PEGA-SIS Newsletter
Winter 2018 | Vol. 2 Issue 2
In this Issue
Letter from the Chair
Happy New Year, everyone!
And welcome back to another issue of our newsletter. In this issue, we are expanding our content with two new columns. 2017 was a tough year for a lot of people, and “The Nook: Simple Tips for Self-Care” will offer ideas for improving and maintaining your physical and mental wellbeing, both in the workplace and beyond it. There are also times when we need to focus on the concrete responsibilities of our jobs, and the column “How to Build a Better Librarian” will offer strategies to address these questions too. If you have a topic idea for one of these columns or would like to submit a column article, the editors would love to hear from you (The Nook: Candle Wester; Better Librarian: Deborah Schander).
A few changes are happening behind the scenes too. As PEGA continues to grow, so does our administrative structure. The Executive Board is doing small things like updating committee names and charges to better reflect their areas of focus, for example. This will mean a few changes to our Bylaws too, so watch for more information on that.
We are trying out a new format with our newsletter by including the full text of each article instead of linking out to our blog. Please let us know your opinion on this change by taking this quick two question survey.
I wish you all the best for 2018!
Deborah Schander, Chair
AALL Professional, Growth, & Advancement SIS
ASK PEGA
Remove Clutter: Start the year off with a clean space. Whether it's deep cleaning your office, organizing your backpack/work bag, or just rearranging the piles on your desk, getting your work space in order will help you start the new year with a clean(ish) slate.
Check Your Blindspots: Make a conscious decision to reduce your personal blind spots this year. We all have blind spots -- about how we’re perceived by our colleagues, our performance on certain projects, areas we need to grow in to advance, etc. We may not be able to completely eliminate those blind spots, but we can try to be more aware they exist. Then you can use that growing awareness to help you set goals, develop better relationships with others, and more.
Make it Bite-Sized: Don't get weighed down by lofty “this year I will…” goals. Try to break your goals down to monthly challenges. For example, this month try working on managing email for 30 days. Next month, maybe focus on being better about taking breaks instead of just working through lunch. ‘Bite-sized’ goals help build better long-term habits because even though you are only focusing on one thing per month there is roll-over. Eventually these little tasks combine to create new good habits.
Get Comfortable with No: In my first few years as a librarian I wanted to dabble in everything. I would say yes to anything even if I was totally overwhelmed with my current schedule. I didn’t want to say no to things because I thought it made me look bad as an employee or that I was seen as not a team player. I ended up on 8 committees including one that took up as much time as grading for my class. This year I have limited my time to projects I know I can handle. If I felt any hesitance when asked to do something, I have politely declined and offered some suggestions for alternatives. I simply can’t be a jack of all trades but a master of none.
Take a Break from Social Media: Take a break from social media and news when you get overwhelmed. Going on a news fast and cleaning your social media of toxic people is a great way to start the new year.
Show Us Your Shelfie!
1. Name, Title, Library: TJ Striepe, Faculty Services Librarian, Alexander Campbell King Law Library, University of Georgia School of Law
2. Tell us about your Shelfie: This is the bookshelf at my office. There are all sorts of teaching materials and recent books I have used to assist faculty in their research. The hypos in the teaching materials make my life much easier and it’s always nice to see my kids smiling at me!
3. What is your favorite thing on your shelf? Definitely the pictures of my family and my kids’ artwork. Although Herky the Hawk is a close second.
4. Besides your workplace library (naturally), what is the coolest library you have ever seen/been to? Boston Public Library – it’s a beautiful building and a great place to visit!
5. What do you like the most about being a librarian? What do you like the least? I enjoy my interactions with students in the classroom and celebrating with faculty when an article is accepted. I do not like having early/late classes – it quashes the students’ participation.
6. What is the best advice you’ve ever been given? Don’t be afraid to fail.
7. Who is your library/librarian hero (or the person who inspired(inspires) you to be a librarian)? Carol Watson, the director of our Law Library. She does a great job of providing a direction for the Law Library but giving us the freedom to accomplish it as we deem best.
8. What was your best day on the job? My best day on the job was my first day. After practicing law for a little over five years and doing a fellowship at the University of Arizona Law Library I knew that I was in the profession I was supposed to be in.
9. What was the last book you read? Digital or Print? Dark Matter by Blake Crouch – Digital.
10. What’s the last thing you Googled? How to spell vizsla!
11. Cats or Dogs? Dogs – we have a vizsla named Maui (after the guy in the movie Moana).
12. Coffee or Tea? Coffee
13. How many cardigans do you own? Sadly I only own three.
14. Favorite Word? Least favorite word? Favorite word is onomatopoeia – it’s just fun to say. Moist is my least favorite word.
15. What’s your perfect Sunday afternoon look like? Going out for lunch and then taking the kids to the park.
How to Build a Better Librarian
Five Questions to Ask Yourself When Developing Your Project Tracking System
Do you set New Year’s Resolutions? Maybe you’re the kind of person who adamantly refuses to do so – or sets them but doesn’t tell anyone so you have an out if you don’t reach them. Whatever your approach, it’s hard to get through the start of a new year without hearing the topic discussed all around you. In a work context, this is often the time of year when we decide it’s time to do a better job tracking and managing our projects. If you’re feeling that way, here are five questions you can ask yourself to stay on target.
1. Why am I tracking my projects? There’s a big difference between needing to track your progress because you’re terrible at details and because you have to write a report on your work for your supervisor every year. More than likely, you’ve got several reasons for why you’re keeping a record, so it’s worth making sure your system takes all of those reasons into account.
2. Am I a paper or electronic kind of person? Personally, I’m both. I live by my electronic calendar, but track all of my projects via an untidy collection of paper notes. There is a plethora of electronic tools available (Trello, Evernote, and more); the biggest advantages are that you can access them anywhere and across multiple devices, and that you can easily keep a record of completed projects as well as current ones. Similarly, you can find every type of notepad and calendar you could wish in paper too; if physically crossing an item off a list when you’ve finished it gives you distinct pleasure, it’s okay to acknowledge that and use it as part of your process.
3. What motivates me to get stuff done? People are motivated by all kinds of reasons: monetary reward, promotion, public recognition, deadlines, the joy of accomplishment, so we don’t get in trouble for not doing it, and more. Take some time to really think about why you’re working on something and what’s driving you to get it done. If it helps, tell it to a colleague or a supervisor so you have outside accountability. If it helps, keep the reason to yourself; it’s surprisingly liberating to just be honest with yourself about your motivations, especially if you think they’re selfish ones. Just be sure you apply what you learn to ensuring the work still gets done.
4. How do I really feel about deadlines? Douglas Adams once said “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” Everyone reacts to deadlines differently, and you need to know not only how they affect you, but also how they affect the people you work with. If you work best under pressure, but deadlines cause your project partner to go into meltdown mode, wouldn’t you rather come up with a solution at the start of a project than in the middle of a crisis? Again, be honest with yourself, and develop a system that takes your preferences into account.
5. Am I taking time to reflect on my progress? It’s so easy to get caught up in the rush to get through each day and each project. Find a time to do a regular status check. Perhaps you make a standing appointment with yourself at 3 p.m. every Friday. Maybe you take an hour at Starbucks with a colleague every couple weeks to regroup. Treat this reflection time like every other project so it doesn’t stop happening.
And now, two bonus pieces of advice: 1) Everyone’s method for keeping track of their projects is going to be different. If you find it useful to get ideas from other people, go ahead and ask. But don’t feel like you have to use a certain system just because it works for someone else. Find what works for you, and 2) Even our own personal systems evolve. Reevaluate your system every so often so you’re not holding yourself back.
The Nook: Simple Tips for Self Care
Take a Walk
Welcome to the PEGA-SIS Newsletter’s newest column, The Nook: Simple Tips for Self-Care. We hope you will find some useful and easy tips on how be more mindful, reduce stress, and to be a better steward for yourself. In a profession where we strive to give our patrons our very best, it is important to take care of one’s self.
One of my methods of self-care is my morning walk picture. It evolved out of being part of a weight loss study for the university’s public health department. Part of the study required working towards walking 10,000 steps daily. Given that I spend much of my day sitting, I knew I needed to get up and moving early before my work day began. The study was only four months long, but the morning walks became part of my daily routine. To get my walk in, I get to work about an hour before my official start time. Depending on what I have on my schedule for the day, my walk is usually a half-hour to an hour long. I walk at a good pace, so it is a bit of exercise. I do not listen to music or podcasts while I walk because the point of the walk is to be in the moment; to be mindful of the environment, and appreciate what would most likely be missed later in the day when I have meetings or calls to return or emails to send or all the other things during the day that require my attention.
To acknowledge and/or to appreciate these moments, I take a picture during each of my morning walks. Generally, it is a flower or plants – the University of South Carolina has a lovely rose garden. Sometimes, it is a squirrel or a bird or a building or clouds or light pouring through the trees. Recently, it was the fountain of ice on campus. No matter what it is, it was something that caused me to smile or to be in awe of the world around me. Then, I post the picture to my Instagram and Facebook accounts to preserve the picture and to share it with my friends and family. For me, sharing my morning walk pictures gives me an opportunity to share a part of my life that I find meaningful with those who are important to me. By the end of my walk I feel like I am more at peace, generally calmer, and ready to tackle the day ahead.
If you are interested in learning about mindfulness walking, please see:
· Mindful Walking Practice: How to Get Started
· Meditation In Action: Turn Your Walk Into A Mindful Moment
· A Daily Mindful Walking Practice
As the last article, A Daily Mindful Walking Practice, notes a mindful walk can be as short as 10 minutes and can be done indoors – especially since, the weather in any season can be a challenge (or for long spans of time). Perhaps there is an area in your building you do not often frequent that you could take a brief walk through or try a different route to a department you visit often for a short mindful walk.
Is there a self-care topic or technique you would like to know more about or write about for The Nook: Simple Tips for Self-Care? If so, please contact Candle Wester at westercm@law.sc.edu.
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