Well, it has (once again) been a crazy busy semester (I guess that's no surprise). I'm teaching 2 classes at 2 different colleges-- one is a new prep for me and is turning out to be a little more work than I had originally planned (again, why am I surprised by that? I shouldn't be). The good news: I got through one draft of my dissertation proposal, and have been in the process of editing that draft. I've had to do some additional reading to strengthen certain sections of the proposal. Unfortunately, most of my notes from that reading haven't made it into the proposal yet. Can we say, crazy winter? Between snow days and children's illnesses, I've gotten a bit thrown off. I seriously think that I have some issues with concentration. I'm one of those people who can't read (and comprehend) well with ANY background noise (TV, music, kids, etc). Not to mention writing. I used to be able to listen to music and write papers in undergrad...I honestly don't know what happened between then and now (well, it has been several years...). I wish that I was one of those people who could go to a coffee shop, bookstore, or even library (well, the latter establishments are supposed to be quiet, but not always) and get a good amount of work done. Anyways...I've already gotten thrown off from the original stuff I wanted to say by talking about how I get distracted.
As a means of holding myself accountable, I wanted to start doing some regular postings (not sure how I would define "regular" yet) entitled, "advice that I should take myself." Much of these are going to fall into the realm of time management-- something I really need to get a better handle on. So, here are a few of my random thoughts for the first post in this very informal series:
1. Make YOUR academic work a priority. If you are teaching as an adjunct instructor whilst working on any aspect of your dissertation (proposal, research, writing the final product), put your dissertation work first. Of course, you have to prep for your class, but don't overdo it. Give yourself a set amount of time each week and try not to exceed that time limit. One of my advisors told me once that we often over prepare for class, and in the end all of that "over preparation" doesn't do us or the students any better. Even when it comes to grading-- students will be anxious and ask about grades. I usually try to get things back within a week, but sometimes I've had to increase that time limit due to various circumstances (size of the class, type of assignment, personal circumstances, other deadlines, etc). I try to give them a rough estimate of when they can expect grades, but no one is perfect. Some students will be less anxious and more understanding than others. Some could honestly care less. The whole point is, give your best time to your dissertation work, or comprehensive exam prep, or whatever you are working on at the time being in your program. Try not to get aggravated or give too much emotional energy to demanding students. Again, I am trying to work on this myself, and I need to take my own advice.
2. Try to use (or at least TRY) a time management program/technique. I've heard quite a bit about the pomodoro (or tomato) technique. I even downloaded an app on my phone for it. Try to focus on specific tasks for a short amount of time (I think the pomodoro suggests 25 minutes) or maybe a few chunks of time before giving yourself a break/small reward. Theoretically, this can help with issues related to distraction; may apps allow you to track your productivity over a longer period of time. I'm still in the process of figuring out tasks related to my proposal that will fit into smaller time frames so that I am not overwhelmed by what I know should be the end product. I've already been doing this with a part-time research job I am doing for one of my advisors, but I also need to increase my productivity with that.
3. Think of "odd" times throughout the day where you can fit work in. This goes along with #2. I admit, I have gotten away from this this semester between the snow days and sicknesses. I've also just been feeling so dang tired in the evenings, not to mention all of the household duties, spending time with the kids, etc. Ok, and the Olympics has been a distraction; there are 1 or 2 Hindi serials I like to watch at night. However, I know that there are some tasks I could do after the kids go to bed that don't require as much concentration as fitting my reading notes into my proposal draft. Can I update my references section while watching a show? Can I search for some articles for my research job? Alas, I know that I need to do this to make my time during the day less hectic, but it is hard.
And of course, as I've mentioned before, I want to spend time with my family and it is hard to get much done anyways when everyone is home. Needless to say, the weekends haven't been a good time for me to get much work done. We always feel like we're playing catch up with everything else we have to do. I'm going to have to figure something out soon, since we most likely won't be able to afford much child care in the summer and we might have to go back to sending DD part time in the fall. That is another issue that has been stressing me out, especially since I am still scheduled to teach a class in the fall and I am hoping that I will be in the process of conducting my research by then, but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, I really have to get to work!
To all dealing with ice and snow, stay safe and warm!!!
As a means of holding myself accountable, I wanted to start doing some regular postings (not sure how I would define "regular" yet) entitled, "advice that I should take myself." Much of these are going to fall into the realm of time management-- something I really need to get a better handle on. So, here are a few of my random thoughts for the first post in this very informal series:
1. Make YOUR academic work a priority. If you are teaching as an adjunct instructor whilst working on any aspect of your dissertation (proposal, research, writing the final product), put your dissertation work first. Of course, you have to prep for your class, but don't overdo it. Give yourself a set amount of time each week and try not to exceed that time limit. One of my advisors told me once that we often over prepare for class, and in the end all of that "over preparation" doesn't do us or the students any better. Even when it comes to grading-- students will be anxious and ask about grades. I usually try to get things back within a week, but sometimes I've had to increase that time limit due to various circumstances (size of the class, type of assignment, personal circumstances, other deadlines, etc). I try to give them a rough estimate of when they can expect grades, but no one is perfect. Some students will be less anxious and more understanding than others. Some could honestly care less. The whole point is, give your best time to your dissertation work, or comprehensive exam prep, or whatever you are working on at the time being in your program. Try not to get aggravated or give too much emotional energy to demanding students. Again, I am trying to work on this myself, and I need to take my own advice.
2. Try to use (or at least TRY) a time management program/technique. I've heard quite a bit about the pomodoro (or tomato) technique. I even downloaded an app on my phone for it. Try to focus on specific tasks for a short amount of time (I think the pomodoro suggests 25 minutes) or maybe a few chunks of time before giving yourself a break/small reward. Theoretically, this can help with issues related to distraction; may apps allow you to track your productivity over a longer period of time. I'm still in the process of figuring out tasks related to my proposal that will fit into smaller time frames so that I am not overwhelmed by what I know should be the end product. I've already been doing this with a part-time research job I am doing for one of my advisors, but I also need to increase my productivity with that.
3. Think of "odd" times throughout the day where you can fit work in. This goes along with #2. I admit, I have gotten away from this this semester between the snow days and sicknesses. I've also just been feeling so dang tired in the evenings, not to mention all of the household duties, spending time with the kids, etc. Ok, and the Olympics has been a distraction; there are 1 or 2 Hindi serials I like to watch at night. However, I know that there are some tasks I could do after the kids go to bed that don't require as much concentration as fitting my reading notes into my proposal draft. Can I update my references section while watching a show? Can I search for some articles for my research job? Alas, I know that I need to do this to make my time during the day less hectic, but it is hard.
And of course, as I've mentioned before, I want to spend time with my family and it is hard to get much done anyways when everyone is home. Needless to say, the weekends haven't been a good time for me to get much work done. We always feel like we're playing catch up with everything else we have to do. I'm going to have to figure something out soon, since we most likely won't be able to afford much child care in the summer and we might have to go back to sending DD part time in the fall. That is another issue that has been stressing me out, especially since I am still scheduled to teach a class in the fall and I am hoping that I will be in the process of conducting my research by then, but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, I really have to get to work!
To all dealing with ice and snow, stay safe and warm!!!
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