking tricks!
Pretty good week! Kudos for making the exercise effort despite weather, even mildly successful is better nothing.
DeleteHope you get your catch-up!
Dairy-free month can be pretty interesting, hope that leads to a clear answer.
I hope the dairy-free diet goes well and gives you some answers! I had to cut out dairy in my 20s and it made an enormous difference to me. With me it's the proteins as well as the sugar, so lactose-free stuff doesn't help---I hope that won't be the case for you, but it's worth thinking about if you find that lactose-free items still create problems.
DeleteTopic: I have three beloved friends from graduate school who are scattered across the country, any of whom I would love to have visit. One has left academia and remains the most generous, enthusiastic supporter I can imagine. With any of these women, I would take long walks, eat decadent meals, and look for a park where we could just lay on the grass and look up at the sky or stars. I’m grateful for the opportunity to imagine spending time with them.
ReplyDeleteTwo weeks previous:
1 write content for symposium submission site: yes, up and running
2 grade all the things due this week: yes but there’s always more
3 work on March conference presentation: must get to work on this
4 spend five hours on DQ, since the acquisitions editor is waiting on the proposal!: put aside again
This week:
1 work on tiny project competition submission (or decide whether to do so)
2 grade all the things due this week
3 work on March conference presentation
4 latest book review
5 monitor fiction reading to avoid dangerous levels of distraction
Glad that even the imaginary visit is cheerful! It does sound lovely...
DeleteHope the week goes smoothly and the grading doesn't take over every available bit of oxygen!
How can March be so close now?
DeleteSupports: I lived most of my life on the east coast, so my closest friends are there or in the UK. They are all welcome any time, and would do something fun, cook, talk, read, walk...
ReplyDeleteLast week, in a moment of despair (something about my mother) I called my oldest friend (we were in nursery school together, so we go back more than 60 years). She came out when my husband died, and again to help me pack up my Mom's house. She would do that, or go hike in Yosemite, but another time baked me an awesome chocolate cake for my birthday. Debbie is welcome any time. (She's coming in May, and both my mother & I are thrilled!)
And then, just now, while I was in a zoom meeting, one of my other close friends called. Desma is also welcome ANY TIME.
The academic supports are a different group, but I'm not sure I'd have them at my cabin. But I'd love to meet with them!
Anyway, how I did:
4 days on Famous Author YES
Finish interviews & Reports YES
Pull some weeds YES
Keep up with exercise YES
Do something fun YES
The great thing about simple goals is it's easy to meet them! I've kept plugging away at Famous Author, I met some awesome high school students and wrote my reports, I cleared weeds out of one area of my garden (far more to do, but...) and had dinner with a friend. Didn't manage live music, but. . . I've also made all the arrangements for my trip to a research library in a few weeks (hotel & car rental), so, and started plane reservations for one of my conferences. I also got mixed up in admin stuff for a job I won't have until next year.
Goals for the week ahead:
4 days on Famous Author
start reading ms for friend
Yard stuff (contact another contractor)
Keep up with exercise, healthy eating
Do something fun
Talk with friend
Simple goals with yesses for the win! Lots of things done and a bunch of extras, so congratulations for a very good week.
DeleteSo great to have actual plans with good friends on the horizon to look forward to! And the research library trip is getting close enough to be excited about too!
How lovely to have friends you've known all your life, and to have them be "welcome any time"! My oldest friend is difficult---important just because we have known each other literally since the age of one year, and there aren't many people about whom we can say that---but there are topics we have to stay away from.
DeleteNow I'm enjoying imagining hiking in Yosemite with chocolate cake afterward!
My external supports would be helpful for planning both the outside and inside spaces of my cabin, because although I can recreate something from a store display or pinterest page, I am incapable of coming up with it myself (which is why my fiction is not great). My artistic niece with a good eye for design would be great for that.
ReplyDeleteAs for writing support and brainstorming, I miss the contact I used to have at conferences, so Dame Eleanor’s mention of going to conferences struck a chord. I haven’t been able to get to a full medieval studies conference since 2009, so I am woefully out of touch, but I think fondly of the spirited lunchtime conversations. I’d love to invite everyone to the cabin to explore the state of the discipline today and what everyone is working on.
And for the bonus points, I contacted the above-mentioned niece and talked about going to see her; I can also visit my sister who lives about 50 miles away from my niece– since I’d be flying to the West Coast, what’s 50 miles, after all?
Last week’s goals:
Read three articles. Yes, I read and annotated three articles.
Write at least two pages of the guide. I knocked this one out of the park, partially because I found some very interesting texts to write about. I wrote 14 pages this week, 5 of which are also edited and polished.
Outline at least two articles. Only one. The other one is on the docket for this weekend.
File at least one banker’s box.No. Can you tell I hate filing?
Scan at least one banker’s box. No. I scanned several things I needed for the guide I’m writing, and that exhausted my “stand and scan” abilities.
Next week’s goals:
Read and annotate one articles.
Write at least three pages of the guide.
Outline the remaining article.
I could use the big riverstone fireplace in my cabin this weekend–we have gotten about a foot of snow, with more to come; I’m hoping we avoid the sleet and freezing rain that we got two weeks ago!
Have a lovely weekend, everyone, and float like mist!
Yay for bonus points! And you get extra bonus points for actually planning a visit!
DeleteThat is wonderful progress on the guide, congrats for all that writing and polishing!