I've done my first week back in Huddersfield. I started back at work and I started on my Masters programme. There have been a lot of ups and downs this week!!
My major up: getting back one of my favourite students to take notes for, and gaining others who are absolutely lovely!
My major down: not getting any research done, having been kept tied up with work.
Measures to Stop Work From Taking Over
Firstly I identified the fact that it was the uncertainty of not knowing when I would be working which stopped me from getting anything done this week. This is easy to fix - next week there shouldn't be anything different to my timetable, except for having fewer hours to work if some of the sessions are fortnightly. This will mean that I will have more time, but they will probably will be in the middle of the day so I won't feel like I can get much done. For these hours I need to know they're coming up (i.e. check my schedule at the beginning of each day) and plan something which won't take very long and that I can do at university. For example a Summon search for a topic where I can save the items and have emailed to me which can take as long or as little as I want
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Secondly I need to protect the time that I do have on my days off - Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. This is a little more complicated since I live with someone else. For this I want to try and get as much done in the early morning before she gets up. Then once she's up I will move to the library or the Researchers Hub (if I can) so that me working and her doing whatever she wants isn't going to cause us to clash - which would be extremely distracting to my work!
Research Done This Week
I had initially said that I hadn't done any research but since I've been typing I realise that's not true - I must be a little easier on myself!! I managed to get into the library yesterday evening to do some work in the quiet of the university on a Saturday night! I did really enjoy being back in the environment. I finished looking at a couple of books I got out earlier in the week and returned them and got a couple more books out. I also used Summon to search for more items on the library catalogue which could be relevant to my research project. I do love the improvements which the delightful staff at the University Library have developed (with a few requests from me!!) so that was nice to finally use properly. It feels like a slow start but it's not a no-start. I have got so many other avenues to explore with the books I've read/am reading this week so I am happy with that.
Good Things I've Done This Week
I did some things this week which I know will help me over the year to come. I ordered a portable external hard drive so that I can back up my work over the course of the year in case the worst happens. I can also take my work with me when I go to Australia next Easter. I would normally just use Dropbox but it seems that none of my family or high street shops have wifi! No working out and about for me. Wait, McDonald's has wifi, but I'd really rather not go into McDonald's!!!
I made my home environment more conducive to work, even though I'm planning on getting most of my work done in the library. I don't want to give myself the excuse not to work at home, so I have made myself a foot rest for under my desk (my desk is far too tall for someone 5"4' like me!) made out of the board games I own. I feel like a giant stomping all over the Monopoly cities right now... I also ordered a laptop riser, which raises the laptop to an angle hopefully better to work at. I'm hoping this will alleviate the pressure on my wrists which debilitated me at Christmas last year. It will also reduce the pressure in my neck as I'm looking down all the time.
I also re-familiarised myself with Zotero so that I could use it from the start of my research. I loved using it last year - no wasted time on putting in references!!! Plus I use it as an archive of what I've read and how/if it was useful. I'm planning on tagging each entry with a research question this year so that I can easily find all of the material related to one part of my research project.
This morning I reapplied for SCONUL access so that I can go into other libraries to use their resources. I went to University of Leeds library last year to research Norman Britain and not only did I have a super productive day with no distractions and loads of material I had never seen before, I really enjoyed going into a different library to see how they work, even though I hated their system of categorisation and thought they should switch to Dewey decimal!
Meeting with Primary Supervisor
I met with my primary supervisor this week and I was really pleased to hear that we're on the same wavelength as to what I want to write about and how I want to go about it. It's so reassuring to me that it makes sense and that my approach is a good idea. She suggested so many places to look relevant for primary material so that's my main job for next week as she thinks finishing my historiography before Christmas would be wise. My supervisor is also teaching myself and some of my peers Latin this year. That should make finding primary sources easier and will give me something to think about which isn't just in my own head. If nothing else it'll be useful for the PhD.
Assessment of the Week
Overall, not bad. I got more done than I thought. Even though I can't point at pages of research of pdfs of primary sources, I've put into place plenty of things which will definitely help me over the course of the next 51 weeks so that when I do get more into the swing of this term I won't have to worry about them. I feel this will be important in controlling my anxiety should it come down to it.
I have been very tired this week so next week will be the week to nail down my routine. Things like making sure I get up at the same time every morning so that I can go to bed when I'm tired; starting a winding-down routine of turning off the computer and starting to read instead. I'm hoping to read the paper a few times a week but I don't know if I'll have time! I will have to see what happens once I've sorted out the academic routine and fitting in chores like food shopping and laundry.
Aims for the Coming Week
- Check schedule at the beginning of each day, preferably the night before
- Keep a list of 'to-dos' and identify which are short tasks with little equipment needed.
- Find out if I can use the Researchers Hub after hours - i.e. after 5pm and at weekends.
- Re-write summer notes
- Find the primary sources identified in supervision meeting
- Book meeting to find out more about what a historiography looks like.
- Turn off the computer at 10:30pm and read for half an hour.
- Get up at the same time every day.
- Make sure I have lunch planned for each day I will be out of the house.
