Well, that was quick. I'm starting a new job on Monday!
It's a temp role, for 13 weeks, which is long enough to make a contribution and learn some things, but no so long that I feel like I'm over committing. I'm really, really looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to that feeling of not knowing what I'm doing, and having to figure it out and learn new things in the process. It's in a hospital, so it's still in that medical environment that I'm somewhat familiar with, but I've not worked in a hospital before. It's also quite close to one of my favourite Indian restaurants, so I'll have to convince my partner to meet me after work for dinner occassionally.
On another topic, I came across this great idea posted by the always impressive Mylee Joseph to the ALIA New Grads elist http://answerboards.wetpaint.com This is a wiki for librarians who participate in web-based answer boards, and they're having a "Slam the Boards" event to promote libraries and librarians in general - a fine idea! I'm planning to have a play around and see if I can contribute in some way.
Which leads me to my next challenge. Last year I worked a full time job, ran a national conference, and had a rather dramatic personal life. This year, I'm...working a full time job, usually. And yet I don't seem to have lots of free time on my hands. What's going on?
I've decided the problem is a combination of discipline and time management. So I want to try and get back into the practice of setting aside time for things like professional reading, keeping up my committee work with NGPAG, and writing more. I'm exploring the idea of going back to study next year, and if I can't maintain some time discipline this year, I've got no hope with study, so this is going to be a bit of a prepatory exercise.
I'll admit that I'm suffering a bit from the "I'll do it tomorrow" syndrome - I did have a hard year last year, and this year I've been more inclined to be easy on myself, but you know what? It's August and I've not achieved much, except for quiting two jobs. I think perhaps I've been a little too easy on myself.
So I'm setting aside two hours today to catch up on NGPAG work, and another two hours on Sunday. I'm going to make one night a week "library night" where I make the effort to contribute, rather than just read through some rss feeds.
Other than the simple "just do it", I'd love to hear how other people keep up with professional issues. How much time does it take each week? Do you set time aside, or do you just do it when you feel like it? How do you keep track of it all?
Friday, August 10, 2007
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2 comments:
I think that an important thing to be mindful of, when it comes to "keeping up", is that you're never going to know everything. Nor are you necessarily going to understand everything. And the blogosphere isn't necessarily the best source of information - but it's a good source for ideas and finding an understanding of where the industry is in relation to major issues.
And the great thing about the blogosphere, is that there's a conversational informality, in which people can make themselves, and their ideas, really accessable to other colleagues, and people can interact.
So, I'll often just focus on the areas that interest me, and that I'm passionate about, and slowly build a bit of a rapport with other bloggers, so you can influence each other and share new ideas. That way, it also stays interesting, rather than the common tired protest of "how am I going to find the time to get through all of that?"
Mmm, good tip Andrew, thanks! My curiosity, combined with my impatience, tends to meet it's match on the internet - I want to know everything, NOW! But I like what you say about focusing on just some areas. These tend to show themselves pretty naturally, I guess - the articles that I end up reading in full, the things that I get passionate about.
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