Nice new corner! Come and chat!

[NeverEverAnythingEver]

We have our new board! Calling all cademics/aspiring academics/fed-up academics - come and chat!

I have also had this conversation with DH though he does to some extent work on projects that are partly of his own choosing. "Just say you won't do it"...

Part of my counselling for depression has included being told multiple times by the counsellor "you need to lower your expectations" and yes this includes jobs that may never get done. I had a big meeting I was hoping to plan for this month or next but it isn't happening.

But then in the summer I had an invitation to submit for a special issue for something relating to some data that we collected TEN years ago (actually possibly more) and never published, the second phase of a study that was published in 2010. I had despaired over ever getting those data out there but what do you know, it did happen (well, waiting on reviews - this is the paper with the weird pre-edits that I declined to accept).

So maybe things just aren't happening NOW.

I need to make a decision today about the other paper that I am fed up with because of the THREE (or is it four now) R&R. I got a reminder that the revision is due and I am pretty sure I'm going to write back and basically say:

I've had 3 R&R and I have no guarantee that it won't be rejected or come back with another R&R as the journal doesn't seem to have moved its position in the last X years (OK there was at least one mat leave in there).

Although you say these are the same reviewers, at least one of them is asking for new things now (like tables) that could have easily been asked for in the first place.

My feeling is that editors should be indicating to reviewers that the FIRST review is the place for asking for that kind of thing and/or triaging the requests, not complaining (as they did) that I haven't answered all the reviewers' comments without indicating which ones were missed. [not sure about saying that bit as I may not want to shoot myself in the foot with the editor]

There are also contradictory requests in the different reviews - not enough background followed by "introduction too detailed".

So I'm going to take my ball home. (I should really have taken it home some months ago but have been busy with other things to be honest).

Thanks for the symapthy NK.

I'm afraid I'm already super prioritising - so, so many things aren't getting done it's not funny anymore. We're talking stuff I should have done years ago now. I really, really have been trying to do one of those since last May, and have maybe spent an hour or at most two on it in all that time. Doesn't help with things like the 19 hrs and 50 minutes (I've now counted) I spent fixing the first year crisis before Xmas, which was time I'd meant to be working on a new grant proposal (whose intial plan was to be submitted in Sept! the last one).

This week my priorities are grants for the panel, dealing with students who just got their grades, the new semester and paper revision due next week. Then I'll turn to the grant I'm meant to be contributing to due end of next week! My own one I didn't do when fixing a crisis, I'm not sure when I'll get to it.

I really feel like I've got to do the grant panel thing properly - I'm now a major influence in whether or not someone gets funded, and I want to do that right. So it looks like what's going to slide is my own paper. We've now got a submittable if not best version (at least according to the email I got today - I haven't actually had a chance to look yet!). So probably least effort toward that.

I've now been waking up early and working through breakfast, which DH doesn't mind so much as he's asleep. Just so exhausted. And I think it makes a difference that I've been home, as he can see me and I guess just wants me to be 'at home' with him instead of still working. I'm still only working about 42 hrs a week these last weeks, and I'd actually be gone for longer if I wasn't trying to get more hours in and staying home.

worst, maybe you can send a slightly more politely worded version of what you wrote above :) It really is ridiculous to expect people to continually revise like that - a rejection so you could move on would be better.

I'm reading a PhD thesis draft. It's making me want to cry. I think I shall just have lunch.

My health is getting to be a comedy of errors - I woke up on Sunday with an eye infection. I haven't had one of those since childhood! My cough appears to have passed its peak yesterday and is getting better, but the eye infection is getting worse. Can these things go away on their own? I've got teaching, student meetings, PhD interview preps (I have two candidates being interviewed!), paper deadlines, and a variety of other meetings filling my time. And then next week I'm out of town for 3 days, before coming back to two days full of meetings and teaching.

Thursday is my lightest day. I think if I still have it on Thursday morning, I'm going to have to phone the GP and risk them wanting to see me during my student meetings that day - I could reschedule them for Friday afternoon, although it's not ideal as I'm meeting the students about things that have a 5pm Friday deadline! But there's literally nothing else I can shift about.

Well, not much choice with today or tomorrow's activities, as me skipping them would be the type thing only done if actually in hospital. I do have the info from my daughter having an eye infection this summer that the advice is they can go to school/daycare unless they are feeling very unwell. So I presume the same advice applies.

I have discovered I have a really nice problem...

I'm due a sabbatical I didn't know about. I'm due a year, in a year's time. I had counted maternity leave as not-counting but it does.

Pre-DC we took 2 terms in the US at a lab I had connections with and it was productive, and DH was just about to go back to uni so had some time off too, but to be honest it wasn't as productive as it could be, and though I suspect I may be able to wangle an invitation there again it wouldn't be ideal, either next year or even shortly after (and leaving it much longer would mean the main person I used to collaborate with, and that was loose, would have retired).

Problem is, DH would not be able to take a long period off work soon, and it's really soon to make proper travel plans, I don't really have anyone to collaborate with (maybe people I could go and do a month with) and as the child of an academic who spent a school year overseas, I would love to be able to do that for my DCs at some point.

If I take all of this time but don't travel, and wait another 7 years DC1 will be secondary age which will be far less than ideal (though DH will be able to take time off).

If I ask to wait just a year, it will still be a little soon to a) develop collaborations and b) for DH to ask for time off.

If I just take a term or two but don't travel I can really see myself wasting the time!

NeverEver

Oh dear - is the draft that bad?!

I'm currently feeling surprisingly unsettled by a job that has just come up in DH's field. It is a permanent position and he matches the job particulars really well. It's also based at the other end of the country from where we're now living.

Obviously, the chance of him getting said job is very slim, but by bringing up the conversation of 'next steps' on from his current funding (which ends in 2017 but which he can leave early) forward a year it reminded me of something which I'd apparently very successfully pushed to the back of my mind, which is that the lovely place we are at now in our lives - in a village we love, surrounded by a great community - isn't actually permanent. I find change so hard and yet the life of an early-career academic (or pair thereof, ugh) is so unstable! This 'stage' felt like it would last forever when it started and now it's time to think about moving on again...

Hovis :( Hope it all goes well.

It's not that the draft is particularly bad, it's the endless reiteration of things. I'm constantly literally bored to tears.

Marking in front of the telly tonight. During my last maternity leave we went over to all online marking so now it's the ipad Turnitin app not paper and pencil. But it feels like I've been doing this all my adult life. How long till I retire...

and what am I going to do about my sabbatical (the initial answer seems to be, take one term and don't travel, or travel for a week or two to see a collaborator)

PS DC1 is starting school in September and DH and I seem to have reached an agreement re. new part time working hours, so it looks like I'll move up to 0.8 which I did before we had DC2 and which I quite liked. I did slightly feel like I was short changing DC1 using nursery 4 days a week but I think DC2 will cope OK and it's not like DC1 can go to school any fewer days anyway. Work can't complain either as it's more than I'm doing now but the same principle.

worst I took a term and didn't travel but worked with collaborators who happen to be visiting or are nearby. It was quite productive. I have 2 primary-age DC, and couldn't quite see myself being away for any period of time...

I am hoping we can all go away for a year once the DC are both in school, but I have no idea where!

NeverEver

I'm taking note of that! One of my plans for when I'm in the editing stage of my thesis is to go through the whole draft with various coloured highlighters and highlight places where I repeat the same idea, to ensure that I a) explain something in full the first time I mention it and b) only repeat something when it's absolutely necessary. Definitely trying to avoid falling into the trap of 'and this chapter has said [all of the things you've just read it saying]' type paragraphs! Obviously some reiteration and emphasis is necessary but I think probably best not to overdo it...

worst

A bit difference from the humanities perspective, I know, but a lot of staff in my School have 'at home' sabbaticals for writing up research. Some are more succesful than others - the ones who still come into the office every day to work but determinedly clear their desk of all other tasks do better than those who are a bit less stubborn, and who end up with loads of jobs passed onto them because they happen to be in town.

Interesting problem, worst :) Do you automatically get research leave? I've been told that we have to apply for it, and you only get it if they think you're actually going to do something worthwhile (and they can manage the teaching/admin without you).

What were your hours before? The trick will be to not get loaded with a whole bunch more stuff because everyone thinks, 'Oh, she's working more now'...

My health comedy of errors continues: remember when I said my cough was getting better? Wrong! It's gotten worse. Eye infection just about cleared up, but new UTI on Monday (almost gone now) and I developed an ear infection yesterday. WTF? At least these are all small niggles, but it is really wearing me down. Lack of sleep because I'm coughing all night and just feeling miserable.

And now I've agreed to step in at the last minute to replace a talk on monday, so I need to come up with an hour seminar. Noticing the fellow I'm replacing was one of the 'large' talks (they had 1hr and 1/2 hr slots); hope I can do it justice! But I have now managed to worm my way in to this 'invitation-only' workshop, and it could potentially lead to some grant collaborations, so fingers crossed it is worth it. (The guy who asked me was a bit vague about the attendees: 'senior but technical'.)

Semi automatically. You have to justify it but I was actually reminded I'm owed it.

I would really like our DCs to experience school abroad - so I'd definitely like to go away but at a future point.

murmuration

That sounds rough! Have plenty of and until you feel better. And good luck with the seminar - sure you'll do it justice!

I am currently checking through my first ever set of proofs for my first ever published article. I'm finding it somewhat hard to hit 'send' and let my poor little contribution finally go out alone into the world...!

NK Good luck with interview! If it's a direct train it should be fine. >

Half term. I have lined up things I can do from home and declined things I can't. I'm intending to take it easy after the madness of exam setting and paper revisions. :)

Our department doesn't allow more than a day's leave in term time without prior approval... last time I asked for approval it took weeks, and I very much doubt I'd be given approval for all the half term weeks in a given year (I'd need to ask for them all at the same time, given delays in approval). I could get away with one or two days, maybe one day's AL and one semi WFH (i.e. start a few emails and do a chunk after bedtime) (DC1 will start reception in September so it's not an issue yet thankfully)

My university teaches through half terms. I've never been at a university which doesn't (STEM subject).

What would you do at half term if you had a job outside academia? Would you expect to be able to take (paid) leave automatically or work from home through all half terms?