5 posts over 4 weeks. This is a lot less than I had expected when I first started keeping a journal here but it is enough, I think to start drawing some conclusions.
1. of the 5 entries, none are posted on a Thurs. or Fri. even though Friday is my easiest teaching day. It seems that I start with the week with good intentions, but I’m in trouble as the week progresses.
2. I’ve got too many projects going. There are three projects represented in each of these entries, It gets worse, I tend to select a topic to write on based on whatever I’ve been reading and also whatever topic has produced the most interesting scribbles and stray notes during random moments since the last time I wrote.
3. I’m not sure that solid deadlines will help much. The first two entries were in response to a promising call for papers which only needed a 500 to 1,000 word entry by February 15th. I’m pretty sure that I’m not going to make that. Why not? because what I’ve got worked up is a terrible abstract with no point. Why didn’t I work on it more consistently to meet this goal? Because I’ve got a job search to run, cover letters to write and a dozen other small projects which require their own writing. I need a new way to organize things.
4. Large scale arguments do not materialize out of reading notes. I need to concentrate less on reading anything that could be remotely interesting and begin writing outlines to work from so that I can preserve some sense of a thesis.
5. Writing has to be more of a priority. This week my goal is three writing journal entries. Next week, I’ll get 5 up. Look out for some reflections on the ethics of science, that topic has been of great interest of late.
