Hello everyone! One of my TLQ goals should have been to post these prompts on time every other week. It's only 12:30 pm EST on Sunday, so I don't think that I'm actually late yet! Those of you who have seen me host before know that imaginative prompts aren't my forte, so I'm going to go for simplicity on that front and not beat myself up about it.
I loved reading about everyone's insignificant-to-others pleasures last week, and it made me appreciate more of my own daily joys. Like the way that the sun fills up our bedroom on winter afternoons--but gradually moves into the dining room as we angle more towards summer. That's a long way off, so I'm leaning back a bit in my chair right now to see the sun shining against our southwest bedroom window.
For this week, if you want, tell us something nice/good/pleasurable/encouraging that happened, or that you did, or that you noticed in the past week. Just a happy moment, since it's so easy here to focus on the stressful stuff! (Like I said, I'm working on not feeling inadequate about the simplicity of my prompts!)
And then there's the check-in. Here are last week's goals. Good luck and enjoy, everyone!
Daisy
Order new lab gear and get master list of items needed
Plan out three grant applications for lab stuff and analytical trips
Get the first month of lectures and labs organized and checked over
Paper edits to co-authors for two different papers
Something fun
Dame Eleanor Hull
- write syllabuses for two classes
- finish setting up VILE sites for two classes
- write at least a couple of assignments for each class
- finish the fiendish jigsaw we're working on
- have fun with old friends
- review applications from grad students
- take at least one weekend day to recover from trip and catch up with Sir John and cats (who are not amused at being down to one servant AGAIN)
heu mihi
1. Compile bibliography and ideally draft encyclopedia entry
2. Finish reading boring book about B
3. Submit final MS of WH, finally
4. Touch ch. 3 daily (M-F), even if primary writing work is on the encyclopedia entry
5. Post old booster seats on Freecycle (putting this on here because I keep stalling on it!)
JaneB
1) self-care - making a list of small habits, noticing the places where things go wrong, data gathering
1a) environment - the Declutterer is coming one day this week to help me move stuff around ready for the window and door people next week (my house is a terrace/row house, so the tables and general chaos tends to cosy up to the windows...).
2) R- nothing this week
3) T- grading an assignment submitted just before Christmas, setting up one of the ViLEs
4) finish reading current frivolous read; play D&D
Julie
Get VLE for this term's module set up.
Teaching prep (see above on keeping it simple)
Read and comment on applications for big early career grant scheme.
Write supporting statements for applicants for a different grant.
Clear decks to make some writing time next week
Organise son's birthday celebration
Book hair cuts
Find cheaper car insurance.
Karen
- have weeks 1 &2 of VILE content done except for a/v recordings
- get KL rough draft to 4000 words
- go to one yoga class
Susan
Get comments to authors on Big Collaboration
Re-read Famous Author, sketch out what needs happening in last two chapters. Start editing/revising
Do something fun
Prune roses
Walk/ride/yoga daily (this depends on weather. Right now the various atmospheric rivers are making walking difficult, since the path along the creek where I like to walk is flooded in places, and that's likely to be true through this week.)
Sometimes simple is the most effective - I think that's a great prompt!
ReplyDeleteOne little thing from my week - I bought myself a fuzzy waffle texture fleecy dressing gown for my birthday, a size too large, for cosy snuggles at my desk when I have to work and Don't Want To (which is in the coldest spot in the house other than the kitchen). I've tried to hang it up every day, but earlier this week I left it on a chair and the Fluffball found it... he's a cautious cat, but the purring that started when one paw gently patted the fuzzy surface was impressively loud, and the way he sort of folded into the fabric with his eyes mostly closed, kneading slowly, and coming back later to find him completely flaked out in Paisley form having somehow got a fold of the fabric draped over his back... he was a VERY happy kitty, and his pleasure is delightful to see (but I do still intend to try & hang up my dressing gown, it's MINE and the boy has multiple fuzzy beds).
LAST WEEK'S GOALS:
1) self-care - making a list of small habits, noticing the places where things go wrong, data gathering
1a) environment - the Declutterer is coming one day this week to help me move stuff around ready for the window and door people next week.
ish. The declutterer came on Wednesday, and helped me organise and move things and prepare - I was left with what felt like a manageable amount of things to do, but... it's Sunday, most of them are undone, and I don't feel especially competent. I'm pretty creaky at the moment, between the cold and being generally feeble and fed up with the world. But I have been trying, and working hard on just doing the hours of work I'm contracted to do and making time for small things, a bit of reading, calming down and doing something for me before going to bed, preparing food with thought even if that's just toasting bread and frying an egg and cutting up a tomato onto the plate instead of slapping together a cold sandwich/eating the tomato in hand like an apple etc. Which is steadily growing my already oppressive back log, but... the Union decision was that there will be 18 days of strike action in February and March, and although ouch about the pay deductions, I'm also thinking 'phew' in terms of having a bit less pressure and more time to breathe...
2) R- nothing this week and nothing was definitely achieved
3) T- grading an assignment submitted just before Christmas, setting up one of the ViLEs grading completed, two ViLEs now have the basics set up, and the third (a year-long module) has got all the new bits it needs for the second semester
4) finish reading current frivolous read; play D&D did and read a second; played a one hour game with the team this afternoon as they all have deadlines but wanted a break
GOALS FOR NEXT WEEK:
1) self-care: acknowledge that the windows thing is going to be stressful and disruptive, and be kind to myself. Which might this week involve some takeaways and will definitely involve spreading work out over five days rather than the official four, to make space for other stuff.
1a) environment: book another appointment with the Declutterer for February, do the window prep things early in the week and undo them a little after it's (hopefully) done...
2) R - do something concrete towards the teaching-related R project, three research emails I need to properly answer (with associated Other Tasks, sigh)
3) T - mark the first year essays that arrived this week. Finalise who is teaching what for the first year module I'm leading. finish putting in the the ViLe structure, and aim to put up first week materials too
4) read a bit; write some rather overdue thank you letters; play D&D.
That dressing gown sounds lovely! Well done on self-care - sounds as if you are really working on small steps. I had our windows done last year, because some of them no longer closed properly, and it was stressful - lots of noise, workmen in the house, mess (though they did clear up properly, which was nice). So yes, definitely takeaways.
DeleteThe thing I'm stressing about the most (displacement...) is catching Fluffball & shutting him in the bathroom for the day - he's a cowardly indoor cat, but empty window holes etc. might be too easy an escape route if he is trying to move around the house and gets startled. And the bathroom is the only room without a window...
DeleteOh that is such a cute cat scene! I gave my mom a really soft blanket once, and she joked that her cat believed it to be his mother. I imagine something similar was going on with Fluffball! I am sorry that you have grading to do at the moment, but congratulations on getting the ViLEs underway!
DeleteI think you might just have to buy another dressing gown :)
DeleteAlso like the simple prompt. There's a Barbara Kingsolver quote I love about focusing on a 'single glorious thing' when times are hard, until you can come back to yourself. Little things are a big help. This week was a hard one - a couple of very demoralising meetings in which we were told that university finances are dire and there's a freezing hire, so even though people have left, we won't get replacements for teaching, even fixed-terms. So our workloads are likely to be higher next year. And as JaneB says, we're looking at more strike action, which is a breathing space in some ways and extremely depressing in others.
ReplyDeleteSo little things that have helped: dawn skies driving into work. I live in a town with a cathedral and a lot of hills, and the route between school drop-off and work includes a moment when I get to the top of a hill and the cathedral is there against the sky. And I saw snowdrops the other day. And we bought my son a new guitar for his upcoming birthday, which he's been playing all day.
Last week's goals
Get VLE for this term's module set up. - all except two primary source readings. Only for students to email to say the links don't work, so I had to come up with a short-term fix and try to get IT on the case.
Teaching prep (see above on keeping it simple) - yes, and students more engaged than expected, which was a nice surprise.
Read and comment on applications for big early career grant scheme. - Done, but meant working today (ugh)
Write supporting statements for applicants for a different grant. - Done because colleague stepped in to help.
Clear decks to make some writing time next week - hopefully!
Organise son's birthday celebration - bowling trip booked and see above.
Book hair cuts - yes. Don't know why I always procrastinate on this.
Find cheaper car insurance - sort of, waiting on quotes.
This week's goals:
Try to keep some time free for writing on Thursday & Friday.
Teaching prep for busy week the week after, but see previous point
Meet with PhD students
Book at least some of trip planned for Easter.
Self-care - haircut, pilates, walking, read, journal.
We're always being told university finances are dire and no new hires, then they tell us it's strategic to open new centres with lots of hires in a specific area, then they come out to the departments asking for people to supervise dissertations for all the masters students in the specific area (without any workload compensation), and build new buildings but won't paint or deep clean the old ones... I no longer trust anything they say, it doesn't feel real!
DeleteA lot of done there, and I love the skies - it's a definite bonus this time of year, those morning or evening skies. Market Town where I live has a rather spectacular minster, and I get to drive up to and around it on my route home at an angle where I get lovely sunset views of it, there's something very grounding about that view, and that light, which people have been seeing for multiple centuries whatever was going on in their lives.
Beautiful views are so restorative. Thanks for sharing this one.
DeleteFull sympathy on the budget crisis. I'm so tired of Constant Crisis Mode. (Aren't we all?)
Agree---I don't know which cathedral town you're near, but I'm imagining Durham, which I visited for the first time last April, and loved; and yes, JaneB, that sense of people experiencing the same view/light for centuries is what I love about the UK's beauties.
DeleteI love your description of driving in to work with a Cathedral and a lot of hills, and I'm immediately carried back to Wells, where my husband was born and raised. Snowdrops are a bonus.
DeleteWell guessed, Dame Eleanor! Wells is also supposed to be beautiful, though I've never been. JaneB sums it up so well: the idea of something being a constant for so long is really grounding.
DeleteSimple prompts give us plenty of space for reflection. I've just had an amazing time this weekend reconnecting with family and place with a chance to see the boathouse my grandfather built and hear some stories that go with it. So that's my happy moment to remember, thinking back to being out on the river even now when I'm back on the screen.
ReplyDeleteLast week (late entry)
- have weeks 1 & 2 of VILE content done except for a/v recordings - week 1 done, week 2 started
- get KL rough draft to 4000 words - at 2500-ish words
- go to one yoga class - yes
This week (slightly short due to one day of travelling)
-have week 2 & 3 of VILE content done minus a/v
-KL draft to 4000 words
-one yoga class, final beach swim for this trip
Yay yoga! Good work on the teaching and writing--that's pretty substantial stuff. Enjoy your beach swim!
DeleteBeach swim! Yum. I'm glad you got to make physical contact with your family past and hear the associated stories.
Deletebeach swims and stories, that sounds great!
DeleteBeach swim is such a good thing to put on a to-do list!
DeleteMy nice thing: On Tuesday, I think it was, we just had a really pleasant dinner together. I had cooked (I'm doing more of that than usual these days) and all three of us were just relaxed and in a good mood. As we sat around laughing about something, it occurred to me that I should really notice these moments, because it's all too easy to take them for granted.
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
1. Compile bibliography and ideally draft encyclopedia entry
YES - drafted and sent to editor, because it's too long and I'd like to know how she'd like me to fix it
2. Finish reading boring book about B
YES, at last; now I need to take notes (sigh)
3. Submit final MS of WH, finally
YES, on Friday night, but it's done!
4. Touch ch. 3 daily (M-F), even if primary writing work is on the encyclopedia entry
M-W and F. On Thursday, I just kept clipping along with the encyclopedia entry.
5. Post old booster seats on Freecycle (putting this on here because I keep stalling on it!)
YES (actually on our local Buy Nothing FB page) - and they were gone within the day - hooray for keeping large plastics out of the landfill (and saving another family roughly $150)!
This week:
1. Take notes on B books (there are two of them)
2. 10 hours on ch. 3 (research and writing)
3. Read book for review; take notes; if really ambitious, draft review
4. Process journal article
5. Run x 3, yoga x 2, sit x 5
6. Fun things: Read for fun; play new card games with kid; see Brother and SIL and their kids on Saturday
7. Start foreign language improvement program (of my own very loose design)...actually, first I should design said program....
Also congratulating myself on submitting my goals on Monday morning, for once!
Good to see you on this rainy Monday morning! Well, afternoon, by now, but anyway. And it sounds like you had a good week, and how lovely to notice that delightful family moment.
Deletelots of done there!
DeleteWow, sounds like a productive week. I had our old child seats hanging around for years, and finally offloaded the last one last year, only for my brother and his partner to announce that they are having a baby in May. Still, I can now get rid of the remaining baby gear in the loft.
DeletePosting separately about a separate issue, which really isn't quite TLQ related--except maybe it is? Basically, I'm polling everyone I know about this, so you all get to be included, if you feel like reading the lengthy screed tomorrow and registering your opinion.
ReplyDeleteI've been invited to apply for a three-year term as department chair. This is after two years of interims and a previous (three-year) chair who had a pretty disastrous go of it. Last year I was also invited, but sabbatical beckoned! By all accounts it's a rough job: We have 77 faculty, 9(?) majors, something like 11 programs, with 6 or so program directors.... I clearly don't even know the half of it. It would be stressful.
BUT: a) it comes with a big stipend (I calculated it out to 27k) and b) no teaching. This is important because c) I'm feeling a bit burned out on teaching, even with this year off, and d) I don't know that I want to spend the next 20 years doing exactly the same thing, so it could be a good idea to "network" with higher-ups and just get a better sense of other opportunities at the university. I'm not really keen to go into admin, but I can't promise that I wouldn't relish the chance in 10 years, so....
Also, to be blunt, someone needs to do it--we can't keep having interims (and this year's interim is from outside the department, because none of my colleagues was even willing to one year in the position--which says something!)--and I've been nominated by multiple people because, I believe, I'm organized, I meet deadlines, and (according to the nominations I got to read last year as personnel committee chair) I get along with everyone. The latter is not to be underestimated in my department! I think that the nominators think that I would be able to work across programs/units, whereas there are a lot of otherwise qualified folks who...wouldn't.
I have to decide whether to put my name in the hat by the end of the month. Any and all advice welcome! I'm just stuck.... On the one hand, this position would cut into my precious free time/exercise time. (I'm not sure how much "free time" I actually have during a normal semester, but almost certainly more than I would have as chair.) On the other, my husband is unemployed and we really don't know what his prospects will look like, and my current salary kinda enables us to coast, with the occasional dip into savings, without being able to save anything additional or pay for any "extras" (e.g. the new car that we will doubtless need within a few years). So the extra income would be a real relief.
Help!
Seconding - I think you should at least apply. Think of the difference a GOOD administrator can make - even a competent administrator - to students and colleagues and all the things the department does. And if you hate it or love it or like some bits and hate others, that's very useful data for planning the rest of your career. It sounds like there's a low bar to be better than the last couple, which can also help a lot with setting boundaries etc.
DeleteIt also sounds like you'd be in a really strong position to negotiate - not necessarily for lots of money, but things like fixed closed door time as DEH suggests. A recent Head here got a guaranteed sabbatical year after their term to restart their research, and had an RA to help keep their research projects alive/finish up some things even though their field never usually gets RAs.
And through the interview process you might get to learn more about the team you'd be working with in faculty and professional services, and the administrators in your department - if those people are all people you can work with, difficult colleagues may be less of a strain overall?
I get the 'if not me, then who' motivation, which might help make the job easier with a reserve of good will to pull on and the threat of walking away to hold in your back pocket. I think it is important to be realistic about how much power you will have as chair, and that within top-down systems you may not be able to always guide your discipline in the way you want to.
DeleteI came off a 2 and a half year turn in admin (with little-no teaching, but with continuing research expectations and postgraduate supervision, plus primary-school aged kids and a partner in a full time, stressful job) seriously burnt out.
I think advice about negotiating for support/time on the transition out of the role is great. Part of the burn out pressure for me was that I ended up having to carry through a major project through lock-down and learning from home, which meant regularly working an evening shift to very late. I'd suggest talking through with someone with experience in the head role what it looks like day to day and thinking about how that will work with your family life and other commitments.
It sounds like there's going to be a learning curve on the kind of information that you'll need to be across. Do you have any professional staff to support the head of discipline? Can you get a mentor to guide you through the assumed knowledge/processes that you'll need to get across, especially given it sounds like there wouldn;t be much of a handover.
One of the challenges is that we lost a lot of staff over the last few years, and there is no administrative assistant for the role at this point. So I would need to negotiate some kind of support on that end. I would also ask for a full semester's release from teaching immediately after my term is up (I would be willing to do some service as needed, since my program is pretty strapped)--precisely to get back into research. But addressing the work/life boundary directly is a really good idea. My main fear is that I'll not be able to be a good parent for the next three years--which will be the middle-school years, alas--and it would be nice to get out in front of that problem. I've thought about asking whether the first year can be a provisional one, so that if I find the balance completely unmanageable (i.e. I'm not able to parent adequately) I could back out early.
DeleteAnd thank you for weighing in! This is so helpful. Most helpful, perhaps, was how pleased I felt by the recommendations that I apply--that response on my part tells that it's kinda what I want to do....
DeleteI am late to this, but echo the advice to apply. A good department chair is a blessing. BUT: negotiate the support in the job, and support for your transition out (i.e. an extra semester of leave at the end.) You may find you like administration, or that you like chairing (which is a very particular kind of administration) and that's good. And you will certainly identify which skills you've used that you really enjoy using, and find ways to use them going forward. You might search Liz Lehfeldt's blog about being a department chair (and then an admin, from which she has now stepped down) at https://talesoutofschoolblog.wordpress.com/
DeleteCommenting late here, and don't have much to add to what others have said except that on the parenting front, I would get some advice about expectations and where you can set boundaries. Looking at the experiences of our department chairs, one of whom is a good friend, it seems to me that boundaries can be negotiated, but it's hard to do so, and requires self-discipline as well as being firm with others. Our last department chair is a friend, and I really admired how much she set boundaries, because it made it easier for everyone else to do so. Maybe see being a parent as an asset you can bring to the role - understanding what other colleagues might need in that regard. It sounds as if you'd be really good at it.
DeleteMy nice thing from last week is a big thing, not a little one: getting to see old friends in person, for a whole week! I've known one since 4th grade, the other we met in college, and we used to get together more regularly, but I've not seen the 4th-grade friend since her father's memorial service pre-pandemic, and the other one once or twice since, only because she lives near where my family is now. It was a great joy to catch up with them both, and do some vintage shopping, some sight-seeing, and some puzzle-solving. And then it was lovely to come home and see my husband and cats, and a small joy to have Sir John bring me hot herb tea when he picked me up at the airport, because college friend gave me a cold and I was longing for something hot to soothe my throat.
ReplyDeleteDamn but I'm tired of being sick---though the cold is much milder than the Covid was.
I'm sorry about the cold (I had one just a little while after Covid, too, which was a real bummer), but what a great thing to get to see such old friends!
DeleteSo, let's see about goals, last week and this one.
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
- write syllabuses for two classes: DID SOME work on this, but they remain to be finished.
- finish setting up VILE sites for two classes: DITTO.
- write at least a couple of assignments for each class. NO.
- finish the fiendish jigsaw we're working on: YES.
- have fun with old friends: YES!!!!
- review applications from grad students: HALF.
- take at least one weekend day to recover from trip and catch up with Sir John and cats (who are not amused at being down to one servant AGAIN): BOTH days. I enjoyed being lazy at home but I'm going to pay for that today and tomorrow! The cold is still present but may be wearing off. I hope.
New goals:
- finish writing syllabuses for two classes
- finish setting up VILE sites for two classes
- write at least a couple of assignments for each class
- finish reviewing last set of applications from grad students
- check proofs for book review
- prep for dead language group
- set up poll for writing group meeting time
- work on revisions to the essay I wrote last fall
- find a time to meet with dissertators
- install grow lights for indoor plants
All the important stuff got yeses, and that sounds like a wonderful weekend. As my friends children go off to University, I'm beginning to hope that I might get a visit like that soon - friends in my wider group have done trips together but as families, and whilst visiting people with their children around is nice, it's also not really the same as going on a trip together...
DeleteWell done taking both weekend days off! I'm sure that it was exactly what you needed.
DeleteSounds like a great trip and a good way to start the new year! Good luck with the class prep!
DeleteThat was a very busy week, the first week of classes always gets away from me! Turns out the inherited lectures need a lot more work than I anticipated, but it is doable. Just have to get on top of the first few and it will be fine. In good news, daily yoga is going great, and I have managed to stick in enough weight sessions that I feel like I’m getting exercise regularly again, a huge improvement!
ReplyDeleteSomething good:
One of the days last week was snowy and the drive to work was gorgeous. I passed a big orchard just as the sun was coming up and the light caught all the bare branches which all had a sparkly coat of ice and a dusting of icing-sugar snow on top, it was beautiful!
And I noticed this week that the sun is up a little later, so instead of driving home in the dark I get to drive into glorious orange sunsets most days…
Our local radio station morning DJ does a “tell me something good” segment a few days a week, and I usually catch it on my way to work. It is lovely, people write in with small good things and he reads out 10 or so… It always makes me smile!
Last week’s goals
Order new lab gear and get master list of items needed MOSTLY DONE
Plan out three grant applications for lab stuff and analytical trips 2/3 DONE
Get the first month of lectures and labs organized and checked over SORT OF… LECTURES NEED WORK
Paper edits to co-authors for two different papers ONE DONE
Something fun DINNER OUT
This week’s goals
PAPER EDITS!!!!! DUE!!!!! MUST DO!!!!!
Read students’ thesis chapters
Edit three student abstracts for upcoming conference
Order last big piece of new lab gear
DO THE PAPER EDITS!!!!!
Do the paper edits! You can do it! First, open the document. (Seriously, when I'm stalling on something, it's really helpful to break it down to the simplest steps, like, "open the document. Read one comment. Fix it.") Good luck!
DeleteExcellent advice from DEH! You can do this, indeed.
DeleteLove the descriptions of your drive--and the radio segment--what a delightful thing!
I'm late -- I somehow got distracted by the holiday and... anyway, something nice: The sun came out. We have had *a lot* of rain, and seeing the sun this morning (with no substantial rain forecast for the next week) was a source of joy.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, how I did:
Get comments to authors on Big Collaboration YES
Re-read Famous Author, sketch out what needs happening in last two chapters. Start editing/revising FINISHED READ, MADE DECISIONS, that's it.
Do something fun YES
Prune roses SOME, in the gap of rain
Walk/ride/yoga daily (this depends on weather. Right now the various atmospheric rivers are making walking difficult, since the path along the creek where I like to walk is flooded in places, and that's likely to be true through this week.) YES, until today
IN ADDITION: I read and submitted a grade for an incomplete, and read and reviewed a grant proposal I'd forgotten I'd promised to review. I've also made plane reservations for my Camino trip at the end of April.
The past week was interrupted by the weather and resultant anxiety: we have had rain of biblical proportions, so photos of my town were in the national press and the NY Times said we were one of 5 places in CA to watch. On Friday my whole neighborhood was told to get a go bag ready in case a levee broke. Yesterday we had hail. The appearance of sun today was a gift.
Other interruptions included needing to take Tiffany to the vet, to see if her random peeing outside the box is behavioral or something else. It's behavioral. But I've done a lot of cleaning! And on the fun side, a zoom call with my college roommates, who I've known for more than 50 years now: just nice conversation.
Tomorrow I travel to My Favorite Library (TM) to work with focus, and see friends, and talk about work. I'll also hang out with my brother & his kids. So I'm keeping things easy.
1. Get through at least one chapter of revisions.
2. Try to clear out some email
3. Enjoy my time in beautiful library land, hang with friends
4. Try to keep active.
The rain! I was in Santa Barbara a week ago, so yeah, it was something! I'm glad your levee stayed put. You have a lot of DONE for the week, so that is excellent, and also, yay trip to Favorite Library!
DeleteAnd of course SB was another place on the watch list. At least we don't have hills so don't worry about mudslides!
Delete