Making the Most of a Semester "Off"

I'm writing this as a break from working on the co-edited book that is the bane of my existence.  Our initial deadline was 10/1, our extended deadline 10/31.  While I could just be done, I'm trying to create a bit of space for my collaborator to actually have a voice (like, it would be nice if she contributed to the description that will be on the book jacket, say).  So I'm sort of waiting, as I've been waiting, and being frustrated.

I've been looking forward to having this done and moving on to the next thing for a long time.  But instead of being able to dive right in to the next BIG THING, the two book projects (related) I'll be working on when I'm "on leave"* in the spring, November it seems will be chock full of committee work and cleaning up the mess from October.  I'm on a search committee for a junior position that I'm guessing will net about 150 applications (which is low in general, but I think the ad was crafted in a smart way to do some of the weeding out).  Grad students are suddenly coming out of the woodwork; I have three students at the comps stage and two sending chapters.  My undergrad thesis advisee will have a complete draft in a few weeks.  I'm in the process of getting two or three research interns in place, so that requires review, interviews, etc.  I'm in charge of another guest writer coming in.  And more.

But.  I really want to start moving toward the direction of writing and reading and generally being immersed in my work.  Right now it feels too much like checking off tasks instead of doing meaningful things.  So I just bought Colson Whitehead's Underground Railroad so as soon as the book ms is off my desk I at least want to spend some time remembering why it is I do what I do.  And then I need to start making a careful plan for making use of next semester, complete with a reading list.  The last time I was on leave, I had a nursing infant (who was at one of his lowest points in terms of sleep, and recovering from surgery, and then getting used to daycare and constantly ill) so while it was nice it wasn't the most productive.  This time, it's going to be grand.  But, if there are any academics out there who have tips for making the most of such time, send them my way!



* The way this works in my department is that grants and such buy out teaching in order to preserve research time; they do not excuse you from service, unlike on a "sabbatical," though I have some (junior) colleagues who believe this to be the case, which is a constant source of departmental disagreement and angst.

Working on the Weekend (or Not)

Now that I'm tenured* I don't work all that much on weekends.  This past weekend involved getting haircuts for the kids, cleaning up around the house, a Halloween party, grocery shopping, a tiny bit of yard work, having friends over for dinner.  I worked from 3-5 on Sunday, courtesy of my weekend (high school) babysitter, which is enough to make up for the fact that I pick up Tiny Boy relatively early on weekdays (usually 4:45) and try to prioritize time with my kids in the evenings.

When I was an assistant professor--and especially during the era of fertility treatment when LG was 4-7--I worked regularly on weekends; often this took the form of going to Burger King or some such place for a few hours so she could play and I could grade, and, at various times, the Sunday afternoon babysitter.  I also worked pretty much any time she was watching TV.  Pre-Tiny Boy (which is also pre-tenure), working on the weekends worked better for us than later pick ups from daycare, as she was a child who went to bed early (like, I seem to recall 6:30 as a bedtime in the 4-6, post-nap era).

Now I get little done (for work) in the evenings, as Tiny Boy doesn't fall asleep until about 8:30 and LG 9:30-10:00, and I'd really like to be asleep myself by 10:30.  Weekends, too, I'm trying to prioritize being with my kids.  What this means in practical terms is I have less time to work.  I think maybe I'm more efficient than I used to be.  (I'm also less doped up on hormones and spending less time in the car or the doctor's office.)  I'm also teaching less (this stops next year, as I gave up administrating).

This isn't some treatise on why you shouldn't work on weekends.  I don't think this is a one-size-fits-all issue.  But 2-3 hours** seems to be the right amount for me to (a) feel like I have a legitimate weekend and (b) not go into the work week crazed.

I had a really nice weekend.  And Monday hasn't been bad as a result.


*I've been tenured since late 2011.  Weird.

** I'm not counting reading.  That's a whole other beast.

Conference Time

I've been in Toronto since Thursday night for a conference.  I'd hoped to do some exploring but lost that opportunity as my 3:35 flight ended up being 10:05 flight for an assortment of mystifying reasons that would have made me insane, had I been traveling with my children.  but I wasn't.  So I read the book I'd brought (Sharon Olds' Odes) and then bought three magazines from the newsstand.  And graded everything I had with me.  And even cracked out an adult coloring book.

The rest of the conference has been meaningful.  I'm staying at a nice hotel, but not the conference hotel, which means I get to walk around a bit.  I promoted books.  I met some folks.  I talked to some folks I'd met at this conference before.  It's the right size conference for me.  But after eight hours of talks I was sort of done.  So tonight I came back to my room and watched Orphan Black because damn it, I am going to write about IVF and cloning.  Actually I have a page full of ideas to do once I get done with the current project, which is due (late) on Oct 30.

But I met my conference goals: talk to people I don't know,get names of things to read, and artists (oh my goodness feminist artists!!) and ideas for papers, poems, books, even visual arts.

And then we used Skype to talk and poor Tiny Boy has a mashed up chin from an ice skating debacle, so my mom will take him to get stitches (probably) in the morning.  Poor kid.

I Cleaned My Desk Yesterday

I remember before LG was born cleaning my desk (at home) and thinking if I didn't do it RIGHT THEN it wasn't going to happen until she was four (I don't know why four, but I think my intuition was pretty good).

I try to clean off my desk at work at the end of the semester, or at the very least, the beginning of the next one.  That didn't happen last spring, or even really this fall.  And then things started piling up.  I don't handle visual clutter very well.

For once I didn't have students during office hrs, or drop in visits from colleagues, or any prep I needed to do, and even email was dealt with.  That is, yesterday afternoon everything on my list for yesterday afternoon was done.  I cleaned my desk.  There's still one pile in the corner of things that need to be filed.  But I left campus with a sense of calm.

Tiny Boy is going to be five in a month.  By then, I will have submitted my book ms.  Next semester I'm ON LEAVE.  I might actually feel like I'm on top of things and moving on to whatever this next phase is...

October Overwhelm

So...I didn't accept that position.  I am very happy with my decision, especially as I ended up getting a pretty substantial raise anyway (I was WAY underpaid, then got a sizeable bump last year and again this year).  Of course, I haven't looked at national averages recently because I do not want to be sad when it turns out I am still underpaid.

Even so, October is (predictably) turning out to be crazy.

I had a conference the first weekend of October; Thursday I am headed to Toronto for another.  (The papers are related but still required new material, and slides.  I hate making the slides, but they are pretty, and sort of necessary when talking about ART!)  I turned in a grant proposal last Friday.  Then we got an extension on the book ms (originally due Oct 1, now Oct 31).  But that will require some doing.

And it's the month of visiting writers!  And Tiny Boy's birthday coming up.  (Umm, he will be 5, which is crazy.  The subject of another post, I'm sure)

Our heat is not working (repair guy on the way) which sucks because it was 38 degrees this morning.  Yes, 38.  (It was 78 on Friday.)

This is all usual October stuff.  I'm not going to say it will be better in November, but I am very glad at least that come December 15 I get a reprieve...