Welcome to the new TLQ session! This is the first week of 14, so we're setting goals for the period between now and 14th December, and will have a mid-session check in/recalibration on 2nd November.
Since it is autumn and the start of the new academic year (for most of us at least), I thought we could have a theme of stationery. As soon as I see a change of leaf colour or a cool, crisp morning or another hint of Autumn, I feel this powerful urge for new school supplies. this year so far I just got some new stickers, plus the acronym for the new unit I belong to following the August reorganisation is the name of an animal so I've acquired some tiny models of those animals for my office. But clearly I need MORE stationery.
Let's start by talking about work bags. Do you have a dedicated bag (or two or three bags) for work? Are you a back pack person, a handbag/purse plus tote bag person, a grab the laptop bag and shove everything else in your pockets person? How do you move your stuff between home and campus, and what sort of things do you move around?
So, four things, this week - introduce yourself if you want to, session goals, goals for the coming week, and, if you have time, tell us about your work bag(s).
When setting goals, think about your current context, and what do you need to get done by Christmas. What top left (important, non-urgent) things and personal things would make you feel like it's been a good year overall, or that the calendar year ended well, when we wrap the session up on 14th December?
If you've been thinking for awhile about joining in, we'd love to have you try us out this time around!
Oh, and here's a picture of Mr Shoutypants settling in on my D&D notes just when I needed to check them. He looks like he was very well aware of that!
Hello, hasn't this come around quickly? I'm JaneB, a burntout grumpy mid-late career academic in a UK regional University which is struggling badly with recent trends - we had a huge round of reduction in force last year which included "managed exits" (involuntary leavers) and between people who retired early, left voluntarily or lost their jobs, my subject lost about a third of our team. The start of the new academic year is reactivating everyone's trauma from the whole process, and making it clear how few of us remain and how we've had to trim back our offerings to students (last year we did a variety of one off fixes; but had to strip down this year's offering). So grief and anger and general done-with-everything-ness is local as well as ::the world out there:: around here. And I'm still navigating being a fairly recently diagnosed neurodivergent person (AuDHD, just for funsies). Apologies in advance for rants!
ReplyDeleteOn the positive side, I'm still here, and timetabling perfectly met my "reasonable adjustments" this year which is a first! :-) My Shoutypants remains a pleasure to have around, and Autumn is my favourite season. And I have always loved and still love the prospect of new stationary!
Work bag: I currently have a university issued laptop and laptop bag, and a mid-sized shoulder bag which is unreasonably heavy because I'm one of those people who "needs" to carry around all the things they MIGHT need as well as the basics. I bought myself a nice larger laptop bag which would take all my stuff in one bag, and I've spent the last six months intending to move everything over and failing to do so. I used to be a backpack person but had a shoulder problem (both the bags I have can be worn cross body so they press on only one shoulder) and never got back to it.
SESSION GOALS:
DeleteSELF-CARE: I struggle with this, so putting in some process goals -
a) intentional movement for at least 15 minutes three days a week (this can be stretching or more active exercising, but it needs to be intentional and additional to just "doing life"),
b) doing some kind of making (art or craft) a couple of times a week,
c) doing something gently social (playing D&D online counts, or a multi-text exchange with a non-work friend - living alone makes hermitting easy when life gets stressful and work uses up most/all/more than all of my interaction-tokens for the day) a couple times a week
d) keep up reading for pleasure - I seem to have my mojo back, and its definitely a Good Thing
IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT
Another thing which tends to go astray in busy/stressful times. And this is my heavy semester of teaching (plus the new stuff).
a) keep doing the weekly list of chores - aiming for 75% done every week to be realistic.
b) sort out new shelving in my living space - and maybe a sofa
c) clothes storage solutions (currently all my actually-in-the-rotation clothes are either in the laundry basket, on the airer, or piled on a chair or in the clean undies basket. This is not ideal).
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
Basic goal is to deliver every class as timetabled and grading on time - this is my heavy trimester, and I'm still having various burn-out-related health issues, so I don't feel like this is entirely a guarantee. Also dealing with some ISSUES with teaching team colleagues - the changes left us with several not-exactly-competent colleagues and the smaller staff numbers push me into interacting with them more often ::grumble:: But I'ma set some goals anyway. I only have familiar admin roles so nothing new there, and whilst there's a lot of reacting to smaller changes from the Centre, I don't have any big projects in mind. So only two goals for this session:
a) end each work week (Thursday) with everything set up ready to go for the following week and, if possible, have a solid start on the week after that.
b) limit working on teaching and admin issues over the weekend (let's say no more than 5 hours) and if possible ZERO
RESEARCH
I have a lot of balls in the air at the moment. I'm not sure how I feel about most of them.
a) submit multi-author paper (due 15 October) & hopefully get through to acceptance this session.
b) be on top of contributions to large project where I have a small part
c) make measurable progress with at least three other writing/data processing projects (I'll make a list now of what I'm working on)
WEEK GOALS:
DeleteThis week is welcome week so the place will be crawling with first years. I need to be on campus two days for welcome events, and to do rather a lot of cat herding to get ViLEs fully ready and back into the rhythm.
SELF-CARE:
a) intentional movement for at least 15 minutes three days (the two non campus days and one of the weekend days)
b) making a couple of times a week,
c) two gently social things (D&D hopefully)
d) keep up reading for pleasure
IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT
a) 75%+ of the weekly list of chores
b) make a plan for the shelving in the living room
c) don't make clothes worse
d) get a new cat litter trapping mat
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) get week 2 materials set up (next week is week 0)
b) limit teaching and admin to 5 hours at weekend
c) identify reading/outline discussion points for new topic for honour module
d) admin role - check my allocation of other people's ViLE sites (we have a checklist of the minimal information that needs to be there, for consistency, and guidelines for assessment requirements. Some people do not think it applies to THEM. This led to a major and embarrassing situation at the exam board with all the external examiners, so this year we are doing the checking By The Book. Sigh. WHY can't we trust adults to follow the rules?)
e) make contact with all my tutees/supervisees
RESEARCH
a) multi-author paper (due 15 October) schedule two meetings
b) attend meetings for big project (more meetings. they love meetings)
c) make the list of all the projects that are in the air, and their current status
d) do feedback comments on texts for senior MSc student and former visiting postdoc.
e) get box text back from former PhD student and send to other author for a different paper.
I initially read "burntout" as "burn tout, which might be a good treatment for the condition!
DeleteGood luck with welcome week! Sympathy for having to start a year in difficult circumstances. Glad timetabling came through for once - it really makes a difference having a manageable timetable.
DeleteWhat a handsome picture of Shoutypants!
ReplyDeleteIn case there's anyone new this term: I'm heu mihi, a medievalist in literature at a large public university in the Northeastern US. I'm very lucky to be in a very blue state AND at a heavily unionized institution; nonetheless, I expect that Certain Stresses will be felt this term (and in the ones to come). I have a 13-year-old (!!) son nicknamed Bonavenutre and am married to The Minister. I also live with two feline kings (James and Clovis--real names).
My goals this session:
1. Finish proofs and index for forthcoming book (has to get done, but I'm putting it here anyway)
2. Rough plan for Companion essay; research for essay; get ready-ish to draft in January
3. Teach my tiny class as well as I can (it's a required course for our major, but for weird demographic reasons I only have 3 students!)
4. Keep the administrative balls in the air; work on improving departmental climate/cultures
5. Get plenty of exercise, plenty of rest, and plenty of time for quiet contemplation
6. Think ahead to a creative project for the future
7. Finish my current Italian novel
I'm in a bit of a fallow period, research-wise, which is both lovely and moderately anxiety-producing. While I have overperformed in years past and can certainly give myself a break, merit raises have just been reintroduced, which does provide a certain (tiny) incentive to keep publishing. But it can wait, really it can!
Goals for the week:
I'm participating in a roundtable at Very Fancy University tomorrow, and frankly, I'm really stressed about it! I only have 10 minutes to speak plus Q&A, but it is So Fancy!! So getting through that is goal #1.
1. Get through Very Fancy University event.
2. Proofs & index of 50 pages of book.
3. Read 35 pages of Italian.
4. Read grad student's chapter.
5. Exercise at least 4 times. (It's a busy week with many inconvenient meetings that will require me to be creative about my workout schedule....)
Finally: Bags! I've had a big tote for years, but before a work trip abroad last spring, I bought a really nice travel bag that is a rather narrow tote (doesn't hold too much) that converts to a backpack. I've been using this for days when I don't have a ton of crap to schlepp--it's kind of sleek, and I really like the backpack mode for spinal alignment etc. I also carry a purse, since it's nice to have everything in one place at all times, regardless of what else I'm carrying!
Tiny classes can be ridiculously hard! So much changes w/r/t chemistry, both class-prof and within the class, and you can't necessarily rely on *someone* to be prepared, so you always have to be . . . Good luck!
DeleteGood luck with Very Fancy University event!
DeleteShoutypants looking very smart there! And thank you for hosting, JaneB. I love new stationery, so this session is right up my street.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone new, I'm Julie, a mid-career academic, promoted to full professor last year, in a history department in the north of England which is not struggling yet as much as JaneB's, but with the same anxieties about the future as the rest of the HE sector in the UK. I am widowed, with a 17-year old daughter embarking on her last year of school and a 14-year old son who is at the start of two years' work for GCSEs (big exams taken here at 16) and is finding that school just got much more intense.
I used to carry work stuff in a leather bag, over the shoulder, which I liked because it looked smart and professional, but then the physio told me off. Now I have a Roka backpack, in a mint green colour. I do like it: I don't think it shouts 'professional' in the same way, but it is much more practical. I also have a small handbag (purse in American?) for purse, phone, keys etc so they don't get lost. It's not the perfect combination, as current handbag doesn't comfortably fit either my diary or notebook, so for meetings in other buildings etc I either end up carrying those in my arms, or taking the backpack just for them.
Session goals:
1. Research
I am on research leave this academic year, so this should allow TLQ stuff to take priority more.
(a) Write chapters for two different edited volumes (one I have a rough draft of, the other is in the outline stage, both need reading I can't easily do here).
(b) Research trip for two weeks: use archive and library time well.
(c) Revisions to journal article when these come back in (should be this session).
(d) Work on article for Big Journal
(e) Book review (due 30th October)
(f) Follow-up conversations from workshop last June.
Teaching/Admin
1. See PhD student through viva and hopefully minor corrections.
2. Two PhD vivas (one internal, one external).
3. Keep up with mentees.
4. Plan for conference next year (last year on the committee, but it's a big centenary conference, so probably more work than usual).
Kids:
1. Steer daughter through university application process.
2. Help son with school work (this is going to be a lot of Latin)
3. Be general taxi driver, sports cheerleader, handy target for emotional teen outbursts, breathing ATM.
House/life admin:
1. Big project: clear piano and old cupboards from dining area, get new bookcase.
2. Medium project: get garden shed built.
3. Small projects: aim for one a fortnight.
4. Travel plans for next year (two significant birthdays to celebrate)
Self-care/fun stuff:
1. Reading for pleasure
2. Keep up with journaling.
3. Exercise: running, pilates, walks, maybe start some weights.
4. Buy a standing desk (for back problems).
5. Do more creative stuff.
6. See friends as much as possible.
Weekly goals:
ReplyDelete1. Write report on PhD thesis and send to other examiner.
2. Work on chapter for edited volume.
3. Difficult conversation with car crash PhD student. This should be a final conversation, but he's reluctant to accept the inevitable, and my co-supervisor is not good at confrontation so....
4. Self-care: physio appointment (back is playing up again), journal, read, do something creative.
5. Pilates and run if physio allows.
6. House stuff: clear some stuff from garage, fix a couple of small things, buy new coffee pot (nothing happens without coffee!).
Another medievalist here, late-ish career I suppose, though I keep being very annoyed with people who ask if I'm thinking about retiring (no), living in the American Midwest, working at what I call Large Regional University or LRU, married, three cats, lovely house, large yard in a serious state of disrepair. This fall, I'm teaching two classes that are more or less in my field, plus doing something that we can call museum studies though it isn't exactly that.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad we're back. I appreciate the structure! I may be getting more done now that the term has started than I did over the summer, sad to say, even though I also feel a bit overwhelmed at the same time. But it seems like I'm just not that good at forcing structure on myself, even though I like having it.
I have a lovely grey tweed Levenger bag that I have used for years. It's a good size for carrying laptop, papers, a couple of books, and it has two outside pockets for pens and whatnot, as well as a zip pouch on the inside. Not so many compartments that I lose things in it! It is developing a hole in one corner, which I need to do something about. In addition to it, I generally take to campus a tote bag that I call "the feed bag," with a couple of meals plus a water bottle, and a handbag/purse (look, I'm bilingual!), and sometimes another bag with books.
Session goals:
- keep up with morning exercise
- finish chapter for volume of collected essays
- write abstracts for three conferences next year (shoot me now)
- process student work in timely manner
- find readers for essays, do other editorial work
- deliver various not-museum-studies workshops (about half a dozen planned at present)
- try to do a couple of things on my Life Stuff list
And this week's goals:
ReplyDelete- swim x2 or x3, cardio x3, weights x2, yoga x5
- at least 3 writing sessions
- grade grad quizzes, comment on undergrad in-class writing
- read another essay submission
- do Saturday loooong workshop thingy
- assorted appointments (eyes, PT, other)
- remember to be in all the right places at the right times!
Since it's already week 4 here, I am tentatively hoping that I have already settled into the "real schedule," which for once is remarkably close to the planned/hoped-for schedule! Or maybe I have finally learned to plan something I can actually do? The most amazing thing is that I am getting up early enough to exercise in the morning, mainly because that really is the only time I can fit it in, and partly because I bribe myself by promising to continue morning cuddles with Morgana if I get up early enough: there is no way I will get up and head straight to the gym, but if I can start the day with tea and kitty snuggles I can then face working out, apparently.