Sunday, September 13, 2009

Driftwood: Week 1 Update

Hi all!

Thank you for the wonderful welcome.

This is going to be a short post as I am running slightly behind on my last week's goals.

Last week's Update

Academic Writing:

1. Rewrite the Results sections, with updated figures - Yes!
2. Add the Discussion/Conclusion section- Almost but not quite..:(
3. Read a couple more papers which will contribute to the building up of the discussion section- Sort of! have been re-reading parts of some papers

I am not thaat pleased with the progress as I wanted to finish most of the paper over the labor day weekend, but I wasn't feeling too well on one of those days (Excuses! Excuses!) so that ate up a little bit of my time.

Creative Writing:

1. Morning Pages- Yes! Everyday- though not always in the morning. Sometimes in the afternoon/evening, but mostly before I start my academic writing. It works really great as a focusing tool-almost like meditation
2. Work on the novel- Nope! But that was inevitable as I needed to finish the academic paper first
3.Post on the blog, once or twice- Yes! Twice!

Also, I had several artist dates last weekend- went to several Barnes and Noble stores-leafed through books. Quite enjoyable. Also decorated a composition notebook to use as my 'morning pages' book and had a lot of fun doing that as well.

This week's goals

Academic:

1. Finish the paper today and submit it to my advisor. Today! (I am at Barnes and Nobles trying to finish it. That way, I don't have to wander too far if I want a fun artist date-like break..:)
2. Resume working on my other experiment. Analyze data and collect some more.
3. Start outlining the dissertation proposal (related to 2)

Creative
1. Continue with Morning pages. I've decided to also use it for my academic work- to allow it to let me look at my research from different points of view and also think of my research creatively and not as if it was just 'work'.
2. Work a bit on the novel as outlined last week.
3. Post on the blog once or twice.

Other:

1. Incorporate exercise into my regular routine
2. Start yoga again

Artist Date ideas: I am trying to carry out a lot of my 'house duties' positively. An example is to turn cooking into an artist's date. This isn't difficult as I enjoy cooking, but it is easy for anything to become a chore. To make things interesting and to also ensure I get my veggies, I have been trying to buy a new-to-me veggie every week from the farmer's market.

Rewards: Not sure I really deserve one- but I plan on getting a blank moleskine book and a book on green cleaning that I've wanted for a while

This didn't end up being a short post after all..:)

Good luck to every one in the coming week.

10 comments:

  1. I like how you separate your goals by category. :) And yay for new veggies + cooking. I've been awful with my cooking lately, so I made sure to hit up the grocery store this weekend.

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  2. I love your idea to make chores into artist dates. I just may try this next weekend.

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  3. i really like how you did your mp before your academic writing. i like how you said it was meditative to do them before. my mp are completely necessary right now as i'm trying to get rid of a bit of negativity in my life that is desperately trying to hold me back on my journey of wellness. i love doing work in bookstores because you can have mini artist's dates that break up the monotony of what you are working on. have a great week. hugs!!

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  4. Just wanted to add my welcome (have just returned from my holidays).

    Also love how you seperate your posts into academic and creative writing. Great idea that I may steal for you next time!

    Would love to know which book you bought re) green cleaning as it is some-thing that I am looking at right now.

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  5. @ Carolyn Thanks! I don't want to make too much of a distinction between academic and creative..lol- But it does make the goals more manageable.

    @Ellecubed- thanks! Let me know if it works..:)

    @ Melita- Here's hoping that you are able to let go of all the negativity. Hugs! and re: the bookstores- Exactly!!

    @ Globetrotting Cacti - Thank you! The book I plan on buying is 'Clean House Clean Planet' by Karen Logan. It has some easy but effective house cleaner recipes. I tried making one of them (some of her recipes are available online - http://www.lakewinds.com/store/Recipes-for-Natural-Household-Cleaners-W4716C18760.aspx), and it made cleaning more fun, somehow.

    driftwood

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  6. Oh my goodness--I love so many of the things you're doing!

    *buying a new-to-me veggie each week
    *turning "chores" into artist dates (I wonder if the same could work for exercise since I definitely need to start moving more!)
    *processing your academic thoughts in your morning pages

    I hope your research and creative writing goes well this week!

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  7. Did you get the paper in? How did you end up feeling about it?

    I'm so impressed that you're keeping up your novel writing with all your academic writing goals. Your positive attitude about housework is amazing, too! I love the way you're turning chores into creative expressions - new vegetables for cooking, green cleaning, and so on. I bet you even sweep floors with style!

    I'm really glad you joined us!

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  8. I've liked all your goals but I espcecially enjoyed the turning chores into artist dates and this link you seem to be establishing between your academic and your creative writing. They have so much to tell each other, don't you think?

    Good luck!

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  9. @ Revisionista Thank you! I need to make exercise an artist date too..Have been very bad about this.

    @ Kiki Yes- I did manage to get the paper to my advisor on Sunday. Waiting for feedback. LOL re: sweeping in style. You give me way too much credit..:). And, I am so glad I joined. City Girl was right- this is the best writing group ever!

    @ Vienna- Thank you. Yes, I agree. They do have a lot to tell each other..No job need be 'uncreative', you know?

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  10. I am so impressed with how you are taking a positive and creative attitude to more chore-like things - and the new veggie a week is a fantastic way to broaden your cooking horizon. I did that for several months from last fall until spring, and it was wonderful - once fall really kicks in here, I am going to be doing that with root vegetables as they are my last big category to conquer, but right now I am focusing on getting in tons of summer veggies in while they last.

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