New Year Resolutions

I am not one for making personal new year resolutions - they generally involve eating less chocolate and doing more exercise - like many people, I rarely achieve them. But, in the case of my studies, the new year is a good time to sit back and consider what I've achieved, and what I need to do to achieve more. I had intended to use the long break from being at uni (they turn the heating off over the holidays!!!) to get my Sax Shaw presentation, but instead I have spent two weeks hanging out with family, spending time in the flat with Calum (our work schedules rarely match up the rest of the year), do an excessive amount of knitting and eat a lot of food. The result? I am raring to go! So, here are my resolutions:


1: Get out of bed earlier
I have always been an early rise, but since beginning my PhD I have gradually become one of the students I never was when I was an undergraduate. No matter what time my alarm goes off, I know there is usually no-one expecting me to be anywhere, so I hit snooze and go back to sleep. But not this year! It's been said so many times that mornings are most productive so as the days get lighter I intend to get up and greet them more readily. I also plan to schedule meetings first thing so that I have no choice but to get up.

2: Keep up with my to-do lists
When I began my PhD, it was quite easy to keep track of the tasks which needed doing, as I had a clear starting point. Now, as my project expands and evolves, I have so many things on the go at once that it can feel overwhelming. Though we all know that cutting things down into bite-size chunks makes life more manageable, the reality is that, when we're in a frenzy or a panic, lists and structure go out the window as we fight fire with fire. Keeping my studies in check can take effort, but it is always worth it.

3: Have a crash-course in weaving
The weavers at Dovecot have offered Elizabeth and I the opportunity to have a weaving lessons and we haven't yet had a chance to take them up on their offer. I am determined to find the time before the centenary exhibition opens in July. I think I know an adequate amount about the weaving process, in order to describe it in my thesis - but nothing can compare to the actual experience of having the yarn in your hands and a loom in front of you. I am sure it will be a valuable contribution to my research.

Bunkered, 2010, design by Willie Rodger, woven by David Cochrane, Dovecot Studio

4: Keep tweeting
I have resisted joining twitter until recently, but just a few weeks in I am hooked. Not only have I enjoyed the constant feed of news and interesting bits and bobs from around the world, but the readership of this blog has already leaped up - Hi there! Many thanks to Mister Tollcross for his support and re-tweets.

5: Leave the blog design alone
This is it for my blog re-designs (for now at least). I have finally found something I'm pretty happy with AND it coordinates with my twitter account. Hooray!