goals — Blog — Toddler on the Tenure Track

My Goals for Year Five on the Tenure Track

For me (and so many others), the 2019-2020 school year was one big crisis after another. Although I checked off a lot of the boxes I was "supposed to," on most days I felt like I was just going through the motions. The 2020-2021 school year had a similar feel to it. The pandemic continued to wreak havoc on so many different aspects of life. Not to mention that pregnancy and my mom's continued health challenges made it really difficult to do any sort of professional planning/goal setting... so I didn't! 😅

Tenure and Life UpdatesJillAugust 31, 2021planning, goals, fifth year on the tenure trackComment

Winter 2021 Updates

It’s the end of March and that means its time for a quarterly update, and what a quarter it’s been. Between work, life, the world, growing a human… all the things, I’m exhausted (and I’m sure you are too)!

Tenure and Life UpdatesJillMarch 30, 2021weekly update, meditation, goals, reflection, monthly update, winter updateComment

5 Weekly Planning Strategies Every Academic Should Know

In today's post I'm sharing 5 weekly planning strategies that I've benefitted from during my time as a tenure track faculty member. In general, holding a weekly planning session has helped me achieve my goals and kept the feelings of overwhelm to a minimum. In addition to the general process of planning out my week, there are 5 strategies that I've used throughout my time as a faculty member (and grad student) that have greatly enhanced my weekly planning sessions.

Planning and ProductivityJillMarch 16, 2021planning for the week, planning series, planning, goals, goal settingComment

Identifying Goals for the Week

One key aspect of my weekly planning process involves identifying what I plan to accomplish for the week, aka my weekly goals. Yes, these goals may change as things come up during the week, but I always set them and they help guide my weekly flow. This week’s post walks through a few strategies that make weekly goal setting easier, as well as outlines the current steps I use to set goals each week.

Planning and ProductivityJillFebruary 16, 2021planning for the week, planning series, planning, goals, goal settingComment

Fall 2020 Update

Well, here we are in December and I’ve yet to do a monthly update. As a general practice, I’m always adapting and adjusting anything that feels like it’s not working and that has certainly been the name of the game this fall. With the nausea and exhaustion that pregnancy has brought me there was no way I was getting in monthly updates this term.

Tenure and Life UpdatesJillDecember 22, 2020weekly update, working out, meditation, goals, reflection, monthly update, fall updateComment

My Goals for Year Four on the Tenure Track

My heart aches just thinking about this past academic year (and also thinking about what the upcoming year will bring). The above photo was taken on Ellie’s birthday, in the middle of a pandemic, the day after George Floyd was murdered. Not to mention the loss of my dad and my mom’s stint in the hospital. It was around the time that this photo was taken where I hit my breaking point in the year.

Tenure and Life UpdatesJillSeptember 26, 2020planning, goals, fourth year on the tenure trackComment

Monthly Update: June 2020

July is here and even though at the start of June I was feeling exhausted and energized, this month I think I’m just feeling exhausted. The end of the school year has come and gone and any energy I had has disappeared. Which brings me to my next point, like last summer, I’ll be pausing updates, picking back up in October, or maybe September depending on how I’m feeling.

Tenure and Life UpdatesJillJuly 1, 2020weekly update, working out, meditation, goals, reflection, monthly update, june, june 2020Comment

Monthly Update: May 2020

It's officially June and I'm simultaneously exhausted and energized. It's the end of the term, which means summer is so close. In this month's newsletter I shared a bit about the weekly rhythm that I've gotten into (see above image), how it's working for me, along with what an actual week looked like. Here are my main takeaways from this schedule...

Tenure and Life UpdatesJillJune 1, 2020weekly update, working out, meditation, goals, reflection, monthly update, may 2020, mayComment

Monthly Update: April 2020

Goodbye April, hello May. Here’s an abbreviated version of the reflection I shared in this month’s newsletter about potentially pausing my tenure clock.

Tenure and Life UpdatesJillMay 1, 2020weekly update, working out, meditation, goals, reflection, monthly update, april 2020, aprilComment

Monthly Update: March 2020

Here’s what I worked on during the month of March. If you missed February’s update, I’m moving my reflections to the monthly newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Tenure and Life UpdatesJillMarch 31, 2020weekly update, working out, meditation, goals, reflection, monthly update, march 2020, marchComment