Self-Observation: Observing how we work

The physical, habitual and social context of how we work or research is part of the picture. We don’t just exist in terms of what goes on inside our head.

Of these the least recognized (but not the least impor­tant) are those habits of work – perhaps routine – which support the research/creative activity. In scientific papers we may find details of the investigatory procedures employed but not those more mundane aspects of practice within which they are nested. Sometimes these routines surface inciden­tally in autobiographical writing or interviews. Thomas Mann (cited in John-Steiner, 1997) wrote just a page-and-a- half of his novels each day; and it took him the whole morning to do so. The immensely successful Victorian novelist, Anthony Trollope, gave a candid description of his working habits in his autobiography, describing how he ‘dragged inspiration in by the heels at half-past-nine every morning’, a disclosure which shocked his readership and caused the sale of his books to decline.

Writers have been the most likely to describe their work patterns. Victor Hugo wrote standing at a desk. Conan Doyle often wrote his stories at a small table in the family drawing room amidst the buzz of conversation. Others, such as Somerset Maugham, could only work in strict isolation; in his case choosing to write in a hut at the bottom of the garden. And Ernest Hemingway never talked about a book he was working on because he knew that would cause it to abort.

A series of anecdotes: but to the point. Take a moment to consider how you work. What are your habits and routines? What setting facilitates the process? What things have an adverse affect? When do you do your most productive work? How far do you plan what you are doing in advance?

Again you have to think like an observer who is always present; and can read your mind.

Source: Gillham Bill (2008), Observation Techniques: Structured to Unstructured, Continuum; Illustrated edition.