Academic Year Resolutions

As seen at Geeky Mom, New Kid, and Workbook.

Teaching:

• Make things easier on myself by speeding up my grading turnaround time (which isn't bad, but it could be better). Plus, I think I heard somewhere that student evaluations are higher the quicker the turnaround time. Anyone else heard that, or found it to be true in your own experience?
• Get lots of people lined up to observe my classes
• Keep a teaching journal so that when I write up my reflections as part of my personnel action dossier (PAD), I'll have a lot to work with
• Enjoy it! I can already tell that my students are creative and enthusiastic. I've hailed Celebrity vs. Thing before as a really clever and interesting writing exercise, and I've been wanting to use it in my writing classes for over a year now. I'm pleased to say that students have taken it and run with it, to wit: Tom Cruise vs. MySpace, Michael Jordan vs. Playstation, and Simon Cowell vs. The Alarm Clock. Ha!
• Whip up some compelling flyers for the courses I'm teaching next semester, which include (unless something changes) an undergraduate introduction to rhetorical studies course and a graduate seminar in research ethics. I've always thought creating flyers to advertise courses was a little sad, but at the same time, I understand that the title of a course in the catalog might not describe it accurately and that a flyer is a good way to get the word out about a class.

Research:

• Send that rejected grant proposal, the one I coauthored with esteemed colleagues, the one I haven't mentioned here so you have no idea what I'm talking about, right back out after getting some good feedback and revising it
• Be aggressive about asking people to read manuscripts, proposals, etc. before I send them out (the worst they can do is say no)
• Send out two articles based on my dissertation*

Self:

• I'll go with everyone else and say "exercise," but I need to figure out a gym situation first
• Worry less about money
• Use all my stockpiles of stuff before I buy more (this means shower gels, facial cleansers, lip gloss, lotions, and hair care products), no matter how cute/good-smelling/innovative the newer stuff is
• Go out to eat less often; I don't do it much anyway, but I'd like to do it less

* Yes, they will go to PRINT journals. Also, what's a good goal here? I tried to be realistic and say that the goal is to send out two article manuscripts, and that's for the year, not the semester. Is that enough?