Welcome to week 6! The Fall has arrived in earnest in my area this week, the leaves have turned brilliant colours, it is blowing a gale, and every roadside farm stand is overflowing with apples and pumpkins. It is beautiful…
For this week’s prompt, how do you feel about seasons? Actual seasons, different seasons of life, seasonal workflows, anything goes! How do you manage the changes that come with seasons, both pleasant changes and the less enjoyable ones?
Have a great week everyone!
Contingent Cassandra (held over)
--Write two emails having to do with the study
leave and the October program (this is not done but really needs to get done
tomorrow, so good timing).
--At least begin listing and prioritizing the
things I could, should, or must do before the October program and beyond to
advance the study leave project
Dame Eleanor
-
provide lap for Basement Cat as often as he wants
- 20 minutes x3 on Alms or its larger project
- read at least one chapter in each of two scholarly books
- start grading another set of undergrad papers
- check 2 grad assignments (one from last week, one due this week)
- reading/prep for grad class
- cardio + weights x2, swim at least x2, yoga x4
- power-wash north side of house, maybe the deck as well
- walk with friend on Friday
- get weed-killer on lawn before first frost
Daisy
Enjoy
show run!
Sleep when not playing!
Volunteer at local race and cheer on people who exercise!
Try not to feel bad about not exercising!
Keep work stuff going but don’t add new things!
heu mihi
1.
Check in on festschrift. We meant to send in the proposal in August, but
apparently we just stopped working on it at some point.
2. Finish and submit RR essay
3. Read ch. 1 and 2 of Dissertation R (because I'm expecting K to come in any
day now...)
4. Revise ch. 5 and send the new version to friend who has promised to read it
5. Shop for a new car, because the 20-year-old Jetta has started to make a
terrible noise.
6. Keep going with the workouts: run x 3, swim x 2, yoga x 1
JaneB
1
SELF-CARE. Remember I'm still recovering from burnout and be kind to myself.
(i) do at least one mildly creative-with-the-hands thing
(ii) read most days
(iii) play D&D with group or with nibling
(iv) three days of stretchy/bendy type intentional movement for at least 15
minutes
(v) go to dentist (do not get overwhelmed and reschedule)
2 HOUSE-LIFE ADMIN
i) at least 75% of regular chore list
ii) do more sums/plan summarising related to latest voluntary redundancy scheme
iii) take 5 minutes daily to keep the kitchen looking great
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) at least one teaching block (3-4 hours) on non-urgent teaching prep
(non-urgent = happening AFTER next week)
ii) do all the needed things to be ready for next week's teaching - a light
load this week
iii) finish chapter for grad student
iv) edit and submit funding application for other grad student (deadline this
week & has to go in in my name...)
4 RESEARCH
i) at least two hours on my grant idea plus setting up the online approvals
form
ii) at least two hours on part 3 of discussion for consultancy paper - we have
a meet pencilled in end of week so it's urgent now
iii) if time, referee paper. Not due until next week.
Julie
1.
Prep introductory sessions for both modules.
2. Finish adding materials to VLE.
3. Read chapters for two PhD students.
4. Research: work out remaining budget from small grant and what to do with it.
5. Sort tiles (URGENT!)
6. Organise daughter's trip.
7. Book flu jab
8. Enjoy talks at book festival this weekend!
Susan
1.
Keep going on the paper, keep up the momentum
2. Clean the apartment. I have not done a serious clean for too long.
3. Figure out which book I want to read. I have a pile of pleasure reading, and
nothing currently inspires me. :(
4. Have a good time with my SIL and niece on Saturday
5. Get COVID shot. (Dame Eleanor has convinced me not to do the double.)
6. Contact trainer to get going at the gym
7. Figure out how to charge the car.
8. Pick up threads on podcast plan.
I like seasons when they behave themselves. Studying & teaching in a climate change related field, it's been getting less and less a comforting structure to the year and more a new source of underlying anxiety. Autumn is my favourite, Winter is my comfort zone, Spring is when I tend to get seasonal low moods and the season most likely to be a let down, and Summer my least favourite because of the risk of really unpleasant weather that reduces my ability to function and being totally out of sync with the wider world in terms of mood etc. I like the variety. One of the things I didn't like when I worked in North East North America for a couple of years was the way the weather settled into a pattern and stayed there for weeks on end. Which reminds me, I need to check the weather forecast for tomorrow before I put clothes out. I'd like more seasonality in life, like we had in primary school....
ReplyDeleteLAST WEEK:
was a week. We do now have more details of the People Change Plan - the larger group of about 14-16 people that I belong to, which delivers four distinct degree programmes with a few shared modules (numbers of staff varies because people also teach on masters, go on secondment to other roles etc. - and how does one count a Head of School who teaches nothing, for example?), is to lose 5 senior people minimum, two from my band (2/6, so not AS bad as the initial plan) and 3 from full profs (3/8, so also not AS bad). And two of the less senior people are on fixed term contracts which run out next summer and we have been told that contrary to previous information they will likely also not be renewed. All dates have been extended by a week, so we can still apply to the voluntary leaving scheme this week (so I am still really, really stressed about that option), we will only hear if we're out the Monday after my really hellish teaching week, and we'll leave the day after teaching ends, a week before Christmas (so _slightly_ less student disruption). It just feels so pointless. On the plus side, classes went quite well - good attendance and attitude for the lab classes for first years, which was really a good change from other years.
1 SELF-CARE. Remember I'm still recovering from burnout and be kind to myself.
Delete(i) do at least one mildly creative-with-the-hands thing yes - I've been doing Inktober, a daily sketch prompt - and although most of mine this year have been five minute doodles rather than the more detailed designs I did last year, it's still a nice thing to do. And I knitted during D&D
(ii) read most days about half - was reading the latest "Tuyo" volume so it was easy to read too much!
(iii) play D&D with group or with nibling both
(iv) three days of stretchy/bendy type intentional movement for at least 15 minutes one. I'm tired and I ache and I'm sad, and I did have one pretty active teaching day
(v) go to dentist (do not get overwhelmed and reschedule) YES! And all was OK for now, despite all the less than healthy snacking I've been doing given all the stress
2 HOUSE-LIFE ADMIN
i) at least 75% of regular chore list should be there by the time I go to bed today
ii) do more sums/plan summarising related to latest voluntary redundancy scheme no...
iii) take 5 minutes daily to keep the kitchen looking great a couple of days. It still looks good!
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) at least one teaching block (3-4 hours) on non-urgent teaching prep (non-urgent = happening AFTER next week) juuuust managed that, in 20 minute gaps mostly
ii) do all the needed things to be ready for next week's teaching - a light load this week yes
iii) finish chapter for grad student yes. A big relief! It's been very uphill - it's not bad work, but it needed a lot of focus, and I just don't have much of that to give
iv) edit and submit funding application for other grad student (deadline this week & has to go in in my name...) YES! Bit of a mad scramble at the start of the week, but it went in, and it feels like we did a decent job
4 RESEARCH
i) at least two hours on my grant idea plus setting up the online approvals form yes. But Head of School is not particularly minded to approve it (I'm not full time, so the teaching replacement funding wouldn't be full time, and it's likely to be a problem for other reasons), and advises me against applying this time around, because if I keep my job and get the grant, I'd be on fellowship during the year when the School will be doing a complete overhaul of all teaching design (and he's right that I would have TERRIBLE FOMO from missing that), and if I don't keep my job I would also not be eligible to have the grant (and there;s no fudge method of say someone else being in charge and the grant paying ME for this particular scheme). So I have to decide whether to keep working on this idea whilst he thinks about whether he can approve it or to lean in to the "next year" thing and use the energy for something else. I don't need another decision to make! ::pout:: It's been messing up my sleep and ability to think about other things this weekend for sure
ii) at least two hours on part 3 of discussion for consultancy paper - we have a meet pencilled in end of week so it's urgent now yes. Naturally the meeting led to more things on my list. i am SO done with this paper
iii) if time, referee paper. Not due until next week due tomorrow. oops. Did not do
As pluses, two papers where I'm a minor author which have been coming and going in my email needing little bits of checking or work from me all summer were accepted last week, at two very different outlets. So that was nice.
NEXT WEEK:
DeleteA light teaching week, and the only one this month with my preferred schedule (on campus Monday and Thursday - any joint pain/general wellness worsening due to being on campus/driving/standing to teach/people and place related stresses messing up sleep is always worst 48 hours after - so if I'm on campus Monday, if I overdid it, I'm going to feel worst on Wednesday and be recovering by Thursday. The Tuesday/Thursday schedule timetabling put onto me mostly this year is doable, so far, but really wipes we out for the whole weekend). I have to make decisions about voluntary redundancy by the end of the week, and also about the grant application... sigh! but at least from here, it does look like a lighter week. And NOTHING at the weekend apart from playing D&D!
1 SELF-CARE. Remember I'm still recovering from burnout and be kind to myself.
(i) do at least one mildly creative-with-the-hands thing
(ii) read most days
(iii) play D&D with group or with nibling
(iv) three days of stretchy/bendy type intentional movement for at least 15 minutes
2 HOUSE-LIFE ADMIN
i) at least 75% of regular chore list
ii) do more sums/plan summarising related to latest voluntary redundancy scheme, make decision.
iii) wash all the towels (as well as clothes laundry) (I'm down to the odd colours/nearly worn out towels now...)
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) two teaching blocks (3-4 hours) on non-urgent teaching prep (non-urgent = happening AFTER next week)
ii) do all the needed things to be ready for next week's teaching - quite light this week
iii) another chapter for grad student
4 RESEARCH
i) decision about grant idea. If yes, at least two hours on the text.
ii) at least one hour doing my tasks for the consultancy paper (I'm also waiting on others)
iii) referee paper - now urgent!
It sounds as if you got a lot done last week. Well done, and yay for the papers being accepted. But I really feel for you having to make difficult decisions. Sending positive vibes.
DeleteYes, yay papers and good use of 20-minute gaps! It can be so hard not to just faff around in short bits of time, so I think that's a double win. On the People Axing Scheme, I'd be so torn between wanting certainty and hoping that enough other people would voluntarily leave that my job would be safe . . . it sounds unbelievably stressful. Sending a lapful of Basement Cat vibes (peaceful for you, but some evil energy for the Axers).
DeleteI'm just going to echo Julie and Dame Eleanor, but sending good vibes your way in an awful and stressful situation. And I'm really impressed at your use of 20 minute gaps, which I always waste.
DeleteCongratulations on the two papers, nice when those show up and brighten a day!
DeleteWe are all sending all the good thoughts we can for this crazy stressful time. Imagine we are making cups of tea and providing extra cats from a distance... If only we could!
It is autumn here and beautiful at the moment - today is bright and sunny. We've had a lot of dismal rain and fog other days, though, and it is cold! I had to scrape ice off my windscreen this morning, which feels far too early. I love this season, with the colours, and the feeling of new beginnings, more so than January, given the academic calendar. It also lends itself to batch cooking comfort foods, and cosy evenings.
ReplyDeleteI find other seasons harder - I like the changes outside, but January-February is a particular slog. I think it is for most people, but for me, it coincides with the anniversary of my husband's death and the build-up to that, so now there's a bunch of difficult memories and feelings on top of the usual when is winter going to end stuff. At least I know it's coming and can think about how to navigate it. I'm finding this season of my life hard - bereavement plus impending menopause, but I'm trusting it will get easier. Work-wise, it's not so much seasons as the irregular flows of work: the marking that creates pinch points and crazy weeks. There's not much to do except be aware that it's coming, avoid scheduling other stuff, and power through as best as possible.
Ice already, goodness! That does seem early, but then, you're pretty far north. It does seem cruel to have the extra whammy of grief on top of winter's nastiest months.
DeleteGrief during the dark winter months is extra hard...
DeleteHow I did:
ReplyDelete1. Prep introductory sessions for both modules. - YES (and then there was a power cut which meant I couldn't show the slides for one and had to improvise)
2. Finish adding materials to VLE. - YES (mad scramble Friday, but done)
3. Read chapters for two PhD students. - ONE (and it was a real slog)
4. Research: work out remaining budget from small grant and what to do with it. - NO
5. Sort tiles (URGENT!) - I think so? Found colours, have messaged tiler to see if they will work in the space.
6. Organise daughter's trip. - NO
7. Book flu jab - NO
8. Enjoy talks at book festival this weekend! - YES (have two signed copies of new books, and got to listen to a favourite author who is still going strong at 79. Definite inspiration)
Also: graded proposals for a conference, forgot I needed to do this, and it took a whole day.
This week:
Still quite light on teaching as we start slowly but a lot of meetings which means not many useful blocks of time
1. Prep teaching - none of it new, so should be minimal.
2. Read a dissertation proposal.
3. Read PhD chapter.
4. Research: work out remaining budget from small grant and what to do with it.
5. Use one of the short bits of time to read an article for research.
6. Book flu jab
7. Daughter's trip
8. Eat healthily, try to get some walks in, go to bed reasonable time.
9. Read new book.
That sounds like a good week, especially the Also task! And thanks for details about the book festival; I think we're all enjoying that excursion vicariously. I hope the tiler says the project is now a Go.
DeleteYay for excellent book festival! It is a treat to see an inspirational author in person and enjoy their talk.
DeleteGood luck with all the reading and organizing!
Seasons: really I like them all except winter. I grew up in a Mediterranean climate and I miss it. Summer here is too hot, but at least there's no snow shoveling in summer. I slow down a lot in winter, and I always mean to manage my research such that in winter I can just revise something already written (and preferably accepted), but in practice things almost never work out so tidily. As to seasons of life, I'm feeling very much that I have a promising future behind me, but who knows, maybe now that I've figured out at least some of my diet/sleep problems, I'll finally become a more productive writer.
ReplyDeleteHow I did:
- provide lap for Basement Cat as often as he wants: YES, well, maybe not quite as much as he wants . . . sometimes I do have to go to campus or the gym. He is still doing pretty well, which is a relief. Maybe this will prove to be a slow-growing tumor.
- 20 minutes x3 on Alms or its larger project. NO
- read at least one chapter in each of two scholarly books. YES (as of this morning); finished one book and am writing up notes.
- start grading another set of undergrad papers. NO
- check 2 grad assignments (one from last week, one due this week). YES! Well, two late ones yet to go, but the rest are done.
- reading/prep for grad class: YES, and a good thing too, as the Internet Archive (where the reading was) suffered a DDOS attack. So well done me! I actually had notes and could teach!
- cardio + weights x2, swim at least x2, yoga x4. YES, YES (only 1 3/4 miles last week), x2 (still having trouble fitting yoga in).
- power-wash north side of house, maybe the deck as well. ATTEMPTED. See below.
- walk with friend on Friday. YES
- get weed-killer on lawn before first frost. NO: first have to find weed-killer; struck out at 2 stores.
Power-washing: I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or our washer is just not very powerful, but the green stuff is not coming off when I spray it. OTOH it comes off easily when scrubbed by hand with a brush. I think we'll be getting out ladders and hand-washing the house! At any rate I had fun spraying water around. If I get to the deck, that will be easier.
Hand-washing a house sounds like a metaphor for something! Great accomplishments achieved by many small steps perhaps?
DeleteSnow shovelling is definitely the worst seasonal task... Not much can redeem a day that starts with hours of that just so one can leave the house.
Glad Basement Cat is still doing ok and appreciating lap time. It will never be quite enough time, but one can try!
It does sound like a metaphor, doesn't it? Or maybe an excuse: sorry, can't go out with you, have to hand-wash the house.
DeleteSome ALSO from last week: baked cake, baked cookies, cut my hair, met with a student who will be TA-ing for me in spring (I've never had a TA before; this is a special project/new course thing), attended faculty meeting (virtual) and other social/work thing (live), bought a sweatshirt in a very pretty color.
ReplyDeleteAnd new goals:
- provide lap for Basement Cat as often as he wants
- 20 minutes x3 on Alms or its larger project
- read at least one chapter in one scholarly book; finish taking notes on another
- grade a set of undergrad papers
- file reports on a couple of students who aren't showing up
- do the 3 mandatory annual trainings
- finish off grad comments, post them
- reading/prep for grad class
- write a letter of recommendation
- cardio + weights x2, swim at least x2, yoga x4
- another walk with friend on Friday, weather permitting
- check another store for weed-killer
- look up some Greek for a novelist's spell
That is a busy week coming up! Yay for cookies, cake, TA, and new sweater!
DeleteNew sweater sounds like a definite accomplishment, as does a hair cut.
DeleteSeasons: I still think like someone who lived most of her life in the northeast US, so I love real seasons. I love the autumn colors and foods (winter squash, pumpkin BUT NOT PUMPKIN SPICE, apples); winter I still associate with snow shoveling, but there's a magic to the silence of the world when the snow has fallen and not yet been plowed; the lazy gardener in me enjoys new things growing in spring; summer is good for the fruits, and fresh tomatoes and fresh corn on the cob. As for life, I know I am heading to (as they say) the autumn of life, but in many ways I've been most intellectually alive since I turned 60 or so, and I hope that will last a few more years at least.
ReplyDeleteHow I did last week:
1. Keep going on the paper, keep up the momentum YES
2. Clean the apartment. I have not done a serious clean for too long. YES
3. Figure out which book I want to read. I have a pile of pleasure reading, and nothing currently inspires me. :( YES, book almost finished. Pure fluff, but sometimes that;s what I need
4. Have a good time with my SIL and niece on Saturday YES.
5. Get COVID shot. (Dame Eleanor has convinced me not to do the double.) YES
6. Contact trainer to get going at the gym YES, meet on Thursday
7. Figure out how to charge the car. YES, done, and it's free and nearby.
8. Pick up threads on podcast plan. STARTED/ have written back to musician about permissions.
Well, given that I checked in on Thursday, there are not a lot of surprises, but still, I count this as a win. What's really great is the feeling that the new project is really starting. Even though I don't know anything, I've got some good leads, and am having fun writing experts and asking questions, sharing information. THe COVID shot was not too bad, just a sore arm; my niece (almost 11) is giving out definite tween vibes, but is basically nice to be around. We hit H&M and she bought a pair of jeans with the strategic holes in them, and my SIL and I both rolled our eyes when she wasn't looking.
Today I realized that I left one task unfinished when I went on sabbatical, so I've started on that. And a colleague applying for a named chair asked me to write for her, and it turns out my letter is due the same day as the application, so GAAHHH. (She said she owes me a drink on that, which is true.) Otherwise, it's just keeping on keeping on!
Goals for this week:
1. Keep going on the paper / research
2. Finish task I should have finished before I went on sabbatical, a revision of our policies
3. Start writing letter of rec for colleague
4. Write report on use of endowed chair funds
5. Enjoy conference on Friday-Saturday
6. Schedule flu shot
7. Walk to work 1 day, do workout with trainer, follow up.
8. Keep reading, figure out what to read when I finish this book tonight.
Lots of yes! Glad the reading fun has reappeared, it is so nice when a book grabs one's attention after a bit of a slump...
DeleteAlso, I love your feeling of being intellectually alive! Writers and thinkers have so much to offer with more years behind them... I think we forget that too often!
DeleteSounds as if you are being very productive. I'm with Daisy in finding intellectual energy later in life inspiring. And I laughed at your description of shopping with your niece. I feel clothing for tween/teen girls has to be the highest price per inch of fabric there is. 'You're paying HOW MUCH for that scrap of cloth?!'
DeleteMy absolute favourite season is summer, and my only real grip about where I live is that summers do not get hot enough… Spring here is lovely, and Fall is gorgeous until about mid-November. Spring in my last place was terrible, always about 2 months behind everyone else, filled with surprise freezing rain storms and Easter or May Day snow dumps. Winter, well… It is good when I have lots of skiing time, but I have yet to manage that in my new place. That will be a goal for this coming winter for sure!
ReplyDeleteLife season feels like a slightly frantic one, teenagers do that… But I am very aware that it is going to be a short one and that soon I will have to trade that for the “off to college or somewhere else” season, so I’m trying to make the most of it while it lasts!
My minimal goals were all things that had to happen, and they did. The week was busy and I did a huge amount of admin stuff and extra teaching for three more field trips, so it was a good week to take a time-out on research goals.
Enjoy show run! GREAT FUN, more this weekend
Sleep when not playing! YES, AND READ A LOT
Volunteer at local race and cheer on people who exercise! YES, FREEZING COLD!
Try not to feel bad about not exercising! SORT OF…
Keep work stuff going but don’t add new things! YES
This week’s goals:
Production files for accepted paper
Galley proofs for in-press paper
Popular article on research topic
Book Covid and flu shots
Reference writing
Department newsletter (bane of existence for months)
Curriculum stuff
Thesis comments/rewrites
There are weeks when you just have to do the required and urgent stuff! I'm glad you're having fun with the show run.
DeleteGlad the show is fun. Yes to teenagers making seasons frantic! But as you say, we need to appreciate them while they're here.
DeleteI love seasons! As attached as I get to summer, I really do adore the fall here. And more generally, the rhythms of renewal--in nature and in the academic life--are very pleasant; they keep things from getting stagnant. I even love switching from summer to winter clothes and vice versa--it makes the old feel new again.
ReplyDeleteLast week went pretty well:
1. Check in on festschrift. We meant to send in the proposal in August, but apparently we just stopped working on it at some point.
YES; I don't really have to do anything right now, but hopefully we'll be able to send off the proposal soon.
2. Finish and submit RR essay - YES
3. Read ch. 1 and 2 of Dissertation R (because I'm expecting K to come in any day now...) - YES (still no sign of K, though)
4. Revise ch. 5 and send the new version to friend who has promised to read it - YES
5. Shop for a new car, because the 20-year-old Jetta has started to make a terrible noise. - YES; we are now leasing-to-own a brand new Ioniq 5. Exciting!
6. Keep going with the workouts: run x 3, swim x 2, yoga x 1 - YES
This week (it's already Wednesday...):
1. Review article
2. Read chapter 4 of dissertation R
3. Keep up with workouts: run x 3, swim x 2, yoga x 1
4. Work out grad students' spring teaching schedules
5. Prep for RR workshop (read & comment on one submission; start reading other submissions)
I feel a bit at loose ends, TLQ-wise, because my book is basically done--I'm waiting on feedback from friends--and I don't feel ready to throw myself immediately into the article that's due in April. I should start thinking/reading for it, of course, but a pause feels appropriate.... I did read two Agatha Raisin mysteries in two days this past weekend, which was a pleasant break!
I think it's really hard to move on when you finish something; and you also know that you've done the hard work, but it's going to keep coming back to you with readers reports, copyedits, and proofs. Changing gears is slow.
DeleteBut YAY on the new car! I'm leasing a Tucson plug-in hybrid, not quite ready for all electric. But the next car will be!
Yay for all the done things and the new car!
DeleteStarting something completely new is a bit intimidating! I'm also at a bit of a loose end with papers, I have not started anything new in the last few months and it is time that I do... Considering writing all the options on sticky notes and having my kid draw from a hat!
I think a pause is highly appropriate! Motivation will come.
Delete