Update on March Goals

Academic:

Start editing the BNH Book Reviews Site–As a new member of the website BritishNavalHistory.com, my role is to re-organize and edit the Book Reviews section. Since it’s going to take a lot of work, I want to make sure I don’t bite off more than I can chew. My first steps will be to go over the plan with Sam and Justin via Skype and then get more comfortable with editing the page through WordPress.  I managed to speak with Sam and Justin and get a plan outlined for tackling the Book Reviews section. Lately I’ve been contemplating new categories and will be making this my priority for April.

Construct new chapter outlines–Now that I have new, solid direction for my dissertation, I need to write up a new set of chapter outlines not only for myself, but to send to my advisor so that she and I are on the same page. These outlines are nearly complete. I’ll be finishing them tomorrow and sending them off to my advisor. The next step will be getting back to chapter writing.

Join the Twitter #writingpact–I’ve seen several colleagues using the hashtag “writing pact” to keep themselves on point. This month, I’d like to start participating in “writing pact” and get at least half of my second chapter drafted. If I’m good, I’ll get the whole chapter drafted. I did not manage to complete this goal. I am adding it on to next month’s goals.

Write my summer syllabus–I need to get this written up (probably just an edited version of last summer’s syllabus) and get my summer books ordered. Completed.

Get my summer class page up and running–Once I have the syllabus edited, I need to make sure that my Carmen page is up and running for the students. The Carmen website did not have the summer pages ready to work on, so that is being moved to April’s goals.

Write my teaching philosophy statement–Since I’ll be entering the job market in the Fall, I think it’s high time I get my teaching philosophy out on paper. While it seems overwhelming, I’m determined to get a draft of it completed this month. Again, this was at the bottom of the priority list, so it is something I am moving to next month’s goals. I managed to reach half of my goals. Each month will get better and better.

Personal:

Get back to the gym–In the last couple of weeks, with lots of traveling and friends visiting, I’ve fallen off my workout routine. I’ve decided that rather than sticking to the rigid daily routine I was working on before, that I’m going to incorporate a lot more cardio activity and then stick with the weight lifting routines I can do without a buddy. I sort of accomplished this one before coming down with the flu. Now that I am recovered, it’s back to it tomorrow!

Spend more time with new friends–I only have a short time left here in Fayetteville, so I want to make sure I spend as much time with my new friends here as I can. I want to designate at least one day a week to social time (in person, not online). Had a few coffee dates this month!

Spend less time on social media sites–Aside from my duties with BritishNavalHistory and my academic work on social media, I want to spend less time checking my personal Facebook. I was somewhat successful with this goal. It’s a work in progress. But I did participate in Unicef’s program in which they donate water to people in need for every 10 minutes you spend without your phone. In just a couple of days, I spent nearly 20 hours without it.

Have one date night a week with my husband–This is a no brainer. The further along he gets in his program (and the more work I have to do with my dissertation), the less time we get to spend together. I want to designate one night a week to a no-study/no-school date-night. Getting him on board will be the tricky part. This one is still a work in progress as he prepares to move on to the next phase of his course.

Finish the two novels I started–I am most of the way done with both The Scarpetta Factor and Dust by Patricia Cornwell. I need to go ahead and finish both of them! Incomplete so far.

How did you do this month?