Reporting progress on work in progress

Friday, July 18, 2025

Dedicated students, distinguished colleagues and dear friends,

Happy Friday!

“How is your summer going? Are you following your own advice?” A student asked me when we passed each other on campus the other day. “My own advice?” I asked. “Yes,” she said, “Remember your Motion vs. Action message last summer?” “Oh yes, I remember, and I think I am doing OK,” I replied. Then I became nervous after we both walked away and I checked the message again as soon as I reached my office.

And I admit it again. For me, summers, as welcomed as they are, are also a challenge! It’s a challenge to prioritize, schedule and get the long list of important but not necessarily urgent tasks done. You know, the Eisenhower Matrix stuff! Easy to conceptualize but harder to functionalize, of course!

After all these summers, I have learned that for me the proper prioritization of tasks is easily elusive! Even if I properly sort things out, I must be careful not to focus on tasks that provide immediate completion satisfaction and lose sight of those with delayed gratification. The kind that requires a substantial, uninterrupted amount of time and steady persistence to address – strategic planning, writing the long-awaited long reports, continuity planning, etc.

Midway through summer, prompted by the student’s question, I tallied my “must-get-done” start of the summer list and compared it with my “got-done” list. And sure enough, I have many more important and urgent tasks on my got-done list than my important-but-not-urgent tasks. Further, I noticed that my M’s are more than my A’s, which indicates that I have had more “Motion” than “Action.” Lots of feel-good motion, albeit necessary, that makes you feel like you are doing something but not necessarily resulting in any actions! I also noticed that I have missed a few of my own, self-imposed deadlines! Mainly due to interruptions.

So, just in case the inquisitive student is checking on me, here is my plan of attack for the balance of the summer, recognizing that the mad August rush is right around the corner: Start long and important-but-not urgent tasks early and build in time for interruptions! Like counting for intentional and unintentional pitstops on a long road trip. I always do better if I plan my execution steps and don’t give myself enough time! I have always believed that to achieve worthy project goals one needs to have a solid plan — a written plan — and NOT enough time! An audacious, insanely ambitious plan! Realistic rather than optimistic, with achievable goals.

I also intend to block chunks of uninterrupted time when, to the extent possible, I will not allow myself to be distracted by an email, unexpected meetings and short campus excursions. I will read that email later after I have something to show for my task at hand. I will resist sightseeing before I have driven a good long while. No web searches or reading of an editorial with a catchy title until time for a well-deserved break. No mixing of action with motion. The added advantage in addition to unentrapped work time? Continuity of thoughts! It is amazing how time consuming it is for me to regather my thoughts and to refocus myself on the topic.

Finally, to the alert student who asked the question, I say, thank you for asking. I believe I am doing better on a still-in-progress work. I will be more diligent and will report back at the end of the summer when, hopefully, I have good progress to report. In the meantime, I wish all of you a productive rest of your summer with minimal disruption, much progress and lots of fun.

Warmly,

-Mo.

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Mohammad Dehghani, PhD
Chancellor
mo@mst.edu | 573-341-4116

206 Parker Hall, 300 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO 65409-0910
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