Last night, I sat down to draft up the December monthly pages in my bullet journal. I am astounded that we are almost in the last month of the year. My major projects did not end up where I hoped, but at least there was movement on all them.

Before the year is out, I need to sit down and strategically plan all the work and personal things for 2023. I started doing this a few years ago and I really like how it keeps me focused but leaves room for randomness.

Here's what I've been working on:

1. Finals Week Social Media - During finals week, I like to binge post a lot of motivational and self-care content. This is a stressful time of year and I want to bring some goodness into our students' week. Each semester, I create a database to draft posts to schedule each day. I also design graphics to add. Plus, my favorite part, I hand-letter some fun Post-it Notes to share each morning. 
2. Website Usability Testing - I've got one more session scheduled. I would love to get more students, but I don't think that's going to happen. Since the testing is wrapping up, I just need to review the last videos to ensure my notes are complete. Then, I am going to write up a report to share with my colleagues. I didn't complete the 15 tests I wanted to do, but I have enough work to keep my busy for a year. 
3. Holiday Planning - We're hosting Christmas again and we've decided we're comfortable enough to bring back our annual holiday party. This will be the first one we've held since our kiddo was born. Instead of an evening with a massive spread of appetizers, we're doing brunch and inviting everyone's kiddos. I'm menu planning, scheduling my prep work, and buying a few supplies. As for family Christmas, we're stashing away the kiddo's gifts from everyone, figuring out gifts for everyone else, and getting ready to deck the halls. We plan to get a tree and decorate this weekend.

This morning, I set up my out of office message to start auto-replying at 4pm. In just a few hours, I get to log off work and enjoy an extra long weekend with my family. It's been wonderful watching the kiddo enjoy her grandparent daycare this week. They've taken her out to a lot of cool places. (I want to go to a trampoline park!) I've enjoyed the random "Hi, mom!" pop ins that I get while working. I'm grateful that my library lets me work from "home" like this on occasion. It makes work/life balance so much easier.

Here's what I've been working on.

1. Website Usability Tests - I spent the bulk of my week reviewing recordings for timing and to make sure my notes were complete. I also started planning out the report I need to write as well as the next steps in the project. While I did not get nearly enough student testers, I have so much work already that it doesn't matter. Main lessons : everyone wants a better nav bar and we need to add some missing information. I also learned that I need far fewer testers in general. That should make our next round easier to complete.
2. Next Semester Prep - The Spring 2023 semester will be here before we know it. I planned out my calendar and started a list of projects that I want to focus on. Spoiler alert - they're all basically continuations of my current projects. I just need to figure out how to fit them all around daycare closures. It seems like there are a lot more full week closures in the spring. 
3. Family Time - I may have been working from "home," we've been able to enjoy family time with the in-laws. We've visited a few fun new things with the kiddo and have all played on the living room carpet together. Making dinner is usually a team effort and we've had some great conversations around the table. 

I was looking ahead in my calendar to try to plot things out through the rest of the semester. I am in disbelief that there are only three weeks of classes left. It feels like the students only showed up last week. Also, Thanksgiving is early this year which is just making my calendar weird.

Here are the top things I've been working on:

1. Website Usability Tests - While the students are (mostly) ghosting their sessions with me, the faculty are showing up. I have already learned a ton. I've got a few sessions left and I'm hoping to squeeze in a few more. Since most of these are on Zoom, I've been reviewing the recordings to finalize my notes to make sure I'm not missing anything. Then it's on to assessment and report writing... and the making of a massive to do list.
2. Thanksgiving Week Planning - I got the all clear to work from home next week, so we'll be venturing out to family early. Not only am I planning what work I will tackle, I'm also working on our menu and packing list. I'm using this trip as a chance to update my standard packing lists and pre-vacation to do lists. Gotta remember those newspaper stops!
3. Webinar Series Close Out - The last webinar in our fall series is Friday. I'm hosting this one. I'm working on the slides and notes. Plus, I'm planning the final wrap up of things to get recordings posted, emails sent, and feedback reviewed. In the back of my head, I'm thinking about our spring series which focuses on faculty. 

I could use a nap right now. Between a long condo board meeting last night and a busy week at work, I am tempted to crawl under my desk for a few minutes. Instead, I will probably use that last packet of instant coffee from my work travel.

Here's where my attention is at:

1. Website Usability Testing - I have successfully (and finally!) completed two usability tests... out of 15. My faculty testers are showing up as planned; the student testers keep ghosting me. I am 0 for 4 on student testers. To make up for that, I am offering slots to any student who asks. I don't think I will get the full 10. At this point, I would be happy to get 2. On the bright side, the two tests I have done were enlightening. I already have a list of revisions.
2. Life Maintenance - I'm getting a lot of little things out of my way. Scheduling an eye doctor appointment, putting together a CostCo order, working on my November bullet journal pages, rearranging a closet, dropping off donations, and other things like that. I want to get the rest of the year worked out so that I can go into the holidays with a lower stress level.
3. Research Assignment Design - We are now joint coding our transcripts. It's a slow process (particularly when Dedoose is being buggy) but far more enjoyable than doing it alone. We mostly agree on the codes - which is awesome. Plus, with three brains working, it's easier to remember what we need to add since we all remember different things.

Attending conferences in person is a reminder of how vital Wi-Fi is to basically everything these days. The harder it is to use, the more frustrated I get. The more frustrated I get, the crankier my disposition. Good reminder about how usability is at the core of everything. The easier we can make things, the happier people are. 

Here's where my attention is at:

1. Library Marketing Conference - I am in Indianapolis to attend and present at the library marketing conference. This is the only library conference specifically focused on marketing and outreach. There are so many good ideas being shared that my list of things to try is going to be far too long than is reasonable. Also, this conference has a SWAG swap room. My colleagues have some astoundingly good ideas. If you're curious about what I'm learning, check out #lmcc22 on Twitter.
2. Website Usability Tests - I'm still scheduling these sessions. I have plenty of faculty but not enough students. I'm going to push this out more once I'm back in the office. I thought more students would want the gift card we're giving in return for completing a 30 minute session.
   
3. Condo Logo - We are in the final decision stages. We narrowed down to one main option. I'm making some final tweaks on color this week. Should be able to submit our "final" for review next week.
   

My calendar, while still a disaster, is decidedly less crammed than it was a week ago. There's some breathing room which means I am far less stressed than I was two weeks ago. There are empty blocks of time where I've been able to get some longer term work done.

Here's where my focus is at:

1. Library Marketing Conference - I managed to put together my slides by the deadline. Huzzah! I will be tweaking them a bit and changing up my notes, but they are good enough to go as is. This week, I also spent some time preparing for the SWAG swap and reviewing which sessions I want to attend. Of course I want to attend all the other sessions that will be happening when I'm presenting. (Never fails!) At least we will be given access to the slides and presentation material afterwards.
2. Website Usability Testing - I spent a ton of time scheduling folks to test over the next month and a half. This was complicated because bots/scammers found my volunteer form. I had to look in our database to see who was actually a student or faculty before I reached out to schedule a time. Most folks, unsurprisingly, want to do their test online. This might work out for the best because it will give us a better idea of how the website is actually being used. Also not unsurprising, this is clogging up my calendar for the foreseeable future.
3. Condo Logo and Newsletter - A bit delayed but I finally got out this month's newsletter for our building's green committee. Additionally, I made time to revise and share new logo options. It's not hard work, but since I'm providing many different versions, it is time consuming. I think I like where we are headed but I know there is more work to come. I'm bracing for when the final version is shared and our regular resident curmudgeons come out to say they hate everything.

This post is coming at you much later than normal because I am on the West Coast for a library conference. Aside from the intense day of travel to get here (why do airlines give you such tight connections on opposite sides of the airport?!?!?), this has been a great trip. I've learned a lot and it's a nice break from parenting. (Love you, honey!)

Here's what I'm working on:

1. Internet Librarian Conference and Presentation: I presented my session today and it went swimmingly. There were about 100 attendees which is a quarter of everyone who is here. I got a lot of great questions and a few people reached out asking to talk more later. I love that! Now that I'm done, I get to simply enjoy and keep tweeting about what I'm learning. 
2. Website Usability Testing: While I'm avoiding most office work at the moment, I am keeping an eye on people needing to schedule website usability tests. I sent out my initial invites but need to shoot out some reminders. Not as many volunteers have followed through on the scheduling as I'd hoped.
3. Me Time: This is definitely not work related at all but it is important. This trip is the longest I've been away from my kid since she was born. Since I am so geographically removed, it's not just a physical break but a mental one. There is literally nothing I can do (aside from my daily hello via FaceTime). I'm enjoying the separation and indulging with some face masks I brought. Plus, I get to just chill each night, order food uninfluenced by toddler whims, and enjoy a nice rewatch of Bridgerton​.

This week is the most jam packed schedule I've had in a long time. It's partly due to my going out of town for a conference next week. Mostly, however, it's all the self-imposed deadlines I have for projects. I know that I can drop some balls and it, ultimately, won't matter. That doesn't mean I want that to happen. I keep telling myself that, if I make it through this week, the rest of the semester will be a breeze. *scoffs at self*

Here's what I'm focusing on:

1. Presentations - I present at Internet Librarian next week. Two weeks after that, I present at the Library Marketing and Communications Conference. I need to have my slide decks done for both by early next week. I've finished outlining and am started working on my speaking notes. Later this week, I'm going to get drafts of both slide decks done. My hope is to have everything polished and ready no later than Tuesday. I'm excited at both of these sessions, but man is it a lot of work. At least I get to talk about things I like - library branding and customer service.
2. Website Usability Testing - I did a beta test with one of our circ staffers today. That was incredibly informative and I've already made changes to the script. Later this week, I am going to start scheduling the student sessions. The good news is that 30 minutes should be plenty of time for each. The bad news is I have to fit in 10 of them with the knowledge that I will have to likely reschedule a few.
3. Going Out of Town Prep - As I mentioned, I am going to a conference next week. In order to feel good about that, I am making sure my work here is all lined up and ready for when I get back. I'm working on things for the two classes I teach the week I get back, setting up social media for when I'm out, and just doing the general admin work that is necessary when one leaves for a week. I'm also prepping for my trip by bringing a few things home from the office, updating my packing list, and making sure I don't leave anything important behind. I'm also looking at my travel and conference schedule to see what little sightseeing I can do. I would very much like to visit the Monterey Bay aquarium. 

October was the month I scheduled everything that I would get to "later." Now that "later" is here, I'm crying because my calendar is so full. It wouldn't be all that bad except I lose an entire week to a conference and a couple of days to holidays and daycare closures. Next time, I'm going to be more cognizant of myself when I say I will get to something "later."

Here are the to three things I am focusing on.

1. Website Usability Testing - The script is in good shape but we are doing one more beta test with a staffer who is not involved with the project. I have already started my work to get volunteers for the actual test runs. Happily, I have more students than I need. Now I just need to schedule them all. At least I gave myself through November for that. Also, I need to track down a few faculty members.
2. Reference Assignment Design - We met to today to hash out some stuff. First, we knocked out the general outline of a poster that's due in a few weeks. Then we brainstormed for another poster proposal that's due next week. Finally, we scheduled some meetings to discuss the next configuration of our codebook and our first joint coding session. The good news is that we have a lot of ideas of what to do with our research. The bad news is that it's a lot of work.
3. Internet Librarian Presentation - I brain dumped and then structured an outline of what I want to talk about. I'm presenting on remote customer service which is something I talk about a lot. I'm trying to condense it all into an understandable session that is both actionable and a bit novel for those who've heard me speak on this topic before. I have to get my slides done before I fly out in less than two weeks.
   

Changing things up on this weekly post again.

Instead of breaking down my projects by work/personal and then overarching category, I'm just going to list the top three projects I'm focusing my bandwidth on each week.

I find that I can only really manage three major "things" at once but what they are varies from week to week.

Here's what's on my list this week.

1. Reference Assignment Design - I have one more interview to code with the first iteration of our joint codebook. It has gotten faster, but I still feel like I am missing things. When I'm done with my first round of coding, I want to give the excerpts a once over to see what I missed. Also, we all realized that we have a poster due about our initial results in just a few weeks. We are starting the scramble for that. October snuck up on us.
2. Website Usability Testing - I tested out the script with a colleague and now I want to beta test the actual material and notetaking on someone who does not use our website regularly. Assuming that goes well, we'll start recruitment and testing. We need 10 students and 5 faculty members. We're bribing/rewarding them with Starbucks gift cards.
3. Condo Logo​ - Our condo needs a new logo and we're trying to do things in-house. I joined a small group of folks working on this. Right now, I've done my first round of mock-ups. I'm going to go photograph our building and then put together a few more. We're getting together soon to discuss what we like and where we want to go.