Reading week

Reading week looks like the oasis in the desert! It's a week of no contact hours. And why is this week, more than any other, good for reading? Well it isn't, really. It seems that Reading Week was invented to keep the timetable clear for a few days so days in the field could be inserted. And field days are timetabled of course, but I suppose this may have been a contingency measure? If you have to cancel one due to bad weather or some other reason, you can reschedule in Reading Week. But it's also a time to retreat to your office and prepare for the rest of term.

I knew things would get very busy afterwards, so I wanted to use this week for preparing all my upcoming lectures, write all my exams, make a schedule for the dissertation talks, and then do the other things that needed doing such as give feedback on drafts, and attend meetings.

It didn't quite work out the way I had hoped! I didn't get everything done. But at least I prepared my exams, and prepped enough lectures (and tutorials) to not freak out at the end of the week. And, of course, I did a Welsh assessment! But it is over now and the contact hours will come thick and fast now until Easter. I won't have to be bored!