54.25. That's the number of hours I spent on research-related work in September. That's up from previous months. My monthly goal is to achieve about 55-60 hours (13.25 a week) until the book is out, but I often fall far short, since I do scholarship on top of a full-time job. This semester, I'm also teaching, so it's particularly difficult. Hence, I take this moment to pause, breathe deeply, and give myself a hearty "atta girl!"
Some writers track words, not hours. But my draft is already too long. I'm in the process of cutting out huge chunks and rewriting others. It's more time that I need, not words, and September gave me both time and a bit of momentum. . . vroom . . . zoom . . . I. can. keep. going. can't. I?
[The photo is from my July mountain climbing trip, and features Tom mid-way through an excruciating descent.]
27.5 hours. That's how much research-related work I squeezed into the week of Sept 7-13. At the time, I was gaining a foothold.
8.5 hours. That was last week. I fell so far behind on my administrative and teaching duties that I couldn't even squeeze out the standard 12 hrs. So, the foothold slipped a bit.
9.5 hours. That's this week, if I push hard through Saturday. It's likely I'll come in somewhere around 6-7, because I continue to struggle to catch up with my workload.
In my post-grad-school life, I have learned that binges are unsustainable. The days when I could hunker down for days on end in a pair of ratty shorts with the blinds half-drawn, ignoring the bills, the phone, other people, personal hygiene -- those days are gone. People keep calling and knocking, meetings keep coming, deadlines roll in, and it's my job to run out and meet it all, every morning.
So: I have replaced excitingly frenetic Binge with the dull and plodding Even Keel. I think I was right to seek one sustained week of more intense focus, but I've been paying for it ever since. For the most part, my gains on this project have to be made daily. Every morning, to be precise. In small increments. Woven into the rest of my life.
The trouble with the Even Keel is that it's just as exhausting as the Binge. Adding in 1-2 hours every morning makes my day tight. Having every moment of every day scheduled to the max eventually makes me want to do nothing. Nothing at all. I sometimes lie on my bed and stare at the wall: such sweet relief.
I welcome any thoughts about how to keep an even keel without grinding oneself into a catatonic state. Anybody figured this one out?
This week I've spent 5-7 hours a day on research. At the cost of my day job and teaching, of course. But this month afforded a little more scheduling flexibility than usual, and next week has room for catch up.
I needed a foothold: to dig into the research just enough to gain some position for the next climb. And it's helping. My mind is back in the game in a way it hasn't been in a while. I've amassed a lot of the sources I need to proceed with the two articles I'm writing. I've completed a conference proposal. I've planned my semester's writing goals. I feel like a scholar. I've got a rhythm going.
So what have I learned? If you're going to putter along at 10-12 hours of research a week, build in an occasional week here or there for more intense work. The occasional double-time week pays off immensely.
Or so it seems for now. Check back with me in a few more weeks.
[Photo: a view of the talus on Mt Democrat, taken on my ascent in July 08]
