Monday Motivation #182 (4/22/24)
Happy Monday!
We’ve reached one of those times of the year when stuff seems to accumulate in my workspaces and living areas. My calendar is full of meetings and end-of-semester events, and my offices on campus and at home have become places to deposit things that I don’t have time or energy to sort through or put away at the moment. My bedroom has also accumulated a lot: there are eight laundry baskets and a suitcase on the floor, and two chairs piled with more stuff. I’m pretty sure most of that is clean laundry (someone even folded some of it!) and I think my favorite jeans are in the suitcase I haven’t unpacked from our trip to Ohio for the eclipse.
I thought about trying to deal with it this weekend, but I couldn’t summon the energy to make decisions about the stuff. Instead I spent my free time playing with yarn, re-watching shows, sorting a new puzzle, and taking the kids out to eat. None of those activities took as much mental energy as sorting and re-homing the stuff in my house, and taking time to rest a bit means that I’m better able to manage my inbox and to-do list this morning. This is another busy week, with a too-full calendar leading up to graduation celebrations this weekend, then on to the Symposium next week. Life ought to slow down a bit then, and I’ll set aside some time and energy to deal with the two-weeks-larger piles of things then. For now, though, I’m making lists and prioritizing tasks and sneaking in a few rows of knitting or a quick walk between meetings to calm my brain.
Katy
Three Things to Try This Week
Wrap Up — the end of spring semester is always busy on campus as students wrap up their classes and pack up their apartments, and faculty try to clear their virtual and physical desktops in anticipation of shifting to a summer schedule. Here are some strategies to help navigate these hectic times of year: https://hbr.org/2019/03/how-to-get-through-an-extremely-busy-time-at-work
Set Up — taking some time early in the summer to figure out what you’d like to accomplish and how best to use the next few months can be a valuable exercise. Here’s a recorded webinar that offers suggestions for building a “summer syllabus” to help you organize your goals: https://studentlearning.stanford.edu/academicskills/workshops-study-halls-studios/academic-studios/past-studios#summerresearch
Dream Up — while finals week might not be the right time to start a new hobby, it can be a great time to dream a bit about what you might like to learn or do this summer. Here’s a list of different ideas to inspire you: https://www.developgoodhabits.com/new-skills-to-learn/
More Resources
- Chag Pesach sameach to our community members who are observing Passover; learn more about this important Jewish holiday here: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Passover
- The College will pay the registration fee for Engineering graduate students who register and participate in the Certification in College Teaching Institute (https://grad.msu.edu/events/certification-college-teaching-institute-introduction-and-information-get-started-0).
- There will be thousands of visitors in greater Lansing this weekend to celebrate with our newest Spartan alums at graduation. Find details about commencement schedules, parking, and livestreams online (https://commencement.msu.edu/), and plan for extra time if you’re traveling near campus (or hoping to eat at a restaurant) this weekend!
