I haven’t been doing especially well in the last little while. To begin with, I don’t feel like I am making adequate progress on the PhD project. Also, my wrist continues to be quite painful — to a degree that impedes returning to Judo. It has been illustrating the degree to which Judo had become an organizing and de-stressing force since September.
It’s not easy to identify every factor contributing to this malaise, but the effects are evident. It’s especially self-defeating in the case of the thesis. Waking up every day full of anxiety about lack of progress doesn’t serve the aim of making progress. I can also sense how I am even more anxious and irritable than usual, partly because of how I see myself responding to minor issues (like my coat rack collapsing, leaving me with far more coats than wardrobe space, and thus a room strewn with random garments).
I know the appropriate response is to focus on self-care, but that can feel self-defeating too — like choosing to relax for a while in the hope that it will make you so much more productive in the near future that you end up ahead.
I just had a very productive two-hour research consultation with Jesse Carliner – the political science librarian at Robarts.
So far, I have been carrying out my literature review starting with books I have already read, my core course syllabuses, and texts recommended by committee members and others. I have been branching out by looking at the references in each text.
The librarian has shown me how to complement that by searching through a number of specific databases, and I am going to concentrate during the next few days on looking for materials on fossil fuel divestment specifically, campus activist campaigns, the socialization of activists, etc. He also helped me find some surveys of the history of the study of social movements within political science. A lot of that points to sources I have already identified, but it should also help me broaden and contextualize things a bit.
Would something like this be too obtrusive in the middle of a room?
Alternatively
I know that Sasha enjoys yoga for destressing and so do I. There are many different kinds and they help with flexibility, balance and clearing the mind. Counseling is good for that too.
The first rack is too industrial looking to put in a room. The second one is better looking, but may not be as sturdy. Could you drill nice sturdy rack into the wall by the door?
My outlet for dealing with low periods is to make sure I spend enough time outside.