The Nucleoid returns – Tanya’s study leave reading & blogging project

On By Tanya NoelIn career, teaching & learning

I am on study leave this term! At my university, study leave is like a sabbatical for folks who are in non-traditional faculty roles, and is only 4 months long, but gives us a break from teaching and most service activities. It’s one of the things about my job that I am very grateful for, especially right now. Someone looking out a window at the side of a building with several windows.

My last blog post was in 2020. (I actually thought it was later, but nope. Though, given the exhaustion I associate with 2020, not too surprising.) With all that’s happened in the past few years – at work, politically, environmentally, and more personally to me and people I care about – I’ve reached a point where it’s been challenging to manage my time and energy. I’m likely a bit burned out (and maybe have been for a while).

I haven’t blogged. I attend few workshops, conferences, etc. I haven’t been applying for teaching and learning grants. I’ve stopped using certain social media platforms, and limit my use on any others. I’ve been getting more isolated, thanks to COVID and choices I’ve been making (along with a few things that are outside my control). I suspect this isolation is not uncommon among my colleagues (and others). Meanwhile, I’m paying for this WordPress account, feeling stuck, and like I should be doing SOMETHING with it.

For my leave, I’ve planned on updating my courses. I’m supervising a couple of amazing students doing their honours projects with me. A side goal is that I also want to find/recapture some of the satisfaction and enjoyment from my work that I miss. Don’t get me wrong – I know I am incredibly privileged to have the job that I do, and I am lucky that I still enjoy working with students! (My students helped keep me going at some difficult times, too.) Nevertheless, I am not bringing the same level of energy and enthusiasm to my work that I feel I should, and I want to make the most out of the years I have in this job before retirement. (This isn’t the only thing I’m concerned about at the moment, with what’s happening where I live … I’m hoping to build up my strength and will to deal with Other Things beyond the scope of this blog.)

Previously, I was much more active in professional organizations, interacting with colleagues, discussing and sharing teaching ideas and techniques. These were things I looked forward to and found worthwhile. So, one of my goals is to start small, and try to use my study leave to help me get back into the habits I used to have that supported these activities. And I have a lot of reading to do! Why not share something (big or small) that I’ve learned or mused about while reading? I plan to post at least once a week here, and maybe also on BlueSky (the only platform I currently feel comfortable using … ok, maybe LinkedIn, too). I am hoping that other people might be interested in some of the things I’ll post about, that we might even have discussions, conversations. If not, at least I’m trying to share (even if its not exactly to a huge audience).

I am also curious to know how others are doing. I suspect that my own state and experiences might be similar to what many folks have been going through. If so, have you found ways to regain motivation and purpose, and/or to reconnect with people? I’d be happy to hear suggestions, or even just know I’m not alone in this respect.

Some of the books I’m reading/want to read include:

If you’re also reading any of the above books, or want to know if you might WANT to read any of them, let me know! I’m not sure if I’ll be working my way through an entire book at a time, or hopping between them – we’ll see what feels right!) We could even consider a book club if there’s interest. 🙂

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