Advice from the Reading Weekend Ladies

Advice from the Reading Weekend Ladies

For almost ten years, my friends Anita, Carly, Christy, and I have rented a place in Park City for a weekend to read and talk and eat and read some more. Reading Weekend has become my favorite holiday.

Because this year's weekend happened in January, we spent some time reflecting on 2022 and talking about what we want to make happen in 2023. Here are three bits of advice from the Reading Weekend Ladies that might help you navigate 2023 (and yes, I took notes--the other Reading Weekend Ladies are sage!):

• Limit energy vampires. An energy vampire is anyone or anything that drains your energy. Be on guard and spend some time in the shower thinking of ideas on how to limit energy vampires' drain on your finite energy and brain space.

• Subtraction over addition. As teachers--particularly we part-time teachers, we often say yes to more than we can reasonably do in a day. So why not say no more often? Perhaps start by saying no to fluff, to grading on the weekends, to answering emails before bed.

• Beware of zugzwang. Zugzwang means "compulsion to move," and it seems like almost everyone is feeling zugzwang nowadays. We're all about productivity, getting the most out of the day, crossing off items on impossible to-do lists. In chess, zugzwang is when a player must make a move that worsens their position. Too much movement can distract us from what's most important, what's essential. Take time to think of what would help make tomorrow and next week not only doable but enjoyable too.

Share your gains from 2022!

Please take five minutes to answer this question: What gains did you make as a teacher in 2022? Please share them on this Google doc so we can celebrate each other and all of our gains. You can post your name or remain anonymous.

Stuff for your calendar

JANUARY

• January 26: Making the Most of Library Days with Toni Pilcher @ 11 am in B106.

• January 26: Discrimination in the Classroom @ 12 pm in B135 JFSB. Hope to see you there!

FEBRUARY

• February 1: Adjunct Faculty Annual Review is due! "Brevity is the soul of the Adjunct Faculty Annual Review," reports Hamlet.

• February 10: Tea @ 2 pm in 4086 JFSB. Join fellow full- and part-time around the table to discuss "Enough Is Enough": How do you know you've done 'enough' as a teacher? As a writer? Does doing 'enough' preserve your teaching career or lead to burnout?

• February TBA: How to Handle Students’ Mental Health Crises with Jon Cox, a psychologist at BYU’s CAPS (and Katie’s husband). Watch for an email to vote for a day and time!

• February 23: Best Lesson Plans @ 11 am in B106 JFSB.

MARCH

• March: The Adjunct Book Club—Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.

• March: A Presentation on Scheduling

APRIL

April: The Adjunct Awards Banquet