Re-Learning Productivity

Things are beginning to click again. 

I've spent a good deal of the past two months... procrastinating.  That's really the only word for it.  Now, don't get me wrong, I've not been totally lazy: I've read Perdita and I'm a good deal of the way through The Lunar Men.  Plus, I've nearly finished Frankenstein, which falls within my period and might end up being useful.  I've also perused The Botanic Garden, an edited edition of the poems of Anna Laetitia Barbauld, and a few other articles from JSTOR.  But if I'm honest with myself, I've not really gotten invested in my thesis yet, not like I should have at this point.  Each week it seems to take shape more, but it feels like such slow going-- and that's partially my fault. 

But this past week, I feel myself sliding back into academic routines and habits.  I think the reason for this is two-fold: first, I started my new job on Wednesday.  I'm working in an archive/Special Collections as part of their manuscript unit, and I love it.  Currently, I'm reading some books on archival methods, history, and theory, and on Friday I got to go through some really cool correspondence from the 1950s, from which I've derived my new favorite phrase: "I'm busier than a bird dog in a sanctuary."  I really love my new job.  I've volunteered in Special Collections before, and I've spent a lot of time in research libraries for various jobs/projects in the past, and even in just my first few days I feel like I've come down where I belong.  I may have said this before about other things, but I don't think we're limited to just one place to 'belong.'  I think I belong wherever I can research, engage with scholarship, and communicate with a larger community of interested parties.  A place where my work might really matter to people.  Right now, it's here.  And, in addition to making me happy and giving me a place of productivity and pay, the job affords routine.  I've been sorely lacking in routine for months, and the accountability of a job forces me to think a bit more carefully about how I choose to spend my non-work hours. 

The second thing that's helped has been a couple of symposiums from various professors in my department.  A couple of weeks ago, a professor advised beginning a word document for each secondary source we read, citing it bibliographically at the top, then breaking down for ourselves the argument of the book, typing up quotes, and making notes.  I started this process this week, and wish I'd been doing this since my M.A. at William and Mary.  Word documents of all that I read in that program would be incredibly useful to my current project, especially from my American Revolution Historiography course.  I'm sure I still have that syllabus somewhere... right?  I've also made a list of all of the sources I have checked out from the library, downloaded from ECCO, or printed off from JSTOR, with notes on which chapters I think will be relevant.  Essentially, a very long self-made reading list.  But, it helps to see just what I need to read, and lessens the overwhelming-ness of all of those library books.

Finally, in our last session, a professor suggested 'working to a timer.'  This is something I've never done or thought of doing... but today I tried it.  And it REALLY works.  I set the timer for 25 minutes and told myself that I only had to read for 25 minutes before I got a break.  Knowing this helped me to keep my concentration on what I was reading and to enjoy the reading more.  Before I knew it, my timer went off!  I took a short break (five or so minutes), then set it for another 25 (and then another, and another) and in this way I made it through three chapters of a book!  I'm a huge fan of this method! 

I think if I keep up a productivity rate like I've had today, I can actually knock out this thesis in no time.  Or at least, the primary research for this thesis.  I'm sure the writing will come as another great challenge, but I finally feel up to the test.