I'm shaming myself into posting today, though I didn't write any words today. I did find the latest draft and figure out where I need to go, but then I just couldn't force myself to get any words out. Still, it is a bit of progress, and I at least made coffee and sat down at my desk first thing, which is more than I have done in quite a while. I need to get back into keeping a research journal, so I don't have this problem of finding the latest draft and where I am in any given document.
I am so burned out already, I worry about how I'm going to keep going for the rest of the semester. I need to work in some downtime somehow. Between teaching and job searching, things have been quite intense around here, especially this past week, when I gave a mock job-talk in my department. It was good experience for me, but way more stressful than it should have been because I've never given a paper without reading from my notes before. Still, it went much much better than I could have ever imagined and I am hugely relieved that it is prepped and ready to go.
Though this isn't a knitting blog, I still have to share that my biggest distraction is that I'm knitting this for a friend whose birthday is coming up in three days. I'm using this scarlet colored yarn. I thought she'd love it because she's really into scarves and shawls and it is just the kinda weather to have something warm around your neck. That was before I heard her telling someone that she doesn't wear wool because she finds it itchy. Now, I'm not so sure. I think alpaca may be itchy to people who find wool itchy. I don't, so I have no idea, but I am hoping that since this is baby alpaca, it might be okay. Who knows? I've finished the pattern repeats today, so I hope to do the edging in the next couple of days, so I can block it in time for her birthday. The knitting is definitely helping my mood, otherwise I would have to just throw in the towel and cancel Monday's class.
What about you? Are you burned out too? Is it too early for burnout?
4 comments:
No, it's definitely not too early for burnout! I've been very sluggish this week. Most of my major postdocs have been mailed, I sprinted to finish my last chapter and turn it into an article, and I wrote the first twenty pages of my next chapter. All last month. Now, meh. I haven't been able to do anything all week. So I thought the weekend off and I'm going to spend this week focusing on smaller tasks, like conference papers. Hopefully that will help me get back in the groove. Good luck to you! And congrats on the job talk -- well done you for leaving the notes behind.
Thanks, and Congrats to you on finishing the article and twenty pages of the next chapter. That is fantastic progress! Hope you enjoyed the weekend off.
Last week was a low-productivity week for me, too. Seems I can write, or not fall behind on my grading, but not both.
Try freewriting tomorrow, to get yourself started. Don't expect much of yourself, but don't open your notes either. Just say: "What do I know about this topic, right this instant." Write it. Most of those words may get dumped, but it's a good way to kickstart the process.
Thanks for getting me kickstarted, Notorious. It totally worked!
Post a Comment