We just taught Aletheia her first syllogism: Prince Hans is bad. Duke is like Prince Hans. Duke is bad. Aletheia also just learned the name “rat face.”
This isn’t a library problem for libraries to solve
The Open Access Network is an ambitious project that plans to create a sustainable business model of OA publishing in the humanities and social sciences through collaboration. Be still my heart. (h/t Barbara Fister)
More on the death of the internet
Again, the internet today isn’t what I hoped it would be 10 year ago. From the always on point Jessamyn West:
“Maybe it really wasn’t us, it was them. Most days it’s hard to remember what we saw in Google. Why did we think we’d make good partners?”
I used to believe that the web contained the response to a promise of access-for-all, but not longer. As Andy Baio noted over a year ago:
“As it turns out, organizing the world’s information isn’t always profitable. Projects that preserve the past for the public good aren’t really a big profit center. Old Google knew that, but didn’t seem to care.”
If you need me, I’ll be wandering the stacks of the Internet Archive.
Pilgrimage to Kalamazoo
Some of my fondest memories from undergrad and graduate school come from my travels to Kalamazoo.
“If you understand this, you understand the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo. Medievalists, who lead solitary and difficult lives, with only books for friends, get together and cavort and dance and talk about the things they love the most in the world, surrounded by people who care about the same things they care about. The frame holds together a vast tangle of contradictory stories—a thousand academic papers, a thousand combative Q&As, a thousand awkward wine receptions—with the glue of a ferocious and shared love for the deep, deep past. As with Chaucer, however, that doesn’t mean anybody actually understands what’s going on.”
I miss medieval studies, even the awkward, annual conference disco.
We will spread ourselves across the planet
In my most private moments, I still dream of and hope for an Internet from February 8, 1996:
“Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.”
Twenty years later, we are in a much different place.
January 30-day challenge: Exercise 3 times/week
Last month’s 30-day challenge was to exercise for at least 45 minutes, three days a week. I’m happy to say that I accomplished and exceeded that goal. As a result, I’ve lost 10 pounds and have managed to keep my weight at a level consistent with my age, height, and the national recommendations. The plan is to continue this habit as time and workload permits. Not tonight, though: there is too much to do this week. I cannot express how eager I am to see 1pm next Saturday.
Alethiea is her grandfather’s child:
Her: I want a straw.
Me: You can have one straw.
Her: I want four.
Me: No you can have one.
Her: Ok, how about two?
Me: Ok, you can have two.
Her: I want the pink ones.
Me: Ok.
Tonight in my house: I’ve had a bottle of wine, the GOP debate is on, Ms. 2 and I are listening to KUSC and dancing while Mr. 0 watches… and one of us is wearing only a tutu. I won’t say who.
Task blocking to get things done
I have long been a proponent of the GTD method for managing my to-dos, but recently I’ve been finding that it does very little to help me stay on top of my constantly growing project list and shrinking free time.
problem #1: contexts
The use of “contexts” has always helped me to prioritize what I ought to work on first: do what you can, when you can, and only if you have the right tools and resources on hand. But in my current position, I am always in the right context. I can work on almost any task regardless of where I am using my tablet or smartphone since so much of what I do happens via email, on social media, in a text file, or using web-based design tools. Prioritizing by context is no longer effective.
problem #2: calendaring
I have always been religious about my calendar. I never put anything on it unless it is date and time specific. Unfortunately, this leaves my time wide open for commandeering since anyone at MPOW can view my calendar and request a meeting. Granted, one of my main responsibilities as an Outreach & Communications Librarian is to make connections with people and the best way to do that is face-to-face, but I still have other projects that need attention. Spending all day in meetings only to bring solitary work home every night is just begging for burnout.
solution: task blocks
So for the next few weeks I’m trying something new. On Sundays while I’m doing my weekly review, I plan to block out times on my calendar to focus on specific, prioritized projects. I’m setting aside time each day to focus solely on email (so that I don’t have to worry about it at other times of the day) and leaving up to 20% of each day unscheduled for things that may come up unexpectedly. I’m also adding a three weekly “productivity and creative” sessions:
- Discover & Imaging: a time to think creatively about a problem or project (usually over coffee).
- Research & Writing: a time to focus on whatever research project I’m working on at the time.
- Weekly Roundup: a time to review all my email, tasks, and notes from the past week, reflect on what I’ve learned, and begin prioritizing projects for the next week.
From another Outlook user’s perspective, it looks like my calendar is completely booked. On the one hand, I’m worried this will make my colleagues less likely to request a meeting. On the other hand, I know that if someone really wants to request a meeting, they will contact me before trying to do so, and in most cases, I will be the one setting up the meeting so it shouldn’t be a problem.
Ultimately, I am responsible for my time. I need to ensure that my projects get the attention they deserve.
Aaron was here
Some of Nuala Creed’s Internet Archive sculptures are visiting LMU for a Spring exhibit. Aaron is here.