Hope everyone has had a good week. I'm on a mini-break: a long weekend down south staying with my sister-in-law and her family. It's very relaxed: walks around National Trust estates that tick all the boxes for a Jane Austen adaptation film set, and not having to make decisions or plan meals for a few days. The last couple of weeks I felt I was flagging in terms of motivation and routines, so this is a nice chance to recharge.
So this week's prompt is simply: what things help you reset? Obviously we all benefit from long breaks, but what small things work for you - five minutes' walk round the garden, lunch away from the desk?
Last week's goals:
Dame Eleanor
read essay for
writing group meeting
- finish reading/noting ILL book
- steady progress on Alms chapter
- also on Latin translation
- work up schedule for fall grad class
- also put some links on class website
- at least two tasks from Huge Summer List
- keep track of time spent in various
tasks/activities
Julie
1. Read and comment
on dissertation proposals.
2. Write up notes from last week and add bits to
article.
3. Life admin: doctor's appointment, find cheaper
home insurance, do car check before long drive on Thursday.
JaneB
1) Self-care: think
about how I can be more consistent with baselines. Do at least seven small
things to improve my environment. Do at least an hour in total on sorting out
my financial paperwork chaos.
2) Check work email no more than once outside of
work day. Work days: clear email, arrange to interview possible intern
2a) on the teaching side - meet MSc project
students and PhD students, tackle a few small jobs from the teaching list
(mostly this will be sending emails, asking questions about when things happen,
and breaking tasks down into more detailed lists)
2b) check what I need to do to prepare for next
week's meetings lists plus making a plan for office moving (which SHOULD happen
this summer - checking on plans/when is another job for the work day!).
3) Fun. Play D&D AND do some D&D planning.
Finish one fiction book, start one non-fiction. Crochet some rows on the
grounded blanket (it now has a name). Draw some things. Keep adding to a summer
wish list for non- work days. Maybe start watching a series.
Heu mihi
1. Begin inviting
people to be on the two panels that I agreed to organize for Kalamazoo
2. Deal with the crappy submission that's been
languishing in my journal system. This is the third time in three years that
this author has submitted an article (all variations on the same article); the
other two were rejected, as well. I think that they need someone to educate
them about submission protocol, but I'd rather not be that someone.
3. Deal with receipts, etc. from recent book
purchases
4. Complete proceedings essay revisions--which
will involve emailing someone I barely know because I can't find the notes I
made on a comment that he gave me....
5. Write 1500 words
6. Return to regular sitting and language study
7. Work on cover for my house book (which I must
finish before the session is up!)
8. While I'm at it: Select photos for anniversary
book
Daisy
Finish initial
submission for future grant application
Populate outline for Crunchy paper (aspirational)
Do point form notes for Shiny paper (aspirational)
Editor task
Overdue review
Field work so basically nothing else will get done
Resets are so important... The best kind of resetting activity for work for me is going to any conference. Doesn’t have to be a big one, my little regional ones work wonderfully. The combination of change of scene plus seeing distant friends plus talking about my work plus hearing about other people’s work always gets me fired up to do things and really helps me refocus on research and writing. For personal resets I need a day or two on my own with no decisions to make, or a camping trip with the kid where we don't have to think about anything other than where the next ice cream stop or beach will be...
ReplyDeleteIt was a really busy few days before we left for field work. I did not touch anything paper-related, but I did manage all the editorial tasks, a major outreach event, and some more fiddly lab stuff. And the much-despised grant stuff got done (seriously, when do I get my grant-writing-importance-arm-waving elf??? I need all the help I can get!)
Last week’s goals:
Finish initial submission for future grant application DONE
Populate outline for Crunchy paper (aspirational) NOPE
Do point form notes for Shiny paper (aspirational) NOPE
Editor task DONE
Overdue review DONE
Field work so basically nothing else will get done ONGOING
Field work is going well. The boat days are lovely, and we should be able to finish most of the important things over the next few days. As always the hardest part for me is the copious amounts of human interaction during these sessions. I’ve taken to sleeping in my truck instead of the cabin’s pull-out chesterfield because I cannot handle any more of the togetherness in the field cabin… All the students have their own rooms but they still manage to be everywhere, they are perfectly pleasant but there are limits…
This week’s goals:
Keep it all together for the remaining week of field work
Book campsites and activities for next week’s trip with kid
I know exactly what you mean about the students managing to be everywhere! I do not miss the full time people stuff... (the last few substantial research field trips I did, I've actually built in either a writing day with only one other person (everyone else goes out, writers stay in accommodation and write) or have planned at least one day with something I can't really physically do or will hold everyone back (e.g. a visit to an archaeological/historical site which requires crawling/a large number of stairs (if we travelled somewhere we do at least one 'exploring day off' actual research), a challenging hike - the knee/hip/back problems all date from before age 15) but the rest of the team can, and used those days to do "errands" ON MY OWN (grocery run, visiting local contacts, servicing/fixing equipment, typing up datasheets, reorganising and relabelling samples and the van etc.). The truck sounds like a good option as long as you can get reasonably comfortable!
DeleteI hope your truck is comfortable! Now I want to go on one of JaneB's field trips, because they sound like a great mix of activities! :-)
DeleteI haven't been to a conference in years, but I agree they are great for a reset. I am loving the sound of boat days, less so sleeping in trucks. But I would also hate to spend that much time in close proximity to students.
DeleteMy PhD supervisor was both a very hard worker AND someone who believed that people would work harder and better if they did leisure things as well - and that if you went somewhere, you were obliged to contribute to the local economy, which meant everything from buying what we could from local stores or stalls rather than stocking up on everything in a giant chain supermarket and driving it in from a city to planning in a couple of days when we had time to stop at a tea shop or coffee shop or small rural bar in all our fieldwork, bug-sprayed muddiness - where we usually fit right in with the locals, or found the owners happy to serve us outside so we could sit on a bench or wall and enjoy their stuff. And he felt that if we went somewhere we needed to get a feel for it properly which meant visiting historical/archaeological sites and nature areas. He always came back with local licquers, I tend to bring cheese and have built up a healthy collection of local handspun yarns and pottery, Former-PDF has a lovely selection of jewelery and encyclopedic knowledge of sweets with names which amuse outsiders...
DeleteFor myself, I always like to have some spare days in the fieldtrip plan for flat tyres, terrible weather, sickness or minor injury, or just everyone being knackered and needing to do laundry... I prefer the term "realist with limited energy" to "pessimist", and I prefer my field team to WANT to do more rather than being grumpy and knackered - mistakes and accidents happen when people are over-tired and fed up. It's very dependent on the team and the destination though - most of the fieldwork I run is in places where getting there costs a lot, but planning to stay an extra 2-3 days than are essential for the tasks do not add much to the costs, and naturally fun
...can be displaced by work if necessary.
DeleteI miss fieldwork. My knees don't though!
I love your supervisor's attitude! And I love the phrase 'realist with limited energy' - I am stealing that one! I think getting a feel for a place really matters: geography is very relevant to the kind of history I do, so I feel I often understand things better once I've been to places.
DeleteSmall resets are tricky, because I'm not very good at transitions and time stuff - most of the things that work most effectively for me take at least a few hours (gobble a beloved novel reread, sleep, journal and work through indignation/frustration - I'm getting faster but it's still hours where it used to be days). Small things that can help at work are:
ReplyDelete* locking my office door, opening the window wide, and leaning out to look at the trees/smell the day - especially good if its raining! If I actually go out there are probably going to be people...
* locking my office door, putting on some thumpy music that reminds me of stuff I love outside of work (yuve yuve yu by the HU, Wake the White Wolf), and dancing/stretching for one track. At home I just get up and dance/stomp around the place!
* going to a bathroom in a different place than normal (either the top floor of my building or an adjacent building) - it's a short walk, chance to splash my face and cool my pulse points, and a bit of a change creates a sort of reset
* If I'm on campus, I go home if I can - because usually what the need means is either my brain is zoning out & I'm fatigued, I've reached my people-limits, or I'm stuck - and changing scene helps plus commuting is a good use of deadtime in the day.
At home:
* making a fancy beverage, even if it's just a glass of water with a couple of cubes of ice and a few berries, a citrus slice, or a piece of cucumber. Making it something of a ritual - I still have a small amount of wonderful green tea given me by a visitor, which looks like it comes in teabags, but when you open the sachet you have one small pot's worth of whole leaves rather than a bag of crushed leaves, so it needs brewing in a pot or tea infuser which I keep, or in winter I have a little bottle of real maple syrup to add to a coffee or hot chocolate. Choosing a nice cup. It's all centering (but at work involves the almost always busy kitchenette, so people).
* find a fiddle object and recite a poem or psalm whilst fiddling (or look one up if I'm agitated and not remembering well and read it out loud) - psalm 121 or 130, C Day Lewis' Prayer in May, Denise Levetov's Stepping Westward, that sort of thing)
* to be entirely honest, vocalise loudly (at home - not possible at work) and/or do something physically powerful/expressive/childish - throw something unbreakable, thump the table, pull my hair, bite something (which is one of my over-eating triggers - there is nothing like a Marathon/Snickers Bar or a French Stick Sandwich for publically acceptable Aggressive Biting), make Dramatic Gestures (yes, I have autistic tendencies, how did I NOT know that?) - venting frustration in a very childish way can be remarkably helpful in resetting for me! Unfortunately it's also a way I often manage to acquire small injuries...
That's more than I thought I had. I should probably create a reminder card...
This week has been interesting. Some more productive work, a couple of very fatigued/blurred brain days, my reading mojo came back all of a sudden in a rush (which is not helping with productive but it's very nice to know it's not gone forever), and... the NHS sent my Controlled Substance prescription to the wrong address (I had to provide two proofs of identify and residence, and then confirm that the address on the prescription was correct, but the pharmacy company shipped it to the wrong place - typos on the address included in the shipping tracker along the lines of, if I live at number 101, they sent it to 202), so I can't start the trial until next weekend at the earliest. it's getting closer to the start of term when I really do not want to be dealing with side effects... ugh!
DeleteLAST WEEK'S GOALS:
1) Self-care: think about how I can be more consistent with baselines. Do at least seven small things to improve my environment. Do at least an hour in total on sorting out my financial paperwork chaos. not really, I think I did 7, half an hour
2) Check work email no more than once outside of work day. Work days: clear email, arrange to interview possible intern twice. cleared email, emailed possible intern
2a) on the teaching side - meet MSc project students and PhD students, tackle a few small jobs from the teaching list (mostly this will be sending emails, asking questions about when things happen, and breaking tasks down into more detailed lists) met one of each, did a few small jobs and planned out one piece of teaching as far as I can without a timetable.
2b) check what I need to do to prepare for next week's meetings lists plus making a plan for office moving (which SHOULD happen this summer - checking on plans/when is another job for the work day!).no and no because, well, no info...
3) Fun. Play D&D AND do some D&D planning. Finish one fiction book, start one non-fiction. Crochet some rows on the grounded blanket (it now has a name). Draw some things. Keep adding to a summer wish list for non- work days. Maybe start watching a series. did some planning, hung out online with the nibling, started a new non fiction which is much better than the last two, read four novels, did some crochet, drew some things badly, did not add to the wish list or watch the series- lots of youtube and noodling on shorts...
NEXT WEEK'S GOALS:
Next week I have two work days, which are quite booked up with meetings, and the decluttering woman is coming. It's also the start of resits so an unknown amount of grading will arrive. I am having a lot of "ugh" feelings about it all!
1) Self-care: Plan what to do with decluttering time. Do at least seven small things to improve my environment. Do at least an hour in total on sorting out my financial paperwork chaos. Move intentionally 5-10 minutes a day (small goals...)
2) Work. Check work email no more than once a workday outside of work day. Check in about the move, start last required training course.
2a) on the teaching side - meet remaining MSc project students and PhD students, chase up possible intern, tick off at least one thing from the teaching list, mark resits
2b) research: check what I need to do to prepare for next week's meetings, tick off one small list item.
3) Fun. Play D&D AND do some D&D planning. Finish one fiction book, continue one non-fiction. Crochet some rows on the grounded blanket. Draw something. Add to summer wish list for non- work days. Maybe start watching a series.
I hear you on the trouble with transitions. Sympathy on the blurred-brain days, but I'm glad to hear that you had some good ones as well, and that your reading mojo came back. I think I might try your vocalising as a break/transition/stress release. On one hand, it doesn't seem very "me"; OTOH, that might make it all the more effective as a re-set, and as an English prof I have every reason to recite poetry aloud!
DeleteI love your resets, especially the fancy beverages and the poems - I must look those up.
DeleteSomething about reading or reciting well-written words is surprisingly effective for me - the combination of reading aloud (which requires that you breath properly in order to phrase well, which I think interrupts any hyperventilating or shallow breathing your're doing and in order to phrase I find myself instinctively sitting better and using my breathing apparatus better - it's SO HARD not to curl and tense a little bit over the keyboard, and the effect on breathing/the sympathetic nervous system might be small but it has a significant impact on my mood and general feeling-in-the-body). And the words part distracts and resets the brain monkeys in two ways, by giving them a task of reading/recalling and pronouncing words arranged with a pleasing rhythm, and by creating mental images and prompting thoughts - using familiar pieces reinforces those usefully.
DeleteAlways happy to add new poems to the list as well!
My daughter has to learn poems for GCSE English, which is pedagogically mad, but does give me an opportunity to learn a few with her. Some are good both in themselves and to recite ('Ozymandias'). some are terrible poems, but have rhythm ('Charge of the Light Brigade'), some are beautiful, but will be a nightmare to learn (extract from 'The Prelude'). I have a collection of poems on my phone that I really like: I should try learning some of them. I might try reciting them while driving: that might be good to calm the nerves on motorways.
DeleteI feel like I'm lousy at re-sets, unless I go to a conference or something that really takes me away from my usual setting. But that means that re-setting is something to think about/work on; it would be better to take some time deliberately doing something else than to stay stuck in the pushme-pullyou situation of "I need to work on this but I'm not making progress so I need to work on this" that so often hangs me up. A change of scene helps; I like to go sit by or walk by water, maybe go read something in a pleasant place. I feel like my ability to concentrate has gone completely down the tubes this summer, so I probably need to build back up gradually, alternating short bursts of work with equal amounts of brain-rest, until I hit something more like a grown-up balance.
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
- read essay for writing group meeting: YES
- finish reading/noting ILL book: NO
- steady progress on Alms chapter: YES (slow, but progress)
- also on Latin translation: YES
- work up schedule for fall grad class: BEGUN
- also put some links on class website: NO
- at least two tasks from Huge Summer List: YES (parts of 2)
- keep track of time spent in various tasks/activities: NO
Commentary: what's going well and ill, and why. Latin goes well, because I'm nibbling away at an enormous task for which there is no pressure whatsoever, and it feels like a good warm-up activity. I'm translating fairly convoluted medieval Latin, and I've found that Google Translate is surprisingly helpful; that is, it's usually wrong in some way, but it sorts out the cases in such a way that I can figure out what's going on and re-do the translation correctly, rather than staying lost in the grammatical snarl. My insomnia has been mainly digestion-related, and I finally realized that last time I bought yogurt it was low-fat, very bad for me, b/c I need full-fat if I'm going to have any dairy at all. This is what happens when I shop when tired! But at least that is an easy fix, and I hope now I'll do better going forward. I need to; classes start in four weeks and I'm appalled at how the summer has drifted past. I need to buckle down, though what I really want is to continue in a state of drifty denial. Stuff from the Huge List included cutting and pinning a hem that still needs to be sewn, trying on and messing around with a pair of trousers I decided weren't worth the trouble of altering (I should have just returned them), and visiting one gym: I'm trying to check out four alternatives, then join one.
Well, new goals (are they really? they look so familiar):
- finish reading/noting ILL book
- finish additions to Alms chapter
- keep working on Latin translation
- finish schedule for fall grad class
- also put some links on class website
- at least two tasks from Huge Summer List
Be kind to yourself on the concentration front: grief does strange things to the brain. I loved Latin when I studied it at school, but I found classical Latin much easier than the brief foray into medieval Latin I did as a undergraduate. I do occasional bits of translation and there's something quite satisfying about that kind of work: you can do it in bits and still get a lot done.
DeleteSummer really does drift past doesn't it - but I'm trying to tell myself it's what we need sometimes. And as Julie says, you've had a lot going on. And you're still making bits of progress on many fronts - including finding a dietary problem!
DeleteI also had a dietary problem last week but I knew it going in and didn't have the willpower not to take advantage of the special offer on a small loaf of a favourite kind of bread which is just. not. good. for. me.... sigh!
Resets: I don't think I have one way, but a few days of reading trashy novels are always good. So is getting away: when I'm traveling I can't be wrapped up (too much) in work dramas. And I'm generally seeing different people and thinking about new places, or if at a conference being stimulated by conversation. I completely get Julie's joy at not having to plan dinners!
ReplyDeleteHow I did? I had fun. Although both JaneB and Julie warned about the weather, we were only completely rained out on one day, (and even then we walked a bit over a mile to a ruined abbey and got drenched) and on several days managed to get home before it rained. Otherwise, a little rain doesn't hurt. And I saw many lovely places, met some nice people, saw some family, had some good walks, and watched some cricket, mostly on TV. (My husband actually wrote about cricket, so this is fun for me. I generally got away. I did have to deal with a few things from work, but it wasn't too bad!
This week: Last full week in London...keeping it simple.
1. Try to finish first round revisions on Famous Author. I think I can...
2. Keep up with stuff at work.
3. Don't let email get out of control.
4. Do nice things (several planned, this is certain)
Yay for fun!
DeleteGlad you had fun and the weather wasn't too awful. Hope there is more fun this week.
DeleteThat sounds like a lovely few days! I hope your last week is good too!
DeleteWhat helps me reset.... I suppose exercise is good; a walk in the woods also helps. Ideally, just a weekend off! I'm usually rarin' to go on Mondays, for some reason.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Begin inviting people to be on the two panels that I agreed to organize for Kalamazoo
NO--I'm mildly annoyed about this; my collaborator is busy (understandably) but all I want is approval for the people I've suggested, so that we can at least have SOME people committed before everyone gets busy! I may just send a hey-I'm-gonna-invite-these-people-if-I-don't-hear-from-you email.
2. Deal with the crappy submission that's been languishing in my journal system.
YES, done, desk reject; took 10 minutes, but much aggravation.
3. Deal with receipts, etc. from recent book purchases
YES (also a 10-minutes-aggravation process)
4. Complete proceedings essay revisions--which will involve emailing someone I barely know because I can't find the notes I made on a comment that he gave me....
NOPE! It's due in November, though, so whatever.
5. Write 1500 words
YES, with GREAT gnashing of teeth.
6. Return to regular sitting and language study
ISH. x4 each, I think? Something like that.
7. Work on cover for my house book (which I must finish before the session is up!)
YES; honestly, I've poured so many hours into this thing. I've built the house structure, covered the outer walls (gold is the theme color, it turns out) and roof, papered the inner walls, created an attic-floor-flap that will actually be the front cover of the book, "carpeted" the top floor and picked the carpet for the first level (can't glue it in until the book is fully bound), cut windows, built a dormer window of which I'm quite proud, and--today--gilded the pages (which looks messy and I'm mildly disappointed), added plants (via collage) to the front, and "hung" pictures. What's left? Actually binding the book, making furniture (a bed that will be necessary to hold the attic floor down, including a quilt that I need to knit; a book case, full of tiny books made of leather scraps; and a chair), adding a bit of greenery to the side of the house, and needle-felting a cat in a cat bed for the ground floor. IT IS GLORIOUS.
I would like to share pictures. Maybe between sessions, I can hijack a post to do so? I can't include pictures in my comments.
8. While I'm at it: Select photos for anniversary book
YES, mostly.
This week:
1. Write 2000 words (I so badly want to be done with this chapter draft)
2. Format 1/2 of anniversary book pages
3. Invite at least some panelists!
4. Read two essays for class, finish reading AL (and LK, if possible)
5. Weed back hill
6. Various appointments, meetings, etc.
7. Finish creating/writing community presentation on zero waste
I would love to see pictures of your house book! I'm having trouble imagining it, but it sounds like great fun. I think the idea of an e-mail saying you will invite these people if you don't hear from your collaborator is a good idea.
DeleteAgree with Dame Eleanor on both counts, especially seeing pictures of the house book!
DeleteAlso eager to see pictures of your house book, which sounds amazing!
DeleteA fourth vote for seeing the house book - I have a mental picture of how it might be and now I'm REALLY nosy to see how far off I am!
DeleteWhat I'm loving, weirdly, is how much it changes as I problem-solve.... So it doesn't even look how I envisioned it anymore! (I just added the miniature bookcase full of books last night, and it's so cute I can't stand it.)
DeleteSo as is obvious from the prompt, time away usually works well as a resit. I find it hard to be thinking about work and to-do lists if I'm in a completely different place. Being outside is always good, even if it's just five minutes in the garden. Otherwise, reading, journaling and, these days, any time on my own.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Read and comment on dissertation proposals. - YES
2. Write up notes from last week and add bits to article. - YES
3. Life admin: doctor's appointment, find cheaper home insurance, do car check before long drive on Thursday. - NO, sort of, YES.
This week:
I have four days, as yesterday was the drive back. I should have booked today off as well, because I'm struggling to focus. I drove over 200 miles yesterday and I'm brain-dead and stiff as a result.
1. Plan and book research trip for September
2. Order scans of documents
3. Finish reading a book from last week.
4. Catch up on email
5. Do urgent life admin (insurance, doctor's appointment)
6. Do less urgent admin (other appointments).
7. Do some steps towards kitchen project.
One of the cross-cultural things I observe is that my UK colleagues assume they have vacation, and they take it, and you think about "booking" a day off. In the US, we just take days when we can/need to, but there is no sense that we are entitled to those days off. I suspect we all take less vacation/time off than we should. In theory I am paid only for 9 months, but we're expected to be on call in the summer anyway (and the salary is fine as a 12 month salary).
DeleteInteresting. The stereotype of the US here is that the culture is one of overwork and everyone is permanently 'on'. At least, it's always the US that is cited as 'where we will end up if we're not careful' in conversations about work-life balance. Tbh, outside of term no one has any way of knowing or caring what I'm doing most days. Booking leave for me is more about drawing boundaries: it allows me to put an email auto-reply up that tells people not to expect a reply, and allows me to justify not looking at email or any work. Booking requests are supposed to be approved, but outside term, it's a formality provided we have enough days left. There is a legal entitlement to paid holidays in the UK, subject to some caveats, so it's quite common to hear people talk about using up their annual leave (usually there are limits on how many, if any, days you can carry over to the following year). But academia is very privileged in that regard: most jobs you would be required to book time off in advance, often well in advance.
DeleteI think it's partly because we are on 12 month contracts and partly because many of us don't have a proper "nothing going on" summer - between research stuff and team teaching and administration and updating trainings and post-graduate students and all that sort of thing, there's pretty much always something in my diary, so time off actually means something. We do have an official amount of leave in our contracts and it always has to be approved through the computer system, booked into the shared calendar, out of office message set up and cover of some sort arranged if absent more than three days e.g. a named person who will be around to refer your students to in your out of office etc., regardless of the time of year (some colleagues don't follow those rules, but it creates a lot of minor annoyance when they don't!).
DeleteThere is more flexibility in academia than in many other fields, but we don't have tenure any more, and at least in the regional/squeezed middle type institution context there are rules and processes all over the place - I certainly feel more like a lower-tier employee than a trusted professional in many ways!