AcWriMo Day 5-7

I haven't spent much time introducing myself or my academic situation - that'll require another post or two. For now, let's just say that I am in the midst of relocating from Québec City to Toronto. As a result, I've been dedicating substantial chunks of time towards sorting, selling, and donating my Québec possessions. Day 4 of AcWriMo was my day off (I've given myself 1 per week), which I spent dealing with exactly this.

For Day 5, I spent some time on my MS outline.  The idea for this research has developed like a good, long (but collaborative) badminton volley between myself and my advisor, Steve Cumming.  In his last move, Steve articulated in an email the many ideas he had on the topic, and suggested an angle we could take.  After I created my own outline (on Day 2), I began integrating Steve's ideas. One thing he emphasized is the creation of testable hypotheses and associated predictions.  As I mulled over his email and began translating the ideas into my own words, I realized that we're proposing a decision tree. And decision trees lend themselves extremely well to conceptual mapping. So I installed Cmap Tools and spent a pomodoro doing just that. It's not finished but it's a great start; it really helps keep my ideas clear regarding the various hypotheses and predictions. I'll blog about conceptual maps and Cmap Tools at a later date.

Day 6 was a surprise day off, as I dealt with more logistical details regarding my move to Ontario. I hope to make it up this coming Saturday, which was originally a planned day off.

Day 7 was spent on blogs, since I'm using a temporary computer at the DUC-QC office and don't have access to my Evernotes. I actually didn't get around to writing my Day 3 blog until this morning.  I also have an idea for a non-AcWriMo-related blog post that I'd like to get moving, so that's how I'm spending my third pomodoro.