2022 Session Three, Week Seven

Apparently several people have had A Week, to judge by goals, carry-overs, and comments from last week. Best wishes to those who are ill, or overwhelmed, or any combination thereof. We'll keep on keeping on, floating like mist, flowing like water, and/or unyielding as ice, depending on abilities and circumstances, and we'll be sending good vibes to all members past and present who can use them.

Shape of the week: arrow. What are your associations? Up, down, forward, back? Archery? If you sit a squat up-arrow on its base, you might see a Christmas tree, or a fire hydrant.   ⇒⇑⇓⇐⇯

Daisy

FINISH grant and send to colleagues for reading NOW REALLY URGENT!!!
Do revisions for paper that just came back URGENT

Dame Eleanor Hull

- keep smoothing the essay
- Notes on MET book and C&C read 2 weeks ago
- Grade new set of undergrad papers
- Devise guides for in-class peer review (now urgent)
- Do some House/Life/Car thing
- Have fun at Saturday dinner with friends
- do yoga at least 4 times, weights x2, walk x5

heu mihi
Recover from COVID
 
Humming42 (carried over)
1 catch up on grading (already!)
2 write 1000 words for Food chapter
3 create module structure for online class
4 catch up on emails and organizing online files

JaneB

1) do two days on campus without guilt at not being there more
2) don't do more than 9 hours a day max. Aim for one day with NO WORK.
3) prepare teaching for the following week
4) Rewrite another two sections of draft paper
5) do minimum house chores that keep getting lost.

Julie

1. Keep on top of teaching, but try not to let it encroach other areas.
2. Keep Thursday research-only.
3. Get to writing group on Friday for at least a couple of hours before teaching.
4. Enjoy some 'me' time while kids away for half-term.

 

2022 Session 3 Week 6

 A couple of weeks ago our shape topic was triangles, and I was particularly struck by the connections people made with mountains and journeys.

Nature does triangles - a Trillium flower

The best kind of triangular chocolate...

And a triangular mountain from Glacier National Park.  Both up and down would be equally hard on the knees!

Some standard Celtic triune patterns

And a quilt design (Triangle fade, a very similar pattern is available from Etsy and multiple other sources)

Of these images, I feel particularly drawn to the quilt - the way that a really simple, repetitive shape is made into a thing of depth and beauty through colour choice and placement, through human thought and creativity, picks up the ideas of the repetitive rhythm of the week or the year being the basis for making a life of meaning and value and purpose.

Another theme which came up in the discussion of triangles was stability - three legged stools were mentioned, and one of the things about mountains is the depth of their roots, the sense of solidity and connection with the crust and mantle deep beneath them, the persistent patience of a mountain pushing up against gravity to reach for the sky above.  So let's use that for the theme this week if anyone wants to talk about it - how can we use repetitive patterns, stable points, to help us do the important-not-urgent stuff?  For some people, that might be setting aside specific times in the week or day in their diary.  In previous sessions, we've talked about how associations with places, sounds, or objects like a cup of tea or a candle can help get the brain into TLQ-work-mode, so that can create a consistent point.  I don't really use that with work tasks, but I use it with study and with fun-writing to the point that some music I love is permanently bound into specific associations - Bach's Kunst der Fuge = first year university physics homework, Keane's Under the Iron Sea = Open University Astronomy courses, Smoke Fairies Through Low Light and Trees and Blood Speaks = NaNoWriMo (and also the Tamuran webcomic for some reason).  Let's talk about the points of stability which help us keep returning to the TLQ space - any advice on how to create or curate them, or insights on how they change with seasons of life or of the academic year?

GOALS FROM LAST WEEK

DAISY:
FINISH grant and send to colleagues for reading NOW URGENT!!!
Do revisions for paper that just came back
Exercise at least 4 times
Do something fun with kid
 
DAME ELEANOR HULL:
- Either write conclusion to essay, or revise/smooth what I have
- Notes on MET book and C&C read 2 weeks ago
- Finish grading new set of grad papers
- Devise guides for in-class peer review
- Do some House/Life thing
- do yoga at least 4 times
 
ELIZABETH ANNE MITCHELL: (carried over)
Flu shot and COVID booster.
Finish peer review.
Pick one subsection of outline and start to flesh it out.
 
HEU MIHI
Recover from COVID
 
HUMMING42 (carried over)
1 catch up on grading (already!)
2 write 1000 words for Food chapter
3 create module structure for online class
4 catch up on emails and organizing online files
 
 JANEB:
1) do two days on campus without guilt at not being there more - especially important to NOT GUILT about it
2) don't do more than 9 hours a day max. Aim for one day with NO WORK.
3) prepare teaching for the following week (I thought it was doable until I found out about the practical, sigh)
4) Rewrite assigned sections of draft paper I forgot (very urgent now, sigh)
5) do minimum house chores that keep getting lost. Prepack lunch-type food for the days on campus.
 
JULIE:
1. Review and score abstracts for a conference I'm on the organising committee for.
2. Keep teaching prep minimal again - challenge here is I'm teaching some new stuff next week.
3. Keep one day for research/writing.
4. Life admin.

2022 Session 3, Week 5

Apologies about missing last week!  I'm definitely struggling this trimester to keep on top of anything, never mind everything... sigh!  Oh well, we keep going.  Apologies for any wonky formatting, I got my delayed COVID booster on Friday, slept most of today and am starting a sore throat, and I'm fairly sure my brain isn't working well (I've been putting slides together for a class on Monday but I could NOT work out how to organize the topic, or how to do some powerpoint stuff I normally do with no problems, so my brain may be a bit fuzzy!).

Two weeks ago, our topic was squares, so here are some images.   As a topic this week, let's talk about how we're currently getting on with the important/urgent grid - IS the top left quadrant (important, not urgent) getting the love it deserves?  How do you decide where to place tasks on the grid, and how does that affect your feelings about actually doing the work? (many parts of our job move around the quadrant at different stages in the process or academic year...).

Last week's goals below the photos!

Mosaic tiles from Byland Abbey (early 13th century): from THIS BLOG

A lovely "trip around the world" quilt design, made as a square, using crochet (QuiltingDigest.com), on a square stool

Cubic salt crystals (image from HERE)

And wombat poop...

LAST WEEK'S GOALS:

DAISY:

FINISH grant and send to colleagues for reading
Do something for revisions only if grant is done
Get caught up on marking
Plan ahead for next set of midterms
Pack lunches for 4 campus days
Exercise at least 4 times
Do something fun with kid

DAME ELEANOR HULL:

- Add 1000 words to essay
- Notes on MET book and C&C read 2 weeks ago
- Grade new set of grad papers
- put garden to bed before frost comes
- do yoga at least 4 times

ELIZABETH ANNE MITCHELL:

Flu shot and COVID booster.
Finish peer review.
Pick one subsection of outline and start to flesh it out.

HEU MIHI

Travel too much
Work on manuscripts

HUMMING42 (carried over)

1 catch up on grading (already!)
2 write 1000 words for Food chapter
3 create module structure for online class
4 catch up on emails and organizing online files

 JANEB:

1) do three days on campus without guilt at not being there more - especially important to NOT GUILT about it. (I actually did 1 due to sausages...)
2) don't do more than 9 hours a day max. Aim for one day with NO WORK.
3) prepare teaching for the following week (too much to do ::pouts::)
4) Rewrite assigned sections of draft paper I forgot, and complete report on thesis.
5) do minimum house chores that keep getting lost. Prepack lunch-type food for the days on campus.

JULIE:

1. Finish and submit the grant application.
2. Arrange meetings with PhD student and mentees.
3. Write report on research leave.
4. Spend at least an afternoon working on my article.
5. Keep teaching prep minimal again.
6. One life admin task.

2022 Session Three, Week 4

Hello! Sorry this is late; I'm guessing JaneB had a bad reaction to her Covid booster, or something, so here we are on Monday morning with me slapping up a post before I go teach. See you in the comments!

Topic: triangles.

Daisy

Write something for the grant EVERY day
Do something for revisions only if grant is done
Pack lunches for 5 campus days
Exercise at least 4 times
Do something fun with kid

Dame Eleanor Hull

- Add 1000 words to essay
- Notes on MET book and C&C read 2 weeks ago
- Grade new set of undergrad papers
- do stuff for online course
- plug mouseholes
- do stuff with visiting friends of Sir John's next weekend

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell

 (held over)

- Get flu shot.
- Get son moved into his new apartment.
- Outline very roughly one article.

heu mihi

1) Miscellaneous: Annual faculty report; comment on grad student's job materials; find out if I'm eligible to get a Covid booster and/or flu shot in France?

2) Emails: Research group leader re. presentation format; program chair re. next year's program chair; friendly colleague at distant university; prospective grad student

3) Journals: Read one new submission for each; reject one article; get second reviewer for last week's new submission

4) Research: Keep working on chapter 3: let's say, fill in remaining outline blanks with some notes (I'm going to borrow DEH's 1000-word goal) and attempt to straighten out the mess into some kind of rough draft; smother doubts about my Process

5) Fun: College friend is visiting this week, so honestly I don't know how much of #4 will get done; accompany child's class on a field trip

 

Humming42

 (held over)

1 catch up on grading (already!)
2 write 1000 words for Food chapter
3 create module structure for online class
4 catch up on emails and organizing online files

 

JaneB

1) do two days on campus without guilt at not being there more - especially important to NOT GUILT about it.
2) don't do more than 9 hours a day max.
3) prepare teaching for the following week (too much to do ::pouts::)
4) Rewrite assigned sections of draft paper I forgot, and put off whatever else I can.
5) do minimum house chores that keep getting lost. Prepack lunch-type food for the two days on campus.

 

Julie

1. Teaching prep for next week, but keep to minimum time and effort.
2. Revise grant application, add in feedback from my mentor and estimated costs.
3. Keep at least two days for research, ideally more.
4. At least two exercise sessions.
5. Life admin task - get either plumber or carpenter round, preferably both.