1. What did I accomplish?

Tonight I started setting small, manageable goals. I have been working on big goals and big accomplishments because of the time frame, but these night work sessions took a VERY HEAVY toll and knocked me out for a day. I was able to sustain a good work habit working late for awhile, but I can’t sustain it for a month. It’s not possible. And while my AcWriMo goals are still possible, I think I will have to move some other goals around. 

More specifically, I have finished my most pertinent reading for my first prelim. I am continuing to read as I write, but I had to decide (as I have heard many say) that at some point, you have to say: I have read enough. And I have. This prelim draws on texts that I have been reading for over two years. I am ready to write. I understand the material. The extra reading will largely, I believe, simply be a gatekeeping measure–a peppering of citations to show I have consulted the relevant sources. But my research area is well-documented and much of the literature is somewhat repetitive as a result. New knowledge takes awhile to develop–each new article adds something new, but a small something. And the bulk of the stuff is repetition of things I learned in other sources.

So I am writing. As questions arise, I will consult relevant sources. But I am getting started. And it is going well–I’m planning a writing binge this weekend. If I can knock this baby out by the end of the weekend, I will be in good shape. And it is possible. The prelim is roughly 20-30 pages normally–that’s doable if I sacrifice some rest again. I do have a concert to attend Sunday night (see this post to learn more about why I’m excited about seeing Derek Webb), so if keep my eye on THAT ball, I can get this done.

Oh and I presented at conference. So one of the tasks that was hanging in the air is COMPLETELY done. Just need to update the CV.

2. What can I do better?

I may have to push the second prelim to December. I don’t think it’s possible anymore. I think setting that goal was folly–a feature of sometimes believing I have superhuman abilities. When you get this far into grad school and accomplished a lot, it’s hard not to sometimes feel like you can do stuff that you can’t really do. Which is, I think, a really important point that many grad students forget. We all overcommit. It happens. And it’s important to set goals. And during November, it’s important to set big goals. But two 20-pagers in a month with research only completely done for one? Come on. We all have limits. And I’m not talking about work-life balance stuff. That’s important (although I sacrifice it sometimes, like during AcWriMo), but it doesn’t apply here. I’m talking about the limits of the human body.

What can I do better? Just be honest about what’s possible. I can run on a little sleep. I can’t run on virtually no sleep.

With that, time to hit the sack.