It has just been so HARD this term. I think I haver never worked so hard in all my life. Is anyone else feeling this?
At the risk of getting CONTROVERSIAL… how is it that the harder you work, the more there seems to be to do, and the more your boss tells you that the department is losing money? This is a great mystery of life. I think I need some sort of New Year’s Resolution that is based around improving the quality of my work/life balance as in fact it is not the case that workload decreases with the more you do, but the opposite. There will never be a point where we cannot see more to do. (Yes. It has taken me this long to realise that.)
And how oh how did I end up with more administrative work again this term??
So, yes I have still been thinking about narratives and identity and I love this by Riessman (2003):
‘We ‘become’ the stories through which we tell our live ..Telling stories configures the ’self that I might be.’
I
Where does that leave the blogger?? Well it means that I have to get back into blogging so that I can make myself become what I write and become more the academic I want to become and LESS like the administrator I have fallen into being.
I am drowning in nonsense.
Yes, I agree, I seem to feel continually exhausted, yet never getting to grips with things properly - and I don’t think it’s just bad time management. I’m not usually one for new year resolutions, but I feel I ought to draw up some resolutions this year about quality of life…
Comment by Sheila — December 14, 2006 @ 2:34 am
And I must add that I wasn’t encouraged by the fact that the number I just had to type in to confirm to Blogsome that I’m a real person was 66666 …..
Comment by Sheila — December 14, 2006 @ 2:35 am
Once on, the difficult thing is getting off the ever-accelerating escalator - or controlling it’s speed. The people who should control it (them there bosses) often seem the least able to do anything about it. We can all have a decent quality of life and achieve fab things at work by concentrating on the worth-while. Ho hum.
In the short term, an effective paliative remedy is to (at a time that doesn’t *add* to the stress!) invite yourself round to slob at friends’ for huge glasses of wine and a film…
Comment by Karl — December 14, 2006 @ 2:25 pm
Oh thanks for kind and sympathetic words Sheila and Karl … really nice of you to drop by and say these thingsI think that I really do need to stop worrying about the less important things and just work on what is most important … MY RESEARCH (ha ha). It actually took my daughter to explain to me ‘Mum, there is always work to do. You talk as if you believe that at some point you will get it all done.’ It never ceases to amaze me how wise she is; she astounds me.
Comment by DrJoolz — December 14, 2006 @ 9:26 pm
This is such a true post, Dr Joolz.. I cannot remember being as tired as I am now for a very long time. And as one of those bosses, no I don’t seem to be able to do anything about it either, even for myself..
Comment by Mary Plain — December 15, 2006 @ 6:23 pm