Today I wore several different hats and I managed to switch gears fairly seamlessly. In the morning I reviewed two Competency Development Portfolios (CDPs) and summarized some themes. The CDP is a synopsis of learning and development acquired throughout the doctoral journey. My CDP is due in January 2013, so I have begun to work on it. Reviewing the samples helped me to solidify the approach that I will take with this assignment, also the papers were both quite interesting.
In the early afternoon I summarized the take-ways from a meeting that I had on Wednesday with a research methodology expert. This took longer than anticipated but was time well spent. I then focused on reading and summarizing some research papers and updating my project plan. My final activity today was creating a detailed plan for SPSS analysis that I will execute next Saturday. This required me to review different components of data analysis conducted so far, and dedicate time to consider the ideal sequencing of steps. I am feeling excited about resuming data analysis after such a long hiatus while I relearned SPSS!
I am heading out to do a few errands now and then looking forward to seeing a film at the Toronto International Film Festival. Next week will be busy. I need to refine my stratgeic plan and budget for 2013 and then will be driving “up north” to a 3-day leadership conference. In addition to participating, I am delivering a mini-workshop on leadership authenticity and courage. As usual, my aversion to being in the “spotlight” has created some feelings of apprehension. That said, I think that the workshop will be valuable for my colleagues and am looking forward to it.
Final thought, I have decided to take every fourth weekend off from research. I have fully accepted the fact that I need to schedule a bit more “regular R&R” so that I am not so tired all of the time!