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12 May 2016 by Lisa Meloncon

Mentor Monday this week asked what it was that #womeninTC could help you with through the summer. The answer was overwhelming two things: writing accountability and reading/commenting on work. While we work on the logistics of that, I wanted to take the time to write about writing and planning for the summer. (And join a writing group if you’d like!)

As you probably have figured out, when it comes to this job, I plan. I like to lay things out with the associated tasks and figure out how to get it all accomplished. I guess this is a holdover from my years as a project manager. When there are large amounts of money on the line, a good plan can ensure no one is losing that money!

In any case, one of the major causes of summer disappointment and frustration and is making unreasonable plans. The idea that you may be able to focus on research and writing without the constant daily stresses of service or teaching can be a freeing feeling where we want to do all the things.

I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but you can’t do all the things in a summer, and it’s not a smart move to try and plan to do all the things. Instead, focusing on reasonable and realistic plans is your best bet for a rejuvenating and productive summer.

So here’s an example. I am doing two things. That is it. Now that aren’t small things, but if I get through them this summer, I will go into the fall feeling as though the summer was a success. And that is a great way to start a new academic year. I have all the tasks associated with them written down and the estimated times they should take. And then I put them into the calendar around other commitments like a scheduled vacation, a couple of short trips with friends, and some time I already have blocked off to finish putting a course on online. Reasonable. That’s the word that you need to keep in mind, and remember to add an extra third to the amount time you think a task will take 🙂

Other making good plans, I’ve blocked out big chunks of time to write. One of those things I need to get done is simply words on the page. Those words can’t miraculously appear on the page so you have to set yourself up to ensure that they do. This is where knowing your own writing process is helpful. I’ve always been pretty lucky that I can write words pretty much at any time because I’ve accepted the fact that all the words will have to edited. What this has done has allowed me not to worry so much about the words that I’m writing, and there’s a sense of writing freedom in that.

While my process is messy and takes a ton of editing, it has also worked for me. This means that on those days I just don’t feel like writing or I’ve written myself into a wall, I can still make forward progress by doing some of the editing that needs to happen. Usually, by the time I’ve edited some I can generally figure out how to move the problem area forward.

So as you start to think about your summer plans, I want to encourage you to plan and to get to know your writing process. These two things will help you have a productive working summer.

But more than that, remember that the summer is a key time to relax and not feel guilty about it and to find ways to renew yourself after a long academic year.

Wishing a productive and relaxing summer!

 

 

28 April 2016 by Lisa Meloncon (post inspired by @KristinArola)

This is definitely the time of the year where we are all feeling tired, stressed, worn down, frazzled, out of focus, and [fill in your own term(s) here].

So I just want to encourage you to

 

Go ahead and do it with me right now. Close your eyes and think of a happy place. Take a long, deep breath. Hold it. Now, let it out slowly. Repeat.

There is no way to make the piles of student work go away nor is there any way to get out of every one of those year-end meetings everyone is trying to schedule so the only solution is to be nice to yourself. Take a walk. Work-out. Have a drink with friends. Go to your favorite restaurant. Relax on the couch and don’t feel guilty about it. In other words, take care of yourself because that’s the only way to be able to get through all those things you have to do!

As you keep breathing, let me offer just a couple of things to keep the end of term in perspective.

• We are all feeling the exact same way. Just because I already submitted my grades (last week) doesn’t mean that time isn’t filled with other end of term tasks. I just finished writing my third report. I have three more to go. Sometimes knowing you’re not alone makes it better.
• Lots of things collide at this time of year so finds ways to prioritize and scale back. All of those things you had hoped to do but don’t have a firm deadline need to be put on the back burner until later. Minimize grading or comments on student projects, particularly by telling students you’ll only comment if they’re coming to pick them up.
• Don’t scale back on those things that you have to have. Now is not the time to cut back your caffeine in take or if you’re someone who has to sleep, make the time for it.
• Treat yourself after every major task. This is something you should always do, but it becomes more important at this time of year.
• Reach out to mentors and friends for encouragement. Don’t be afraid to ask for some kudos or props for getting something done or asking for support in trying to get something done. Accountability in online spaces can be useful for some people and for others, you can always try talking through things with someone you trust.

I am consistently a little bit in awe at the continued expanse and participation of the #womeninTC community. So many of you are generous and kind and ready to lend encouragement or to find time to have a conversation if need be. As I have written before, you have to reach out. You created this network so use it to your advantage, especially at this time of the year.

And really, don’t forget to breathe.

 

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3 April 2016 by Lisa Meloncon

So next week is the annual ATTW Conference, which immediately precedes or overlaps depending on your perspective) the annual CCCC convention. This year will be our fourth luncheon, and we’re looking forward to gathering together again.

The area that the luncheon will focus on is the third part of the tripartite division on which the vast majority of us are evaluated: service. A consistent theme in the data that we’ve gathered from all the participants at our events is that service is the squishiest of the areas in which we are evaluated and the area in which you wish you had more clarity. While I don’t want to spoil the activity at the luncheon, I do want to talk a little bit about being strategic in your service roles.

I have often used this term strategic when talking about this job because it’s important to plan in actionable and concrete ways. For me that’s what strategic means. Previously, I’ve written about how to say no and yes, and but I recognize that when it comes to service it’s so much harder to figure out what to do because it involves more direct interaction with people and politics.

What makes service so squishy is that it is hard to determine exactly what it is. As we continue to work on the RPT project, I can tell you that preliminary results have this defined in more ambiguous ways than the other two areas (teaching and research). While faculty service is required by all institutions and is a vital part of our jobs and the institution’s mission, it does become problematic trying to figure it out.

Some locations make it clear. For example, here is an excerpt from a SLAC:

• Service to the profession includes: administration of scholarly conference; reviewing books and articles for presses and journals; and involvement or leadership in professional organizations
• University: sitting on standing or ad hoc committees; faculty senate; part of a university wide program (like service learning); recruiting, peer mentoring; major advising
• Department: working on program issues; tasks assigned by chair; peer committees; attend departmental events
• Community: must be related to expertise

So that list gives a pretty good, concrete idea of what service is. Here is another from an R2 research school:

University service includes participating in departmental, college or school, and University governance and committee work, assisting in the recruitment of new faculty, and developing and assisting in the implementation of new academic programs. Faculty should note particularly distinctive contributions to University life on the part of the candidate, including service to the candidate’s profession, such as offices held and committee assignments performed for professional associations and learned societies; and editorships and the refereeing of manuscripts.

While not as specific as the previous example, it does give some indication of what “counts” for service. (And this document has a separate section for outreach, which would be the equivalent to the “community” in the first example.)

In short, almost universally, service is typically divided into four categories

• Departmental
• Institutional
• Community
• National/Professional

I includ Professor Snarky’s unflattering tweet about service because I think many of us see service in these terms, as being meaningless and the implied, time wasters. It is true that not every meeting is productive. It is true that we have too many meetings that are too long. It is true that some of the documents we are asked to write are somewhat meaningless and few people will read them. But, that’s true in any organization.

Service can be meaningful and can result in direct changes that can improve your program or a program on campus or make a national impact. While I have few definitive answers and still struggle at times with this myself, I have figured a few things out.

You cannot let it consume your life. If you’re looking at your week and the majority of what’s blocked off are committee meetings and work time for those meetings, then it may be time to look at your commitments to figure out if you need to be doing all of them.

You cannot let it become a immediate gratification fix—something’s checked off the list, you can see the result, often brings satisfaction, others are thankful and tell you so. These are all good things, but if you are not tenured these are dangerous habits. If you are tenured, I encourage to examine what your priorities are and if an over abundance of service is where you want to spend your time. You may answer yes. (or you may answer no.)

You have to do service in your department. This is key to collegiality and key to a successful program (if you have one). But I would encourage you to limit your service tasks within the department to the essentials and to also find a service task at the university level.

You need to find a compelling university level service. This is a great way to build up connections for your courses or program and can give you the opportunity to meet lots of different folks from across campus. I have served on the advisory board for our successful service-learning component for almost the whole time I have been at UC. We’ve done lots of important work, highly visible work, AND it intersects with my own commitment to community-engaged scholarship and teaching.

You need to find discrete, national level opportunities. Having been fortunate enough to serve in some capacity in most of the field’s national organizations, I can tell you that they all need good volunteers. And most have a variety of things to choose from and/or will let you create your path. All you have to do is reach out. Heck, email me, I’ll find you the person you need to talk to and help you think through what you want to do and it can relate to the point in your career.

Be thoughtful when choosing community projects. We all have causes that are dear to us and that we are impassioned about. But, community service (all shapes and sizes) is usually time intensive to do right and to be fair to those in the community. Remember that opportunities will come around again so it’s not always necessary to jump at the first ones that pop up. Truly. Opportunities do come back around. So always be thoughtful about the time commitment to the project versus the time available in your life.

Professor Snarky is right and wrong about service. Start with your internal documents and how those things define service. Talk to trusted mentors. Think through the ramifications of decision in terms of politics (I wish I didn’t have to write that!). Then say, yes, to opportunities that match something that you want to do. Finally, be patient on those days when Professor Snarky is right and it all seems so meaningless. That’ll pass (and then come back and pass again,….)

I can tell you that I’ve been enormously thankful for many of the opportunities that I’ve had locally and nationally. Yes, some of them take up a whole lot of time—sometimes more than they need to or more than I want them to. But, I can honestly say I don’t regret any of the decisions I’ve made. And that is a total win.

For those going to ATTW/CCCCs, I wish you safe and uneventful travels.

I look forward to catching up with y’all!