Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Frustration
I continue to feel frustrated over work. C asked me last night why I was blogging rather than using the 45 minutes I had to myself to work. I wanted to strangle him, although I suppose it is a valid question. My answer: in 45 minutes I can compose a blog post that relieves some frustration and releases some creative and intellectual energy; in short, I can finish a blog post in 45 minutes. 45 minutes, however, is just enough time for me to get into a writing groove, at which time I am generally interrupted by S. C's academic work is taking precedence in our family right now because he graduates in May and has several interviews lined up for next month. I know that this is a necessary shift; I have enough time to get the work done I need to for my online class, but not much time to read or write for my dissertation. I'm finding that very, very frustrating. Yesterday I found myself trying to explain the complex mind of Doreen Masey to S while he nursed; he didn't find it at all amusing, especially as he has an ear infection and a bad cold.
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5 comments:
Oh dear, I totally hear you. And I also end up writing the blog post instead of working on the dissertation.
I feel like I need exactly 6 hours of uninterrupted time in order to sit down and get even a bit of the dissertation writing done. Any less time and I feel like I can barely get a couple of errands done. I tend to get so easily overwhelmed these days. Stuff piles up so quickly! But if blogging takes some of the pressure off of us, then it's ok to do that, right?
Sorry if this is too forward, but I have to say that I don't think C's question is valid. Your 45 minutes is just that - yours. If you want to use it to blog, do diss work, or just sit in a hot bath tub and flip through the latest (insert favorite magazine title here), then it's your choice. You know best what kind of work you can do in a particular time frame, and you shouldn't have to explain your choice.
I try to use the 2-hour or less blocks of time I have to read shorter articles or essays for my diss research. This way, I've technically been doing diss work, but it doesn't require me to be in the "writing zone" (if that makes sense). I promise it will get easier! Remember, somehow I managed to get an M.A. as a single parent of a 2-yr old, living four states away from friends and family.. You have a great support system and a strong work ethic - that's more than half the battle right there!!
Baby Ox seems to very much enjoy hearing about eighteenth-century dissenting academies.
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