Back in the Saddle Again

And here we go!

Make it stop!

Last week I had three days left of research reading before I started writing this chapter. This week I only have four days. Wait—what?!? Yep, it is amazing how reading begets faster than an Old Testament patriarch. I know that at some point I have to stop reading and start writing—advice I give to students on a regular basis—but there always seems to be just one more article or book that begets several more of the same. 

My writing table already looks like this:

And I won't show you what's left.

So, what are you best strategies for stopping the reading and starting the writing? Other than reading fatigue (which I'm feeling today), how do you finally let go of the research and start doing your thing?

Free to Be

I just finished the last dissertation-chapter I needed to revise for the book. I now get to write my two final chapters "from scratch." While the idea of researching, reading, writing, and revising two whole chapters in six months is a bit daunting, I'm also feeling excited. No longer do I have to reshape the old to fit the new. No longer do I have to relive the dissertation days of yore. I get to write it as I want it from the start.

Quite freeing.

Almost There . . .

Two more weeks.

Two class days.

Two finals.

And then I'm done teaching until January 2015.

All I have to do is stay on target. And get by with a little help from my friends.

Small Victories

Why is it that we always belittle our small victories? For example, I just finished drafting/revising a book chapter. I shared that news with a friend who replied with enthusiasm and praise. My response? To downplay it and emphasize all that I have yet to do.

Why do we do this? How do we better embrace the small victories along the way so that we can win the war? (Sorry to use martial imagery. Funny since I'm a pacifist. But this book is a battle.)

March Madness

It's the time of the semester when I wonder if I'll make it out with my sanity. My institution does not have a spring break, so not only am I dragging, but my students are also dead—so dead that every class feels like this:

On the book front, I am making steady progress. But I am wiped out and worried that I won't have any gas left in the tank once summer hits and all I "get" to do is write. For those of you who have done this, do you have any advice on pacing? How have you maintained progress without gassing out in the first third?

Happy Distractions

Every day I stare at a screen. But whenever I need, I can find one or two happy distractions.