First sabbatical: any tips?

[Promovenda]

My first academic sabbatical is from January - June 2020. I won't be traveling because family.

How can I:
Stick to my two writing projects?
Keep from wasting time?
Keep from giving in to the temptation to do non-academic things since I now have the time?
Keep from going into my office?

I'm thrilled, excited, and a little scared that I won't meet my goals and will be depressed at the lack of schedule. Words of wisdom are welcome.

[Ruralguy]

Physically going to your office *might* be OK, so long as you aren't the type who can easily get drawn back into dept. and college bs.  But in either case, don't go to meetings (there might be one or two exceptions, but don't go to weekly dept. meetings, or stay on a busy committee or advise, etc.).

Stick to projects by setting reasonable goals and doing a bit each day. By all means, if you have some sort of "flow" on one project and want to do more, do it, but resist the temptation to ignore both for more than a day or so.

By all means, do non-academic things! If you have time to say, exercise and read more, do it. But keep to a reasonable work day and do consistent work, and don't get dragged into others' problems and work.

[mamselle]

I'll never have that exact problem, but as an independent scholar, I do often have to be able to plan my time and fill it well without much external guidance.

Two things that help me are:

1) I have sub-goals built into my calendar alerts: monthly or weekly reminders at some simple level of detail that keeps me aware and on-track a bit more than if I were left to my lonesome to do it.

Sometimes, after a bit, I might need to tweak them or I find myself ignoring them; that means I need to evaluate further overall.

2) I have a couple of friends in very different, but similarly self-guided fields (one a writer, another an artist/printmaker) and I have arrangements to call them or text/email them with progress reports on some regular rhythm.

Sometimes I set up 5 different people, and arrange to call each person on "their" day; sometimes it's just one or two, more randomly.

They're allowed to email/text/call me and ask if they don't hear from me, too.

Oh, and,

3) The P/A (Paralysis Analysis) thread, or the "sprint" threads, here, are useful for that as well.

If we don't have a sabbatical sprint thread, maybe you could start one?

There were a couple of "sprint" threads on the old Fora, and I think one of them made it over here as well.

M.

[Promovenda]

Thanks, Ruralguy; thanks, mamselle.

I'm too pressed at the moment in the end of semester crunch to make plans; in two weeks I'll come back to your suggestions. They look helpful.

I may have to go in to my office at times since a lot of my materials are there. It will be a challenge not to get drawn in, as you say, to the b.s.

I don't know what a sprint thread is. I'll look it up after Christmas.

[mamselle]

Here's one Polly started; I use them at first, then it seems to spark my activity engagement so I sometimes don't come back to sign off....but I still find them useful.

   http://thefora.org/index.php?topic=183.msg7568#msg7568

M.