This afternoon, I had the academic equivalent of the holy grail:
Several consecutive hours of uninterrupted time!
Unfortunately, even though I would have LOVED to be working on my research (several consecutive hours of uninterrupted time! to actually THINK about research!), there was a more pressing task whose due date is coming up shortly. And I knew that this task would take---you guessed it---several consecutive hours of uninterrupted time.
Sigh.
Well, at least the task is done. But getting it done was so painful that I don't even feel a sense of relief that it's done!
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The adventures of a woman in computing.
About Me
- Jane
- I'm an assistant professor in a computing field, and a new mother. Join me as I navigate the tenure track, deal with gender issues, figure out how to be a parent, and try to have some semblance of a life.
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- Grant proposal -- 0% complete
- Conference paper (new) -- 30% complete
- Journal paper #1-- 90% complete
- Journal paper #2 -- 95% complete
- Futuristic project -- 10% complete
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4 comments:
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Oh, Jane. I'm glad you got the pressing task done. But...next time, ignore the pressing task and work on your research, I say! Unless ignoring the pressing task means you won't get tenure. There are always pressing tasks, a million of them, and they steal away the research hours.
Or don't take my word...take Ms. Mentor's.
"Harken, too, to Ms. Mentor's Mighty Maxims for Time Management:
Each night, make your Must Do list for the next day. List your daily Writing Time as an appointment.
Rank your Must Do's in order of importance.
Write a Should Do list of things you might do if you had time, such as "wash the floor" or "shop for good china" or "worry about what other people think."
Burn the Should Do list. "
quoted from http://chronicle.com/jobs/99/10/99102201c.htm
and I wish I could figure out how to put that in as a nice link but sadly I am not that advanced... :(
Zuska, unfortunately not doing the pressing task *would* have meant not getting tenure--it was something I needed to get done for my review packet. But I totally agree with your (and Ms. Mentor's) point: research IS the most important task and should be treated as such---and I try (not always successfully) to remember that and practice that.
Ah, well, then you did the right thing...and now the universe owes you several more hours of uninterrupted time for your research! I will try to conjure a cancelled committee meeting and the like to help you out...
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