Hi All,
It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but oh was attending my first trio performance delightful! I have no regrets..ok, so reacting badly to Icelandic yoghurt is something I could handle not repeating in the future. Thankfully, I had most of my stuff put together and submitted for the deadline, before two people took one look at me and said, "You look really sick and you need to go home - now." So I did on mid-afternoon on Monday and, although I was 90% back to normal on Tuesday, my strength completely returned to day.
So here are 10 things promotion and tenure systems and playing cello have taught me. I did not list this below, but it does fit with playing any large instrument. Never ever turn down an offer to open the door for you, when carrying a cello! Instead, thank the person profusely, smile, and get through the door as expediently and safely as you can!. These are not provided in any particular order.
10. Rejections hurt. This could be a poster or paper submission to present at a conference. This could be a manuscript or book proposal submission. It could be the end of a friendship or relationship. It could be an unjust accusation. Bottom line - they all hurt. Try not to dwell on them overly long. Glean what you can and move forward, folks! Some have suggested 24-48 hours of wallow time. I am not sure how much wallow time works for you (or me), but the point is to acknowledge the pain but do not let is stall you into complete inactivity.
9. Practice, Practice, Practice - It cannot be overstated! I say this to faculty member, who get frustrated when the answer does not immediately appear. My cello teacher says this to me, when I get annoyed at how my finger refuse to cooperate. Or my bad habits of weeks 1 and 2 resurface in week 8. If you want to be proficient at anything, you must practice.
8. Everything happens for a reason, even if you never learn what the reason happens to be. Today, I heard that a program I created, recruited, and moderated for the past two years will re-enter the "submission" stage for the annual conference I attend most years. It's not that the program is bad or e even unsuccessful. The conference planners think it is a good idea to review all submissions. So - as recruitment ramps up - I am going to keep this in mind so that I can work with future leaders to build on the 2020 successes and, we hope, keep the program going in 2021.
7. Find people who support but challenge you. I am fortunate to have a professional mentor, who knows the system, and also feels comfortable challenging my ideas and aspirations. By challenging my ideas, this person encourages me to rethink how I allocate my time at all levels (department, college, university, local, regional, national). It assists me in trying new activities, which could further my professional development. I do very well with a hands-off, experienced, but opinionated mentor. I have enough energy, even when my reserves are running low, to keep up a good appearance. I frequently lack the confidence and experience about when to jump ship. It is at times like this, when I ask these advisers, who know me and the situation, to provide input.
6. Bug bites hurt. Right now, my go-to method for getting rid of bug bites is not working. Being me, I looked up any potential issue this reaction could be. Sometimes, my profession is not a good thing. I will give it until Friday morning, most likely, before I call the doctor to get some ideas. I have not had such a serious reaction for 2 years and I would rather not have a severely swollen arm before I deal with it.
5. Callouses show dedication. I am continually amazed by how quickly I develop callouses on my fingers from playing cello. Yes, I developed them from violin, but they feel quite different from cello. I am finally developing fourth finger (pinkie) callouses! Right now, they are not appearing as I think they should and so I will refocus my efforts on correct finger placement and technique. Still - developing a callous is better than not having a callous at all.
4. I am placing a moratorium on races. I last raced in June. I really reacted badly post-race. Then, in preparing for a different race, I did a speed workout and again reacted badly. In mid August, I was once again running consistently. Between busy, long, and stressful weeks - I have not done any running in about 8 weeks and I did not run or even walk a 5k for which I was registered last weekend. I am officially placing a moratorium on singing up for races, until I get really excited. Then, I have to be able to have consistent training - including speed workouts and runs over 4 miles -after which I do not feel horrible for an extended period of time. This could mean I do not re-up my membership to running groups, but I am not making that decision just yet.
3. I love landscaping and yard work. I have been spending more time attempting to do some things with my yard. Not all my attempts have yielded what I hoped, but I am loving it, especially when I gave myself permission to focus on it and not also try to build-in a consistent running schedule (see 4 for details). I am building different kinds of muscles. I am learning just how annoying tree roots can be. I also learned that I am not as allergic to tiny bee looking insect as I was in my early years. Then again - I appear to be really allergic to this bug/spider bite (see 6 for details).
2. Place your time and effort where it counts. I had a giant deadline on Monday. So giant - in fact - that I put many things on hold and I spent hours the past two weekends and on many weekday evenings putting things in order. Despite being more organized this year, I changed up my schedule enough that I had to put in time during the non-work hours. I prioritized deadlines that discussed scholarly activities, dealt with patient care (how to treat a patient, move forward with a research project, etc). I did not focus as much time on entering how many customer requests I handle on a daily and monthly basis. I did focus on getting and giving the best presentations I could to faculty, staff, and students. I also focused on projects, which I knew would bring faculty, staff, and students to the library. I am aware that I will likely take some heat for this. I have the data to support my decisions. My biggest goal for 2019-2020 is to focus my efforts on what will help me develop as a professional but also make me happy.
1. I am delaying when I go up for promotion. At various times I have whined, grumbled, bemoaned, dreaded, and even believed I would not get promotion or tenure (This is a status, which is hard to get, that provide a level of stability in Academia). I have published, presented, and taught enough that I will be successful for promotion and tenure. January-last Thursday, I was debating. Do I go up early and see if that will improve my interactions with colleagues? Do I wait, because then I will have been here a full five years? I discussed it with my mentor and I decided to wait and declare my intention to go-up in March 2021. This gives me time to take and enjoy a trip to Italy in March 2020. It means that I can get more experience with conducting various types of research and I can get another article or two written- up and (I hope) published. I can make a compelling case, when I ask for external reviewers to support my application for promotion and tenure. It was hard to reach this decision, but I trust my mentor and I did feel a sense of relief, once I we reached the decision.
Happy Wednesday all - I hope you are doing well. Next time, I will try to have an exciting picture to share.
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