The power of pottering

 I'm getting older. Time is getting more precious as I see less of it rolling out in front of me.

This feels particularly true after a week in hospital and two weeks of recovery at home (I'm hoping this third week will see me back to normal activities).

Most of the time I focus on time investment. What do I really want to be investing in? There is no point in managing my time with huge skill if what I am investing my time in doesn't really matter in the long run. Or - in trendy language - is my use of time aligned with my values? 

However, right now I am struggling with getting my time managed effectively. I think it's a consequence of a sudden unexpected three weeks off in the middle of a busy patch, and knowing I can't get back to full work just yet. 

All my time management tools target efficiency. They seek to streamline and organise how I use my time to maximise what is achieved. 

Recently I've learned the power of pottering in the kitchen. I can potter around, tidying, cleaning, prepping, dreaming, planning as I go. I don't chide myself for being distracted as I switch task mid-flow or have multiple bits of activity running in parallel. What I find is that I have achieved as much in a couple of hours as if I'd started with a list and worked my way through it. What I also find is that at the end of the couple of hours I feel refreshed and relaxed rather than drained from forcing myself through the tasks that 'must be done'. 

Last night I had tweeted that I was struggling because I am a freelancer and behind on work for various clients and worrying about how to catch up and which to prioritise. 

You know what I've done this morning? I've applied the 'power of pottering' to my work. You see, what I've learned from the kitchen is that when a list would be overwhelmingly long, I'll do what needs to be done if I let myself potter. 

So far this morning I have achieved so much that I have time to capture my experience in a blog. 

[For any clients reading and wondering how I've got time to waste on a blogpost - don't worry, I've got a plan that will give you what you need without killing me in the process.]

Nov 12th Identity and positioning

A research colleague, Alan Armstrong, couldn’t understand why he was only supposed to do learning disability research. He had no issue with researchers who chose to position themselves in this field. But he had been positioned there by others. 

Alan wanted to research other social topics, such as the lives of working class men. And why not? 

Why not indeed. 

Alan was starting to build an academic profile. However, no-one seemed to expect him to be interested in anything except learning disability research. They just saw someone with learning disabilities. 

I wish he’d lived long enough to challenge this. 

Nov 11th Co-produced BY

One part of my doctoral research was co-produced by five women. One of the women was me. 

We all signed the informed consent pack. We all share ownership of the co-created data. We are all named in that part of the research by our names, even though elsewhere I am not ‘Anne’ but ‘I’. 

I did not co-produce WITH four other women. That part of my research was coproduced BY five women. We knew it was just one jewel that we could co-produce. We recognised it was my research overall. 

Sadly, that was the price for it being a doctorate.

Nov 10th “Co-produced with”

“Co-produced with” is a red flag for me, whether used in a statement like “This leaflet was co-produced with” or “Organisation X co-produced this with”. 

It’s not usually helpful to argue over meanings of words, especially weasel-words like co-production, but here’s my take. 

Co-production happens BY people working together - whether those people are employed by an organisation or volunteers, members or fee-paid experts by experience. Only naming ‘outsiders’ you coproduction WITH perpetuates the power imbalance that is inherent in engagement, the power of one party choose when to invite ‘others’ to help them. 

And for me that is not co-production. 

Nov 9th Research is not my life

Today I listened to Dr Helen Kara on planning research projects.* One of her ten tips is to remember the other parts of your life and plan space for them. 

Some branches of social research treat the whole of life as research and data. For some, being researcher is their core identity. It is their backstage performance not just when they are on display. It cannot be switched off because it is who they are. 

I used to be like that. But I am learning the importance of just being and not continually observing and thinking. My research is richer.  

* https://t.co/dJHid4p6OR?amp=1

Nov 8th Paying to take part in research

There are debates about paying participants to take part in research. There are discussions about reimbursement of expenses. What I tend not to hear are debates about paying to take part in research. 

I am not suggesting that people are paying with cash to take part in research. However cash is not the only currency or price we can be asked to pay. 

Often there’s an emotional price to pay to being a participant. Too often the price goes unacknowledged. Don’t expect people to be grateful for the chance to have a voice. It is researchers who should be grateful.  

Nov 7th Campaign for thinking

I had a university timesheet returned because ‘thinking’ was an inadequate description of my activity. I changed it to ‘cognitive reflective practices’ and my timesheet was accepted. 

This illustrates two aspects of academic life. Firstly, if you dress things up to sound academic, what you say is more likely to be treated with respect. Secondly, time for simply thinking appears undervalued in universities. 

And yet, without time to stare, think about nothing in particular and have no pressure to be productive, where is creativity and inspiration to come from? Perhaps it is time for a campaign for slower deeper thinking.