Better late or never: to-do list strategies

Over the past year or two, the wonderful realization that I don’t have to do everything on my ‘to do’ list has started to dawn on me.

I remember first realizing this when I was almost at the top of an uphill hike: I didn’t have to go all the way to the top if I didn’t want to, and not reaching the summit didn’t have to leave me feeling disappointed in the hike or myself. I knew I could make it to the top, and that I might be missing out on a view, but that in some cases forcing myself to keep going wasn’t necessary and could even detract from the experience. Not to say that there haven’t been times I’ve pushed myself beyond the ‘fun’ point and then had it all be worth it for the view and satisfaction, but knowing there are alternatives now leaves ‘going on’ or ‘turning back’ both as viable options.

Sometimes it’s better to do ‘to do’ things later or, even, never! A friend’s postdoc advisor suggests making 2 ‘to do’ lists: one of ‘must dos’ and the other of ‘maybe dos’. Since I am a huge list-maker, I’ve found one method that works for me is to fold a piece of paper into quarters, then use the 4 quadrants to make lists of things ‘to do’ (1) today, (2) this week, (3) this month, and (4) at some point. In a quick web search, it looks like ‘to do list strategies’ is a popular New Year’s topic, and that the most common suggestion is to prioritize and start with the highest priority. This strategy works best for me as far as grad school. In contrast, when it comes to sewing for the shop and custom orders, I always start with the smallest, easiest projects, because remaining tasks feel less daunting when I’m done with the easy ones. Finally, one great suggestion I read is to identify your most and least productive times of day and plan tasks to match your focus level. For me, this means reading papers first thing in the morning and doing any web database searches after lunch and in the afternoon.

Last month, just before Christmas, I was overwhelmed by keeping up with custom Cascade Lemonade orders, preparing for a meeting with my advisor in California, and other family holiday activities. I ended up leaving several ‘to do’ items for later or never, including making many gifts and a wreath for our front door. This weekend, I finally got around to making the wreath, from greenery and dried flowers clipped from our yard, so now it’s a Valentine’s Day wreath!

Crazy and upside-down cakes

Here are a couple of my favorite quick cake recipes, both picked up during my time with the Whitman College marine biology class at Friday Harbor Labs. I think this may be the only class I know where the teaching assistants not only set up labs and advise projects, they also plan and prepare 3 meals a day for a week. Hence, the super quick, easy, and tasty recipes. The Crazy Cake comes from Mandy, who TA-ed with me, and the Peach Upside-Down Cake comes from my TA the previous year (who was also a white-water rafting guide), Ben. Enjoy!

Crazy Cake

We just made this with Caden’s help – his first experience baking a real cake! It’s perfect for baking with kids because it’s vegan, so no raw eggs to worry about. And once Caden tasted the batter, there was no keeping him from it! The lack of eggs also means it would be great for camping – just mix the dry and wet ingredients and carry in a Ziplock bag and small plastic container, respectively. Bake in a dutch over or foil packets? If it doesn’t bake through, you can just eat it as ‘molten’ chocolate cake! Finally, it’s cholesterol free when made with canola oil.

Ingredients
3 c. flour
6 T. baking cocoa
2 c. white sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
¾ c. oil
2 T. vinegar (we just used white wine, but any white or red would work)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. cold water

Directions
Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients in 2 separate bowls. Combine. Bake in a 9x13 pan (no greasing required) at 350 F for 30-35 minutes. Delicious when served warm.

Peach Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients
Store-bought cake mix (yellow or white)
Ingredients called for on the mix box (eggs, oil)
Can of sliced peaches in juice (‘regular’ size for a square pan, ‘family’ size for a 9x13 pan)
Brown sugar (optional)

Directions
Grease a 9x9 or 9x13 pan. Drain peaches into a liquid measuring cup, and reserve juice. Sprinkle brown sugar in the pan if a crunchy topping is desired. Arrange peaches in the bottom of the pan. Prepare cake mix as directed (on the box) *except* use the peach juice in place of water (adding extra water, if there’s not enough juice). Pour batter over peaches, and bake as directed. Cake will take extra time to bake due to the added juiciness of the peaches, especially in a 9x9 square pan (up to an hour). When a toothpick comes out clean, let cake cool a bit, then either serve straight from the pan or invert onto a serving dish. Fabulous when served warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

If anyone tries any variations on these, please share! Bon appetit!

New Year 2008 - First post!

Since this is my first post, I thought I'd start off with an introduction, after I explain my thinking about why start a blog at all?

The short answer: now that I’ve come up with the idea, my brain won’t stop composing entries until I do.


The long answer: my initial impetus to starting this was as a forum to share craft projects and ideas with other ETSY community members. Many Etsyans have fun and beautiful blogs that I enjoy reading and that, I also think, make their homemade products more desirable because of the ‘behind the scenes’ window into the crafters’/sellers’ lives. But a devoted craft blog just didn’t seem right for me, partly because I couldn’t reason adding another craft-focused project to my schedule. I also thought about my online ‘persona’: did I want to be known as a crafter only, diluting my sciency Google hits? I started looking at blogs written by my ecological colleagues and found that they include entries such as political commentary on science-informed issues, statistical advice, references to quirky studies, and scientific equipment tutorials. When I searched for ‘science craft blog’, I got…nothing. I didn’t even try adding ‘how to balance work and family’ to the search. Voila – a niche!


Me, my blog, and I
I am: a mom, graduate student, crafter, lover of the outdoors, native Oregonian, California resident, living in Massachusetts. In my head, I am constantly dreaming up new craft projects, family trips, and research projects. I am also frequently contemplating how to meld the disparate facets of my life – namely, family (always my number 1 priority), science (or ‘work’, although it fortunately rarely feels like it), and hobbies (especially outdoor pursuits and crafting, which sometimes shifts to feeling more like ‘work’). Is it possible to concurrently be an effective and productive scientist with a satisfying family life and while devoting time and energy to creative and physical pursuits? I look forward to exploring these goals and questions, sharing ideas I’m dreaming up, and providing a little window into *my* multi-faceted life. Maybe I’ll spark some academic, creative, or domestic energy in *your’s* !

Family (last Christmas Eve 2006, on the California coast)

Science (sea squirts and bryozoans are squishy but beautiful!)

Crafts (my biggest project yet - my one and only full size 'Snail's trail' quilt)

I've enjoyed reading other bloggers' New Year's resolutions, which has prompted me to share my own. In 2008, I resolve to:

1. sleep 7 hrs/night (up from my typical 5 ½ to 6)
2. strengthen my back/improve my posture (more weights and yoga?)
3. do a pull up (this may be my most challenging resolution, but if I can go from failing the ‘sit and reach’ in elementary school to one of the more flexible members of tae kwon do in college, then I trust it can be done!)
4. read a paper a day (I’m determined to read all 365, so I already have about 15 days of catching up to do)
5. submit 2 papers (I’ve set a self-imposed deadline of February for the review I’m working on – my first thesis chapter! Not sure what the other will be, but hopefully I’ll find it when I…)
6. analyze and review all existing thesis data (yes, I mean all)
7. give a guest class lecture (maybe in the marine invertebrates class next fall - ?)
8. take Caden backpacking (we took him camping twice his first summer, but not at all last summer – we were so busy with moving!)
9. go camping in the northeast (since we’re new here, we’ll have to find out what time of year is the best combination of warm temperatures and low bug densities)
10. update Caden’s baby book
11. make a pdf pattern for my lunch bags (high up-front time commitment, but would be nice to have and hopefully pay off eventually)
12. make a play mat (I’ve been planning this since I opened my Etsy shop and have yet do actually do it!)
13. make Caden’s Christmas stocking (Puffy paint on flannel just doesn’t have the same cozy feel – but this resolution will be tough, too, because I’ll have to find/design a pattern that I think he’ll like through adulthood – phew, tough task!)
14. make improvements on the house (we have a punch list maybe 50-75 items long, so it shouldn’t be hard to cross at least a few things off the list…maybe the roof? We updated the electricity from fuses to 200 amps soon after we moved in last year)
15. call someone once a week (I realize that I get so busy, I don’t make enough of an effort to communicate with friends and family, 95% of whom are across the country from us)

15 seems like a reasonable number to me, although my husband sounded shocked at the length of my list. Maybe posting these will actually make me accountable for them!