How to feel good about what you accomplished over the summer

Plus a photo of my cat Bandit in a box. Because no one gets tired of photos of cats in boxes.

Hello and welcome to Academia Made Easier. I am so glad that you are here. 

We are approaching the end of August, and for those of us working in the northern hemisphere, the end of August marks the end of summer. Days are shortening. The fall semester looms (or for some people has already started). And, for some people, a harsh reality is setting in: their highly ambitious summer goals set in the spring will not be fully realized.

As I wrote back in June, one of my coauthors refers to the last week of August as the “week of broken dreams” for academics. This was certainly true for me in the past, and particularly in my pre-tenure days. I would brush aside what I did achieve over the summer - updating course syllabi, forward momentum on my research, time spent with family, decluttering the basement - and instead focus on my unmet (and unrealistic) writing goals.

I have a long history of being a jerk to myself.

As we head into the final stretch of August, I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on the summer months before you transition into the fall. You will almost certainly find there are things you can celebrate and learn from.

Today’s small thing to try immediately will take you about 20 minutes - considerably less time than the average internet user spends per day on social media (estimated at 145 minutes for 2020). So sacrifice a small portion of your Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or TikTok time and give this one a try. 

Image source: pixabay.com

One Small Thing to Try Immediately: The End of Summer Debrief

The end of summer debrief is simple. Answer the questions below using either pen and paper (old school!) or the Docs worksheet I created for you (enjoy!). (If you completed the End of Term Analysis I introduced in April, these questions will be familiar.) I recommend setting a timer for 90 seconds to two minutes per question. 

1. Description

• In neutral language, describe the summer. (E.g., how much vacation time did you take; what were your work and personal responsibilities; what projects did you work on; etc.).

2. Feelings

• How did you feel over the course of the summer? At what points were you calm, overwhelmed, hopeful, discouraged, content, frustrated? 

• Now that the summer is completed or in its final stages, what are your dominant emotions about your summer overall?

3. Evaluation

• What went well for you this summer? 

• What were the most challenging things for you during this summer? 

4. Analysis

• In what ways, if any, did your actions or choices contribute to the things that went well for you?

• In what ways, if any, did your actions or choices contribute to the things that challenged you?

5. Conclusions

• What would you do the same if you were to start the summer again? Why?

• What would you do differently if you were to start the summer again? Why?

• What about this summer are you particularly proud of?

6. Action Plan

• What skills (e.g., organizational, time management, self care, stress/emotion management) did you strengthen this summer? 

• How will you use what you have learned over this summer in the future?

I have had the pleasure of leading groups through this process and in the follow-up discussions participants consistently report feeling more positive after investing the small amount of time. I hope you will make this investment yourself. 

Chipping Away: What I Have Been Up To

A quick update on some of my own activities since my last newsletter, since I have your attention:

• University Affairs published my Syllabus Design Bootcamp as part of my Skills Agenda series. The bootcamp helps you plan a course that is workable for you and your students, with work balanced over the semester. If you have a syllabus (or two, or three) that remains incomplete, please check out my practical tips to: 

  • create your syllabus template and set your learning outcomes (part 1); 

  • select your learning materials, including readings, while paying attention to inclusion (part 2); 

  • design assignments that tie to your learning outcomes (part 3); 

  • create a workable schedule for the term (part 4); and 

  • add your course policies and your personality to the syllabus (part 5). 

• I presented my workshop, “Integrating Career Skills Training — Without Sacrificing Content or Creating More Work”, at another university. I have led this workshop at a number of Canadian universities over the past three years and I always appreciate the enthusiasm faculty have for skills training once they see how easy it can be. 

• My family took a road trip to Grasslands National Park, a stunning badlands ecosystem and dark sky preserve located roughly four hours from our home. We stayed in an oTENTik, which is as close to camping as I care to get, and saw bison, deer, pronghorns, prairie dogs, coyotes, rabbits, hawks, grouse, and one of the most amazingly clear night skies I have ever seen. We had no wifi or cell data for a good part of the time, which was an added bonus. Strongly recommended.

Until next time…

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Stay well, my colleagues. I look forward to seeing you next time.

PS.  You read all the way to the bottom! You are awesome and to thank you for that, below is a photo of my cat Bandit in his new fancy box from Ikea. I thought it would be a cute storage space for some of my stuff, but as Bandit and Storm instantly claimed it, my dreams of being somewhat better organized will continue to wait. Do you have pets that ‘share’ your stuff? Please click the comment button and tell me about them!

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Loleen Berdahl, PhD: I am a twin mother, wife, runner, cat lover, and chocolate enthusiast. I spend far too much time on Twitter and binge-watching television, and my house could be a lot cleaner. During the work hours, I am the Executive Director of the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. I am the author of University Affair’s Skills Agenda column and my most recent books are Work Your Career: Get What You Want from Your Social Sciences or Humanities Ph.D. and Explorations: Conducting Empirical Research in Canadian Political Science.