Confessions of an Academic

Why I'm not writing...

2005-08-29T04:06:00.000-07:00

I've only added a mere 700 words today.
But I can't concentrate. I'm thinking about colleagues and friends in New Orleans, dealing with Hurricane Katrina.
Lonely Londoner's Musings on Procrastination here and here made me thinking alot about this old problem of mine: I'm procrastinating because I want to achieve perfection. And I'm working quite hard to overcome this - and I feel, I'm on my way.
So I don't feel bad to spend the day watching TV, readings newsfeeds and ...
spelling with Flickr

I found that here. Get your word(s) spelled here...
While finishing another damn' syllabus, I thought about New Kid's post on What is the work of a professor?
Sunday afternoon I visited with friends and they have a 5 year old boy. Boy asked about what I am doing - and his father thought he would simplify things by telling his son "She is a professor" (although we all know that I still have a long way to go until I WILL finally BE a professor). So they boy said: what are you doing all day?
I'll keep thinking about that and try to come up with an answer.

Day 2

2005-08-24T02:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday wasn't as productive as I wished. I spent a few hours with my Mom, doing some shopping, having lunch, and talking about my brother (hereafter: DB)

Goals for today:

reorganize files for chapter 3
continue draft for chapter 4

Day 1

2005-08-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I have decided to join the blogosphere. Hi, everybody. I'm the thirtysomething Academic confessing in this blog. Welcome to my blog.
I'm ABH - which stands for All But Habilitation at a European university. I chose that pseudonym. After months of procrastinating I recently started writing again and am pretty much freaking out about that process (much more on that in later posts).
I sometimes feel burned out and ready to be done with it. But, I really don't have that much longer to go.
I decided to start this blog for different reasons. One, I need an outlet as I go through this final stage of the degree.Two, there are a lot of blogs out there that deal with various facets of being an academic I am not aware of any blog that talks about balancing the habilitation with a career as an artist. I want to get that perspective out there. The other reasons I'll discuss in later posts.

Still a few weeks to go before the semester starts again.
Still a few weeks to finish chapter 2 and write the second draft of chapters 4 and 5 as I have made a decision:

I will finish *it* within the next 6 months.

No procrastination, no further delays.

PS: After I read about Badger's struggles at successful academic I spent the last hour to read Badger's blog about what Badger and her family are going through.