Day 29 4/29/2018
I woke up not having a clear plan in mind. I just knew that there is Vygotsky waiting for me to explore. That said, I woke up at 7.30 and got up about an hour later — I know it was not a good start of the day.
But with some effort to make it a better day, I got ready, had breakfast and went straight to my study mode.
From 30 to 40 minutes
I have recently finished the legendary how-to book “Eat That Frog” and felt like trying out some ideas from it today.
I first put my phone on Flight Mode, set my timer for 30 minutes and tried to concentrate on reading Vygotsky (along with taking notes) for the entire time. IT WORKED! I got through the entire time with only 1–2 distractions. More importantly, it felt that time flew so fast. Best of all, I love how I can fully concentrate on what is in front of me not the notifications from my phone.
After that, I tried a couple of times, and they all worked pretty well for me. I took short breaks in between session for 5–10 minutes to browse the internet, drink some water, and talk to my husband. The longest time I could do today was 40 minutes. And I aim for 60 minutes straight tomorrow.
Another thing I tried to do today was to take notes while reading. I still do not feel comfortable dividing my small 11-inch screen into two sections — one for the reading and one for Word for a note-taking purpose. But I realize this may take time and some practice before it becomes more comfortable. There is something really good about taking notes on a computer — I can edit, move around things and ideas as many times as I wish. On the other hand, it would be extremely difficult to do it on paper. The aim for me is to create a note-taking system that works for me. It could be in any form actually.
For now, this works OK.
The afternoon and evening was OK but not really productive as today’s title suggests. Around three in the afternoon, I left my desk and decided to take a longer break to go out for some fresh air and get some dinner. After that it was difficult for me to go back and concentrate again. It did not happen until 8.30 or 9 tonight. It is going to get better with practice.
Let’s go back to the second supervision meeting with my supervisor. It took place on 4/24/2018. Jan wanted me to meet her other phd student, Sermin so that she can show me around campus and introduce me to some people in the department. Sermin walked me around campus in the rain showing me places I can find a desk to work. I learned so much about her, the University, and working with Jan as well. It took us much longer than our plan (15 mins to an hour) to get back to Jan’s office.
Since Jan was able to read my revised proposal while Sermin and I were away, she wrote me notes and questions for my study. Best of all, my revised proposal was accepted, of course, with extensive revisions to make and a ton to think about. Jan already asked me a series of questions regarding the design, the cite of data collection, and potential participants. Thankfully, because I hoped to do something of her specialty, dialogic teaching, the idea that intriques me, Jan was able to provide me with extensive feedback on the proposal. Plus, she was so supportive in the idea and extremely helpful. She helped me lay out the plan for data collection, participant recruitment, and of course a lot of books to read. This is why now I am left with a long list of reading to do within the next six months.
Tomorrow, I will write more on what I will have to do in the next six months.
4/29/2018 11.27 pm.
