Weekly Update: 10/28 - 11/3
Halloween 2019: Ellie checking out her stash. Can you spot the nature treasures that she insisted we also take home?!
reflection
Feeling super energized about research this week. I’m working on a funding application that’s really exciting to me, and I also just really love the beginning stages of research project development, where you’re gathering and organizing information and using that info to develop new ideas. Along similar lines, we had the first meeting for a fellowship program that I’m doing this year (which I briefly wrote about in a September weekly update). The program sounds like it’ll be a huge support as I’m working on this funding application, and also for future funding endeavors. As an added perk, it also means that I’ll get to travel to DC in the spring and see my family… always a plus when work travel can be combined with a family trip.
One of the things I’ve been doing a little bit differently with my schedule lately is breaking up my work (counting both official job work and blog related work) into four chunks during the day. I start off with blog work right after waking up (and meditating) and spend about an hour to an hour and a half (depending on if I’m on campus or not) on that before taking an hour-ish “break” to get ready for the day and eat breakfast. I then spend about 4 hours on 2 different projects (changes from day to day) doing writing, editing, or other work that requires lots of focus. I take another break for about 2 hours to answer emails, eat lunch, do easy administrative stuff (for both work and life), and also just let my brain rest and maybe do some exercise. After that I get back to work for another 3-ish hours, usually on course prep, followed by another email session. After that, there’s another “break” for evening family stuff and maybe a little exercise. Depending on Ellie’s bedtime I’ll do a final shorter chunk of blog related work after she’s in bed. When I’m on campus I don’t usually take a long break in the middle of the afternoon because I’d rather get home earlier, but when I’m working from home this structure really helps with managing my energy throughout the day.
Here are my goals for the past week…
research
Paper 2: Goal(s): edit intro writing from last week about limitations, write out main discussion points. Goal(s) met? Yup, continuing to do work on this project in 30 minute daily sessions (during each week day).
Funding application: Goal(s): Create rough draft of specific aims page, reach out to a few potential collaborators about questions/meetings. Goal(s) met? Yes… specific aims page is super rough, but it’s on paper.
teaching
Online research methods course prep: Goal(s): Final review of the online course shell to make sure everything is ready to go. Goal(s) met? Yes! There will be some things i need to update once my specific course shell is available for winter, but for now, I’ve finished everything I can for winter!
Online stats course prep: Goal(s): I haven’t taught this course online yet, and also haven’t taught it in a weekly format in a few years, so I’ve got a lot to adjust. My goals for the week were to get a draft of the syllabus into the online shell and also get a draft of week one content into the shell. Goal(s) met? Yup.
service + admin
Planning: Goal(s): Plan for the week. Goal(s) met? Yup.
PSLF stuff: Goal(s): Bring PSLF form to HR for signature and submit form to FedLoan. Goal(s) met? Yes.
OER text review: Goal(s): Complete review of an OER text that I use (in part) in one of my classes. Goal(s) met? Yes.
meetings, appointments, + events
✓PT appt
✓check in with human dev instructor
✓funding collaborator check in
✓DC fellows meeting
✓Halloween!
✓preschool potluck
✓dinner with friends
personal
Toddler on the Tenure Track: Goal(s): write and post weekly update, finalize monthly newsletter and schedule, finalize November’s blog post, write/finalize November’s budget post. Goal(s) met? Yes to the update, newsletter, and budget post. No to November’s blog post.
plan(it)*: Goal(s): Film final 2 videos. Goal(s) met? Yes.
Meditation: Goal(s): 10 minutes of meditation every day. Goal(s) met? Yes! So close to 100 days.
Budget: Goal(s): Update budget for the week and move money around for summer salary. Goal(s) met? Yup.