Not That Kind of Doctor - Summertime 2024
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04/25/2024
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As Nick and Guy head out for their summer break from Not That Kind of Doctor, they take a moment to reflect on the season and the importance of taking a break. They share why stepping away for some time off is essential, both for personal recharge and to return with fresh ideas for the next season. As they look forward to their summer plans, listeners get a glimpse of how they plan to relax, recharge, and prepare for the exciting episodes ahead.
Summertime 2024 - Ph.D. discussions with Nicholas Husbye and Guy Trainin. Productivity Plan download: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1165Wh30OBEad-BrxnBdwh1jwcrGJTy9DOLtCZUUJtOA/copy
www.youtube.com/@tltenotthatkindofdoctor and https://mediahub.unl.edu/channels/42980
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- [00:00:00.000](upbeat music)
- [00:00:08.950]♪ Hey ♪
- [00:00:10.686]Alright. How are you doing?
- [00:00:13.260]I mean, I'm quoting Billie Holiday.
- [00:00:16.177]"It's summertime and the livin' is easy."
- [00:00:18.720]Well, it's not summertime yet. Yeah.
- [00:00:19.977]And I'm wearing my summer hat, by the way.
- [00:00:22.380]I'm just wearing my always hat.
- [00:00:23.537](Guy laughing)
- [00:00:24.370]This is just... You've-
- [00:00:25.203]I have devolved, if you look
- [00:00:26.730]at the start of this season. Yeah, yeah.
- [00:00:29.280]To the end,
- [00:00:30.113]I have just devolved into a hoodie wearing lump.
- [00:00:34.920]And that is what happens when your classes are all online.
- [00:00:38.310]Yes. And you don't go
- [00:00:39.143]to any conferences.
- [00:00:39.990]And...
- [00:00:42.441]Mm-hmm.
- [00:00:43.274]I'm okay with it?
- [00:00:44.700]Question mark.
- [00:00:46.360]I hope you are. I think...
- [00:00:47.613]I don't know, it will...
- [00:00:50.250]We'll see how that works
- [00:00:51.150]when I go back to having to teach in person,
- [00:00:53.820]which I'm really looking forward to actually.
- [00:00:55.350]Yeah. Like...
- [00:00:56.183]It is fun.
- [00:00:57.016]But I don't know that I remember how to dress.
- [00:00:59.760]So as we're getting ready for summer,
- [00:01:02.550]we're gonna talk today on Not That Kind of Doctor,
- [00:01:07.140]about getting ready for summer and actually being planful.
- [00:01:11.130]Planful, yes. I like planful.
- [00:01:14.220]Yes. I'm Guy Trainin,
- [00:01:15.360]I'm a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
- [00:01:18.690]I'm Nick Husbye,
- [00:01:19.530]I am an expert at productive procrastination.
- [00:01:22.230]So I enjoy anything that is planful.
- [00:01:25.159]This whole episode is right up my alley.
- [00:01:28.230]I'm also an associate professor of Elementary Literacy
- [00:01:32.220]in Education K-6.
- [00:01:34.299]Alright. So planful.
- [00:01:36.843]What are you planning for the summer?
- [00:01:38.580]How are you planning for summer?
- [00:01:40.410]Because I can see
- [00:01:41.340]that you have a plan. Oh, yeah,
- [00:01:42.180]I've got stuff already.
- [00:01:43.230]So I think before we get to that,
- [00:01:46.710]Yeah. Let's talk some pragmatics,
- [00:01:48.900]right? Alright.
- [00:01:50.040]Because if you are an academic
- [00:01:53.910]or if you are a grad student,
- [00:01:56.520]depending on your contract or your course load
- [00:02:00.030]or what have you,
- [00:02:01.980]summer's really your time.
- [00:02:03.330]Yes.
- [00:02:04.163]Right? So unless you are teaching,
- [00:02:06.000]I have a summer class this summer,
- [00:02:07.950]so when I'm teaching,
- [00:02:08.820]that's no longer my time.
- [00:02:10.137]I'm getting compensated for that.
- [00:02:11.610]So I need to treat that like work.
- [00:02:15.750]I know you're on like 80 gazillion research grants.
- [00:02:18.121]Yes. So like,
- [00:02:18.954]I don't think you have any summer.
- [00:02:20.700]No, not really. In my head.
- [00:02:21.623]Yeah. I have maybe two weeks,
- [00:02:23.360]yeah. Okay, yeah.
- [00:02:24.240]Yeah. So you better plan
- [00:02:25.680]for that two weeks and get all of it in.
- [00:02:28.628]Yes.
- [00:02:29.550]But- But that's a different plan.
- [00:02:31.080]Right, but it is...
- [00:02:32.363]But if you're a grad student
- [00:02:34.260]and you don't have classes you don't...
- [00:02:36.090]Like one of the important things to remind ourselves
- [00:02:39.390]is that in order for us to do our best thinking,
- [00:02:41.820]we have to have downtime.
- [00:02:43.500]Yes, absolutely.
- [00:02:44.460]Right? We have to have time to explore
- [00:02:47.310]and play with ideas.
- [00:02:48.870]And summer, based upon the academic calendar,
- [00:02:50.910]is a really good time and space to do that.
- [00:02:53.850]So just keeping that in mind
- [00:02:57.180]that it is important to have unstructured time
- [00:03:03.540]to play with ideas, to play with stuff.
- [00:03:06.060]And that goes for grad students, that goes for faculty.
- [00:03:09.360]Like this is essential
- [00:03:14.160]as the kind of the work that we do
- [00:03:15.810]and our ability to be thinking and reading different stuff
- [00:03:19.590]that we're not familiar with.
- [00:03:21.390]So keeping that in mind
- [00:03:23.580]that like when we talk about summer,
- [00:03:27.060]there's oftentimes in academia this like,
- [00:03:29.833]"I'm gonna get so much done during the summer."
- [00:03:32.583]Yes. I'm gonna get
- [00:03:33.416]that bare minimum done during the summer.
- [00:03:35.153](Guy laughing)
- [00:03:35.986]Yes.
- [00:03:36.819]I'm gonna get the bare minimum done during the summer.
- [00:03:38.670]Why?
- [00:03:39.503]Because I'm not on contract
- [00:03:40.336]for a good portion of that summer.
- [00:03:41.880]Mm-hmm.
- [00:03:42.713]And two, I wanna give myself some time and space
- [00:03:46.290]to think about some stuff
- [00:03:49.170]where I don't have time constraints,
- [00:03:51.720]where I don't have the pressure of everything else.
- [00:03:56.160]And conversely, it has impact back on your academic year.
- [00:04:01.920]Because if you are throughout your academic year saying,
- [00:04:06.277]"I know I'm not getting anything written now,
- [00:04:08.760]but in the summer I will get it all done."
- [00:04:10.950]That's a recipe for disaster
- [00:04:12.660]because you do need the downtime.
- [00:04:14.700]It is impossible to write in concentration.
- [00:04:16.920]You need to stretch that out. We talked about this.
- [00:04:19.290]So partially,
- [00:04:20.400]it is also about thinking about
- [00:04:22.530]most of my work has to happen during the academic year
- [00:04:25.080]and if it's not,
- [00:04:26.340]then I'm not really apportioning my time correctly.
- [00:04:29.820]Mm-hmm.
- [00:04:30.653]And that's creating a problem.
- [00:04:32.910]And so I need to think about
- [00:04:34.500]how do I work throughout the academic year
- [00:04:37.290]so I don't end up with this,
- [00:04:39.060]all of this pressure of I need to do
- [00:04:41.700]a full years of writing and research in the summer
- [00:04:46.260]when I'm actually off contract
- [00:04:48.030]and I need to also have downtime
- [00:04:50.280]because those things do not mesh well.
- [00:04:52.590]And it puts tremendous pressure that leads to...
- [00:04:56.130]Burnout, stress. And also feeling unhappy
- [00:05:01.560]when the new year starts.
- [00:05:02.880]You're unhappy because you didn't reach your goals
- [00:05:05.400]for the summer because you had unrealistic goals
- [00:05:07.710]for the summer
- [00:05:08.543]because you didn't apportion your time
- [00:05:10.350]during the academic year.
- [00:05:11.250]So it's all part of the package
- [00:05:13.410]and you have to think about it that way.
- [00:05:14.850]So even if you put...
- [00:05:16.050]Because we're putting this out just before summer,
- [00:05:18.390]if you put all of that pressure on you
- [00:05:20.430]during the academic year,
- [00:05:21.900]let go some of it
- [00:05:23.370]and know that the summer- ♪ Let it go ♪
- [00:05:24.780]Is not the solution for all of your problems.
- [00:05:27.600]Yes. No, the summer's not a solution, right?
- [00:05:30.060]And maybe in season three
- [00:05:33.330]we can do an episode about apportionment
- [00:05:35.460]and time management.
- [00:05:36.600]Yeah, absolutely.
- [00:05:37.433]Because we often talk about...
- [00:05:38.400]When we talk about apportionment,
- [00:05:39.390]we tend to talk about like, "Oh, 25%, 10%."
- [00:05:44.520]None of it matters unless you attend to the denominator.
- [00:05:47.855]Yeah. Yes.
- [00:05:49.230]Yeah, that- How many hours a week
- [00:05:50.370]do you expect? Yeah.
- [00:05:51.610]Yeah, and that by the way, goes back to summer.
- [00:05:54.150]How many hours- Oh, totally.
- [00:05:55.050]Are you gonna work during the weeks you are off?
- [00:05:58.890]Right.
- [00:05:59.910]Because imagining
- [00:06:02.070]that you're gonna work 60 hours a week when-
- [00:06:04.600](Nick blows raspberry)
- [00:06:05.837](Guy laughing)
- [00:06:06.840]I'm sorry.
- [00:06:07.726](both laughing)
- [00:06:09.360]This is my life we're talking about,
- [00:06:11.340]we are laughing about my life.
- [00:06:12.750]But in the summer,
- [00:06:13.740]it's not gonna happen. Summer's not grant.
- [00:06:15.840]Yes.
- [00:06:16.770]But in the summer...
- [00:06:18.420]During the academic year,
- [00:06:19.350]but definitely during the summer,
- [00:06:21.090]your day is gonna look different
- [00:06:22.830]and if you permit yourself
- [00:06:25.080]to plan for a smaller number of hours,
- [00:06:27.570]but then focus on those hours, Mm-hmm.
- [00:06:29.550]You can get a lot done.
- [00:06:31.170]But you've got to be...
- [00:06:32.370]Again, that goes back to being planful
- [00:06:34.380]and not just saying, "It's gonna be okay."
- [00:06:36.330]And then...
- [00:06:37.950]Yeah, 'cause it's...
- [00:06:38.837]It's not going to... I mean, if you go into it
- [00:06:40.650]just going, "Alright, it's gonna be fine."
- [00:06:44.010]July 4th is going to hit.
- [00:06:45.743]Yes. And you're gonna be like
- [00:06:46.576]" Oh crud."
- [00:06:49.170]Because by the time July 4th hits,
- [00:06:51.300]you have to prep for your fall class or if you're me,
- [00:06:55.110]Yeah. Who is teaching
- [00:06:56.100]those last five weeks,
- [00:06:57.137]Oh, wow. I have to prep
- [00:06:57.970]for my fall class now. Yes. Yes.
- [00:06:59.790]Or else I'm not gonna have it later,
- [00:07:01.740]right? Yeah.
- [00:07:02.573]Like, so any changes in that class
- [00:07:04.650]I have to pay attention to now before summer even hits,
- [00:07:09.120]because I have to use that first half of summer
- [00:07:11.850]to revise for the second half of summer.
- [00:07:14.650]Mm-hmm.
- [00:07:15.483]So like, you have to do some of that planning
- [00:07:19.110]if you have all these various bits and bobs going on.
- [00:07:23.040]But also just recognizing that like in order to have...
- [00:07:28.890]I mean, it would be easy for me to be like,
- [00:07:30.247]"Oh, the first half of summer
- [00:07:31.920]I'm just not gonna work at all."
- [00:07:33.813]Yeah. But there are
- [00:07:34.646]certain parts of my job that I find pleasurable.
- [00:07:36.360]There are certain things that I actually want to engage in
- [00:07:39.780]in my off time.
- [00:07:41.760]Should that be expected?
- [00:07:43.020]No, but I'm going to do it
- [00:07:45.060]because it does bring me some happiness, right?
- [00:07:49.170]So when we're thinking about being planful,
- [00:07:53.880]talk me through how you're planful, Guy.
- [00:07:56.160]Well, in my case. "Well," he says.
- [00:07:59.650]Well, so our summers are very different.
- [00:08:03.630]This is my 22nd year,
- [00:08:05.970]and this is my 22nd summer.
- [00:08:08.160]The only summer. So you started
- [00:08:09.120]when you were 10?
- [00:08:10.442](laughs) Yes, just about.
- [00:08:11.730]Wow.
- [00:08:12.930]And the only summer that I had a significant time off
- [00:08:16.230]was the summer I graduated from...
- [00:08:18.450]I left graduate school
- [00:08:19.432]and moved here. Okay.
- [00:08:21.690]I have always taught in the summers, this is...
- [00:08:26.250]Yeah, I've always...
- [00:08:27.240]I don't think I can remember a summer I never taught.
- [00:08:30.270]But for example,
- [00:08:31.500]I choose to teach only in the first summer session.
- [00:08:34.230]So we have kind of three blocks through summer.
- [00:08:36.420]We have a three week and then two, five weeks.
- [00:08:39.330]I have always taught...
- [00:08:41.100]Except one time I made the mistake
- [00:08:43.020]of teaching the session you're doing.
- [00:08:44.930]Mm-hmm.
- [00:08:45.763]And that was not helpful
- [00:08:46.620]because then I was teaching
- [00:08:48.060]all the way to the beginning of the semester
- [00:08:49.710]and then teaching again.
- [00:08:50.730]And that felt just interminable.
- [00:08:55.260]So I've always sequestered my teaching
- [00:08:58.710]to the first summer session.
- [00:08:59.910]So I have the three weeks between the end of the semester
- [00:09:02.610]and the beginning of the...
- [00:09:03.827]Of our first formal summer session.
- [00:09:05.970]And I always take that time
- [00:09:07.380]and I take some of that time actually off campus.
- [00:09:09.840]And like I'm away from work, which is rare for me.
- [00:09:14.610]And then the...
- [00:09:16.230]I'd fit grant activities and other things
- [00:09:18.480]around that time with some downtime.
- [00:09:23.430]And especially the July into August part
- [00:09:27.930]has a lot more time off.
- [00:09:29.400]And I tend to work mornings,
- [00:09:31.530]whether I'm here in Nebraska or I choose to go somewhere.
- [00:09:35.190]I work in the morning
- [00:09:36.060]and then the afternoons are mine, so...
- [00:09:38.670]And I have check-ins with collaborators once a week.
- [00:09:43.950]Mm-hmm. To see that there's progress
- [00:09:45.360]being made.
- [00:09:46.193]Because going back to the 4th of July kind of thing,
- [00:09:48.390]this is my thinking as well,
- [00:09:49.860]if I haven't started it or I'm not well on my way
- [00:09:52.800]and I have a plan by the 4th of July,
- [00:09:54.570]it's just not gonna happen this summer.
- [00:09:56.640]Yeah. And so that...
- [00:09:57.870]Those are the pieces that I have in place
- [00:10:00.420]to make sure that summer is productive.
- [00:10:04.590]I don't make myself any promises.
- [00:10:06.390]I have three or four goals for the summer.
- [00:10:08.520]I have a writing goal on a one or two manuscripts.
- [00:10:12.690]There's a teaching and then there's reporting
- [00:10:15.150]and the grant activities that I have
- [00:10:16.800]that have to happen during the summer.
- [00:10:18.780]But again, for me, this is structured paid time.
- [00:10:20.813]Mm-hmm. This is not...
- [00:10:22.650]If I was on time off, I would be...
- [00:10:26.280]Most of that time would be off.
- [00:10:28.740]Playing video games on Twitch?
- [00:10:32.580]I think sitting down and not doing that.
- [00:10:35.254](both laughing)
- [00:10:36.087]Spending time with my dogs. I would like to see that.
- [00:10:38.820]I've never not...
- [00:10:39.653]I've never seen you not a ball of energy.
- [00:10:42.510]And I have questions.
- [00:10:43.343]Oh, okay.
- [00:10:44.820]Puzzles or help common... Okay.
- [00:10:46.920]Puzzles are a big thing
- [00:10:48.120]during the summer. Okay, this is good to know.
- [00:10:49.440]Winter break and summer, yeah.
- [00:10:51.180]Huh.
- [00:10:52.470]Yeah.
- [00:10:53.970]It feels like I need a Richard Attenborough voiceover.
- [00:10:57.369](Guy laughing)
- [00:10:59.040]This is the Guy Trainin.
- [00:11:01.410]Relaxing. Interest, yes.
- [00:11:03.450]Well, there's a book- It's a very rare sight.
- [00:11:05.310]I listen to a book and I do a puzzle and...
- [00:11:08.550]Yeah. I can do that for quite a few hours.
- [00:11:11.670]Okay. Yeah.
- [00:11:12.780]The Churchill biography went that way,
- [00:11:14.610]all 57 hours of it.
- [00:11:16.408]Ooh.
- [00:11:17.241](Guy laughing)
- [00:11:18.099](sighs) I'm gonna read "The Power Broker" this summer
- [00:11:20.430]and I'm not looking forward to it, but I am, but I'm not.
- [00:11:24.840]Okay. It's like...
- [00:11:26.820]It's a thick boy.
- [00:11:27.870]Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [00:11:28.860]So it's gonna be fine.
- [00:11:29.693]It's gonna be fine.
- [00:11:30.810]Alright.
- [00:11:32.040]I'm a little bit more structured.
- [00:11:33.600]Yes. Nobody's surprised at this point.
- [00:11:36.240]If they've seen even one more episode
- [00:11:39.120]or listened to one more episode of this podcast,
- [00:11:41.430]they know that you have a spreadsheet or a table.
- [00:11:45.150]There's just- So here is the table.
- [00:11:46.500]Yeah, so this has actually been really, really helpful
- [00:11:51.060]for this particular summer
- [00:11:52.560]because I was like, "Summer! I'm gonna have so much summer.
- [00:11:55.467]'Sup summer?"
- [00:11:56.700]So I laid out kind of my overarching goals.
- [00:11:59.460]I can walk you through this.
- [00:12:00.870]I'll have a link to a blank one in the episode description.
- [00:12:05.550]I've laid out kind of my writing goals for the summer
- [00:12:09.810]and kind of the amount of time that I'm willing to spend
- [00:12:13.680]kind of on that in terms of like...
- [00:12:15.567]And it says, write things- During the week.
- [00:12:17.100]Five hours a week.
- [00:12:18.270]Five hours a week.
- [00:12:19.500]When I'm not on contract, five hours a week,
- [00:12:22.200]which, you know. Mm-hmm.
- [00:12:24.510]Is a fair amount of time.
- [00:12:25.707]Yeah. That's like an hour a day.
- [00:12:27.990]Yeah. You know, you wake up.
- [00:12:29.070]Yeah.
- [00:12:29.903]Have your cup of coffee,
- [00:12:32.250]you work on a draft for a little while,
- [00:12:34.350]and then you go like tender tomatoes.
- [00:12:37.590]Or you'd go- Which are also
- [00:12:38.700]written as a goal. Which is also a goal.
- [00:12:41.160]So I've got reading as well, 5 hours a week.
- [00:12:45.330]I want to do a deeper dive into...
- [00:12:49.380]I did a waltz around knowledge work last summer,
- [00:12:52.470]and I really want to focus specifically in
- [00:12:54.420]on how we move knowledge from...
- [00:12:58.410]Or information from reading into knowledge
- [00:13:01.470]into long-term knowledge this summer.
- [00:13:03.210]So I've been building up a list of things
- [00:13:05.850]that I'm gonna tackle and read.
- [00:13:08.766]Mm-hmm. And then I've just got
- [00:13:09.630]some personal stuff that I wanna tackle.
- [00:13:11.880]I want...
- [00:13:12.750]I've got a quilt that I have been working on
- [00:13:15.090]for like five years now that needs to be done this summer.
- [00:13:17.550]Like, I need it to be done.
- [00:13:19.260]I need...
- [00:13:20.093]It's like a Mortal Kombat moment.
- [00:13:21.030]I just need to finish it.
- [00:13:23.160]And that's gonna happen this summer.
- [00:13:25.620]Hold me to it, hold me to it.
- [00:13:29.310]I've got some knitting projects that I want to finish.
- [00:13:32.340]I've...
- [00:13:33.840]My garden is up and running already.
- [00:13:37.260]I want to be doing all the canning,
- [00:13:39.180]all the growing, all the watering.
- [00:13:42.810]This is my year of James Baldwin.
- [00:13:44.280]So I'm gonna get three more books.
- [00:13:46.020]Oh, wow.
- [00:13:46.853]Out of...
- [00:13:47.686]Yes, I'm gonna...
- [00:13:48.519]That's fantastic. By the end of the year,
- [00:13:49.860]I'll have read everything that James Baldwin has written.
- [00:13:52.710]Which makes me...
- [00:13:53.543]Or books that James Baldwin has written
- [00:13:55.440]and that makes me very, very happy.
- [00:13:57.030]So I'll get three of those done.
- [00:14:00.390]I wanna continue running six days a week
- [00:14:02.970]and weight training three days a week.
- [00:14:04.980]So, I do wanna stop here
- [00:14:07.470]and say that while I am not quite as planful as you,
- [00:14:13.006](Nick laughing)
- [00:14:16.020]I do think that the lesson that I've learned over time
- [00:14:19.920]is if you do not plan this,
- [00:14:24.420]it's likely not gonna happen.
- [00:14:25.920]So if you do not write it down
- [00:14:28.920]and say, "These are the things I wanna do."
- [00:14:30.390]Now if you want to not get anything done,
- [00:14:34.410]that's also achievable, right?
- [00:14:36.481]Oh, yeah.
- [00:14:37.314]But if you don't make a plan,
- [00:14:39.750]if you have a goal, but you don't have a plan, right?
- [00:14:42.990]It's not gonna work out.
- [00:14:44.040]And summer is prime for that
- [00:14:45.930]because nobody's going to the office.
- [00:14:48.210]You have no classes
- [00:14:49.800]unless you're on contract for part of it,
- [00:14:51.690]but you have no classes that force you to show up
- [00:14:54.300]or to do certain things.
- [00:14:55.830]And then you find yourself like,
- [00:14:58.627]"I would rather do other things."
- [00:15:00.720]And that's fine if you didn't have a goal.
- [00:15:03.244]And that's gonna make you feel guilty.
- [00:15:07.890]You don't wanna finish the summer feeling guilty.
- [00:15:10.020]So make reasonable goals and then have a plan for them.
- [00:15:12.990]If not, just let go.
- [00:15:14.670]And that's okay, too.
- [00:15:15.690]Mm-hmm. You're not on contract.
- [00:15:17.310]You can let go and everybody's gotta be okay with it.
- [00:15:20.700]And here's what I find to be really helpful,
- [00:15:23.520]or this was really helpful for me this year,
- [00:15:26.160]is lay your stuff out week by week.
- [00:15:29.130]Oh, wow. Yeah.
- [00:15:30.300]So I've got my goals here.
- [00:15:33.390]I've laid out week by week what I'm gonna try to get done
- [00:15:37.650]in each of those weeks. Mm-hmm.
- [00:15:38.700]In each of the amounts of time that I have.
- [00:15:41.760]And this was particularly helpful
- [00:15:43.530]because I realized that I've got a trip this summer.
- [00:15:47.040]Mm-hmm.
- [00:15:48.300]And that trip is gonna take about
- [00:15:50.130]five-ish weeks out of play.
- [00:15:51.300]Oh, wow. That's a chunk.
- [00:15:53.130]It's a chunk. It's a chunk.
- [00:15:54.810]And so in my head I was like,
- [00:15:56.077]"Oh, I've got a trip." Do, do, do, do,
- [00:15:58.050]do, do do, do, do. Yeah.
- [00:15:59.310]But then when I looked
- [00:16:00.360]at actually what- What's left.
- [00:16:02.340]What got left after I took out that trip,
- [00:16:06.990]like I really had to go back
- [00:16:09.630]and rethink what I wanted to get done.
- [00:16:11.670]Like this is whittle down. Yeah.
- [00:16:13.140]Let's be realistic about
- [00:16:14.550]the time we have, yeah. And then even what's here,
- [00:16:17.310]you'll notice that there's some color coding.
- [00:16:19.500]No one is surprised.
- [00:16:20.483](Guy laughing)
- [00:16:22.440]Where I've kind of determined some importance.
- [00:16:23.940]Like, these are the things that I really wanna get done.
- [00:16:26.010]Mm-hmm. Those are the red.
- [00:16:27.750]Yeah.
- [00:16:28.583]Yeah, am I right here?
- [00:16:29.416]Red and yellow is medium importance.
- [00:16:31.350]So if I like get those red things done
- [00:16:32.940]then I can move on to the yellow
- [00:16:34.200]and then I can move on
- [00:16:35.091]to the blue. Yeah.
- [00:16:37.313]And I'm a huge fan,
- [00:16:38.970]especially when you're talking about your writing projects.
- [00:16:41.460]You wanted to bring a few writing projects to fruition
- [00:16:45.300]and not try to jump between seven different projects
- [00:16:49.020]or whatever you have and never finishing anything.
- [00:16:50.970]So this is an opportunity
- [00:16:52.110]because you can concentrate some time.
- [00:16:54.540]This is an opportunity to actually choose one and finish it,
- [00:16:59.430]and then maybe go to the next one.
- [00:17:00.900]instead of working on five,
- [00:17:02.340]which took me a long time to understand.
- [00:17:05.610]I do like...
- [00:17:06.443]I mean, I'm looking at your table and I'm like,
- [00:17:08.137]"Yeah, I need to do that" because I have...
- [00:17:11.490]Guilt.
- [00:17:12.323]Guilt. Yeah. No, not guilt.
- [00:17:14.400]Just having enough brain space to think about it,
- [00:17:17.070]because I've got two weeks I'm teaching.
- [00:17:18.780]We've got morning to evening.
- [00:17:20.130]Those two weeks are dead.
- [00:17:21.270]Mm-hmm.
- [00:17:22.103]I mean, I'm teaching,
- [00:17:23.010]I'm spending a lot of time with a research team.
- [00:17:26.970]But that's it.
- [00:17:28.020]I've got a period where I have a review,
- [00:17:30.360]I'm a guest editor, so we have to review some abstracts.
- [00:17:33.420]I've gotta put some time my calendar for that.
- [00:17:36.000]I've got two conferences I'm going to at the end of June
- [00:17:39.120]and in July.
- [00:17:40.680]So those dates are off the table.
- [00:17:44.250]And that just leaves you with,
- [00:17:45.817]"What do I need to prepare for next year?"
- [00:17:47.647]"Where does it happen?"
- [00:17:49.480]"What can I accommodate that?"
- [00:17:51.660]And how do I...
- [00:17:54.540]Because in my case,
- [00:17:55.950]because I have a few grants,
- [00:17:57.330]I have a few graduate students
- [00:17:58.560]who are working on these grants,
- [00:17:59.670]how can I make sure that I set them up for success
- [00:18:02.100]without needing me all the time?
- [00:18:03.605]Mm-hmm.
- [00:18:04.438]So things can get done.
- [00:18:05.340]I check in with them,
- [00:18:07.500]but they are not constantly waiting for me
- [00:18:10.890]to pick my head out of everything I'm doing
- [00:18:13.620]or using vacation time to do that
- [00:18:16.620]because I don't want to do that.
- [00:18:18.480]And so I'm definitely going to lay out my weeks
- [00:18:21.990]and start thinking through what needs to happen when.
- [00:18:25.290]Yeah, and it's really helpful
- [00:18:27.360]in terms of what can I actually get done.
- [00:18:31.290]Yeah.
- [00:18:32.123]And if...
- [00:18:32.956]I mean things could- What's reasonable.
- [00:18:34.200]Yeah. What's reasonable things
- [00:18:35.100]could happen.
- [00:18:36.150]And I've got...
- [00:18:39.390]I've really got three different manuscripts
- [00:18:42.660]that I'm working on here.
- [00:18:44.280]Two of which are pieces that I've been working on
- [00:18:48.990]for a while.
- [00:18:49.823]I drop them for a while
- [00:18:50.880]and this is the summer that I'm gonna pick them back up
- [00:18:52.980]and actually get them in shipshape and send them out.
- [00:18:56.220]So also thinking about...
- [00:18:58.200]'Cause like, oh my gosh, three manuscripts,
- [00:19:00.810]it's a lot in a summer.
- [00:19:02.190]But keeping in mind that
- [00:19:04.290]two of those manuscripts- They're in this trip.
- [00:19:05.610]Are pretty much 80% done at this point.
- [00:19:08.700]I'm gonna have to re-update the literature review,
- [00:19:11.850]possibly do some re-analysis,
- [00:19:14.910]but that's not as much as
- [00:19:16.560]if I'm starting fully from scratch.
- [00:19:19.560]Yeah. That's a different project altogether.
- [00:19:21.720]Yeah. That's a totally different project altogether.
- [00:19:23.940]So like, those are the kinds of things
- [00:19:25.230]that I was thinking through and about
- [00:19:27.720]when I was planning this.
- [00:19:28.977]And this summer feels like
- [00:19:30.510]because of how much time I have available to me
- [00:19:35.220]feels like a good summer to engage in getting those...
- [00:19:39.183]Out. Out.
- [00:19:40.390]Yeah. And then if I have time,
- [00:19:42.720]finish up or work on a chapter that I have to get written
- [00:19:47.970]but doesn't have...
- [00:19:48.900]That there's no real timeline set to it yet.
- [00:19:51.810]Mm-hmm.
- [00:19:52.643]And then start prepping some data
- [00:19:55.200]to set myself up for analysis in the fall
- [00:19:58.410]when that comes back.
- [00:19:59.640]So it really just helps me think through
- [00:20:06.870]what is it that I can be doing
- [00:20:10.590]in these little chunks of time.
- [00:20:12.910]Mm-hmm.
- [00:20:13.743]That isn't gonna be completely overwhelming and annoying.
- [00:20:18.960]Yeah. And also like with...
- [00:20:21.390]Like I said, within the planning,
- [00:20:22.920]I've kind of determined some importance.
- [00:20:24.480]So if something doesn't get done, I just shift it around.
- [00:20:29.190]And a few things that are small but important.
- [00:20:35.250]So have a plan.
- [00:20:36.450]The other thing is,
- [00:20:37.590]if you're away or if you do not plan to do any work,
- [00:20:41.520]please make sure that you have on your email,
- [00:20:43.980]on your official email box,
- [00:20:47.610]the auto response that says, "I'm away for the summer."
- [00:20:50.515]Mm-hmm.
- [00:20:51.348]Or "I'm away for this period from this date to this date."
- [00:20:54.090]And, "Please contact me after if you need anything urgent,
- [00:20:57.270]here's the email of our office,
- [00:21:00.630]please reach out to them."
- [00:21:01.890]Because graduate students may reach out
- [00:21:04.500]to undergraduate students who are concerned about the grade
- [00:21:06.960]or something else, or whatever, whoever it may be.
- [00:21:09.330]You don't want them to feel like they didn't get a response.
- [00:21:12.570]And so that auto response serves as,
- [00:21:16.027]"I'm sorry, I'm not gonna get back to you."
- [00:21:18.450]I'm in Europe until this...
- [00:21:20.430]Mm-hmm. Oh, you don't have to say
- [00:21:21.330]you're in Europe, but I'm away until this time.
- [00:21:24.240]Again, this is...
- [00:21:25.470]If you are off contract, you're off contract.
- [00:21:27.990]You do not owe anybody anything.
- [00:21:31.263]Mm-hmm.
- [00:21:32.096]And so use that,
- [00:21:33.840]but also communicate that clearly
- [00:21:35.550]so people don't feel like
- [00:21:37.110]they're expecting a response to you.
- [00:21:38.610]For example, international students may not know
- [00:21:42.780]that this is a nine month contract,
- [00:21:44.280]but they also don't know when does school start and end.
- [00:21:47.498]Mm-hmm. Because in much of Europe
- [00:21:49.350]and in many other places in the world,
- [00:21:51.630]the school calendar is very different.
- [00:21:53.280]They start in October or September and go 'til June
- [00:21:57.270]and don't necessarily have our calendar
- [00:22:01.530]that seems to have shifted earlier and earlier
- [00:22:03.420]where we started mid August,
- [00:22:04.680]but also ending early May sometimes,
- [00:22:08.040]you know, first week of May.
- [00:22:09.720]Mm-hmm. So they still think
- [00:22:11.190]everybody's here.
- [00:22:12.150]Well, nobody's here.
- [00:22:13.350]So that communication is really, really important.
- [00:22:15.810]And if you work with graduate students,
- [00:22:19.260]communicate very clearly what your expectations are
- [00:22:21.540]for the summer and how will you communicate
- [00:22:24.300]so they don't get frustrated.
- [00:22:26.160]And so it's clear.
- [00:22:27.960]And again, you know, if you're on contract,
- [00:22:31.020]you can say contact me when I'm teaching
- [00:22:32.880]because that's when I'm on contract.
- [00:22:35.010]You can contact me,
- [00:22:35.910]but outside those times I will not be available
- [00:22:38.370]until mid August,
- [00:22:39.360]then that's fine.
- [00:22:40.560]Again, clarity.
- [00:22:41.850]Right. In communication.
- [00:22:42.720]Right, clarity. Boundaries are fine.
- [00:22:45.210]Yes. Right?
- [00:22:46.050]Boundaries are totally fine.
- [00:22:48.600]What are you looking forward to this summer?
- [00:22:50.280]Well, I'm gonna get a grandbaby.
- [00:22:51.840]So I am focused on being a grandpa.
- [00:22:57.570]That is really my primary goal for the start.
- [00:23:00.720]Everything else, grants, teaching, all of that,
- [00:23:04.500]that is not where I'm at.
- [00:23:06.390]I am...
- [00:23:07.560]We have a due date of June 10th,
- [00:23:10.170]obviously it's plus minus whatever is going to happen.
- [00:23:13.380]And that is the main event of the summer.
- [00:23:16.590]Everything else can get canceled as far as I'm concerned.
- [00:23:20.280]I'll be fine.
- [00:23:21.135](Nick laughing)
- [00:23:22.484]That's what you want. Yes.
- [00:23:24.570]That is what I want. That is my future orientation.
- [00:23:27.720]And every...
- [00:23:28.680]Again, I mean, I have a potentially a busy summer,
- [00:23:32.100]but that is secondary. Oh, yeah.
- [00:23:33.960]Just you talking in general about your summer
- [00:23:35.640]makes me tired. Yeah.
- [00:23:37.230]I love summer. I have my best ideas in summer.
- [00:23:40.290]I love teaching in summer
- [00:23:41.340]because I do a workshop style
- [00:23:42.690]where we stay with the students all day.
- [00:23:44.700]Uh-huh.
- [00:23:45.533]And so it's an opportunity.
- [00:23:47.670]It's a thinking lab for me
- [00:23:49.320]because I have a problem with focusing. (laughs)
- [00:23:52.230]So it forces me to focus on the same thing. (laughs)
- [00:23:56.190]We've known this,
- [00:23:57.180]just let me know you plan everything
- [00:23:59.070]we know I have a problem focusing.
- [00:24:00.840]So it forces me to be focused.
- [00:24:02.490]And I have some fantastic ideas
- [00:24:04.320]when I spend a lot of time with people,
- [00:24:06.750]just that idea generation.
- [00:24:08.610]Mm-hmm.
- [00:24:09.443]Where like...
- [00:24:10.276]And I've had most of my best ideas happen over summers.
- [00:24:14.340]My best research ideas,
- [00:24:15.930]it doesn't mean I enact them in the summer.
- [00:24:17.749]Mm-hmm.
- [00:24:18.582]But I start sprouting ideas in the summer.
- [00:24:21.570]And because people are there all day,
- [00:24:23.460]we can have for repeat, in this summer for two weeks.
- [00:24:27.450]But I've had five weeks, you know,
- [00:24:29.490]in summer teaching where you can roll with the ideas
- [00:24:34.410]with people a number of times
- [00:24:36.060]until it comes to a nice little package, so...
- [00:24:40.441]Nice.
- [00:24:41.274]I do enjoy that very, very much.
- [00:24:42.750]So it is busy but busy good.
- [00:24:46.050]And very different than the academic year
- [00:24:48.180]where we have chunks of time.
- [00:24:49.283]Mm-hmm. So the summer for me,
- [00:24:51.660]it still work mostly,
- [00:24:52.860]but it's with blocks of time
- [00:24:55.470]And that just functions differently.
- [00:24:57.900]I love both.
- [00:24:59.190]Right.
- [00:25:00.023]But it just functions differently for me.
- [00:25:01.560]And so I'm able to...
- [00:25:04.410]For example, if I teach the same thing that I teach
- [00:25:06.780]through an academic year,
- [00:25:07.860]I can make much better curricular decisions for next time,
- [00:25:12.150]even for an academic year calendar
- [00:25:14.520]based on that concentrated time in the summer.
- [00:25:16.530]Because then I'm thinking about that class every day.
- [00:25:19.380]Mm-hmm.
- [00:25:20.213]And instead of thinking about it,
- [00:25:21.720]thinking about 17 other things,
- [00:25:23.130]thinking about it-
- [00:25:23.963]The continuity
- [00:25:24.796]makes a difference. Yeah,
- [00:25:25.629]and also the fact that, I mean, I'll be honest,
- [00:25:27.540]there's very little service over the summer.
- [00:25:29.400]Even if you are on contract, Mm-hmm.
- [00:25:30.483]That contract is very clear.
- [00:25:31.920]You're either doing research for a grant
- [00:25:33.870]or you're doing teaching.
- [00:25:37.290]So that service elements and the committees and all that,
- [00:25:39.960]that's all gone.
- [00:25:40.890]Mm-hmm.
- [00:25:41.723]So you have more control over your time.
- [00:25:43.920]I mean, you always have control over your time,
- [00:25:46.260]but you're managing different expectations
- [00:25:48.480]because part of our...
- [00:25:49.950]At least at UNL, we're 20%,
- [00:25:52.140]most of us are 20% service, which is fairly high.
- [00:25:56.520]So then, because that comes to eight hours,
- [00:25:59.640]eight hours a week.
- [00:26:00.726]That is a lot of hours. Outside of your
- [00:26:01.826]40-hour workweek.
- [00:26:02.659]Yeah. Yeah.
- [00:26:03.492]But those eight hours get...
- [00:26:05.280]Dispersed and...
- [00:26:06.600]Sucked up really easily. Yeah.
- [00:26:08.373]Yes. Right? Like...
- [00:26:09.206]Yes, definitely.
- [00:26:10.221]That's the black hole category.
- [00:26:11.730]But it also chunks your time into pieces
- [00:26:16.410]because it's often like one hour meetings and all of that.
- [00:26:19.320]Think about eight one hour meetings,
- [00:26:21.270]suddenly it can eat your week.
- [00:26:24.300]So it is about management.
- [00:26:27.090]Yeah. Oh, it's totally about management.
- [00:26:29.370]Totally about management.
- [00:26:30.660]Alright. So, we are happy about summer though.
- [00:26:33.690]Oh, we are very happy about-
- [00:26:34.530]You are happy about tomatoes.
- [00:26:35.700]I'm happy about grandbaby.
- [00:26:36.780]You know, I am very excited about tomatoes.
- [00:26:39.270]I'm very excited about...
- [00:26:41.010]Before you start canning,
- [00:26:42.210]I want some tomatoes just putting it out there.
- [00:26:45.450]See, if I had known that,
- [00:26:46.650]'cause last year I literally had all these tomatoes
- [00:26:49.620]and then had some stupid service oriented report
- [00:26:53.970]that got dropped on me at the last minute
- [00:26:55.470]and did not have a chance to can anything,
- [00:26:57.330]and had I known...
- [00:26:59.250]Tomatoes, raw tomatoes, Israeli salad, salsa.
- [00:27:06.600]Okay, see, now I know because...
- [00:27:08.640]Tomato sauce.
- [00:27:10.710]There's so many things to do
- [00:27:12.150]and I love tomatoes, so...
- [00:27:14.130]This is good to know
- [00:27:14.963]because that is probably one of the things
- [00:27:16.410]I am most looking forward to is...
- [00:27:19.440]The tomatoes.
- [00:27:20.850]My garden, my tomatoes. Yeah.
- [00:27:22.350]Makes me feel close to my grandmother.
- [00:27:23.730]My grandmother grew tomatoes all the time.
- [00:27:27.690]But also excited to get away.
- [00:27:32.730]Yeah, absolutely.
- [00:27:34.110]And like- Five weeks.
- [00:27:35.580]Well, and so it's...
- [00:27:38.400]I'm gonna do a week in Michigan.
- [00:27:40.260]Mm-hmm.
- [00:27:41.093]Three weeks in Europe.
- [00:27:43.320]I am single. I have no kids. I deserve nice things, too.
- [00:27:45.660]Yes, yes you do.
- [00:27:48.540]And then I'm gonna come back
- [00:27:49.590]and do another week in Michigan.
- [00:27:51.960]But I've got some new cities that I've never been to.
- [00:27:54.450]So like Berlin. That's very nice.
- [00:27:55.353]Ooh. Never been to Berlin.
- [00:27:56.880]I'm excited about Berlin. I have not either, so...
- [00:27:58.980]I'm gonna go to Chania on Crete.
- [00:28:02.640]Ooh.
- [00:28:03.473]For a conference.
- [00:28:04.320]So there's some work. That's exciting.
- [00:28:05.263]Yeah. Some work into it,
- [00:28:06.900]then I'm gonna get back to London,
- [00:28:08.550]which is like my favorite city in the world.
- [00:28:10.230]So I'm excited about that.
- [00:28:13.170]That's awesome.
- [00:28:14.003]I'm just excited about a slower
- [00:28:18.390]kind of process. Pace. Yeah.
- [00:28:19.260]I'm also excited to read, I've got a couple of books,
- [00:28:23.940]thick boys that I need a summer to work through
- [00:28:28.050]'cause they require more time.
- [00:28:30.750]So it's gonna be good.
- [00:28:32.820]Alright. I think.
- [00:28:33.960]Yeah.
- [00:28:34.965]So hold us to it.
- [00:28:36.960]And have a great summer.
- [00:28:38.940]Have a planful summer, get stuff done.
- [00:28:43.110]But also have fun.
- [00:28:43.980]But also get stuff not done.
- [00:28:47.346]Figure out what's most important for you
- [00:28:49.830]and get the stuff that's most important done.
- [00:28:51.510]Get the stuff that doesn't matter.
- [00:28:52.940]♪ Boom ♪
- [00:28:54.356]♪ Hey ♪
- [00:28:55.189]I don't know what's happening.
- [00:28:56.333](Guy laughing) (gentle upbeat music)
- [00:29:01.074]♪ Boom ♪
- [00:29:02.429]♪ Hey ♪
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<div style="padding-top: 56.25%; overflow: hidden; position:relative; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1;">
<iframe
style="bottom: 0; left: 0; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; border: 0; height: 100%; width: 100%;"
src="https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/22177?format=iframe&autoplay=0"
title="Video Player: Not That Kind of Doctor - Summertime 2024"
allowfullscreen
></iframe>
</div>
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