Academic New Year's

I'm stealing this a bit from Clancy at Culture Cat, and I guess it's not quite the right time for it, as the academic new year isn't until fall, but I think the resolution-gods will forgive me.

1. Write my dissertation.

That's right, I'm throwing down. By January 2008 I want a full draft of my dissertation done. Let me rephrase that: by January 2008, I will have written a full draft of my dissertation. I needed a little active subjectivity in there.

Really, I suppose that's it. That's the resolution, but, in order to get there, I need these:

2. Spend less time socializing in my office and more time in the graduate carrels.

I always think I'm going to get work done in my office, and, as assistant director, I need to be there sometimes to be available for the new TAs, but it's second semester and I think I can -- and should -- get out of there more often. The problem is that some of my favorite people are on the third floor of the building with me and if I let myself, I'll just stay up there and talk with them. I need to do some of that. Those people help keep me centered, calm, happy, even driven. But that drive isn't going to do me any good if I don't do anything with it. So it's to the grad carrels for me.

3. Manage my time better.

This one is sort of a subset of #2. Not only do I need to get out of Ham Smith, but I need to spend less time watching t.v., cleaning, eating out. I also need to manage my teaching time better. I need to comment on student papers more quickly (and I don't mean less thoroughly. I just need to focus when I'm doing it. Lock myself away somewhere and do it).

4. Go to the gym regularly.

This might seem antithetical to the previous two, and it might not seem like an academic resolution, but when I'm working out regularly I feel more focused and more energized and I sleep better. I'm generally more productive when I'm going to the gym regularly.

5. Send out at least two article manuscripts.

I have two articles in mind. One I have a half-draft of and the other is still just a thought, but I'd like to send one to CCC or Composition Studies and one to The Journal of Popular Culture. that's going to be hard to balance with writing my dissertation, so I have to make sure that the dissertation work comes first, but I would really like to get an article out there. The book that I edited years ago will only go so far.