Some of SamR’s stuff to do (#1156)

Topics/tags: Overcommitment

Long-time readers may recall that there was a period during which I regularly posted my too-long lists of tasks. I’ve been working hard to reduce my workload, and I’ve mostly been succeeding. However, as I transition from the regular rhythms of Spring Term Two to the less regular rhythms of summer work, I thought it might be helpful to myself to make a list of things I need to do, or want to do, or whatever.

Research starts next week. I have not yet planned out the first week of research. However, I have sent a note to my students to get them started. I should plan what we’ll do the first week. Of course, planning requires that I know more about what my students do and don’t know, so perhaps some of the planning needs to happen after our first meeting or meetings. Usually, we have those initial meetings during the spring semester; that didn’t seem possible this year.

I’ll probably muse about those plans.

It’s been a while since I’ve gotten MIST up and running. I should make sure that I know how to do that so that I can help my students do so.

I needed to get my book orders in. I did that today. Yay!

I needed to check on a variety of software. I sent in requests to be able to use Discord and Ohyay with my research students. Yes, both are necessary; I’m charged with helping prepare the community support for the Tapia Celebration, and Discord and Ohyay are our two most-likely candidates. I wonder what ITS will say. I sent a note to an Associate Dean to check on the status of GitHub. I sent a note to our Deputy CIO to check on the College’s opinion on encrypted email. It’s nice to get things off my list.

Speaking of Tapia, I should move forward on the engagement part. It’s still not completely clear what I’m supposed to do as engagement chair; I’ve gotten mixed answers. I’ve also been told It’s a new position that we created for you; make it your own. I think I’ll focus on community building for Tapia online. But I want to survey the Tapia community on what they want to see. So I need to work on a survey.

The Film and Media Studies workshop is next week. I probably need to do a little prep for that. I’ve already filled out the survey. There’s a 35-page article to read, a fifteen-minute film to watch, and some curricula from peer institutions to review.

While Spring Term Two is over, my responsibilities for the term are not yet finished. It appears that I forgot to turn in my syllabi. And I haven’t completed my grading. I expect to do both between the time I write this sentence and the time you read it.

I mustn’t forget home responsibilities, either. I’ve put a few on my list. The biggest one right now is to make progress on the pit of horror that is my office, especially since the chaos spilled into the living room a few months ago and I haven’t gotten it back under control. Maybe an hour per day will permit progress?

I should also keep musing, keep reading, keep exercising, keep eating well, and such.

Something feels wrong. There’s not enough on my list. There’s never that little. I must be missing something. Or maybe something is right: I’ve learned how to be more moderate. Nah, it can’t be that. It’s probably that it’s just summer.

Here’s the list I built while thinking through all of that. As I said, I don’t think it’s all that long, and I’m happy that I was able to check off some boxes. But I feel like I’m missing something.

Teaching

[x] Order CSC-301 textbooks
[x] Submit syllabus for CSC-282
[x] Submit syllabus for HCI-232
[x] Finish grading for HCI-232
[x] Compute grades for HCI-232
[x] Submit grades
[x] Wrap up GitHub repo for CSC-282
[x] Wrap up GitHub repo for HCI-232

Research

[x] Send note to students
[x] Send in initial software requests
[ ] Set up MIST
[ ] Review/revise instructions for setting up MIST
[ ] Plan day one
[ ] Plan week one
[ ] Find last year's proposal

Tapia

[ ] Set up survey on engagement
[ ] Email potential host of open mic night
[ ] Review draft program
[ ] Set up meeting to discuss engagement

Department

[x] Prepare initial list of course content and other info on CSC-324
[x] Set up meeting to discuss CSC-324
[ ] Gather the CC 2013 learning outcomes
[ ] Revisit list of department goals

Home

[ ] Order cake
[ ] Check on tickets
[ ] Shop for Friday
[x] Sunday: One hour on office/LR
[ ] Monday: One hour on office/LR
[ ] Tuesday: One hour on office/LR
[ ] Wednesday: One hour on office/LR
[ ] Thursday: One hour on office/LR
[ ] Friday: Two hours on office/LR/DR

Film and Media Studies workshop

[x] Survey for Film and Media Studies workshop
[ ] Read long article
[ ] Read and think about structures of other curricula (muse?)
[ ] Watch film

Miscellaneous

[x] Make a to-do list
[ ] Gather book/conference receipts from the year and send them to 
    the Dean's office

Longer-term

[ ] Work on cleaning the research lab (30 min per day?)
[ ] Start listing things to discard
[ ] Prep Fall 151
[ ] Prep Fall 301
[ ] Work on 1211

Hmmm … I probably need to return to using Todoist.

Version 1.0 of 2021-05-30 .