Procrastinatrix Extraordinaire

Need to stay focused?

Behold, some advice on staying motivated on past/long term projects.

The bit about writing-down-your-ideas has, in admittedly a different format and context, kickstarted me in my thesis work after four consecutive semesters of teaching/procrastinating.

My greatest recent moment in terms of thesis productivity occurred one night a week or so ago. I'd spent the entire day wasting time (possibly googling for advice on how to be productive...) and actively hating research. Then, as I was getting ready for bed I suddenly became very enthusiastic and I felt like my entire theoretical framework fell into place, made sense, and even ticked all of those "original contribution to scholarship"-boxes I worry about.

As it happened I had an A4-notepad next to the bed, and several coloured pens on my bedside table. Ten minutes later I had a colourful mind map telling me what to write. The greatest part was that it still made sense the following morning. And it got me through a bulk of my current chapter.

I may try to convince myself that procrastination is an important part of the process for me. But I suspect it was the mindmapping that actually did it.

Seven songs from the tundra

Given I'm a champion procrastinator (so far today I've baked a quiche and a cake and done the dishes twice), and fellow Knowledge Pimp/Wondergrad Danica posted a meme on her blog papercut heart today, I thought I might as well volunteer for tagging. I have also been told to update this here blog more often, so that other people may procrastinate with my gentle assistance (some people need guidance in these matters).

Culture of the Europeans

I've just registered (or applied? I'm not quite sure how it works) for the Donald Sassoon Masterclass Culture of the Europeans at the end of the year, and thought I should perhaps read the good man's book Culture of the Europeans - 1800 to the present beforehand.

I got it yesterday - at over 1600 pages it's a scary prospect, but so far I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I really appreciate it when a "need to read" book also fits nicely into the "like to read" category.

But please, if you are interested in it, don't recall it from me just yet. Maybe sometime in October I'll be done with it...  

...and a side of baby bonus, thanks.

I don't have a regular blogroll that I trawl through, but there is one blog that I occasionally visit and end up spending far more time reading posts and following links than I had planned. It still surprises me, because it's an economics blog, and economics is boring, right?

(I am re-evaluating my prejudices slightly following my husband's recent stint on an economics course, which he thoroughly enjoyed, coming home each day full on enthusiasm and interesting ideas)

Joshua Gans' CoREeconomics has recently published posts on paid parental leave, climate change, Get Smart, and he even advertised for a research assistant via the blog. Being the smart (S-M-R-T!) cookie that I am, it hadn't even registered before writing this post that some of the CoREecon links are actually to Gans' other blog, Game Theorist. Both blogs are weighted towards parenting-related content from a strategic or economic point of view - combining warm fuzzies with analysis, which is definitely a winning combination.

Limina: in the Margins conference

A couple of photos from the recent interdisciplinary conference organised by Limina: A Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies.The photos here represent different aspects of the event.

Peer feedback and exchange of ideas:

The organised chaos of networking

Formalities and postgrad solidarity (this is also an excuse to include a photo of Karen the Magnificent!)

The one where I bring editing and the Wicked Witch of the West together at last.

I'm updating/culling/revamping tags. Hang in there, my pretties, it'll all make sense eventually.

Oh my god, it's alive!

After briefly flirting with the idea of setting up at blogger, I've decided to revive my trusty Procrastinatrix. Perhaps if one day I really desperately want more people to read my insights and insipidity (is that a real word? it should be) I'll migrate, but for now I'll stay.

Research

So far all my excellent gimmicks at becoming more thesis-productive have failed spectacularly. I haven't been writing a thousand words a day, I haven't been getting off the computer by 10pm, I even lost (!) my treat book. I do know what I'm arguing now, so that's a start. My new gimmick is to spend one day a week on articles, hoping I get some decent publications along the way. At the moment I'm working on a critique of Western European identity in the Eurovision Song Contest.

I gave my first conference paper a couple of weeks ago at the Limina: In the Margins conference, and had a great time. It's made me a little more confident about my next conferences: the Film and History Association of Australia and New Zealand conference in November and the Cultural Representations of the Cold War conference in December. I'll hopefully be able to follow up the conference in December with some more living in Helsinki libraries time, plus another (slightly) white Christmas. Stay tuned for my battles with time zones at the end of the year!

 Teaching

I've been teaching again this semester, which of course takes up lots of time, but not as much as previously. It's also been a lot of fun - to the point that I've almost been tempted to sign up for next semester as well, particularly when some students look slightly disappointed that I won't be teaching until next year. But I shall remain strong.

A few weeks ago the unit coordinator had to go on sick leave and so I became the emergency default coordinator. It was/continues to be a good experience: obviously the thesis has gone bye-bye in this time, but I have rationalised my approach to lecturing and even marking to some extent. I'm now down to a three-day turnaround on lectures as opposed to five weeks; and I totally own the lecture theater, technologically speaking...

The exam is on tomorrow, so once I get my section marked I can get back to my research again.

Entertainment

Ben and I have gone through another patch of stand-up shows this year - in fact, we're heading off to the Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow in an hour or so. In the past couple of weeks we've gone to see the Spicks and Specktacular (fun, but I'd take an Adam Hills one-man show over it any day) and Ross Noble (laboured a few jokes, but overall fantabulous).

So that's me for now - I may well be back soon.

I'm back!

...but not yet in this time zone.

I've been out of town for three months, of which six weeks were dedicated to sitting in libraries reading. I might get back into blogging soon. As soon as I figure out how to sleep during the nights.

Well, I think it's a good idea.

 (Bear with me, it might take a while for me to reach my point.) 

*A while back there was some talk here on MRS about the viva/oral defence of theses and why it wasn't necessarily the best or easiest thing for Australian students (not least because we're all terrified of the concept) - although we all recognise it would be a valuable thing to have to go through.

*Today at a staff meeting the issue came up that while tenured positions had a fairly open and complex application procedure (presentations on research and teaching, interview), fractional and contract appointments usually only involved an interview.

*This made me think back a couple of months when I was part of a working group on postgrad students' views on how badly academia sucks and how to fix it cheaply ;-) I pointed out that the work one does as a postgrad is almost invariably just given to you - no-one else wants to do it, your supervisor needs help in their unit, you're the only one who knows how to use the equipment and so on. And soon there you are: approaching thirty, PhD in hand, years of teaching experience - but you've never applied for a job. I don't know about you, but the concept of that frightens me. Get through a fractional appointment and you still only have an Academic portfolio and interview experience.

*For me the most valuable assessment in the Teaching Internship is/was the Teaching Folio (although I think the info talk should have been earlier) - the thing itself  will be useful later on, and it's really good to have it evaluated by outsiders before your career is on the line.

So, here is my proposal to fix/bring the best out of all of these things.

Instead of a viva, each postgraduate student should be required to - at the end of their candidature, probably after submitting - give a presentation on their research and teaching, much like you would when applying for a tenured position.

It has similar benefits to a viva: okay, the world leaders in the field may not be in the lecture theater, but plenty of other smart people would be, and you get to articulate your research to a truly generalist, intelligent audience.

As an added bonus, you will be able to get feedback on your presentation from staff, peers and anyone else who wanders in. At the end of the process, you have the two quite daunting presentations you need in order to apply for a "real" job all practised, fed(?)back, so as soon as you see an interesting job offer you've already got half the application procedure sorted. 

At the end of each semester, the (insert admin body here - school? faculty? GRS?) can book out a lecture theatre for a couple of days, other postgrads and staff are encouraged/required to attend, completing students give their presentations and have questions asked and praise ladled upon them in turn, GRS caters the tea breaks and we all assemble at the Club afterwards for jubilatory drinkies.

What do you think?

Status report

Now, just because I have failed miserably at staying away from the computer after 10pm doesn't mean I'm useless at all other pursuits. It's October the eighth and I have written over 6000 words, so i'm not doing too badly. I was perhaps a bit ambitious thinking I could keep the pace up over the weekend, but I did get some reading done.

Did you know that during the Cold War the Soviet Union pressured Finland into buying Soviet tanks just so they could afford to buy Finnish commodities in return? ...and that the Finns then used the Soviet tanks as target practice in antitank warfare training, you know, in case the Soviets attacked? It gave me a bit of a giggle.

I spent the weekend in York, mainly sitting in cafes reading about the Cold War. Oh and eating. There was lots of eating.

I have also had the first bits of my braces fitted, which of course I'm thrilled about. Oh well, at least I'm already married and don't need to impress anyone anymore. ;-)

I don't feel like teaching , no sir, no teaching to-daay-haaay.

Is everyone having a fantastic International Teachers' Day?

I am - I'm celebrating by not doing anything even vaguely teaching related. :-)

Personal Thesis Writing Blitz

Right.

Project: write thesis.

Sensible advice: break project down into smaller, more manageable bits. Create to-do list.

Pledge: write one thousand words every day during October. Then make them make sense. Along the lines of NaNoWriMo, but with a thesis (chapter).

Two days down, twenty-nine to go.

Reality Check

Fresh on the heels of Research Careers Week...

It's the little things that (I hope) count

Sky's post made a little inspiration kick me in the head: "Hey, how about you collect some tips and ideas on approaching research/work in a sensible way and actually apply them to your own life?". This is also partly driven by a rather conscious effort on my part to diminish my stress levels.

So - bring put your good ideas, of any sort.

My 'new' idea (one that is perhaps rather obvious to most people) is in fact a pledge: I will not work (at least on the computer) after 10pm. The reason for this change is that I've typically not worked much during the day, relying instead on late night adrenaline-fuelled work sessions - and it's rather hard to get a sensible sleeping pattern going when one has been typing/googling at 2am. So my time limit is supposed to fix my rhythm as much as anything else.

I also have a 'treat' book - something entirely unrelated to my research, but a book I keep at uni. I can read a chapter or two as a reward for achieving something, or simply when I really need to refocus and relax.

 Ok, your turn!

Crazybusyaaaagh

That about says it. Tuesdays are my "running around being late for everything falling over myself tired because I haven't had time to eat" -day.

This is really just a quick update to inform anyone who reads this blog that I am, in fact, still alive and more or less recovered from my bout of illness. I am also - fun fun fun! - getting four teeth pulled out this Friday, so I'm going to be rather cranky over the weekend. So if you see me, don't talk to me. It could be unpleasant for everyone involved.

***

I was also looking forward to a whole week of research over the study break! Yay!

 ...and then I found out about the rather marvellous workshops and talks running from Monday to Thursday during the PSA Research Week. Nuts. Either I do the research, or learn how to do it properly. Now there's a choice!