Last week, JaneB called August the hinge of the year: for you, does that mean the door is closing, or opening? Perhaps it's a swing door that will go back and forth for awhile before it stills, if it does.
In May (remember May, when the season lay ahead of us?), we said "This session runs until mid-August, which makes it a 12 week session (mid-point = 2-3 July, last goal setting post = 13-14th August, wrap-up session = 20-21 August)." So set goals for this week, and next weekend we'll meet again to reflect on how we did, both with the week and with the session.
We should also think about the next session: how long, starting and ending points, and who will host it.
A prompt, if you feel like addressing it: what do you need to close down, what do you need to open up? Are you packing up a summer cabin and taking things home, leaving a weekend cabin in good shape to visit again soon, looking forward to seeing your usual places refreshed by absence?
Goals from last week, unless you were traveling and didn't post; let us know how you're doing with either goals or travels:
Daisy
Something fun with kid
Do a few more things with old paper
Book vacation places and organize trip
Finish setting up new office computer
Renovation appointments
Read/edit giant report
Turn paper notes into something less random
Dame Eleanor Hull
(no goals posted; on vacation)
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Outline two female patrons.
Outline two female translators.
heu mihi
(no goals posted; presumably now in France)
JaneB
1) work my contracted hours (nominally 22.5 in August . . . will either be working M-W or . . . M-Th but as four short days)
2) do some
things on the lists -
3) replenishment: back to basics - keep it up. Eating
plenty of fruit and veg, drinking enough water, a small exercise habit
(10 minutes a day of deliberate exercise), a small chore habit (5
minutes of picking up or one of the recurring chores like a load of
laundry each day), journal daily.
3a) substantial house projects:
make the main downstairs room and the hall not too embarrassing before
my sister 's visits
4) pressure reduction: apply for the
administrative role, work on the honours module
5)
fun/creative: do something social beyond the basics/read for half an
hour at least 3 days/do at least two crochet stripes on the "desert
colours" blanket project/play D&D, write another job board game or
do other prep/play with watercolours a couple of times.
Karen
-teach the five classes I'm down for this week
-keep just-in-time VILE content ticking over
-mark and release first assessments
-get to one yoga class
If a change is as good as a rest, then I'm rested! Since 4 August, I've driven nearly 2000 miles, through a lot of road construction which slowed us down, and also in the center of one major city with lots of traffic, pedestrians, and double-parked vehicles. But it was lovely to see people I've not seen in years, and to go on a river cruise, and just to be away and get some perspective on things at home. One point to going away, I think, is that it's easier to make changes after a break, and I do need to shift my morning (and evening) routines to adapt to the new semester.
ReplyDeleteI want to open the door to more organized spaces. Despite my intentions, I haven't done any unpacking this summer; the garage still contains all the boxes it had in May (and some of those are books that I want!). I think the first step is to organize my time: there need to be times for work, and times for house/life stuff, and those need to work with my energy levels. So I'll be thinking about that, this week. In terms of the cabin metaphor, I want to keep coming back to the cabin on weekends, so while I may be packing away the swimming gear, I'll be getting out flannel sheets and heavier jackets for autumn/winter beach walks.
Goals for the final week before classes start:
-daily yoga, walking, safe eating, work bedtime back to 11 at latest
-finish planning one class and set up its VILE site
-research at least 1 hour/day
-dentist, walk w/friend, daily weeding, replace another electronic gadget, other Life Stuff as possible
So glad the trip was worth it and restorative, even if the driving parts were not the most relaxing!
DeleteGood luck with organizing time, I'm going to have to think about that this week because after next week's vacation and the subsequent week of field teaching the "regular" routine will be starting the day I get back and I don't want it to be an unpleasant surprise!
August is definitely an odd combination of endings and beginnings. On one hand summer is ending, on the other I have my first course to teach in my new place… It is a field course, and I’m thrilled to be in charge of that, and in the best of both worlds, the two people who previously did it are coming along too, one for the official team-teaching part, and the other because retirement is fine but he misses the woods…
ReplyDeleteIt feels like I’m building my cabin from scratch with all the house things that need to be done. We should get some new floors tomorrow (goodbye scary carpets!) and then we can paint and unpack books properly. I spent the weekend gardening, mowed the ridiculously sloping lawn and promptly went and spent a fortune on creeping junipers to cover it up. I planted 8 out of the 12 I got, will finish tomorrow. Next up is a pile of creeping thyme and creeping phlox for the rest of it… I hate lawns, they are the work of satan… I will leave the central flat bits, the rest will be planted with sensible things that do not need mowing, little bits at a time. There is a ton of hostas to transplant in the Fall too, they are in a bed that is totally overgrown and they definitely need a new spot.
Research-wise I will be extremely happy if I can submit that old paper before the end of the session. I finished it this week and my co-authors have it to shred this week, then maybe we can get rid of it. That would cap off the summer with a huge research win, and would be very encouraging for the new term. For term preparation I really have to get my course outline and at least a skeleton VILE site set up this week. If I can get that done I will feel pretty good about the start of term!
Last week’s goals:
Something fun with kid MORE ICE CREAM AND FARMERS MARKET
Do a few more things with old paper FINALLY FINISHED THAT SUCKER!!!
Book vacation places and organize trip DONE
Finish setting up new office computer DONE
Renovation appointments DONE
Read/edit giant report NOPE BUT I DID HELP SOMEONE WITH THEIR PART SO SORT OF?
Turn paper notes into something less random NOPE
Kid and I had an excellent trip to the local, new-to-us farmer’s market. We basically ate our way from one end to the other, it was excellent. Next week we’ll go closer to lunch and eat more! I have our very shot vacation road trip almost planned, it will be an abridged version of our usual two-week camping adventure and will include a few days in our old home tow so both of us can hang out with our friends we miss desperately.
This week’s goals:
Get ready for vacation trip!
Get ready for field course teaching immediately after trip
Edits for old paper after coauthor shreds it again
Course outline for new class, and first 5 lectures
Work through first 2 labs for new course
Turn paper notes into something less random
Read/edit giant report
I love hearing about other people's garden adventures, and also yay for new floors! You have a lot of "done" for the last week, so yay for that, too. Rabbits are eating my hostas this year and we have so many hostas that I'm pretty much "go, rabbits, thank you!" especially since they seem to prefer the commoner varieties and are leaving the "guacamole" and blue-leafed ones alone.
DeleteHello everyone! I've missed this group. Now that we're settled in Strasbourg (after two weeks of travel--first in Paris, then Saint-Malo)--I'm hoping to start checking back in here, if only to follow what you all are doing. I'll also need to start returning to work, I suppose, so maybe I'll have goals myself....
ReplyDeleteI did have one research day, in Paris, when I went up to the Musée Condé in Chantilly to see a 15th-c. manuscript. The museum was stunning, and the library room was quite lovely (and I was the only scholar there--they only have four lockers for scholars, to give you a sense of the size of the operation), AND the manuscript was actually pretty interesting, although I have no idea whether I'll use what I found. I spent the day copying out marginal annotations and then photographing the ones that I didn't have time to copy. So that's a task to complete.
I should also make some progress on compiling the final versions of the essays for our edited collection, the resubmission of which is technically due today, although the editor doesn't care if it's late. And scope out the library here in Strasbourg.
I hope that all is well! Kind of looking forward to a gentle return to work.
Your travels sound wonderful, and the manuscript research does too! While you're in Strasbourg, I recommend climbing to the top of the cathedral tower and checking out the carved graffiti there. Also the view, of course. It's great to hear from you!
DeleteWhat the heck---I am baffled as to why my comment on Daisy's post was as me and the one to you was anonymous. It's me! Glitchy blogspot!
DeleteSo exciting to be in your new spot and being able to explore! We'll be following along for the adventures for sure!
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