Monthly Update: February 2020
Just a quick note before you head into the blog post. Are you an academic who is trying to figure out your long term planning processes? My planning course, plan(it)*, can help support you as you figure that out. Check out the link for more info.
reflection
First of all, I can. not. believe. that March is here. Which means soon it will be April and then May and then summer (I feel like my life revolves around how far away summer is). If I can make it through February, I can usually trick myself into thinking that spring is right around the corner (even though March is pretty much the same thing… granted flowers are blooming outside right now and it’s been sunny so apparently spring has arrived).
What’s been going on for us this month in the Toddler on the Tenure Track household? Work, preschool, playgrounds, the occasional dinner or brunch with friends, nothing too out of the ordinary. Ellie has been having some serious tantrums lately. We're in a weird "no nap but needs a nap" phase, which makes emotions run high.
Here are a few of my favorite tantrums from this month:
One morning before preschool Ellie refused to eat her breakfast because Mike wasn’t feeding it to her. She sat at the table, screaming and demanding to be hand fed. She even went as far as to pick up the food and hold it out for Mike with the hopes that he'd feed her… just put the food in your mouth, child!!
One evening, she used the bathroom and took her pants off. She came back out with no pants on and demanded that her pants be put back on. Mike offered to help with the process if she said please and brought the pants to him (he was in the kitchen). She brought the pants just over the threshold of the kitchen, threw them on the ground, and then refused to say please. The situation turned into Ellie screaming, throwing a flashlight on the ground, and then stomping on it.
We’ve clearly have some “fun” lately, and it’s exhausting. With all the fun, plus the general grieving process, some health stuff, and life in general, this month was focused on lightening my load at work. For the most part, I’m saying no to anything new and only focusing on active research projects and teaching. I just don’t have the mental capacity to add more things to the list right now.
I pulled myself off of my committee work (with the exception of my lead instructor role) to reduce some of the load. Honestly, what I would really love right now is for summer to start tomorrow. I keep coming up against thoughts like, I’m going to be behind if I don’t apply for this grant, or I “should” be adding more things to my CV. And then I come to my senses and remind myself that I’m a human being, not a robot.
I contemplated applying for a secondary data analysis grant that’s due at the end of March. I could use the dataset from my dissertation and my community partner was on board and interested (although would not be providing substantial support in actually writing it). However, the thought of writing a grant in about a month by myself, plus course prep for spring term, finishing up winter term grading (which is going to be a heavy lift), and trying to be a whole person felt like too much.
Plus, my main motivation was course buyout… we could easily do the project without money. I feel okay about my teaching load for next year, so it didn’t seem worth it. If something else comes up later in the year, I’ll consider it, but for now I’m saying no. I have absolutely no interest in rushing around to meet a goal that I don’t actually care about.
In blog related news, I’m going to start putting my monthly reflections into the newsletter. I’ll still post the things I’ve been working on (i.e, everything below) on the blog, it just won’t include my reflection. If you’re interested in following along with the reflections, be sure to sign up for the newsletter!
On that note, here's what I've been up to this month...
research
Paper 2: I put this paper on hold in favor of moving forward with the systematic review and focus group data collection project.
R + R: Last month I mentioned that we resubmitted a paper that was on it’s third round of revisions (and submitted way back in 2018 [I think?!]). I got an email this month saying that the paper was officially accepted!! Phew… what a long process this one was.
Systematic review: Continuing to extract info from the articles we selected for full review into a spreadsheet. It’s been fun to read articles in depth, I feel like I haven’t actually done that in a long time. I’m usually speed reading through something to find the little piece of information that I need and moving on.
Focus group data collection: This project is connected to the systematic review. They’re both focused on self-care in postpartum women during the later postpartum period (6+ months out). This month I put together the IRB application which included a bunch of forms, recruitment materials, focus group guide, and thinking through some other logistical pieces with my community partner.
Funding application(s): One application is due in August and then another opportunity came up for March (that I mentioned above). This month I felt out the “do-ability” of the March submission, reviewing the requirements, how much leg work it would take on my part, and the other things I’ve got going on. Ultimately I decided against it. I’m thinking the same will happen for the summer submission (in part because of my capacity, community partner interest/ability, and logistics if we are indeed moving in 2021).
teaching
Online research methods teaching: So much grading, and just general course management. This month I reviewed and provided feedback for two article activities, reviewed and updated grades for two discussion posts, provided feedback and grades for assignment 2, and reviewed mid-quarter feedback/responded to things that were brought up.
Online stats prep: I haven’t taught this course online before so there are a lot of videos to put together. I created the overall structure this summer but didn’t have a chance to get the videos created. They are definitely taking me longer than anticipated; however, I’m building my video editing skills, which is fun and means that I’m getting faster as I go. This month I was able to create and edit videos for weeks 2 and most of 3. I was super ambitious and thought I could get through week 5, but week 3 proved to be really time consuming. My revised goal is to get through week 5 by the end of March. Considering that in the past I’ve just been a week ahead with video creation, this feels really spacious. I’m trying to balance course prep with course management for next term as I’ll have significantly more students than I’m used to across the two courses I’m teaching.
Lead instructor: This is the one service responsibility that I held onto because it goes right along with one of the courses I’m teaching next term (which I also need to prep for, but not as much as the stats course). This month I had a few meetings related to this role, one got rescheduled and the other was a check-in with other lead instructors for other courses.
service + admin
Student applications: I finished reviewing 26 grad student applications for admission into our program.
Scholarship applications: I reviewed and scored a few (6 I believe) scholarship applications for a local organisation that provides scholarships to students who have been impacted by addictions in some way.
Planning: I’m continuing to plan out the next week on Friday at the end of the day.
personal
Toddler on the Tenure Track/plan(it)*: I did lots of writing this month, focusing on getting posts written so that I can dedicate time to plan(it)* revisions for this summer. I wrote/finalized this month’s post on postpartum scheduling and also this post that you’re reading. I also drafted 5 more posts to varying degrees. Just trying to get a little bit ahead.
Meditation: I’m on day 45 with my 10 minute daily practice!
Health: I’m continuing my back exercises, lifting/cardio routine and also going to 3 million doctors visits. Lifting has felt really good. I’m keeping things light, but am feeling increasingly stronger with the Olympic lifts. I’ve been following the starter Olympic lifting program by Catalyst Athletics and then alternating with fitness blender workouts. Ellie sometimes joins me while I lift. She’ll grab a PVC pipe, do what I do and then we throw a ball in between sets (which I think is what she likes best). I’m also experimenting with my diet. I’m working towards removing dairy and eggs. I’ve had skin issues that don’t seem to be responding to anything else. I’ve cut out dairy before, but never eggs (and we eat a lot of eggs). Still working on the plan for what this looks like… I’m referring to it as my “vegan” with meat meal plan 😂.
Budget: Nothing too exciting happening here. I’m updating our budget weekly. Mike did our taxes. We’ve eased up on student loan payoff mode while we think about what the next few years might look like and if we need more of a savings cushion to help us through it.
See you next month!