So, what did I do in my first postdoctoral year, and what happened next? I’ll tell you!
I remained in the same full-time job. I wrote, delivered and published papers. I even submitted a book proposal. Until, suddenly, it was Christmas 2010 and I found myself knackered. Done in, in short. To be fair, I always resent the fact that December for most working Mums is like working double shifts for a month – no wonder I was tired. The difference this time was that the tiredness took far longer to dissipate. The old year went out like a lion, and the new one crept in like a sloth. I slunk back to work praying that no-one would ask if I felt rested after the Christmas break!
Seven months later, I’m happy to relate I’ve started writing again, cut the caffeine intake slightly, taken up swimming (that’s the “new, healthy lifestyle” bit), written various blog contributions on research support, and tomorrow I head for Belfast then Dublin for two consecutive conferences. I’m chairing a session at one, and speaking at the next. (This I’m quite excited about, because I’ve extended my interest to 19th century Irish as well as Scottish song, and I’m finding loads of intriguing links between the cultural approaches to both.)
But I digress. There’s probably a moral in this tale. Something along the lines of not falling into the trap of thinking one is superhuman?! The trouble is, I’d gotten accustomed to juggling the day-job and the research whilst writing my PhD. It hadn’t occurred to me that I couldn’t keep up the pace indefinitely.
You know what the best thing about my summer holiday has been? Yup, getting a bit of extra sleep. I must be getting sensible in my middle age! Mind you, I’m also reading a fantastic book on the cultural nationalism of the United Irishmen. You can’t keep a good scholar down.
