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September 16, 2005
Interim report
So the conclusion of Week 3 of the fall semester is here, and so far this semester--
- I've written 3 handbook chapters.
- I have set up my 43 folders, and I'm liking it a lot. Now my tabletop is not piled high with stuff. Instead, I have fat, organized folders.
- I have set up folders for each of my students. Now my desk isn't piled with miscellaneous stacks of informal writing and contact information.
- I've been doing class preparation on PowerPoint (sample here); taking notes during class on the slides; and then putting the file in the Blackboard folder after class so that my students have access to it. The early returns are promising. I might blog about this later in detail, once I have a better sense of the pros and cons.
- I have begun thinking through the possibilities for differentiating projects and to-dos and supplementing the PDA with index cards. ("And remember: your to-do list is not the place to park your ambitions or test the limits of your grasp. . . . If it’s on your list, it’s a commitment")
- I've remembered the principle that if it takes less than 5 minutes, you do it right away. You don't even put it on a to-do list if you can avoid it, and you certainly don't let it roll over day after day.
- I have talked with my editors and found out that they are calm about the fact that I won't have all the chapters done by September 30 and that in fact they're pleased with the rate at which I'm working.
- I have articulated a major conceptual principle for Plagiarism and Privilege in the Academy, one that's going to require some conceptual mapping to supplement the inevitable paragraphs, pages, and chapters. (I'm going to ambush AJ and get her to help me with this mapping.)
- I've drastically slacked on exercise and have resolved to step it back up. 30 miles a week should be my year-round minimum.
- I have figured out that if I eat junk food day in and day out, I feel like crap.
- I have decided that I have to ease off on the writing a little bit, or I will die in my tracks. Last night I baked some apple bran muffins (yes, with those wild apples) and turned the compost pile. It was a beautiful thing.
Posted by senioritis at September 16, 2005 12:30 PM