The wheel is spinning, but the hamster is dead. – Swedish expression
The incongruity between the academic year and the calendar year has never felt so out of joint as it does right now. Already, the goals I set in June 2024 (which is when I set work goals for the academic year) feel a world removed. I’m ready to move on to other projects. While there is much to enjoy about working in academia, the temporal misalignment with the rest of the country’s annual work cycle is among the small annoyances.
Still, academics on the traditional semester schedule often have the weeks between late December and early January completely off so I’ve used that time to reflect and realign my work and play to my core values. (Previously: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021)
This year, I’m hoping to finish the “reading and watching all of Shakespeare” project I stated in 2024. I made it through more than half the works before burning out in September. Now that I’ve had some time to read off the bard, I’m ready to tackle the second half of his oeuvre. Additionally, I hope to continue my occasional habit of posting “Recently in Academic Libraries” news roundups. I immensely enjoyed that process, so my goal this year is to find a way to work it into my schedule.
My theme for 2025 is “balance.” Prioritizing sleep and my physical health this past year was a huge boon to my mental health. I plan to continue that and additionally add in a new factor: music. My partner and I bought a piano last fall. I am never happier than when I’m playing music. It’s been two decades since I played (and I was never very good), but I intend to pick it back up. And possibly throw in a few additional instruments as well.
My ultimate goal is to reduce the amount of time and attention I give to [library] work. It doesn’t bring me joy in the same way that it used to, so rather than getting mired in that feeling, I want to draw my attention toward those activities that make me happy.
What I’m reading
🪧⛺️🚫 The Race to Pacify Protesters [paywalled] by Katherine Mangan. Universities are losing whatever moral high ground they once occupied.
🇺🇸🕊️❤️ Jimmy Carter, Peacemaking President Amid Crises, Is Dead at 100 [gift article] Peter Baker and Roy Reed. May we all be so good with the time we have that folks wish there were more people like us around when we pass.
🛶🕵️♀️📝 Archaeologists Are Finding Dugout Canoes in the American Midwest as Old as the Great Pyramids of Egypt by Jacqueline Kehoe. It’s great that folks are diving into the history of the lands where they sit. Even greater that they are working alongside indigenous communities to remap our understanding of urbanized areas.
Links to the past
- 1 year ago: I was being very domestic this day.
- 5 years ago: My son’s world is infinitely more interesting than my own.
- 10 years ago: I have never not been obsessed with productivity systems. It’s just who I am.
Overheard online
You may not believe in Count Orlok, but Count Orlok believes in you. – @chronodm on Mastodon
banner photo: found this lovely lady in the garden this past weekend