September was about the return to routine. We returned to work after the family vacation. The kiddo returned to school after the long summer break, and the teen returned to her student accommodation. We also returned to the gym, after the lockdown.
Of course, everything is different this time around. Meetings are taking place online. Face masks are a must. There are no handshakes. And everybody stays carefully distanced from everybody else (well, almost everybody).
The weather has definitely turned autumnal, now. The colours are beautiful, but this really isn’t my favourite season: the summer is gone, the nights draw in earlier and earlier, and there is a lot of rain and cold weather ahead of me!
On the writing and research fronts, I delivered a workshop to BML Munjal University, and was invited to write a commentary for The Conversation, on Apple’s focus on privacy in iOS14. I had the initial meeting on a new research project. I also got the news that one paper had been accepted, and that another one only requires minor changes. Hooray.
By the end of the month, I finally got around to revisiting a paper that had been previously rejected. I am still trying to find a suitable angle for the new target journal. But, at least, I am back at it. I am also back at another project related to Covid-19, and hope to be collecting data very soon.
On the other hand, I haven’t done anything about two others papers, and I will probably run out of time for a grant that I wanted to apply to.
Teaching wise, I have been busy with the Techne workshop on social media for doctoral researchers. I ended up spending a lot more time on admin tasks than I had anticipated. But it has been really nice co-teaching with Mark Carrigan.
I also started teaching the new module, Services Marketing. I continued the PhD supervision. And I wrapped up the MSc supervision, as dissertations were due on October 1st (and, yes, there were numerous requests for very-last minute reading of drafts and clarifications).
Other tasks this month included performance reviews, organising some support for online teaching, and NSS scores, among many others.
This term, I need to be super-productive, because, at any moment, we may have another lockdown, or the kiddo may be told to self-isolate at home because there are cases of Covid-19 at school. So, I am having a go at organising my day in time blocks. I need to get better at resisting the temptation to multi-task!
What’s your top productivity tip?
Ana Canhoto 
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