Damn, it can take a lot of work to get ready for sabbatical. Here are some of the things I've done over the past couple of weeks in that vein:
- composed and sent a long email to my seven advisees explaining how things are going to work (huge thanks to caraf and the now-delurked professor in the field [aka professor delurk], both of whom sent me the emails they sent to their advisees before their sabbaticals). Basically I'll give feedback to their writing electronically, but otherwise they're pretty much on their own for a few months (except for the one exam taker). Oh, and in the Cara mode, I requested that they send me calendars with their self-projected and other-projected deadlines, so that they and their smart work don't disappear into the ether, and so I can get a jump on any remaining recommendations.
- composed and sent a shorter email to the graduate students for whom I am a committee member (ten total), also telling them how it's gonna be. Received a lot of nice replies to that one, aw.
- procured a library faculty carrel, a room slightly smaller than my wingspan squared, with a desk, some shelves, a big bright fluorescent light, and (crucially) a door that locks. Since this is to be a research-heavy sabbatical, and since I am not allowed in my office, this is where I will stash my books and stuff while traipsing around the library. I will also read there, but most days for reading I will likely decamp to one of the library's many lovely and spacious locations with gigantic windows. The precise location of the carrel will not be disclosed, but it is next to a faculty member who reads her writing out loud to herself.
- Readied my big nice office for K, who will use it to write her dissertation. I will also be retaining K to help with the RSA and QJS mail, and so today I wrote out a 'triage' sheet to help her sort through it all. I also emptied my "out" basket so that now it's an "in" basket. I will only come in on the occasional weekend to toss and/or take what's there.
- Returned a bunch of library books in order to stem the recall and overdue emergencies which just clutter up my brain.
- Restarted on the reading for the co-authored piece, reading that I just discovered yesterday happens to overlap a little with another article I'm planning on rhetoric's (historical) relation to geometry. I'll do a fair bit of writing on this sabbatical, but what I'm really, really excited about is the reading. I'm always saying how envious I am of my grad students who are prepping for their exams: "all that time to read!" I say, "You'll never have it again!" But the truth is they might.
- Started weaning myself off email. Yep, this is work. Those of you who email with me know that I tend to be pretty prompt with my replies. Not during sabbatical! These past few days I've gone hours without checking, which is a big effing deal for me. Next semester I'm hoping to check my email only a couple times a week, though I'm not sure I'm capable of that. We'll see. The verdict is still out on putting up one of those out-of-office replies. Hm.
- Edited all the QJS book reviews I have, and sent out gentle queries for the ones I'm lacking. I'm half-a-batch ahead, so that work should be fairly minimal.
- Began lining up novels. Because there's only so much work-related reading a girl can do in a day, carrel or no. Recommendations for new novels are welcome! I just finished Atonement (awesome), and am loving The Exception.
And don't worry, professor delurk! I am planning to do fun stuff too; it's just that paring back non-research-related work takes a lot more effort than booking a flight or packing a suitcase or making a cake or sanding down a floor.
