7 August 2020
The research progress continues! I am now officially 1.5 weeks off of my original research calendar, but part of this included wrapping up a few minor projects that followed me into my research leave. Since COVID-19 disrupted every scheduled conference, I have also had the chance to tune into a few virtual events and submit presentations for upcoming conferences.
My biggest news is that I now have a formal office set up at home, which includes my new chair! The downside, I am forcing my cat to share “her room” with me. She’s mostly disappointed that there is no room for her to sit with me in my desk chair. I reminder her every day that she is suppose to be a low-maintenance pet.
Now that I am not tied to my inbox, I typically only check twice a day now, I felt it so much easier to compartmentalize my thinking. All to say, I spend a lot more mental energy and time thinking about things that have nothing to do with my research, my job, and libraries in general. This is the life I dreamed of as an undergrad and grad student. I completed a major landscape project. I call my mom more often. I have more energy. I enjoy being an academic librarian, but it is not my life. I don’t think this is as much as a research leave revelation, as it is a global health pandemic.
But the research continues–and I’m enjoying it! I’ve cleaned up a bunch of data and have a draft of survey questions. Next step is to finalize the questions and read a whole list of saved articles.
Until later,
-Emma
Emma Molls 