Thank God It's Friday!

Today's Goals
1. Write 150 words.
2. Read "Lest We Forget."

Thursday, June 11

Today's Goals
1. Read article, "Lest We Forget."
2. Write 400 words.
Done
1. Read 2 chapters from Popular Politics and Resistance Movements in South Africa.
2. Began "Lest We Forget" article.
3. Wrote 100 words.

Wednesday, June 10

Today's Goals
1. Read Chapter 4 "South Africa Evolution or Revolution."
2. Read Chapter 4 from Popular Politics and Resistance Movements in South Africa.
3. Write 350 words.
For Thursday
Read Chapter 9, "The Nelson Mandela Museum and the Tyranny of Political Symbols."
Read "Between Norms and Facts."
Done
1. Wrote 401 words.
2. Read two interviews with Siphiwo Mahala.

Tuesday, June 9

Today's Goal
1. Write 450 words.
2. Finish Chapter 1.
3. Read Chapter 2.
4. (Read Chapter 4 for Wednesday goal.)
Done
1. Finished Chapter 1.
2. Read chapter 2.
3. In the afternoon finished article "Photographer Autonomy and Images of Resistance."

Monday, June 8

Today's Goals
1. Read 1 chapter of South Africa: From Apartheid to National Unity. 1981-1994.
2. Write 500 words.
Done
1. Wrote 400 words.
2. Read introduction and 1/2 chapter 1, "South Africa: Strategy for Survival."
The writing is going slowly, but I do feel that I am gaining an informed understanding of the local and global context of the setting of the story I am working on.

Friday

Today's Goals
1. Read "Lest We Forget" article.
2. Read "Facts and Norms" article.
3. Write 1 page so that I have written 5 pages this week.
4. Spend 1 hour reading Habermas--I find Habermas's material to be an incredibly dense. I like this direction as a way to think and make a point about democracy and subject formation and the limits of rationality as a central trope of modernity, but I also know I can spend all summer trying to get a grip on what this philosopher is saying, so it will be important for me to look at two key sources for him (Theory of Communication and The Habermas Reader while also moving forward on other ideas and writing up other material or else I will not finish this chapter quickly. So I will try the method of putting a time limit on reading Habermas.
5. Read "Commemorating the Trojan Horse."

I would also like to read "Photographer Autonomy" and "Properties of Whiteness" and complete the historical context of 1980s SA. I think all of this is going in the direction of an unrealistic goal, but I will use this as a goal dump and start to see how much is doable in a day, a weekend, a week as a way to continue to refine my goal setting process. Goal setting has been helpful for me. My research takes me in different directions, and that is all part of the process, so I am fine with that, but having a plan and setting a goal is almost like an easy writing ritual at the beginning of a writing session; it gets me typing, it gets me thinking about my project, and then I am in it an away I go. Otherwise if I just sit at the computer and start working on the chapter, I will avoid doing that all day!

Thank God It's Friday!
I wrote about 400 words on Friday. I found online sources about South Africa in the 80s and used those sources to find books on the topic. I checked out about 4 books from the library, finding other sources once I was in that section. I didn't work at all over the weekend--I read about 1 page on Sunday night. I do think I will need to write every day to finish, but I see myself as building the muscle, so this weekend the muscle wasn't ready yet! I do feel in a good place though. I have lots of sources and need to write up some context about South Africa in the 80s--a fairly straightforward task.

Thursday

Today's Goals

1. Write 1,025 words.
2. Complete historical context of South Africa in the 80s.

Writing Exercise to (Re)define Your Purpose

These exercises can help when you are feeling anxious or may become part of your writing ritual before you begin your writing practice each session.
1. Who am I? Why am I doing this?
The purpose is to put your dissertation in perspective with all your roles and parts of your life and to stay in touch with why you began this remarkable journey.
2. Identify Moments or Contexts That Specifically Make You Question Why You Are Doing This
Identify trigger.
What is it? Be specific.
What does it say? Be specific.
How does it feel? Where do I feel it in my body? Be specific.
What other messages to you get?
3. While I write, I want to be perceived as _____, ___________, ____________________.
I do not want to be perceived as _________, _____________, ______________.
4. What is the larger problem you are trying to solve through your writing?
What needs does your project meet?
What are some personal values underlying your writing?
5. I choose to write because I want _________________________
I choose to write because I value ____________________________

What Had Happened Was

Well, I didn't get to my goal. I wrote about 160 or so words today. I found some sources on Habermas's theory of communicative action and began adding that information to the introduction to build the theoretical underpinning of the chapter. I have to work this evening but will try to do some more writing today. If not, I do have the historical context of the 1980s to write up, which should be a relatively straightforward goal for tomorrow. I am still researching this information, so I do need to do some amount of reading to write-up that information. I probably need very little of this information at this moment. Whatever I include should be closely related to my reading of the text so it doesn't read simply as summary. The Habermas piece is slow-going, but I think it adds some depth to the chapter and to the reading of the short story I am working on.