weekly log

Here goes:

Sun 8/12: 
practiced piano: 60+ min.

Mon. 8/13:
practiced piano: 70 min.
composing: 40 min.; sketched new ideas/chord progression
research (writing/revising): 49 min.; fixed two examples

Tues. 8/14:
practiced piano: 45 min.
composing: 80 min.; wrote 11 measures for a new piece
research (writing/revising): 41 min.; revised 7 pages; cut 216 words

Wed. 8/15:
practiced piano: 24 min.
composing: 31 min.
research (writing/revising): 27 min.; cut 39 words

Thurs. 8/16: played hooky. needed a sanity day. got my hair cut instead.

Fri. 8/17:
practiced piano: 35 min.
research (writing/revising): 61 min.; revised 4 pages
[also read and typed notes on a reading . . . I am going to need to start doing more of this to beef up my paper before I can even think about sending it off somewhere]

Weekly totals:
I spent 234+ minutes practicing piano.
I spent 178 minutes writing and revising my research paper.
I spent 151 minutes composing.

It wasn't the most productive week, but it is better than nothing.

Since January 23 . . .

Out of curiosity, I went back through my logs and found that since January 23, I have spent:

6255 minutes writing or revising my research, and
828 minutes composing or revising new music.

That's 104 hours and fifteen minutes on research, and 13 hours and 48 minutes composing.

I saw my productivity spike in two places--(1) after I started the Tara Gray 15-minutes-per-day writing technique, and (2) after classes ended for the summer.

I think keeping a record is a very good thing.  

Hello, August . . . I'm back!

After a delightful vacation to South Africa, I have resumed my regular summer work schedule.  My activities now include: 

• my regular research/writing/revising sessions; 
• reading relevant literature (the goal is one article per day, but I haven't been as productive on that front);
• preparing my courses for the fall semester;
• composing, when I'm so moved (I need to pick a new project because right now I am just doodling on my staff paper); and
• practicing piano!*

*NB The highlighted items are what I am logging on this blog, to keep myself accountable. 

Before I left for South Africa, I finished writing a piece for solo piano, which I am going to perform at my department's Faculty Gala Concert on September 22 to celebrate the opening of our new beautiful building, the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center.  So my daily tasks now include practicing so that I will be ready to perform in six weeks.  To keep myself accountable, I have been logging the time spent practicing each day.

So here is the summary of my work this week:

Monday 8/6
RESEARCH: 35 minutes; cut 217 words; revised 2.5 pages
COMPOSING: 150 minutes; revised two movements; set one movement in Finale

Tuesday 8/7
RESEARCH: 62 minutes; wrote 2.5 pages
PRACTICED: 74 minutes

Wednesday 8/8
RESEARCH: 48 minutes; revised 3 pages . . . but my revision added 149 words.  Pity.)
PRACTICED: 42 minutes
COMPOSING: didn't keep track, but it was well over 120 minutes; finished setting the final movement in Finale

Thursday 8/9
COMPOSING: 28 minutes; tried to write something new--about 4 measures of not-my-best music
RESEARCH: 57 minutes; revised 13 pages; cut 247 words
PRACTICED: 100 minutes

Friday 8/10
RESEARCH: 43 minutes; cut 869 words
PRACTICED: 72 minutes

And just for the record, this week:
Minutes spent writing or revising my research: 245
Number of pages revised or written: 21 
Minutes spent working on my composition: 298+
Minutes spent practicing piano: 288