There is a definite feeling of spring here, at long last. The crocuses are through in the garden, the daffodils won't be much longer and there are snowdrops out everywhere. And it is milder and drier. Hoping that either there are similar signs where you all are, or that they won't be much longer in coming. It sounds as if we are all finding this a hard session.
For this week, a quote (slightly paraphrased) from Virginia Woolf, on writing a diary. The quotation is from her diary, after reading back over previous entries:
'I confess that the rough and random style of it, often so ungrammatical, and crying for a word altered, afflicts me somewhat. I am trying to tell whichever self it is that reads this hereafter that I can write very much better [...] And now I may add my little compliment to the effect that it has a slapdash and vigour, and sometimes hits an unexpected bulls eye. But what is more to the point is my belief that the habit of writing thus for my own eye only is good practice. It loosens the ligaments. Never mind the misses and stumbles [...] I believe that during the past year I can trace some increase of ease in my professional writing which I attribute to my casual half hours after tea.' [Woolf usually wrote her diary after tea, before going out for dinner or other evening plans.]
How do the different forms of writing you do interact? Do some kinds of writing e.g. with pen and paper, or non-academic, like journaling, writing fiction, feel like loosening the ligaments? Alternatively, if you look back at writing you did a while ago, do you find yourself criticising it as 'rough and random', or are you able to admire the 'vigour'?
Last week's goals:
JaneB
SELF-CARE: all process goals, for three term time months:
a) intentional movement 20x3 or 15x4
b) some kind of making (art or craft) x2
c) something gently social x2
d) read at least one chapter (of fiction) every day this week IMPROVING MY
ENVIRONMENT: goals carried over!
a) 75% of weekly list of chores
b) make a sketch for the new idea for the shelving in living space
c) reschedule decluttering person session.
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) deliver week 4 of teaching
b) prepare class materials for sixthweek of teaching, with updating
c) make sure technical staff have all the information needed for the labs we're
doing in March and update the risk assessments (sigh. necessary, but
teeeedious).
RESEARCH. This all feels very repetitive but I AM making small bits of progress
each week, not just listing-and-ignoring!
a) work on the larger outline grant application - short sections to peer
review. Start putting materials onto the actual application website.
b) make a plan for restarting the modelling, check everything three times,
start them running
c) read and comment on fifth draft of paper from Foreign PostDoc
d) schedule a meeting for revise and resubmit paper; spend an hour on the
revision
e) resend emails about small teaching project
Dame Eleanor
--1/2 hour writing/research on each of 3 days
--finish notes on ILL book and return it
--more prep for future class activity; also prep this week's activity
--prep for language groups
--second round of grading
--book some travel
--find some reviewers
--gym at least 3x, yoga at least 4x
--remember to look at calendar/lists every day
Julie
1. Research/writing - aim for one day on each project, focus
on primary sources.
2. House/life admin: travel planning for next week, travel planning for summer,
financial stuff.
3. Self-care/fun: read, journal, exercise, Netflix.
Heu mihi
1. Rest. I fell on the ice yesterday and pulled a whole lot
of muscles in my leg (whacked my hipbone on the edge of a stone step--I'm lucky
I'm not in the hospital!), so I will not be exercising, other than some
stretching and maybe a run or swim on Saturday.
2. Draft one of the mini-talks that I have to give next month.
3. Keep reading Italian.
4. Begin organizing festschrift stuff.
5. Find some joy and pleasure.
Susan
1. Finish drafting review
2. Finish syllabus revision
3. Keep up with teaching
4. Send email to conference folks
5. Contact yard guys about project
6. Enjoy conference and big city
Daisy
Read and edit student chapters
Process data
Write abstracts
Try to prep some teaching stuff for next week
The reason for picking this quotation is that I think for me, any writing is better than no writing. I think just putting pen to paper, whether to write a diary entry or notes, loosens my ligaments. It's a different kind of writing: my journal entries are definitely rough and random, and for my eyes only. But the most important thing is to write something, as often as possible.
ReplyDeleteI do feel critical of earlier work sometimes, but more in the sense of feeling that my thinking has evolved since then. For one of the pieces I'm writing at the moment I've had to revisit my PhD thesis. I think if I'd done this a decade or so ago, I might be wincing, but now I have enough distance and have examined enough PhDs that I can see the thesis on its own terms and be kind to my naive twenty-something self. She did an ok job.
Last week:
1. Research/writing - aim for one day on each project, focus on primary sources. - MAYBE TWO AND A HALF?
2. House/life admin: travel planning for next week, travel planning for summer, financial stuff. - YES, NO, YES (new bank account sorted, registered for online banking)
3. Self-care/fun: read, journal, exercise, Netflix. - YES
It was a hard week, as anticipated, but we're through it, and I'm picking up slowly. Did a reasonable amount of writing, all things considered.
Next week:
We are off to Valletta tomorrow, for sunshine, hopefully. I therefore only have one working day this week, on Friday.
1. Enjoy the break!
2. Meet with mentee on Friday.
3. Finish some primary source analysis.
Valetta is lovely! Have a wonderful time! (I've only been there with students - I assume it's even nicer when not herding undergrads...)
DeleteAll writing is good for the writing - word smithing takes practice. If I'm struggling to start the work day I freewrite starting with "I don;t want to do this because..." and frequently write myself to a solution or a way in to the task within a few minutes. I have been known to use https://writtenkitten.co/ on particularly Don't Want To days. My published papers often surprise me by how coherent they are - by the time I submit them I am so thoroughly sick of them I assume they are over-worked and grimy round the edges like the fourth roll of the same bit of pastry. And to be honest I enjoy all forms of writing except for late stage copy editing, the bit where the references all need to line up and all that.
ReplyDeleteLAST WEEK:
was a slog, especially the pill wrangling. Final score was 10 pills in the cat, four lost, but Shoutypants was getting very wary and cross by the end of it and so was I. Fortunately on Friday the vet said the infection had gone, all was healing well, and we would reassess the need for surgery when he has his vaccinations in April, so we have a break from medication for a while.
SELF-CARE: all process goals, for three term time months:
a) intentional movement 20x3 or 15x4 - three
b) some kind of making (art or craft) x2 Crocheted during a meeting and doodled during D&D
c) something gently social x2 one thing
d) read at least one chapter (of fiction) every day this week yes
IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT: goals carried over!
a) 75% of weekly list of chores yes
b) make a sketch for the new idea for the shelving in living space no
c) reschedule decluttering person session. yes!
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) deliver week 4 of teaching yes
b) prepare class materials for sixthweek of teaching, with updating yes
c) make sure technical staff have all the information needed for the labs we're doing in March and update the risk assessments (sigh. necessary, but teeeedious).yes
RESEARCH. This all feels very repetitive but I AM making small bits of progress each week, not just listing-and-ignoring!
a) work on the larger outline grant application - short sections to peer review. Start putting materials onto the actual application website.yes - and sent it for internal approvals
b) make a plan for restarting the modelling, check everything three times, start them running we did. Then I began writing a section of the methods and found ANOTHER mistake. So we started over for the fourth time!
c) read and comment on fifth draft of paper from Foreign PostDoc half done. it is finally getting there!
d) schedule a meeting for revise and resubmit paper; spend an hour on the revision no, no - but I did send out the doodle poll
e) resend emails about small teaching project yes, one reply
COMING WEEK:
DeleteI am not enthused for it, but there is no specific reason to suspect it will not be a normal week! The weather has turned spring-like, or at least is forecast to (it's been raining here between sunny patches), so hopefully that will continue - and not be unnaturally warm! There's plenty of time for that later in the year...
SELF-CARE: all process goals, for three term time months:
a) intentional movement 20x3 or 15x4
b) some kind of making (art or craft) x2
c) something gently social x2
d) read at least one chapter (of fiction) every day this week IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT: goals carried over!
a) 75% of weekly list of chores
b) make a sketch for the new idea for the shelving in living space
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) deliver week 5 of teaching
b) prepare materials for the "guest slot" I have in some one else's module, and draft the using AI session I have to run
RESEARCH. This all feels very repetitive but I AM making small bits of progress each week, not just listing-and-ignoring!
a) finish and submit the larger outline grant application
b) check the modelling outputs, make a plan for the next few weeks whilst my collaborator is away on fieldwork
c) finish read and comment on fifth draft of paper from Foreign PostDoc
d) schedule a meeting for revise and resubmit paper; spend an hour on the revision
e) work on small teaching project grant application
Oh, and sort out presents and a card and mail them to my sister for her birthday!
Delete