When I first started writing these weekly reflections, Ellie was consistently napping each day, which proved to be a convenient time to review the past week, reflect a bit, and push publish on the post. Now a nap means she’ll be up until 10:30pm (at least), and still getting up around 7:00am, no thanks!
Read MoreFeeling 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.
Read MorePutting my main tasks in writing each week is making me think a lot about how much I “should” be doing and what’s “enough” for a tenure track faculty member to be doing. Looking at my list for the week makes me uncomfortable. Between research and teaching I see four projects and think, “Is that all? Why am I not doing more?”
Read MoreWe took a trip to the Columbia River at the end of August and it was lovely. It also made us realize how much we love the ocean. We had some money in our travel savings fund, so we figured, it’s there, let’s use it instead of just having it sit there. So, we went to Cannon Beach this weekend, a place that we’ve been for day trips before but never to stay the night.
Read MoreMy main takeaway this week has been to slow down and listen to my body (which feels like it’s been my life main lesson since Ellie was born). I’ve been feeling a little “off” lately, experiencing things like shortness of breath and a racing pulse. I happened to have a doctor’s appointment scheduled for my back and was considering whether I should ask them to give my heart an extra listen… turns out I didn’t have to ask.
Read MoreWeek 1 of the term is done. Even though I’m not teaching this term I still felt that nervous excitement (or is it apprehension 😄) about the beginning of the year. I’m also still in disbelief that it’s October already. Time just keeps on going. Although this week felt pretty light in terms of the number of things I was doing, I did have some big wins (quality, not quantity, right?!). I submitted my fourth year review, finished the initial round of reviewing article titles for a systematic review project with a collaborator, finalized a poster presentation for a conference in November, and am 99% done my prep for winter term!
Read MoreThis was a week where pretty much everything went the way I hoped… no major curve balls thrown my way, which felt really nice. After feeling like I couldn’t “catch up” from our January trip, it was nice to finally get to a place where the pace of work feels more manageable. So… the 5 day/4 night conference trip that we all took in January had about a month long impact on work/home life. Is that worth it? I’m not so sure. Granted, it would have looked a lot different had I not been teaching or teaching fewer classes or if both classes were 100% ready to go before the term started. Certainly helpful to think about for future conference travel and the ripple effect it has on stress levels returning home.
Read MoreHad my last 9-5 teaching day this past Friday (until next term) and it feels nice to know that I get a few weeks off from being on for 8 hours straight. Slowly but surely I’m infusing more research time back into my schedule as prep for my online course winds down. I’m curious to see how prep for next term’s online class goes since I’ve taught it once before. Fingers crossed that it’s not as intensive as this term. I’m continuing to do a decent job at putting boundaries around work time, not letting it slip into personal/family time. On a lot of days this means that all the things I wanted to get done don’t actually get finished… which is okay because they’ll be there tomorrow and the next day and the next day.
Read MoreProgress this week. I’m feeling more and more like a whole person again. A person who is more than just a professor. In addition to grading and course prep and office hours and writing papers and meetings (and all the other things that go along with academic life), I did puzzles with Ellie, I had pizza with friends, I worked out, I vegged in front of the TV with Mike, I wrote for the blog, I read a book for fun… and so many other things that often get pushed to the side when work gets hectic, but are all very necessary for my version of a sustainable life.
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