(no subject)
I've been rather quiet on LJ lately, not for lack of things to say, but for lack of eloquence to make what I have to say coherent. Lots of things have been bouncing around my brain, both positive and slightly anxiety-ridden: my joy in the autumn weather and the resultant coziness at home, a vast appreciation for my amazing luck in having the world's best husband, intimidation regarding the famous scholar who has kindly agreed to introduce me around at the AMS conference this week (a very good thing that frightens me nonetheless), work tasks with overly ambitious schedules, school tasks for which I'm having trouble finding time (the time is there - I'm just not managing it well).
Regarding the latter, I just read a very good book that offers strategies for productive dissertation writing, but I have found that I don't work well during time slots that are squeezed between other commitments, even if those slots are quite large. For instance, if I have a whole weekday available for reading and writing, or even a half day between lunch and dinner (where dinner time is flexible and not a set time), I am amazingly productive with dissertation research/writing. I get a ton done, and it's usually good work. However, if I have the morning off but have a commitment at noon, I spend the entire time looking at my watch to make sure I haven't missed my commitment. I get very little done, and it's often of mediocre quality. In other words, I am extraordinarily good with open-ended time, and extraordinarily bad with closed-ended time, even if the time slots are the same length. This is a serious problem with my current schedule, since I only have Tuesday and Friday mornings available for my own work before I have to teach at noon. I have five whole hours to work, from 7am to 12pm, which should be ample time to get many wonderful things accomplished, but I still can't manage to get more than minimal work done because I keep getting antsy and distracted about what the afternoon holds, and things I forgot to do for class, and pieces I neglected to practice for my 1:30pm ensemble rehearsal, and what I need to pick up from the grocery store on the way home, etc.
This is just the way I work, and I'm glad I have discovered it. In future semesters, I can do everything in my power to arrange for afternoons off instead of mornings so I can be consistently productive. However, I can't do anything about it this year, since my class and work schedules are already set, so how do I get around this little "tick" of mine? How do I convince myself that Tuesday and Friday mornings should be treated like afternoons and are off-limits to the running errand list in my brain? One of the strategies in the aforementioned book is to keep a notepad next to you as you work and write down all the random thoughts that interrupt you - the goal is to let these thoughts go once they've been written down, and get back to work. I think I'll try that for now - wish me luck, because if it doesn't work, I'm in trouble this year...
Regarding the latter, I just read a very good book that offers strategies for productive dissertation writing, but I have found that I don't work well during time slots that are squeezed between other commitments, even if those slots are quite large. For instance, if I have a whole weekday available for reading and writing, or even a half day between lunch and dinner (where dinner time is flexible and not a set time), I am amazingly productive with dissertation research/writing. I get a ton done, and it's usually good work. However, if I have the morning off but have a commitment at noon, I spend the entire time looking at my watch to make sure I haven't missed my commitment. I get very little done, and it's often of mediocre quality. In other words, I am extraordinarily good with open-ended time, and extraordinarily bad with closed-ended time, even if the time slots are the same length. This is a serious problem with my current schedule, since I only have Tuesday and Friday mornings available for my own work before I have to teach at noon. I have five whole hours to work, from 7am to 12pm, which should be ample time to get many wonderful things accomplished, but I still can't manage to get more than minimal work done because I keep getting antsy and distracted about what the afternoon holds, and things I forgot to do for class, and pieces I neglected to practice for my 1:30pm ensemble rehearsal, and what I need to pick up from the grocery store on the way home, etc.
This is just the way I work, and I'm glad I have discovered it. In future semesters, I can do everything in my power to arrange for afternoons off instead of mornings so I can be consistently productive. However, I can't do anything about it this year, since my class and work schedules are already set, so how do I get around this little "tick" of mine? How do I convince myself that Tuesday and Friday mornings should be treated like afternoons and are off-limits to the running errand list in my brain? One of the strategies in the aforementioned book is to keep a notepad next to you as you work and write down all the random thoughts that interrupt you - the goal is to let these thoughts go once they've been written down, and get back to work. I think I'll try that for now - wish me luck, because if it doesn't work, I'm in trouble this year...