So with all these positives around, I thought that today we could talk about what it means to 'park on a downhill slope'. However much we might want to follow Boice's advice (or any other guru), working on a single piece of writing every day for a prolonged period just doesn't happen for most people, I think. Either teaching, students, administration, viruses, pets, children and other life matters use up writing time, or another research or writing project shoulders into the space. Even when I was a graduate student in the last few months of writing up, I'd find myself moving from one draft chapter to another at a different stage of editing, or to preparing a job application or conference abstract, and there is so much more potential for moving away from projects now I'm an academic.
We often talk about 'parking on a downhill slope' in this writing group - I remember the discussion where it first came up, but not who coined it, apologies! This phrase means 'leaving the piece in such a state that it is easy to start again' - but that means different things for different people, and different things for different pieces of work. So this week, let's share some suggestions:
How do you 'park your writing on a downhill slope'? Do the things you do differ if you know you'll be working on it again in a couple of days, or if it's being put aside for a few busy weeks of travel or life or teaching?
Dame Eleanor Hull offered to host the next iteration of the writing group, and Amstr to co-host (sorry if I missed anyone) - can you sort it out among yourselves and let us know, or discuss here if that's easier? Oh, and a long-term offer: I'd be happy to host or co-host the next 'Spring incarnation' (January to April/May 2014) if there's interest, first semester is too stressful for anything added, but Spring I can do.
Roll-call (Jodi & I tidied the list up a bit; if you haven't reported in for more than a month that we can find, we left you off - do comment indignantly if we were wrong about that! :-) )
Amanda@ladyscientist: Finish all the small parts for the
application (like the abstract, facilities, etc.).
Amstr (writing account): 1) refine thesis and abstract, send
to writing partner, 2) develop structure and bad topic sentences, 3) read 3
articles + take notes on 2 articles, 4) park on a downhill slope.
Bardiac: no goal set
Contingent Cassandra: make continued progress on writing
and/or research, alternating back and forth between the two as necessary.
Dame Eleanor Hull: Companion-piece revisions and submission.
At least one hour a day on research, focusing on IPM and translation.
Danne: Be clear on what I want to work on and what I plan to
achieve when I come back from my trip to Paris, and start adopting the right
frame of mind over the next few days.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: Start filling in the literature review for
article B.
Good Enough Woman: Early mornings M and W, two hours Wed
afternoon.
heu mihi: Incorporate research into Kzoo draft. Read another
50 pages of article-related book. Spend an hour on article proper.
humming42: I’m reverting to the unfinished goals of posting
the survey, finishing the proposal and finding participants. There is also an
abstract I’m considering for submission, due tomorrow.
Jane B: first, do half an hour of research-related something
every week day. second, get a rough - may be very rough! - draft of that paper
with the MSc student done. Of ALL of it.
Jason: no goal set
Jodi: 1,000 words and work on the dissertation every single
day
kiwi2: Improved draft of the grant proposal. Draft of
associated one page blurb and summary. Tweak paper X.
kiwimedievalist/zcat_abroad: no goal set
luolin88: 15 minutes TWTH
Matilda: revise the paper. make a plan for a new paper. And
tidy up my house and my new office.
meansomething: 1) 10 12-minute sessions of writing. 2) Two
book mss. submission. 3) One magazine submission.
metheist: no goal set (busy conferencing)
nwgirl: Revise next chapter. Protect my time, protect my
time, protect my time.
Pilgrim/Heretic: 500 words.
profacero (Z): Spanish version of abstract, write and send.
Catch up with teaching and service things; this and other housekeeping --
books, files, computer files.
Susan: no goal set
tracynicolrose: Look at MS data; begin drafting Frameworks
presentation; draft out BE discussion
Zabeel: draft of conference paper
Last goal: Companion-piece revisions and submission. At least one hour a day on research, focusing on IPM and translation.
ReplyDeleteAccomplished: (a) started; (b) yes. Also another 225 words on MMP-1.
Analysis: I'm over halfway through my 20-day challenge on the IPM and the translation chunk, and in 7 more days I should be done with both, a day early, if I stick to the 3/50 every day. They will both need grooming, at that point. In other news, yesterday it was sunny, I was rested, and there wasn't anything else I desperately had to get done, so I started the revisions by making a list of what had to be done, fixing a couple of minor things . . . and then spending over an hour staring at a recalcitrant marginal entry and going through Latin dictionaries trying to spark inspiration. I asked a friend to have a look at it, and she can do that over the weekend. Today I'm a little under the weather*, so I'm stopping with the minimum 3/50, but tomorrow I plan to revise the 3 pages that most need to have the argument brought out more strongly.
Next goal: submit final draft of companion-piece. Continue at least one hour of research a day, 3 lines of transcription and 50 of translation. Return to MMP-1 and write another 2-3 paragraphs.
Next writing group: happy to host on my own. I think I would get confused trading off with someone else.
*hungover, to be honest. Yes, on Friday; I feel like an undergrad. See, there's this local restaurant with live jazz on Thursday nights, and it seemed like we might as well order a bottle, and I'm kind of a lightweight, so actually finishing the bottle, at least if I drank my whole share, wasn't such a good idea. I mean, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but hindsight is a bitch. Note to self: order by the glass next time. Never mind the cost; it's worth it to avoid the feeling-rotten part.
And my captcha is "hadTest." What's that about?
I'm happy to let you host!
DeleteThere's always the autumn iteration in need of a home...
DeleteGlow of achievement, definitely! AND reporting in on time (unlike the rest of us) despite a hangover... live jazz sounds cool though
DeleteI like your 20-day challenge idea, but would need to bath my brain in Bugge Spray first, it seems quite convinced that committing to something also all-but-guarantees I won't do it.
Looking forward to the next iteration. And better "Hadtest" than "hardtest," which I first read.
DeleteI say congrats to the hangover! Cutting loose can be very much needed. The effects, on the other hand, may not be so fun. If I was a scientist, I think I would spend all my energy on finding a hangover cure. Instant billionaire and world hero!
DeleteI'm also looking forward to the next iteration. No teaching, all writing, plus great weather (which *may* curtail the writing at times) is going to be fantastic!
It seems like the steady pace is serving you well! Congrats on the peaceful progress!
DeleteLast week's goal: make continued progress on writing and/or research, alternating back and forth between the two as necessary.
ReplyDeleteAchieved: not a great deal. I think I wrote a sentence or two in there sometime (probably when I was supposed to be doing something else), and I picked up an interlibrary loan book I'd ordered (before somebody sent it back for lack of attention).
Analysis: I'm falling periodically into so-much-to-do-I'm-paralyzed mode, which is not good when I have so much to do. I seem to be getting better at getting out of it, and avoiding it in the first place, mostly by trying not to have more than 2 or 3 major tasks (including grading and any serious prep/creation of assignments) to juggle on any one day, but that isn't always possible. There's been a lot of writing lately, as we continue the age of multitasking, about the fact that it takes most people energy to switch focus from one thing to another. I suspect that I'm especially bad at that. And no matter how careful I am about writing down tasks, especially the multitudinous little fiddly ones that go with teaching via hands-on exercises (especially the online version thereof) -- and that writing down does help -- I still seem to hold the tasks in my head as well, and it gets crowded and noisy and generally distracting in there.
Goal for next week: make continued progress on writing and/or research, alternating back and forth between the two as necessary (and switching off with preparation for the mid-April lecture as necessary). It would also help with the juggling if I got the tax tasks for which the deadline can't be extended completed well before April 15th.
Topic: I think I've got some pretty effective "parking on the downhill slope" (I think the phrase is Amstr's, but I could be wrong) techniques, most of which are pretty simple (e.g. the Word comment bubble with "start here" placed in the spot I should start, perhaps with a few notes added about what I intend to write about next). I'm also finding it helpful to start with something in between organized brainstorming notes and an outline, with sections and projected word counts for each (I really love having the structure/discipline of word counts, and, as I think I've said before, wish someone had told me about how long the diss., and each chapter thereof, should be. It would have helped tremendously. But that's not quite a "downhill slope" thing). This is probably partially a function of having writing be something I don't get to do as often as I'd like these days (and having relatively few serious deadlines to meet), and so having developed habits that account for that situation, and probably also a function of having projects that have been going a long time, and that I do think about even when I don't get to move them forward much, but I'm not having a great deal of trouble getting back into writing tasks when I can make the time these days. It probably also helps that my teaching, though time-consuming, is also pretty repetitive/familiar (and, although I do revise syllabi and assignments regularly, and take the very occasional chance to teach a new class, I consciously try to avoid putting too much energy into such activities, since I know I need to write and publish, too, if only as insurance against the day the present job goes poof, and I need to find another one).
Not a great deal is definitely more than nothing!
DeleteOh, multitasking, both the bane and the boon of the academic job... I like the variety, the fact that I can 'reward' myself for doing something I find hard with a different kind of work, and so keep working even when I'm done with the first task, and I do like the sheer variety, but it's also easy to be overwhelmed.
A couple of weeks ago, there was a productivity chat on twitter where we were discussing multitasking and, essentially, all of its downfalls. Like you pointed out, the energy required to switch tasks is a problem, but it also means you don't really get to focus on the task at hand as much as you could *and* the reality is that you end up accomplishing less. Study after study has proved this true, but society keeps promoting multitasking as the wonderful thing, busyness as a sign of importance. There are times when it's impossible to avoid multitasking, as we all are well aware of, but, well, it sucks.
DeleteI'm with you on keeping too many things in my head, even when I write them down. Just having too many things on the schedule makes me too distracted to get much work done.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the phrase is originally mine, but I find it helpful. I also find it kind of hilarious because my driveway growing up did point downhill into the garage, and I have vague memories of releasing the emergency brake on the van when I about 4, destroying my dad's table saw in the process.
I guess four is young enough to not get into SERIOUS trouble for that... as a teen I drove a very old VW beetle - lovely car, but rather under-engined for the weight of the body, fussy about the exact configuration of clutch and accelerator and gears, and hill starts were a particular nightmare - I was constantly convinced I'd slip back into the car behind me. So the parking uphill alternative is the one that evokes an emotional reaction for me - pointing downhill is definitely to be prefered!
DeleteAmstr, I too associate that phrase with you.
DeleteSpanish version of abstract, write and send. NO
ReplyDeleteCatch up with teaching. NO
Service things. YES, and how!
Other housekeeping -- books, files, computer files. NO
Commentary: mega-service took over. It has been an awful year for that and it was unplanned -- happened due to a change in administration, certain things just had to be fought. But, have turned corner on this and finished almost everything that must be finished. Also, decided that unless a certain committee chair changes I will quit said committee, discharging the last of my duties by 1 May.
Next goals:
Spanish version of abstract, write and send.
Catch up with teaching.
Extra credit:
Other housekeeping -- books, files, computer files.
Downslope: always leave notes about what the next starting point is, so I have them to look at when I come back and also so they will be at the back of my mind and grow like seeds.
HAving an end-date for service sounds like a lovely idea!
DeleteTruly! The chair of the college-level committee and university-level committee both felt compelled to remind us this week that both are standing committees and will not cease.
Deletegoal: finish proposal, find participants
ReplyDeleteachieved: I finished the proposal and sent out a call for participants. I also posted the survey.
analysis: Thanks in part to the Easter holiday, I put research and writing ahead of grading and class prep. In fact, I still haven’t done any grading yet this weekend!
next week’s goal: submit May abstract, touch manuscript every day
on parking downhill: This is a great metaphor for something I have been far from mastering. I realize that I really have not worked on anything consistently this semester, despite thinking back in January this would be an easy time for teaching. I plan to spend some time this week figuring out a work plan for turning this manuscript back into a living, growing thing and will take this week’s wisdom from you all with me.
Glow of Achievement for you!
DeleteYay for easter holidays! And for letting teaching stuff go into second place and get a little neglected, instead of research...
DeleteGoal: Incorporate research into Kzoo draft. Read another 50 pages of article-related book. Spend an hour on article proper.
ReplyDeleteAccomplished: All but the hour on the article. Alas.
Next week: Read through Kzoo draft; fix what's easy; list what needs doing.
(Next week will be pretty nuts: Advising meetings, individual conferences with all of my seminar students, husband out of town, mom here for a visit. Baby seems to be in a growth spurt. If I actually do ANYthing writing-related, I'll be self-congratulatory.)
Downslope: I don't know; I don't have much of a system. Sometimes I do obvious things (leave a note or something about where to start). But really, I'm an inconsistent writer. It pains me.
Congrats on getting some things done! Sounds like next week will be quite a drain on your energy... hope your mom can help out and you get to enjoy her visit a bit
ReplyDelete1: last week's goals.
ReplyDelete15 minutes TWTH
2: achieved.
25 minutes reading and notetaking on Tuesday
3: analysis/comment of what worked and what didn't.
It helped that on Tuesday afternoon, I remembered that I had a goal for Tuesday, though remembering the goal didn't help me on Wednesday or Thursday. On Tuesday, but not Wednesday, I had time in the late afternoon for catching up.
I got good news on Thursday: the article I submitted at end of the fall group was accepted with only minor revisions requested. Now I have something very specific to work on until the 4/8 deadline for sending the final version.
When I ponder why I did not jump into those revisions on Thursday, I end up in that place where I have only negative thoughts about myself. I'll skip the details of the self-criticism which is mostly untrue and certainly not productive. In any case, I have a deadline to keep me focused in the midst of a busy week.
4: next week's goals.
task: Complete the requested revisions for the article. Time: 30 mins TWTh and 1hour Friday.
Yay for having your article accepted! Tell that part of you that is self-critical to hush.
DeleteThat self-critical part needs dousing in Bugge Spray - you got an article accepted! And you found the time to work on Tuesday, for longer than you planned! Progress...
DeleteCongrats on the article getting accepted!
DeleteCongratulations on the article!
Deletetotally congratulations on the article! that is so fantastic. And yay for writing groups that help us to get there.
DeleteKiwi2
Hello, all,
ReplyDeleteGoals: revise the paper. make a plan for a new paper. tidy up home and office.
Achieved: well, I did tidy up home and office, though there are still some work needs to be done, but much better. I have started to make a plan, but my revision has not yet been started.
Analysis: I am still quite in a mess at home, but my new office looks much better. I made a memo on my new paper, but somehow I have not started revising my paper yet, which is the most needed. My new job starts tommorrow, so maybe I feel like looking ahead, not revising my 'written up' paper, though I KNOW I must do it...
Next Goals: revision of my paper. Other than preparation for classes, I am going to concentrate on this.
Wonderful to know that there will be the Writing Group again! Thank you Dame Eleanor! Certainly I would like to join in!
Having a tidy office sounds like quite an achievement, as well as a paper plan. Hope the new job goes well and the paper revision progresses swiftly
DeleteThank you for your comment, JaneB! I hope the tidy office helps me to have a good start.
DeleteI saw on Twitter that it's Hug a Medievalist Day, so virtual hugs to those in the group!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.medievalists.net/2013/03/30/hug-a-medievalists-day/
Last week's goal: no goal set (busy conferencing)
ReplyDeleteI am renewed after my conference!! Although I am still not happy with the paper that I presented, it was well received, and so I am pleased with that. I met some very pleasant people on the East Coast, and also met one of the goddesses of my field. I had a refreshing time with my friend who I was on the panel with. I also spent time in Philadelphia with a personal friend. He showed me around the city and took care of me. You know, we all need those lovely people in our lives who just get us!! Although I was a day late getting back (it's hard to fly in/out of the middle of nowhere on one coast to the other), I did spend all day Saturday in my office. I got about 7hrs of decent work in.
OH! I picked up an excellent book at the airport, and I recommend it to any woman over the age of 40...Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess), "Let's Pretend This Never Happened." Oh my goodness, but this book is fantastic, but not for the faint-hearted.
Next week's goal: T/R 7hrs and MWF 1-2hrs.
Commentary: I had hoped to defend this semester, but it doesn't look like I will. BUT, I am putting everything I've got into getting as close as possible.
The downhill....I'm not sure that I do this well. Probably for the reason that people noted above--multitasking takes the energy out of everything. I tend to just stop and go on, or jot down notes. I just don't always go back to them. However, yesterday I made bubble notes in the margin of my chapter so that I know exactly what I need to do today. What also works for me is giant sticky notes. I can actually make some in-depth notes on them and then stick them to pages.
Sounds like a really good conference experience! Hope you can take that energy and at least translate it into a completed thesis, if not a defended one...
DeleteI follow TheBloggess.com in my RSS feed. Delightful, strange, and definitely not for the faint-hearted.
DeleteYay for being renewed after the conference! I, too, love The Bloggess. Good luck finding your downhill slope that heads to the finish line!
DeleteI picked up that same book--also at an airport!--last year. I was on my way home from my PhD uni, and it was just what I needed. When she and her husband argued about the undead (dead!), I laughed so hard I cried.
DeleteCongrats on the conference!
Last week's goal: Start filling in the literature review for article B.
ReplyDeleteAccomplished: Yes. I spent a couple of hours on it. Yay for me!
Analysis: I'm not enthused about this project, but it does have utility beyond showing my "sustained performance," so I'm repeating that mantra. As a good sign, I haven't found much literature of interest to review. I am also distracted by awaiting results on further medical tests.
Next week's goal: Begin the survey question creation for article B.
Topic: I need to use the "parking downhill" paradigm more often that I do, especially for portions of the writing that I do not especially enjoy, or when I have a small slice of time.
One trick I do use is a sort of free-associative exercise for the next piece in the outline before I quit work for any amount of time. Often the terms help to jumpstart me where I was when I left off.
Yay, glow of achievement! And it can be nice when there isn't anything to read...
Deletehope the medical results are equally dull and free of drama...
Sending you good thoughts for good test results!
DeleteBest wishes regarding the test results.
DeleteYes, Jane, this is a time when finding nothing to read is good--fresh soil for the trowel. The only thing I like better is having someone so off base I get a good argument out of it. *grin*
DeleteThank you, Jane, Jodi, and GEW, for the good thoughts about the tests. Dull is definitely good in this case. :)
Amstr here
ReplyDeletegoals for last week: 1) refine thesis and abstract, send to writing partner, 2) develop structure and bad topic sentences, 3) read 3 articles + take notes on 2 articles, 4) park on a downhill slope.
accomplished: nada
analysis: can OBE stand for Overwhelmed By Everything? We're heading into our final week of landscaping, so things should let up soon. I did actually read 2/3 of a very important chapter from a key book. We'll be traveling for spring break this week, so I'm not likely to get much done.
goals for the week: re-park diss. downhill.
April must be the month for buckling down and getting this final chapter done.
I think it should have both meanings. Have a good trip, and come back raring to go to work!
DeleteHave a good trip!
DeleteMaybe your new yard will work wonders with feng shui, and you'll have a burst of productivity when its over!
DeleteAnyway, I hope you have a great trip, and I'm so bummed that I'll be gone when you are here!
Goal: 500 words; achieved? Didn't get quite that far, sigh. I hope the craziness will be over after this coming week; I really underestimated how much service work was all needing to be done at the same time, and how much it would take out of me.
ReplyDeleteThat said, parking on the downhill slope is EXACTLY what I need to learn how to do. I haven't gotten any real writing done for over two weeks, and it's partly due to being OBE, but partly because I happened to reach a really good stopping point, and... stopped. I'm not quite sure where to start picking it up again, but I need to just go in and write half a sentence, or something, to leave something hanging so I can go back in and pick it up!
Next week: heading to a conference and will still be a little OBE, but I want to get my head back into this: goal is to LOOK at the damned thing at least 5 minutes per day, even if I don't write anything.
Not getting quite that far does imply that you got somewhere anyway! Service work can be a real drag - after all, we're not trained in it, and rarely supported in doing it properly either. The qualities that make someone a good academic don't always translate into making them good committee members... in fact, make that almost never translate into making them good committee members.
DeleteGood stopping points can be quite a nuisance... hope you enjoy the conference and get lots of inspiration from it!
Have a great conference and I second the hope that you get inspired from it!
DeleteLast week's goals: Look at MS data; begin drafting Frameworks presentation; draft out BE discussion
ReplyDeleteAccomplished: Briefly looked at MS data; halfway through drafting Frameworks presentation; didn't get to BE discussion but edited the rest and sent to co-authors
Analysis: It was another bad week with lots of intensive grading. This has not been a fun semester at all. When I finally looked at the MS data I realized my co-author sent me the wrong dataset. It really feels like very little productive writing took place this week. Next week really needs to get better.
Next week's goals: Finish drafting Frameworks presentation; draft BE discussion
Discussion: I'm not sure if I park downhill or not. One of the best strategies for me is to do even a little bit on a paper every other day or so. When that doesn't happen, I restart by reading whatever it is I've recently done. I also constantly write myself memos at each step of the process, so if I'm reading for a paper I'll write a memo that incorporates notes on where I think it fits in the paper. That helps me remember those fleeting thoughts and pick it back up again, even if significant time has passed.
that sounds like 'parking downhill' to me... it's so frustrating when you get the wrong dataset, especially when you've finally found the time/motivation to actually dive into analysis. 'very little' is still more productive work than none; hope the marking is less onerous this week.
Deletegoal:first, do half an hour of research-related something every week day. second, get a rough - may be very rough! - draft of that paper with the MSc student done. Of ALL of it.
ReplyDeleteachieved: I did do quite a lot of research related stuff, and as the first or the second thing done every day. However, most of it was not actually research WRITING, or reading - I've met with collaborators, begun a new sequence of simulations, done some more bench work. The paper with the Msc student, well, it's gained another couple of paragraphs and I came up with a new point for the discussion. It's still going very slowly... but it did go, a little.
analysis: I had quite a productive week, but it was a scattered week also, and I need to commit to actually FINISH some things. The discussion about multitasking above did give me pause for thought. I'm not a great 'do one thing at a time' person, never have been, but two or three is probably enough for any one day or week. The problem with this job is that one is very rarely allowed to stick with a small number of problems - whether it be trying to juggle the needs of multiple modules or the last-minute-ness of administrative demands or just a colleague or student needing to talk. There's too MUCH variety in the day to day and, at least for me in my current (and I know priviledged) position as a mid-career 'continuing' academic, rather too much 'same old' in the longer term as the same courses and the same discussions and urgent changes of course and nags for Excellence for Less come around and around.
goal for next week: It's the last week of our 'spring break', so I want to make the most of it in research writing terms (before you get too jealous of my three week 'spring break', remember our semester-related duties, exam boards etc. go on well into June - the summer officially starts June 10th, but the last committee/examining commitment is something like June 26th or 27th, so summer is still a loooong way off. So I want to a) continue to do something research-like first every day, b) write up what I've done so far with the simulations, outline what the next step is (I am embarrassingly bad at parking computer stuff on a downhill slope) and outline the paper they're going to turn into and c) finish the damn draft of the wretched paper with the MSc student.
topic: I'm erratic at parking on a downhill slope when it comes to writing. Sometimes I leave sensible notes to self in the document, sometimes I make a few notes on a postit or in my daybook, but I think most often I get interrupted so never actually park at all, just abandon it in the middle of the street. I also benefit as a writer from chucking everything out and starting over with a brand new draft (happens at least twice per piece of writing), so parking in any way isn't always appropriate. As someone said above, I would love to be consistent, but I'm not, and I don't quite know how to be without having a different job and context to work in...
Congrats on getting a lot of research done!
DeleteIt sounds as if you did make good progress this week! I hope your last week of break is productive AND even somewhat restful.
DeleteI know what you mean about multi tasking, and the need to flit between different demands. It can make concentrating and achieving a 'decent' amount hard. But, progressing by a couple of paragraphs is great. Its visible and there.K2
DeleteGoal: way too much
ReplyDeleteAccomplished: 3 12-minute sessions (it's something)
Analysis: trouble shifting gears into spring break, plus visiting husband and night class continuing
Next week's goal: 1) 5 12-minute sessions; 2) 1 ms. submission; 3) 1 mag submission
Parking on a downhill slope: I send myself emails reminding myself of what I'm going to do next, or leave notes in the Word file ditto. The problem is getting back to the car!
Oh, I like the idea of sending yourself emails! That puts the writing right there in the middle of all the other busy, not off in its own file that you may never get to touch in a busy day...
DeleteIt *is* something. Good luck finding the car! :)
ReplyDeleteLast week's goal: 1000 words and work on the dissertation every day
ReplyDeleteAccomplished: Good grief. No.
Analysis: I was OBEverything (I like that) - Tank, family drama, you name it. I didn't even have class on Friday, thanks to working (ha) at a religious school, so once Tank was truly ok (he is and thanks to everyone again for their concern and best wishes), I should have gotten past it, but I was too rattled. Luckily, I don't have class on Monday, either (seriously, a religious school that's not too brainwashy is a pretty sweet gig...if they didn't treat adjuncts like academic serfs), so I'm hoping to spend all day tomorrow writing.
Next week's goal: Write a ton Monday and Tuesday. Hopefully finish the revised first chapter by Wednesday. Grade exams by Friday. That's quite enough to get back into the swing of things. Again.
Comment: I'm a sporadic downhill parker. I leave myself lots of little notes throughout my writing (so many that I wonder how it inflates my word count sometimes), but sometimes they aren't good enough signposts and it takes awhile to get the car rolling again. Let's hope that's not the case this week.
Sometimes the reaction only comes after the crisis is over - be kind to yourself for a few days! And here's hoping for a couple of great writing days, and some humorous exam howlers rather than the kind that make you want to poke your eyes out rather than read any more...
DeleteI am glad Tank is okay, and I hope today is a good day!
DeleteKiwi2
ReplyDeleteLast week’s goal: Improved draft of the grant proposal. Draft of associated one page blurb and summary. Tweak paper X.
Accomplished: An improved draft completed, done and dusted. Vague draft of one page blurb. No summary. Paper X tweaked.
Next goal: Final draft of grant proposal, one pager and summary. Send paper X to collaborator B. Start gathering data files for next paper all in one place. I am also involved in a conference this week, giving a paper and chairing, so the last goal could be over ambitious.
Commentary: The draft funding proposal has improved a lot, but still needs work. Parts are well written, but it doesn’t yet hang together well. I feel very flat, and over this - Overall, I’m really looking forward to getting over this one and moving on, back to paper writing where I feel a much stronger sense of achievement when I get stuff done.
I often leave work with a sentence or paragraph almost, but not quite complete, almost in the middle of a train of thought. It makes it very easy to pick up the next day.
Yay, one glow of achievement! It's frustrating to be over something that isn't finished, hope the conference inspires you to get it done!
DeleteLast week's goal: two early mornings and two hours on Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteAccomplished: Yes, I did both of those things, and I put some additional hours in on Saturday and tonight, Sunday.
Analysis: It's 12:30, and I just sent off my chapter draft to my supervisor! It's just a partial draft (only about 23 pages), but it's enough to give her a sense of my direction. We'll see each other at a conference this week, so I really wanted to send it. I'm a little nervous since no one else has read it yet, but I just didn't have time.
Next week: Pack, drive to LA, fly to conference. Grade. Do some accreditation work. Enjoy myself. Read some leisure books and dissertation books. Miss my family terribly. Come home. Oh and this: Write conference proposal on new shiny topic.
Topic: When in short-term parking, my downhill slope involves little notes to myself at the end of my text--like a little scratch outline of what should come next.--and these notes seems effective. It's the long-term downhill parking that I struggle with. In this regard, I'm like heu mihi: I'm inconsistent. The long-term parking is a killer.
Yay, a glow of OVERachievement coming your way! Hope you have a great meeting with your supervisor, and get lots of positives from the conference too.
DeleteI hope the conference is a great inspiration! And congrats on getting your chapter draft off!
DeleteLast week's goals: I almost finished everything. I think I have only two pieces left. And edits from my advisor.
ReplyDeleteAnalysis: I've found that blocking off a morning or two a week just for writing has helped me a lot. Afternoons won't work because I'm tired by then and it seems like a good idea to do bench work. I'll be so glad when this fellowship stuff is done.
Next week: Finish fellowship application.
Topic: I'm awful about this. Generally, I have to go back through my lab notebooks and try to decipher the cryptic messages I've left to myself. I'm trying to write semi-weekly summaries about where I am in the writing and bench work stuff. However, I'm not so great about remembering to do that!
One glow of achievement for getting stuff done! It does make a difference to give some of your 'best' time to writing, doesn't it?
DeleteI try to write a weekly summary on Friday afternoons but fail at least as often as I succeed - there's usually something to finish, or I've just Had Enough!
Goal: draft of conference paper.
ReplyDeleteAchieved: ummm not quite. Maybe by the end of today? Certainly by this Friday... when I have to present it.
Analysis: A rather sluggish week. Writing a paper from scratch is always harder than I think it will be. Especially when I'm going by instinct rather than relying on, you know, actual research I have conducted in a co-ordinated and timely manner. Yikes.
Next week: well, Finish paper.
Topic: I try to keep notes for myself as to where my writing is going next, but my long term memory is terrible. Parking short-term is fine. Parking longterm? That's where I've got to get myself more organised. In fact, I find it best to finish work in as much detail as possible, otherwise it just becomes a mess and I spend as much time "reminding" myself of the material as I did becoming familiar with it in the first place.
Hope the presentation goes well!
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