Intentional

So, if you've been following the little graphs in the lower right corner of this blog, you can see that the last few weeks have been a bit of a train wreck for getting research done but not so bad as far as getting in physical training. The easy explanation for this would be that I like the physical training more, but that's not really true. As we're really getting close to wrapping this paper, I'm pretty excited about putting effort into it. I'd call my motivation pretty high.

Instead, the problem is one of planning. I've been getting in physical training because, frankly, it's planned. I have to decide at the beginning of the week which days I'll run or ride to work because I need to bring the right clothing in. Once that plan is set, I don't have too much choice but to execute it since I obviously have to get to work somehow.

With the research, it's been more about just fitting it in. And, even if something is important, it can easily get bumped by something that's urgent unless specific plans have been made to protect that time.

So, rather than simply logging my time on research, I'm going to start doing a better job of planning it. After meeting with my adviser, I generally have a pretty clear view of what needs to be done in the next week and how long it will take to do it. I'll follow each meeting with laying out the specific blocks of time when that will get done. Kate and Yaya are pretty good about respecting my schedule if I make them aware of it in advance. It's that lack of intentional planning that has been causing me to put down the research to take care of other stuff.