Hello everyone!
Goal-review week is always a bit of a surprise for me, I’m sure I’m not the only one who looks at my 7-week’s-ago-self with puzzlement and a mix of sympathy and exasperation… For me the hardest part is keeping the longer-term goals in my mind when the rest of life is dead set on making itself the only important thing!
But, as always, we adjust and move right along! The exercise of deciding what to keep and toss made me think of the choices we make to say yes or no to things, either in work or in life. Earlier this year I said “no” to a really great field trip related to my research, because out of three of us here that should have gone, someone had to stay behind to cover the travelers’ classes and keep work going, and career-stage wise, I will almost certainly get another shot at that destination. So my two colleagues went, I covered their stuff, they had a great (but also challenging time), and everyone was happy with the decision. But, saying no to that one enabled me to say yes to the musical run which turned out to be an absolute joy all the way. To say yes to that one I did have to say no to another field trip (local) but instead of sending me I sent two students. This weekend I had said yes to a concert with a major youth ensemble my kid plays in, so that is fabulous that we get to play together (she may be more skeptical as teenager but whatevs), but it meant saying no to attending a student awards banquet where one of my students won an award… So, for every yes there is a no, but for every no there is also a yes…
What are you saying yes to these days, and what do you have to say no to in order to enjoy the yesses? How do you decide what should be yes or no? Does yes or no impact personal things more than work? How can we be more intentional about our yes and no decisions to make them work for us?
Goals from last week:
Daisy
Guest talk abstract/title/prep
Finish popular article on research topic
Finish reference writing
Finish department newsletter (bane of existence for months)
Finish thesis comments/rewrites
DEH
- 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 book
- start grading next set of undergrad papers
- comment on next grad submission
- reading/prep for grad class
- write a letter of recommendation (becoming urgent)
- read dissertation materials for student A, advise on restructure
- cardio + weights x2, swim at least x2, yoga x4
- walk with friend on Friday, weather permitting; alternative activity = take
car for emissions check
- watch weather, apply weedkiller either Wednesday or delay a little longer
- look up some Greek for a novelist's spell (oh, what the hell, leave it and
try to find time)
- some fun activities: at least reading, maybe a chair massage
heu mihi
1. Prep for RR workshop
2. Send out teaching schedules
3. Give away old car to colleague
4. Start review of F25 schedule
5. Read diss chapter
6. Grade batch of papers
7. Full slate of workouts
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 nibling (group has a week off) and prepare a one off
Hallowe'en game...
(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) wash all the towels
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) 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
iii) mark lab reports
iv) another chapter for grad student
4 RESEARCH
i) at least one hour integrating other people's comments into the consultancy
paper, sigh, not a job I like.
ii) referee paper - now urgent!
iii) do preparation for local seminar - now urgent! Sigh.
Julie
1. Allocate accepted conference proposals to sessions.
2. Teaching prep, try to keep minimal again.
3. Work out remaining budget and what to do with it.
4. Complete form for annual progression review.
5. Read, exercise, try to eat healthily.
6. Book haircuts.
Susan
1. Keep working on paper for November
2. Sort out endowed chair funds stuff
3. Draft letter of rec for colleague (Why a senior position requires a letter
at the start of the process is a mystery, down to the HR rules that shape our
lives.)
4. Get better. Maybe work out
5. Read, sleep, pack
1 SELF-CARE. Remember I'm still recovering from burnout and be kind to myself.
ReplyDelete(i) do at least one mildly creative-with-the-hands thing rather half-heartedly doing Inktober, but it counts
(ii) read most days three days
(iii) play D&D with nibling (group has a week off) and prepare a one off Hallowe'en game... yes and no, that's now becoming urgent
(iv) three days of stretchy/bendy type intentional movement for at least 15 minutes yes, first time this session I did three days
2 HOUSE-LIFE ADMIN
i) at least 75% of regular chore list haha no
ii) wash all the towels no
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) one teaching block (3-4 hours) on non-urgent teaching prep (non-urgent = happening AFTER next week) no, which is stressful! but I went substantially over my hours anyway, sigh, so there just wasn't space
ii) do all the needed things to be ready for next week's teaching yes
iii) mark lab reports yes, all done, phew!
iv) another chapter for grad student no. But we did have a long meeting sorting out the last steps of her modelling chapter, and that touch quite a lot of brain power on my part
4 RESEARCH
i) at least one hour integrating other people's comments into the consultancy paper, sigh, not a job I like. no
ii) referee paper - now urgent! no
iii) do preparation for local seminar - now urgent! Sigh. about half done but it feels in control
Quite a lot of time was taken up trying to fill out the paperwork for the ranking process for the People Change thingie - with typical thoughtlessness, we were sent an 8 page form and told that submissions had to be 8 pages only (with set font size, margins etc.) and any overlength items would be ignored. A week later, we were told that "of course" they meant 8 page submissions NOT including page 1 and 8 of the template, which were the cover sheet with name/current role/etc. and the score sheet for the panel's use. So that is another two pages of text, but after we'd all spent a lot of time squeezing everything down to the six fillable pages, this was not received with any kind of positive mood. We should find out officially in the coming week who is leaving as part of the voluntary departure scheme, which might mean some groups don't need to carry on to the ranking scheme, but as the ranking form is due in middle of next week, we'll probably only find out if we get out of doing the form the day it has to be submitted. So we are all scrambling to do them... and that's where the time for refereeing etc. went last week.
NEXT WEEK:
I'm on campus two days running, Tuesday and Wednesday, and Wednesday afternoon I'm organising/hosting an informal seminar (technically just our region, but since COVID we've run it in hybrid mode and now we get international attendees too) so need to be somewhat on the ball. Otherwise not too bad a week, and my birthday is on Friday which is my day off, so I plan to be Very Idle!
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 nibling (a Hallowe'en game is required) and possibly with group
(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) wash all the towels
iii) pick up the kitchen again
iv) make a Christmas Wish List (for circulating among the family)
3 TEACHING AND ADMIN
i) 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 teaching after Reading Week
iii) feedback on third year draft assignments
iv) another chapter for grad student
4 RESEARCH
i) last minute stuff and hosting of local seminar
ii) referee paper - now VERY urgent!
iii) at least one hour integrating other people's comments into the consultancy paper, ugh!
Yes and no: I think because of my many years as a somewhat liminal academic, it's taken me a long time to say no. But I'm trying to focus on saying yes to things where I can be genuinely helpful, and (for instance) not agreeing to referee articles or books where my knowledge is tangential. I also try to say yes to things that take me places I've never been, or bring me into new conversations that I think will be helpful.
ReplyDeleteHow I did last week:
1. Keep working on paper for November YES
2. Sort out endowed chair funds stuff YES (turns out I'd already done it!)
3. Draft letter of rec for colleague (Why a senior position requires a letter at the start of the process is a mystery, down to the HR rules that shape our lives.) DRAFTING< will finish tomorrow
4. Get better. Maybe work out YES/NO
5. Read, sleep, pack YES
I have mostly got over my cold (though my nose is still running, I feel human). Because of a couple of connections and things I found, I got a real argument for my paper that I'm giving in 3 weeks. I won't get much done on it this week, but I'll finish it next week. Otherwise, I spent a lot of time preparing for my trip, which includes (on Wednesday) a visit to a collection of material whose printed version I have used extensively.
Meanwhile, in positive news, I got lovely readers reports for Famous Author, reports much kinder (and from not my field) than I would ever have imagined. This means I will have to turn my attention back to them for a bit. But it feels doable and exciting, especially to have the enthusiasm of the readers.
Goals for this week:
1. Good day of research
2. Enjoy conference
Yay for positive readers and for finding an argument. It's always great when that happens.
Delete"Genuinely helpful" is a great guide to saying yes for things where one can make a real difference! I like that as a general rule. Lots of time one can be a cog in the wheel but if you do too many cog jobs it leaves you unable to fit in the ones where you can steer...
DeleteEnjoy the conference! Hope it provides inspiration for the research things!
Congratulations on the readers' reports! It is so lovely to feel you have reached people who understand what you're doing.
DeleteOoh congratulations! That's so exciting!
DeleteI don't think you should beat yourself up at having to self-protect for a while. Everyone will have a stage at some point when that applies. Another way to think of it is that being seen to say no can empower other people to do so. The more we normalise putting maternity leave breaks on CVs or time out for other reasons, the easier it becomes for us all to admit we need support and space. I'm always glad when I see other people being honest about needing breaks, or admitting to difficulties. I think it makes the world a better place, as you say.
ReplyDeleteThe People Change paperwork sound awful and so soul-destroying. I hope there's a positive outcome eventually.
Yes and no: inevitably, some 'nos' have been imposed on me in recent years by circumstances. So I'm still saying no to conferences, especially those that fall in the school holidays. I will go to one in April that I'm on the organising committee for, but only because this time it is before schools finish for Easter. That particular no will allow for travel at Easter, which is probably one of the biggest ways I can say 'yes' in my personal life at the moment. Otherwise, I am being careful about what I volunteer for or what extra citizenship I say yes to. I feel bad on the volunteering side sometimes, as some of the activities my kids do do require a certain amount of parental support, but I do more than others who, as far as I can tell, aren't single parents or facing obvious challenges, so...
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Allocate accepted conference proposals to sessions. - YES
2. Teaching prep, try to keep minimal again. - YES
3. Work out remaining budget and what to do with it. - YES, NO
4. Complete form for annual progression review. - NO
5. Read, exercise, try to eat healthily. - YES, SOME, MOSTLY (until neighbour turned up with a cake)
6. Book haircuts. - YES (for two of us)
This week is school half-term and daughter is away, so there are fewer activities to manage. It's also a light teaching week, but still keeping goals quite minimal.
1. Complete form for annual progression review. (now urgent)
2. Teaching prep: keep minimal.
3. Read PhD student's work for meeting Wednesday.
4. Do at least two hours research for article due January.
5. Organise PhD viva I'm chairing Thursday (basically, set up Zoom link, check procedures)
6. Tidy up once bathrooms finished (hopefully Wednesday).
7 Father's birthday present.
8. Get haircuts and book daughter one.
That is a lot of things done, yay! Hope the finished bathrooms are worth all the work and disruptions and they turn out jsut the way you need them!
DeleteKid activities do need a lot of volunteering, one can pile that on endlessly without even trying. Good on you for doing some of that but not allowing it to be completely out of control! One of the things I'm learning very well with those types of things is how important it is not to burn out one's volunteers, because if you chase off the good ones by adding more to their plates they are very hard to replace, so it is in everyone's interest to keep the loads manageable...
Glad the bathrooms will be done! It's so hard having the workmen around. And that's a good week!
DeleteI hope the bathroom work is done and you get to enjoy the results!
DeleteHey, when a neighbour turns up with cake it would be rude to say no! That's an excellent lot of YES, and I support putting off the annual review form: why do that before you have to? You never know, the world might end or something, and then you'd wonder why you'd bothered with the wretched form when you could have been eating cake and taking a bath in the new tub.
DeleteFor yes and no I think I have a reasonable balance some of the time… I struggle with saying no to research things because they are all fun but I know that saying yes and underperforming is way worse than saying no, so I try to think carefully. For service things I generally have a list in my head, to spread yesses around, so one thing for faculty level, one thing for uni-wide level, one thing for union level, and unless one finishes I do not add much. Unfortunately that does not work for department or external, those are just “all the things for department” and “things for people I like” externally (concentrating on people I like/respect does winnow down the list). For reviews I do at least two for every one thing I submit because I figure I need two reviewers, so everyone else does too. For AE jobs they tend to come in clumps so get fitted in when they show up.
ReplyDeleteFor personal and music things I aim very hard for “things I would enjoy, with people I like”. So I said yes to a bunch lately, and then no to a big one. There is one volunteer commitment that is more “people I like and activity that I think is worthwhile but actual job I dislike intensely”… So yeah, work in progress…
Some solid progress but also so much stuff not related to anything! Teaching tripped me up this week, I realized I had built in an extra lab in one course, so there was a lot of extra prep. And I broke our equivalent of the ViLE system for a bit so there was a few hours of troubleshooting with the expert who first said “well I’ve never seen that before…” when I called him in a panic… Just what you want to hear… The week also had a really good student conference, which was in nearby city so I added an evening concert to my plans, and right now I’m at a really great music weekend here in town.
Last week’s goals
Guest talk abstract/title/prep YES
Finish popular article on research topic PROGRESS!
Finish reference writing NO
Finish department newsletter (bane of existence for months) NOPE
Finish thesis comments/rewrites PROGRESS
This week’s goals:
Finish and give invited talk
Overdue review
Overdue editor recommendation
Finish thesis edits
Finish popular article
Finish reference letters (2 now)
Three field trips
Mark and return 7 thesis proposals
Do teaching organizing for the rest of term (or maybe for the next week?)
I love how thoughtful you are about working out what you say yes or no to. I'm impressed that you managed to break the ViLE system in a new way: well done! Is there any way to delegate the department newsletter, or part of it, to someone else?
DeleteSelf-protection is absolutely necessary! Agree that we need to normalize asking for and getting breaks, and having times where we do less to get through. We are ok with students asking for breaks and time, we should be ok with granting it to colleagues and to ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of deciding on travel choices for a year or reasonably long period - I find that things that "sound like fun" can be hard to turn down in the moment, even when one knows better...
Good luck with the urgent things, keep taking care of yourself!
BREAKING NEWS: excellent update on Basement Cat!
ReplyDeleteHis tumor now has defined edges and is no larger than last month, so the vet thinks it's probably not cancer, but inflammation/ damage to his liver due to his recurrent attacks of pancreatitis. He's still an elderly cat with tum problems, but it looks like we're not in the end game yet.
Hoomans are very relieved. Basement Cat wants to know why we can't celebrate by kicking out the Turbulent Tabby.
Yay for Basement Cat! That is great news!
DeleteGo Basement Cat! So pleased for you!
DeleteOh I'm so pleased, both for Basement Cat and for his humans.
DeleteOh that's so wonderful!
DeleteI've been trying to say Yes to more social things--and tonight I'm going to a movie with four friends, two of whom are new friends that I made when I said Yes to some social events over the summer! But it means saying No to going to bed early. :( Luckily for me, my gym will be opening late tomorrow, so I actually can't get up at 5 to go for a swim. That's very good news.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Prep for RR workshop - YES; it was yesterday and went fine
2. Send out teaching schedules - YES (this was for our grad students)
3. Give away old car to colleague - NEARLY; she'll pick it up this weekend, but I've done my part
4. Start review of F25 schedule - NO (I started it last [Monday] night, so that's really on this week's task list)
5. Read diss chapter - NO, but I did get Kr's dissertation finally, and read the intro and first chapter of that one
6. Grade batch of papers - YES
7. Full slate of workouts - YES!
This week:
1. Review fall schedule
2. Read two chapters of Kr's diss (defense is late next week)
3. Revise ch. 5 of book now that I have my friend's comments!! If this happens quickly, SEND MS TO PUBLISHER!
4. Full slate of workouts (Wed. optional--see above)
5. Send out journal proofs; catch up on articles under review
6. Prep PowerPoints for next week
Congratulations of the MS to publisher goal! That should definitely get some celebration.
DeleteLots of things done, and way to go on activities with new and old friends!
Wow, what a great way to build on social contacts! I keep noticing how few real friends I've managed to make as an adult. Lots of YES for last week, well done!
DeleteI hope your first-year does indeed manage to sort herself out---it is very gratifying to see students learn to cope and communicate and do all those growing-up things. I think by now you're done with your Wednesday seminar, so I hope that went well and that you have a good day tomorrow to lead into your birthday: many happy returns!
ReplyDeleteI feel like I should have the White Rabbit as my avatar, rather than a black cat (Reina, BTW): I am late, I have been late, I shall be late. It's Wednesday, and it's the end of October; there are only two months left in 2024, and I have very little idea where it all went, but especially October, I swear I had the whole month in front of me a minute ago.
ReplyDeleteYes and no: I feel like I mainly say no. I have some interesting new opportunities w/r/t teaching, which I welcome, but they are mostly b/c other people got ideas and ran with them, and I'm the obvious person to do the teaching things that have to do with the, let's say museum-ish things the other people are doing. I'm glad they got the whole thing started, but I would never have waded in on my own. I was recently looking at Gregory Colon Semenza's Graduate Study for the 21st Century and was absolutely appalled at the schedule he keeps (or kept; who knows what life has done to him in the meantime): 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., at least 5 days a week. There is just no way I could do that. Even when it comes to meals (lunch at noon, dinner at 7): if I were trying to put in a day like that, even more than usual I would have to be sure I got small frequent meals, with carefully calibrated protein, carbs, and hydration, to keep my energy levels from totally tanking; in addition to getting up and moving around to get the food, I'd need to do some other stretching and moving; so even if I tried, I could not get through 10 hours of work in a day, unless quite a lot of it were in the classroom or in meetings, where just showing up is a good start.
Boiled down: I say no a lot to protect myself, because I have limited energy (the exercise addiction is part of what keeps me going: without it I would be a wreck).
How I did:
- provide lap for Basement Cat as often as he wants: YES
- 20 minutes x3 on Alms or its larger project: 40 minutes ONCE
- read at least one chapter in one scholarly book: YES
- finish taking notes on another book: NO, but did 235 words once
- start grading next set of undergrad papers: NO
- comment on next grad submission: NO
- reading/prep for grad class: YES
- write a letter of recommendation (becoming urgent): YES (as of today!)
- read dissertation materials for student A, advise on restructure: SOME
- cardio + weights x2, swim at least x2, yoga x4: YES but yoga x2, I think
- walk with friend on Friday, weather permitting; alternative activity = take car for emissions check: WALK (long line for emissions)
- watch weather, apply weedkiller either Wednesday or delay a little longer: STILL DELAYING
- look up some Greek for a novelist's spell (oh, what the hell, leave it and try to find time): YES b/c see below
- some fun activities: at least reading, maybe a chair massage: READING, a lot: I caught up on the last 2 Mary Russells (though I think that series jumped the shark awhile back) and my fantasy novelist sent me her next volume to proof, so I gobbled that up over the weekend and since the Greek spell repeats, I finally met that goal. That reading is probably why I'm so behind on grading, though.
ALSO: created PowerPoint on using the MLA bibliography which I'll be able to use in multiple classes (I wish it hadn't taken two hours); drafted a proposal for a presentation with the Other People who do the museum-ish stuff, for a symposium next May; took Basement Cat to his vet appointment that went so well (okay, that was Monday, of this week, but since I'm checking in on Wednesday, I'm taking credit for it).
New goals:
- go back to gently trying to encourage all cats to get along via very brief encounters that involve treats
- 20 minutes x3 on Alms or its larger project
- read at least one chapter in one scholarly book
- finish taking notes on another book
- start grading undergrad papers
- comment on grad paper proposals
- write up notes for grad class
- read dissertation materials for student A, advise on restructure
- cardio + weights x2, swim at least x2, yoga x4
- bake a cake
So...is Semenza *recommending* that kind of schedule? Because I think that the culture of overwork needs to be seriously rethought, and it sounds like that schedule fits right in.
DeleteOf course, I say this knowing that I have roughly 10-12 hours of work to do this *weekend*. No, I don't work 10 hours a day, but I overwork plenty, myself. But wouldn't (say) 9-5, with an hour for lunch, be a better aspiration?
Anyway, it sounds like you did a TON last week!
Glad you got some fun activities and reading into a very busy week!
DeleteI've been delinquent in catching up on everyone's posts, so it's now Friday, so happy birthday!
ReplyDelete