WS16: Leeds – 10 Jun 2015

Where: Brotherton Library, University of Leeds
When: 10.06.2015
Participants: 6

To-do-lists, on-line calendars, notebooks, spreadsheets, knots in your handkerchief… This workshop focused on ways of organising one’s finances and time – both in terms of tools available and their implications on our subjectivity, health and social relations.

Notes from the discussion
• The tyranny of the organised: how to deal with the fact that those who plan ahead and are able to keep an overview tend to be the decision makers?
• Internships have been found useful especially in terms of learning how others organise: copy all that works and note what needs sorting out.
• Time-planning as helpful to bring structure into one’s days, months, years – but how to avoid becoming over efficient and dedicating to work every possible moment?
• Out-off studio replies: letting people know that you’re taking the week-end or a couple of days off is an easy way to take away pressure to respond to e-mails and be productive.
• Playing out in your own head what you will need to be doing: helps to keep the head over the water and to make useful decisions.
• How much discipline is good for us? Can we be disciplined to be lazy?
• Saying NO – to underpaid work or last minute requests – as a way to value yourself.

Tools that were discussed
• spreadsheets for tracking finances
• key points for time planning
• physical and digital to-do-lists
• physical and digital tools for coordinating work in collectives (such as whiteboards, wall calendars and Trello)
• ticking yourself with the Pomodoro Technique – work for 40min, do other stuff for 20min