Wrapping up, how did we do?

It's hard to believe that we've reached the end of this session, and I nearly decided to extend it a week. But we said December 10, so December 10 it is.   The last three months have had triumphs (Good Enough Woman submitting her dissertation!) and challenges (earthquakes, illness, digestive difficulties) outside the usual ones of lurching from crisis to crisis.   So this is a time to look back, and see where you are in relation to where you thought you'd be, and maybe get a little bit of steam to lead you over the holidays, whether you celebrate anything or not.   I'll list (as much as I can) your session goals (as updated mid-session, I think) and your last week's goals.  As you check in, think about what worked for you, and what didn't.   We're all endlessly optimistic, and there is something about the teaching semester that almost always gets out of control.  


Session goals 

allan wilson

1) to be fitter and stronger physically than I am now, by doing exercise consistently - I find this has enormous benefits for my mental wellbeing, and energy levels

2) to be calm, especially as Christmas draws closer. Not sure yet what my strategies will be here.

3) to resubmit two papers that I have previously completed with the help of this group - both are complete mss, but need reformatting after recent rejections

4)to work on drafts of three other papers, so each has a complete manuscript form

Contingent Cassandra

Self-care:

--increase exercise (walking, weight-lifting, gardening) enough to increase the amount I can do

--make/eat more homemade food

--get enough/more regular sleep (in particular, try to establish/maintain a regular bedtime/bedtime routine)

--do more long-form reading (keep up w/church Bible-reading project, + some additional professional & recreational reading)

Household/financial:

--accomplish enough in the garden plot to meet the standard of “active gardening” and to move as much gardening paraphernalia as possible to the plot itself (make fence out of rolls of wire currently occupying part of my living space; assemble storage box ditto & fill will tools ditto)

--make progress on putting up shelves (including temporary assembly of ones that will eventually be painted/permanently installed)

--get financial paperwork in shape for mortgage applications

--gather data for a budget

--research 2nd home/investment property/storage solution

Professional:

--Follow up on grant project (attend conference, prepare reports, look into addtl funding, maybe write a bit)

--Continue to think about research/writing priorities

Personal:

--do what I can to keep up/reestablish contact with friends and family, without getting too tied up in whether/how people (especially those in difficult/complicated situations) respnd.

--scan at least an album’s worth of family pictures; move pictures to new, archival album (which will be a birthday/Christmas present for my brother)

Daisy

write three new papers and finish the hideous revise and resubmit from the last session! The three new ones are for projects that are now slowly maturing and producing things worth writing about.

Revised: 2 papers... R=R over break maybe?

Dame Eleanor Hull

Goals, though: I want to have sent out two R&R projects and done some serious reading/note-taking to provide some theoretical underpinnings for my book-in-progress. (The state of the book is that I've basically done all the writing involving the primary text---or all I can do for now---and now I need to work on theoretical and historical background, with some literary comparisons.) I also need to do some translation-revising (we've achieved a complete rough draft, which is a big milestone). I need to keep up with teaching, which is less challenging than usual (low enrollments = smaller classes). Usually things I consider basic (exercise, food providing) aren't too tricky, but my teaching schedule and recent discovery of some food intolerances means that over the next few months, both of these need more attention than they used to. Finally, there's the house-related sorting/tossing/giving away/storing that I don't really want to do but really need to do. We will both be much happier in a newer, lower-maintenance place, and the only way out is through.

Earnest English

Gardening/herbalism: don’t forget about the garden, but do some fall planting, winter gardening or whatever/planning or herbalism learning weekly

Writing: five hours/sessions per week (reading counts!); 6x

Health: sleep!!! (in bed by 11 or earlier on worknights), supplements, good food

Mental health: journal, meditate or yoga and RELAX, listen to audio books during commute; planning instead of panic; create and communicate boundaries

Cooking: one nice meal a week (plan over weekend)

Weekly and birthday/holiday planning: Keep on top of holidays and other events with planning on weekends

Spirited!: keep checked in to his education: at least check notebook every weekend and check in with him; even better? ask daily

Work: be an intentional, slow professor who plods through work

Elizabeth Ann Mitchell

Session mantra: Live purposefully and deliberately

Continue my habit of writing every day.

Finish the neverending commentary for the Prudence book.

Move more--use the brand-new variable desk, walk more, get out of the chair more.

Good Enough Woman

1. Health-Exercise more regularly. 3x a week with walking, swimming, and yoga in the mix. More veggies for the whole family.

2. Home--Get bills, and passwords, and Powerschool, etc. under control. Help kids with various things that are important to them.

3. Research--Submit conference proposal by October deadline. Submit one article. Read 1-2 articles/chapters each week (to stay fresh and ready for the viva).

4. Finish the Slow Professor, and choose various principles and practices for weekly goals (from time-to-time).

5. Family and Friends--various weekly goals as I try to be intentional about doing things for family and friends that will really help them or make them happy.

Humming 42

1 Submit book manuscript

2 Submit two late book reviews

3 Finish and submit Ungloomy article

4 Finish and submit Venus article

5 Read a novel

6 Get grading done in a timely manner

7 Set and maintain a schedule to manage household responsibilities

8 Consider possibility for writing every day

Jane B

1) survive and deliver my classes acceptably, if possible without needing sick leave from teaching

2) Have full drafts of two (closely related) papers from the project I call Problem Child. This requires actual data generation (from simulations) as well as writing

3) Be up to date with refereeing, reviewing etc. (current queue is 2 papers, one book) and minor writing (one 2000 word chapter for an encyclopedia thing, conference talk)

4) look after myself - eat reasonably, spend enough time in bed (sleep is erratic and sometimes elusive, but I can at least rest my eyes and feet for the right amount of time), exercise gently, be kind to myself

5) probably this should be my number 1 - act deliberately. Act with purpose and intent, NOT reactively, and as if I am a person who matters as much if not more than all the things around me. this is the best way I can currently codify in a few words the ideas that have percolated up from continuing to think about the 'Slow Professor' principles, and ideas we talked about in the summer like 'move like water'... I talk a lot in previous iterations about balance, but it strikes me that that metaphor is troubling as it implies an inately precarious situation, something like walking across a narrow beam, high up, whilst carrying many objects. I want a metaphor which makes me feel intrinsically grounded, gives me more feeling of control and agency than of continually just avoiding the brink of disaster, and which helps me do wood-and-forest thinking, switching smoothly between the immediate and the longer term (which reaction, fire-fighting, wobbling on a beam, really doesn't favour).

Karen

1. Explore writing rhythms till I get something I can hold

2. Write one conference paper

3. Review co-authored conference paper and knock it through to a complete article draft

3. Get ethics approval up for 2017 SOTL project

4. Find energy that doesn't rely on chocolate (so sleep, mindful eating, movement)

5. Work with co-teachers on 2017 curriculum development to the point where there's defined plans and time allocations for being ready for semester 1.  [On hold while waiting for staff to be appointed.]

KJHaxton (Katy)

Goals for the session

1. incorporate regular writing/editing sessions for several projects interspersed with writing fits (1500 words in a couple of hours).

2. Make progress with two research projects: scary and house, mainly by revising and using the research tools on cohorts.

3. Submit one paper and get another one 'nearly there'

4. Make stuff!

5. Be more present in this group - I swing by to check in and keep track but I want to find more time to comment.

Susan:

1.  I have a paper to finish for a conference with pre-circulated papers.  It's due this week, and it will be done.

2.  I have a long overdue book review that needs to get done

3.  I have footnotes to check.  Once I've finished  the book review, I want to do as much of this as possible.

4.  I have a paper I wrote a year ago for a conference/essay collection, but the essay collection has not found a home, so I'd like to publish it.  It needs a bit of polishing, so if there's time, I'd like to do that. Substitute: expand talk from summer conference for journal forum.

5.  Return to reading fiction: I keep thinking this will happen, and I'm hoping that as my mind gets free of the book, I will do this.

6.  Sleep: I work best when I get about 7 hours of sleep a night.  One of my feline alarm clocks does not like this, but I'd really like to get to bed early enough so this can work

7.  Exercise: I go to an exercise class three days a week; I'd like to add walking twice a week.  That depends on the sleep.

8.  Friends and family: I need to stay connected to people, just hanging out and talking.  

9. Copyediting and proofreading book, complete index

Waffles:

1. Approximately 5 grant applications for project #1 (actual number will depend on my fellowship app currently under review). Most due in November.

2. Intersections paper

3. Discrepant paper

4. Stress Model paper (this may wait as it's complex)

5. Aging paper

6. CS paper

7. Stigma paper

8. 2 grant apps for project #2


Last Week's Goals
allan wilson
(from 4 weeks ago, nature intervening!)

1. Reduce second helpings at dinner which have nothing to do with the fact that I am hungry.
2. Use appropriate coping strategies, not eating. Eg, walking, or resting.
3. Have a go at finishing FS.

Contingent Cassandra
--keep moving (weights, walks, maybe back to the garden depending on weather)
--keep sleeping regularly
--plan/begin buying holiday gifts, cards (including contact long-lost friend's daughter to make sure I have a correct postal address for friend)
--do some financial stock-taking (in preparation for more work on budgets & paperwork over break) 
--make a batch of soup and/or oatmeal if time (this might have to wait until next week) 

Daisy
1) Hills Paper, AGAIN!
2) Cold Paper, complete data section

Dame Eleanor Hull,
1. Self-care: sit 5x, 2 yoga classes, basic stretching 4x, weights 3x, cardio or walking 5x, keep up good work on food/tracking.
2. Teaching: TRQ grading.
3. Research: finish R&R, send e-mails.
4. House/Life: contact handyman, 2 hrs basement, 2 hrs sorting/filing/tossing paper.

Earnest English
Mental Health: Stretch, plan, make key phone calls on Wednesday
Gardening: fall clean up as promised, get garlic in the ground, put beds to sleep
Writing: work in the morning; read 
Health: sleep, rest, relax, take supplements, eat well, make sure to bring and eat lunch. 
Cooking: Thanksgiving! 
Planning: Keep checking in on my goals
Spirited!: Connect and be here now.
Work: grade 5 projects per day, preferably in the morning on days not going to work

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Finish first quarter planning.
Declutter my electronic files ½ hour x 4.
Declutter the paper piles on my desk ½ hour x 4.
Write twenty minutes x 7.
Walk 20 minutes x 5.
Stand at the desk 2 hours x 5.

Good Enough Woman
1) Be efficient with TRQ (grading) to make room for TLQ.
2) Do some viva prep (I think I'll be having a mock viva via Skype in a couple of weeks).
3) Make Christmas gift lists, do some shopping
4) Help daughter make pillows for her friends
5) Put velcro on son's roller backpack and lunchbox to keep said lunchbox from flopping off to the side of said backpack.

humming42
1 Bolstered by the group, I will call the pharmacy in the next town over to get the difficult-to-find prescription I’ve ignored for weeks
2 30 minutes recherce 6x
3 30 minutes reading 6x
4 full draft of book review

JaneB
AARGH.
it's going to be tough.
A lot of this stuff is probably really TRQ but heck it can all go in one list.

1) referee third paper
2) spend an hour on the Annual Report for Old Admin Job (about 35 pages of bureaucratise. There are bits that can be cannabalised, but it takes energy) 
3) make a list and make sure grading is done in order of urgency
4) spend a couple of hours on Christmas stuff (wrapping parcels to mail, cards - at least overseas stuff)
5) leave work early one day to mail parcels, and go into town to replace the box of chocs I accidentally ate whilst marking/brooding this weekend and have a fancy hot chocolate at the fancy coffee place (even if I have to take grading there with me)
6) eat well, exercise, sleep a lot, put self first
7) write conference talk
8) make calls, write emails about stuff for ME.

Karen
1. Write x 2 - 25 minutes as a start.
2. Move - try a new yoga class (Thursday night or Sunday)
3. Make the Christmas presents list
4. Decide and write down where I need preparation for next year to be before going on leave. Then plan backwards and consider delegation.

KJ Haxton
1. get out for a walk every day building to 3 miles
2. mark 1st year info ret and 3rd year infographics
3. produce some problem sheets and answers for students
4. tackle literature reviews
5. type in data from house project. 
6. make christmas cards
7. work on cookery book

Susan 
1. Submit revised proofs by tomorrow night.
2. Get index drafted over the weekend
3. Submit proposal for cool spring conference
4. Write response to personnel review
5. Don't get too far behind on grading.

Waffles
1. Review abstract submissions for 2017 conference
2. Start revisions on rejected paper :(
3. Make outline for paper based on diss
4. Review and edit med student's paper

Thinking ahead

Usually, a few weeks before the end of a session, we put out a call for conveners for the next session.  Instead of folding that into tomorrow's "End of Session" discussion, I'm putting it out here today.  So we need someone (or better two people) who are willing/able/interested in leading the group in the spring -- usually running from mid-January to some time in May -- please note it down below.  

What's involved?   Usually we've had two conveners, who take turns posting.  It's just keeping track, thinking of things that might help us all think about our work and focus on TLQ.   It's rewarding, and interesting to think about these issues, I've found.   It's not an enormous time commitment: I usually work about 1/2 hour on drafting my posts the week I do them.

So, if you're interested and able, please note it below.

Week Ten: Runaway metaphors

Hi TLQers!

As I type, my building has been taken over with preparations for the institutional end of year function. At home, we've started the advent calendar, I'm inflicting the Michael Buble Christmas CD during car trips, and outdoor swimming is possible without freezing.

That means the end of the year is in sight - so for this week's topic I'm shifting to silliness and asking if you have a favourite runaway metaphor for the downhill slope till the end of the year, and for some, till the end of semester. Sledding? Rollercoasters? Slippery dip?

allan wilson
(from 3 weeks ago, nature intervening!)

1. Reduce second helpings at dinner which have nothing to do with the fact that I am hungry.
2. Use appropriate coping strategies, not eating. Eg, walking, or resting.
3. Have a go at finishing FS.

Contingent Cassandra
--find some way to move a bit between conferences (short walks, calisthenics, etc.) 
--get as close to a full night's sleep as possible each night (the key to this is coming home directly after the last conference, even if I still have things to do)
--fit in additional family/friend contact as possible
--make the rest of the parsley into pesto
--set up meeting for grant project
--finish novel I began; get back on track with Bible reading

Daisy
1) Hills Paper, AGAIN!
2) Cold Paper, complete data section

Dame Eleanor Hull
1. Self-care: sit 5x, 2 yoga classes, basic stretching 4x, weights 3x, cardio or walking 5x, keep up good work on food/tracking.
2. Teaching: write final exams.
3. Research: finish R&R, send e-mails.
4. House/Life: restore study furniture, 2 hrs basement, pay bills.

Earnest English
Mental Health: Stretch, plan, make key phone calls on Wednesday
Gardening: fall clean up as promised, get garlic in the ground, put beds to sleep
Writing: work in the morning; read 
Health: sleep, rest, relax, take supplements, eat well, make sure to bring and eat lunch. 
Cooking: Thanksgiving! 
Planning: Keep checking in on my goals
Spirited!: Connect and be here now.
Work: grade 5 projects per day, preferably in the morning on days not going to work

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Make remaining three doctors’ appointments
Spend half-hour per day on the 2017 planner (this has goal setting and journaling rolled into it)
Declutter the work space half-hour x 3
Write SOMETHING for fifteen minutes x 7

Good Enough Woman  (2 weeks ago)
1) Get some grading done so that the week after T-Giving isn't a nightmare (presentation grades plus one set of essays *at least*).
2) Review chapter one to plan basic cuts for conversion into an article.
3) Exercise 3x.
4) Move like water with in-laws.
5) Make Christmas lists.

Humming42
1 finish the TRQ revision
2 30 minutes recherce 6x
3 30 minutes reading 7x
4 start drafting book review 1

JaneB
1) referee second paper
2) spend an hour on the Annual Report for Old Admin Job (about 35 pages of bureaucratise. There are bits that can be cannabalised, but it takes energy) 
3) grading
4) finish writing last week of the new statistics teaching 
5) declutter house a little more
6) spend a couple of hours on Christmas stuff (wrapping parcels to mail, cards)
7) eat well, exercise, sleep a lot, put self first
8) write every day to end of NaNoWriMo
9) plan out December travel, conference talk writing etc.

And for a later date:
10) make eye care appointment (don't think opticians like being coughed at from close quarters)
11) work through another revise and resubmit (we have until mid-December)
12) write one section and edit all sections of a grant, so it can go off to internal referees
13) draft my bits of the second Problem Child part one paper
14) comment in detail on last of the close to submission manuscripts

Karen
1. Write x 2 - 25 minutes as a start.
2. Move - try a new yoga class (Thursday night or Sunday)
3. Make the Christmas presents list
4. Decide and write down where I need preparation for next year to be before going on leave. Then plan backwards and consider delegation.

KJHaxton
1. mark distance learning course assignments
2. create sample work for distance learning course assignments
3. mark 1st year information retrieval exercises
4. respond to distance learning student emails
5. hand crafted items
6. get out for a walk every day, building up to 3 miles by end of week.

Susan 
1. Finish proofs. Have draft of index before I check in next Monday.
2. Get healthy. (Yes, it's just a cold. Right now I feel like death warmed over.)
3. Sleep. Start exercising slowly
4. Start reading 

Waffles
Work on NIH revision

Week Nine: Who is it for?

Reading everyone's comments about their communities last week was a heartening reminder that we are not alone.   It also occurred to me that one consequence of the web of connections within which we function is that our TLQ work often reflects obligations to others.  Some of these come with being part of a work community that works to support each other; some are chosen, as when we work with collaborators; and some come from being in relationships with other human beings, whether friends, families of choice (including children), or birth families.  As I thought about my own TLQ list, I realized relatively little of it was "for me" -- and that even things I think of as "for me" are also connected to obligations or at least connections to others.    How important is it for you to do things that are just for you?  Do you -- consciously or unconsciously -- prioritize those things below things that are connected to others?   If we value the connections that generate obligations, how do we ensure that things are not too unbalanced?

Last week's goals:
allan wilson
(from 2 weeks ago, nature intervening!)
1. Reduce second helpings at dinner which have nothing to do with the fact that I am hungry.

2. Use appropriate coping strategies, not eating. Eg, walking, or resting.

3. Have a go at finishing FS.

Contingent Cassandra:
--move more (walk and/or weights)
--rest as possible (the week after Thanksgiving is absolutely packed, and will be exhausting)
--do my best to enjoy a family Thanksgiving that will have some sad/awkward elements (first without Dad; ongoing family tensions) 
--cook (at least the pesto; maybe some soup?)
--work on other contacts with friends/family
--work on setting up meeting for grant project
--do some long-form reading (leisure/novel, Bible, both)

Daisy  (from 2 weeks ago)

1) Complete draft of Hills paper

2) Complete outline of Cold Area paper to collaborators
3) List of figures and data plots needed for Cold Area paper

Dame Eleanor Hull
1. Self-care: sit 5x, 3 yoga classes, basic stretching 4x, weights 3x, cardio or walking 5x, keep up good work on food/tracking.
2. Teaching: write final exams.
3. Research: finish R&R, send e-mails.
4. House/Life: restore study furniture, 2 hrs basement

Earnest English
Mental Health: Stretch, plan, make key phone calls on Wednesday
Gardening: fall clean up as promised, get garlic in the ground, put beds to sleep
Writing: work in the morning; read 
Health: sleep, rest, relax, take supplements, eat well, make sure to bring and eat lunch. 
Cooking: Thanksgiving! 
Planning: Keep checking in on my goals
Spirited!: Connect and be here now.
Work: grade 5 projects per day, preferably in the morning on days not going to work

Elizabeth Ann Mitchell
Prepare for being out on jury duty--which may be one day or a month.
Write 250 words on Prudence x 6.
Declutter the work space ½ hour x 5.
Cook on Wednesday what can be done ahead of time.
Relax on Thursday, enjoy Number 1 and 2 sons’ company.

Good Enough Woman  (Yay for date on viva!)
1) Get some grading done so that the week after T-Giving isn't a nightmare (presentation grades plus one set of essays *at least*).
2) Review chapter one to plan basic cuts for conversion into an article.
3) Exercise 3x.
4) Move like water with in-laws.
5) Make Christmas lists.

Humming42
1 30 minutes recherce 7x
2 30 minutes reading 7x
3 finish reading book for book review 1
4 make substantial progress on R&R

JaneB
This week's goals:
1) contact the editors of the three papers I need to referee, let them know I've been ill, do one
2) write the Annual Report for Old Admin Job (about 35 pages of bureaucratise. There are bits that can be cannabalised, but it takes energy) 
3) finish up paperwork related to external examining
4) write one more week of the new statistics teaching 5) declutter house to some degree
6) eat well, exercise, sleep a lot, put self first
7) keep up with NaNoWriMo, go to meetup

And for a later date:
8) make eye care appointment (don't think opticians like being coughed at from close quarters)
9) work through another revise and resubmit (we have until mid-December)
10) write one section and edit all sections of a grant, so it can go off to internal referees
11) draft my bits of the second Problem Child part one paper
12) comment in detail on last of the close to submission manuscripts
13) worry about December travel, conference talk writing etc.

Karen
Assessment is done, we are shifting into summer. Ongoing emotional fallout. Demanding postgraduates (or needing to chase the ones who should be demanding).
1. Write x3. Even if it is crap. Just get going.
2. Move. Find one way each day to do that.
3. Focus. Make inroads into the big list by choosing one thing at a time.

KJ Haxton
1. more progress on literature review project, particularly looking for studies that could be used in a meta analysis of findings.
2. finish prep for outreach event on Saturday
3. hand crafted items - must finish the advent calendar thing I bought last year and haven't sewn up yet.
4. data processing of research tools from house and scary project
5. write the letters that I've been meaning to write.

Susan
1. Start working on proofs as soon as they arrive (Wednesday). Do at least one chapter a day.
2. Keep exercising
3. Eat sanely (will be easier because we're not hosting the food fest, and the food fest will center foods I don't particularly like)
4. Read another book.

Waffles
work on revision of NIH application

Week Eight: We're all in this together

Much of my week has been about being in community - on one side, coming together as a university community with collegaues and students to remember and on the other, being part of a group of people connecting land and stewardship. In different way, these events - and the process of preparing for them - has reaffirmed for me the importance of community to achor us in place, to hold and lift us in troubled times, and to enable conrete actions. (But I will note that by the weekend, I was desparate for ome time alone).

So for this week's topic - what part does community play in TLQ? Can do you care for yourself in the process of caring for those you choose and/or end up in community with.

On a community note, just giving everyone the update from the comments last week - allan wilson is in NZ and safe outside the earthquake area.


allan wilson
1. Reduce second helpings at dinner which have nothing to do with the fact that I am hungry.

2. Use appropriate coping strategies, not eating. Eg, walking, or resting.3. Have a go at finishing FS.

Contingent Cassandra
--enjoy time with niece; be kind to stepmother
--move a bit
--catch up with a friend (we have a date for Fri. -- another bright spot)
--follow up on grant project: finish financial stuff, work on scheduling meeting & setting agenda
--make parsley pesto
--follow up w/ stepsister

Daisy

1) Complete draft of Hills paper
2) Complete outline of Cold Area paper to collaborators
3) List of figures and data plots needed for Cold Area paper

Dame Eleanor Hull

1. Self-care: sit 5x, yoga 2x, stretch 5x, weights 3x, walk or elliptical 5x, stick to diet and track food 7x.
2. Teaching: plans for this week; some TRQ.
3. Research: finish R&R; send some e-mails.
4. House/Life: prep for new windows (TRQ at this point), gutter estimates.
5. Stay away from news and some of my usual internet sites. Go outside or look at cat pix instead. 

Earnest English

Mental Health: Stretch whenever I remember; planning; meditate twice this week, maybe at work?
Gardening: don't worry about it
Writing: work in the morning; read
Health: sleep, rest, relax, take supplements, eat well, make sure to bring and eat lunch. 
Cooking: one meal this week
Planning: Figure out Thanksgiving
Spirited!: Connect and be here when I get home; keep up with therapy; spend time with him
Work: plod through grading

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell

Get the other three appointments scheduled.
Write 250 words on Prudence x 7.
Work on fiction writing one half-hour x 3.
Keep the tortoise moving on causes.

Good Enough Woman (held over)
HEALTH: Make well-child check up for kids. Walk 2x. Yoga 2x. Swim 1x.
HOME: Pay bills. Tidy study.
RESEARCH: Print out chapter one of thesis. Decide what sections to cut in order to reduce word count (by a LOT). Cut those sections.
FAMILY: Take daughter to movie, have a family outing to pool (and maybe dinner and another movie). Enjoy (?) our family time on election night as we watch the returns come in.

2 30 minutes of reading every day
3 finish book review 2. Because there’s no reason I have not done so yet.
1) draft my bits of the second Problem Child part one paper
2) comment in detail on two close to submission manuscripts (one of which I haven't seen for a year...)
3) referee three papers
4) write the Annual Report for Old Admin Job (about 35 pages of bureaucratise. There are bits that can be cannabalised, but it takes energy).
5) finish and mail externalling report
6) sort out my travel plans for November and make excuses as necessary
7) write one more week of the new statistics teaching
8) work through another revise and resubmit (we have until mid-December)
9) write one section and edit all sections of a grant, so it can go off to internal referees
10) make eye care appointment
11) declutter house to some degree
12) eat well, exercise, sleep a lot, all that stuff
13) keep up with NaNoWriMo, find nerve to go to one meetup this coming week
2. Drink water before caffeinating.
3. Go to bed at the same time as husband at least twice this week.
4. Pick a single small future-orientated task each work day and do it before emails.
2. maintain momentum on the distance learning courses
3. hand crafted items - hats and ideas/test drawings for Christmas card printing
4. outline cook book idea
2. Start work on expanding conference paper for journal forum. 
3. Eat carefully, exercise. 
4. Read books, limit social media to 15 minutes morning and evening.
2. make a stab at outlining pub from diss
3. make decision about aauw fellowship
4. Self care flew out the window this week, so I'd like to spend some time cleaning and cooking this weekend 

Contingent Cassandra
--survive (Thanksgiving break can't come too soon)

Daisy
1) Complete draft of Hills paper

Dame Eleanor Hull
1. Self-care: sit 5x, yoga 2x, stretch 5x, weights 3x, walk or elliptical 5x, stick to diet and track food 7x.

Earnest English
Mental Health: Stretch whenever I remember; planning; meditate twice this week, maybe at work?

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Get the other three appointments scheduled.


humming42
1 30 minutes recherche every day. I know I won’t write on Monday because of teaching overload, so I will plan ahead and give myself some kind of researchy task to make sure I get that done.

JaneB
the impossible list redux

Karen
1. Find some time to work from home. Take screen break and plant seeds in peace.

KJHaxton
1. make progress on literature reviews for a few projects

Susan
1. Write 1 small grant proposal

Waffles
1. Finish RSA abstract

When the world intervenes

First, to those of you outside the US, on behalf of my fellow citizens, I'm sorry.  Everyone I know is still picking themselves up after the US election on Tuesday - I'm at a conference, and it's really the first thing anyone wants to talk about.  

While I'm happy to ignore the election results (denial is good) it occurred to me that one of the challenges all of us face from time to time is when the world decides to do something that interrupts our "regularly scheduled programming".   Elections and political events are obvious events, but floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters can also interrupt us.  These external events are slightly different from more personal "life happens" type things, but are equally disruptive.  What are the ways you've found to cope with the times when the world in some way makes your life difficult?

Goals from last week:
allan wilson
1. Exercise
2. Finish the revisions on FS and WHK.

Contingent Cassandra
--keep moving (gardening, walking, other exercise)
--get garden plot ready for inspection
--follow up on grant project: more financial stuff, work on scheduling meeting & setting agenda
--make parsley pesto if time
--follow up w/ stepsister

Daisy
1) Complete draft of Local Hills paper
2) Sample lists for analytical stuff to collaborators and labs
3) Eat crunchy green and yellow and red and purple things that are NOT candy!

Dame Eleanor Hull

1. Self care: stick to special diet and track foods; sit 4x, yoga 3x, stretch 3x, weights 3x, walk 5x.
2. R&R #2: at least 4 hours; try to finish.
3. House/personal: pay bills, get gutter estimates, finish clearing around the windows that will be replaced, 1 hour garden clean-up, light for indoor plants.
4. Teaching: Keep up; meet with dissertators; rec letter.
5. Do something fun.
6. Keep up with TRQ so it doesn't distract me from TLQ.

Earnest English (held over)
Mental Health: Planning, stretching, mental discipline for inner freedom, meditation when needed, breathe. Try not to invest a lot of energy in hating hateful people.
Gardening: 1 hour of gardening this weekend (clean up? plant garlic?)
Writing: 3 sessions of writing/revising; respond to others’ work; read for project; send off to deadline!
Health: sleep, rest, relax, take supplements, eat well, make sure to bring and eat lunch.
Cooking: one meal this week 
Planning: Figure out Halloween; grade day by day to prevent weekend-stealing
Spirited!: therapy and connect when I get home. 

Elizabeth Ann Mitchell

Make at least three of the five outstanding doctors’ appointments
Write 250 words on Prudence x 7
Work on one story for a half-hour x 5

Float like mist, everyone! Tilt at those windmills!

Good Enough Woman

HEALTH: Make well-child check up for kids. Walk 2x. Yoga 2x. Swim 1x.
HOME: Pay bills. Tidy study.
RESEARCH: Print out chapter one of thesis. Decide what sections to cut in order to reduce word count (by a LOT). Cut those sections.
FAMILY: Take daughter to movie, have a family outing to pool (and maybe dinner and another movie). Enjoy (?) our family time on election night as we watch the returns come in.

Humming42
1 30 minutes of research stuff every day
2 find a better name for “research stuff”
3 30 minutes of reading every day--that stack of research-related books, the long list of links in my online bookmarks, the novel I decadently checked out as an e-book last night

Jane B
ridiculous list of goals for reading week:  (Ridiculous is an understatement, IMHO!)
1) finish the last fiddly bit of this half of Problem Child and write my share of drafts of two papers on it.
2) comment in detail on one revise and resubmit and write the new section I have to contribute (co-authors waiting on me)
3) comment in detail on three close to submission manuscripts (one of which I haven't seen for a year...)
4) referee three papers
5) write the Annual Report for Old Admin Job (about 35 pages of bureaucratise. There are bits that can be cannabalised, but it takes energy).
6) write a 2 hour class on "digital literacy in the science disciplines"
8) mark 45 lab reports and 15 essay drafts
9) Act as external examiner for a master's degree (read about 15 dissertations varying in length from 20,000-35,000 words in several disciplines; review a couple of other project-based modules; write a detailed report).
10) sort out my travel plans for November and make excuses as necessary (I am TRIPLE-BOOKED one day...)
11) write one more week of the new statistics teaching
12) work through another revise and resubmit (we have until mid-December)
13) write one section and edit all sections of a grant, so it can go off to internal referees
14) visit counsellor, doctor, make eye care appointment
15) declutter house to some degree
16) eat well, exercise, sleep a lot, all that stuff
17) keep up with NaNoWriMo (yes, I'm doing it. I may be mad...)

karen
1. Drink water before caffeinating
2. Set timers when marking to stretch and rest eyes.
3. Read and take notes on 1 article in scheduled time on Friday.
4. Make counselling appointment

KJ Haxton
1. settle into some kind of routine now working from home has kicked in
2. more prep for late November event
3. keep email in its place
4. get distance learning course materials uploaded and all the deadlines sorted.

Susan 
1. Finish copyedited MS. 
2. Draft one (and maybe 2) small grant proposals. But I'll have to write them on the way home from my conference. 
3. Keep sleeping, and exercising. 

Waffles:
1. Submit NSF application
2. Finish up RSA abstract and send to mentor
3. work on one of 3 papers (aging, abuse or intersections)

Week Seven: White Space

The best part of my day today has been moderating assessments of student creative work. Along with the lovely surprises of work that has taken a step up or turned in an unexpected direction, there's been the pleasure of seeing how decisions about displaying the work can enhance it - that having white space around can bring clarity to the viewer and the work.

There's a lot of noise and chaos going around this week. (U.S. TLQ-ers, our thoughts are with you during the election.) Let's think about how creating white space - physically, in the calendar, or simply in our own heads can bring clarity to where we really want to focus our attention. What are your strategies for creating white space?

allan wilson (held over)

1. Eat healthy foods 85% of the time. 
2. Finish revisions to FS and send off. 
3. Draft rough revision for WHK paper. 
4. Abstract for conference

Contingent Cassandra (held over)

--Get as close to caught up on grading as possible (the better to concentrate on workshop/conference)

--Finish reading for next weekend's workshop

--Finish travel arrangements for week after's conference (get train ticket & sign dept. paperwork once it's ready) 

--Catch up/take care of some business with stepsister

--Follow up on grant-related financial task

--At least cover parsley & greens(harvest & make pesto if time) 

--Try to enjoy weekend workshop (which will be my first night away from home in almost a year. I'm not a huge traveler, so the lack of travel hasn't been a hardship, but I do look forward to the shift in perspective that getting away can bring)

Daisy
1) Dig out papers and work on actual writing
2) Plan rest of term 
3) Do daily writing challenge with my IRL writing group becasue this is fun!

Dame Eleanor Hull
1. Self care: sit 4x, yoga 3x, stretch 3x, gym 3x, walk 5x, get out light box.
2. R&R #2: at least 4 hours; try to finish; find someone to read it/make suggestions.
3. House/personal: bills, do a financial thing, 1 hour basement sorting, organize gutter cleaning estimates, get/set up new plant shelves and light.
4. Teaching: plan the rest of the term for undergrads; write a letter of recommendation.
5. Do something fun.
6. Take care of TRQ so it doesn't distract me from TLQ.

Earnest English (held over)
Mental Health: Planning, stretching, mental discipline for inner freedom, meditation when needed, breathe. Try not to invest a lot of energy in hating hateful people.
Gardening: 1 hour of gardening this weekend (clean up? plant garlic?)
Writing: 3 sessions of writing/revising; respond to others’ work; read for project; send off to deadline!
Health: sleep, rest, relax, take supplements, eat well, make sure to bring and eat lunch.
Cooking: one meal this week 
Planning: Figure out Halloween; grade day by day to prevent weekend-stealing
Spirited!: therapy and connect when I get home. 

Move like water, grade like tortoise, everyone!

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Health
Make at least three of the five outstanding doctors’ appointments
Write one story. 
Write 250 words on Prudence x 4

GEW
Health: Make one appointment for kids, one for myself. Exercise 3x.
Home: Pay bills. Finish tidying study.
Research: Read or copy all ILL stuff before I have to send it back on Friday. Definitely read at least one chapter/article. Read more about viva.
Family: Make it through Halloween. Get son started on Code Academy.

Special category: Send my absentee ballot in to VOTE!

Humming42
1 I’ve made an AcWriMo commitment to writing 30 minutes a day, every day, starting 1 November. 
2 Write abstract for Cool Thing with beloved co-author.
3 Write and submit abstract for Yes That.

Jane B
1) prepare 2 weeks ahead on new stats classes :-(
2) make a detailed list for 'reading week'
3) do simulation stuff for Problem Child (4 simple things, one fiddly thing with five parts)
4) IFF the cough continues to diminish, begin to walk a little more. IFF.

karen
1. Drink water before caffeinating
2. Set timers when marking to stretch and rest eyes.
3. Read and take notes on 1 article in scheduled time on Friday.
4. Make counselling appointment

KJHaxton
1. finish prep for and run outreach event
2. pass on lecture notes, finish teaching cover plans
3. do as much prep for late November outreach event so it's easy for those doing it
4. tidy work office so it's easy for husband to find stuff if I need it
5. try not to get ill!

Susan
1. This weekend is the weekend to “do all the things”: I’ve done a bunch of administrative/organizational/service tasks for the campus on various levels. Still two do:
A letter for a friend who is a finalist for a great job
A letter for a colleague’s promotion
Clearing off my desk so I’m not confronted by chaos (made worse by the cats) when I sit down

2. On Wednesday I get my copy-edited ms. I was supposed to get it last week, and it got put off. I’m panicked about this, because from next Sunday afternoon, I have uninterrupted other obligations. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed I can get the work done in the time I actually have to do it.

3. Keep sleeping, exercising, and eating relatively healthfully while working my tail off.

Waffles
1. NSF grant - full final draft
2 RSA abstract (if we can figure out what we will do)
3. Aging analyses