International Women’s Day (March 8th) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. The theme this year was #BalanceforBetter.
The issue I am addressing is the objectification and commodification of women.
The base is a green skirt and purple top as per the International Women’s Day colours (white, purple and green). With it, I wore a necklace, headdress and a sash I had made.
The outfit is all made of recycled materials.
It uses bicycle inner tubes, wheel spokes and bike parts, broken jewellery, second-hand objects and curb-side barbie dolls.
The sash is reminiscent of a beauty pageant, yet echoes the idea that even though women may feel free to move, they are in many ways still ‘keep in line’.
The blondes are at the top, while the brunette (representing any/every ‘other’) is at the bottom of ‘the beauty hierarchy’.
The chocker necklace is made with doll’s high heel shoes to represent the awkward uncomfortablity of women’s fashion.
The headpiece mixes themes of gender expectations, worship, money, sex, religion, plastic surgery and armour together into a quasi-tiara-cum-pagan headdress.
What was the reaction?
I wore this outfit throughout the day. I was working across two
Griffith Uni campuses on the day. This meant that I not only wore it at work
and in my classes (much to the amusement of my students), but also around the academic
office sand in any meetings I went to as well as on public transport going to
and between campuses on the day.
The morning train ride was the most interesting. It was a packed peak-hour train and most people who were crammed in were still waking up. Some people looked at me as if I was crazy. It did take some guts to wear this on the early morning packed commuter train. We were sandwiched in and there was a big group of school kids who were standing behind me looking on incredulously when I asked a fellow traveller to take a quick photo.
I took a few photos throughout the day at different locations – like the one below with Captain Marvel which I just couldn’t resist– hilarious!
I was surprised by how many staff and academics asked for photos.
The students totally got it.
All day I had random calls of ‘good on ya!’, ‘Happy Women’s Day’ and ‘looks great!” which was lovely. I had a strapping young guy call out over the street ‘I love your headpiece!’ and wave, which was awesome.
I know I looked over the top.
I designed the headdress in particular to be a little provocative and to be a little uncomfortable to look at. I wanted my nose to ‘poke out’ between her naked legs.
There were a few design features I had built into the outfit that had a lot more meaning to it than you could get just by looking at it. The brave few who had the guts to come up and talk me were the ones who got to hear about all the intricate nuances, motifs and details.
As an ensemble, it is bright, unusual and low-tech. I wanted to
mash lots of ideas together. A surprising number of people came up to chat to
me about the outfit and to see it up close.
The outfit was a good way to start discussions about important women’s issues. I felt like this year I was raising eyebrows and raising awareness!
Last weekend was Holi Festival. Holi Festival is one of the most anticipated and celebrated Hindu festivals. It is also called the Festival of Colour of the Festival of Love.
This uber-participatory event traditionally celebrates unity and forgiveness. The spreading of colours represents new beginnings, and overcoming hatred and jealousy.
The festival lasts for a day and a night. It starts on the evening of Purnima. The first evening is called Holika Dahan/Choti Holi and the following day is Holi.
Holi is globally celebrated and is famous for the explosion of colours (dyed corn starch) and being a day of rejoicing and dancing.
Traditionally, handfuls of colour are thrown over people as they dance. More recently, this has been adapted to fit with a DJ set. The DJ will whip happy dancers into a frenzy and coloured powder will be thrown about and shot out of purpose-made cannons during cresendos. Damn good fun!
A main drawback of the day for me was the massive amount of small plastic bags used to package the colours – that, and too many people ‘forgot’ to put their empties in the bin …grrrrr. So, I just incorporated into my dancing a series of lunges and oh-so-coordinated-and-elegant ground sweep moves to I pick up as many as I could – back on track!
Each year in Brisbane, my favorite Holi Celebration is the one community event at Seventeen Mile Rocks. Last year I had a great time. It is so much fun….AND includes a bike ride! Woohoo!
This year, the Seventeen Mile Rocks Holi event was part of Brisbane City Council’s BrisAsia Festival 2019.
As well as immersing yourself in Indian culture, there is a community bike ride that starts at the festival HQ and returns in time to see the music, entertainment and frivolity begin.
This 5 km ride is a great way to bring community together and is family-friendly. The route is an easy-paced, flat, bike path ride alongside the river and is a suitable for all ages and stages.
They have a mechanic onsite who offers free bike safety checks. Traditionally, most riders wear white everyday clothing in anticipation of afternoon antics. A good general rule is not to bring any valuables, clothing or items you don’t mind getting stained, wet or damaged.
Many riders decorate their bikes and it is a fun way to get more little kids interested in riding. When I take Leki my flower bike, I am always swamped with people coming up for a chat!
Image: Couleurdenuitofficiel
It is lovely seeing your fellow riders dotted around throughout the day – and they often magically appear in front of you through a cloud of vibrant colour – smiling and dancing and waving to you. Awesome!
Here is a quick look at what it’s like – if you’ve been before, you know to be wear glasses and keep you mouth closed!
See you all there for the ride and festivities next year!
This blog prides itself on sharing the grassroots stories, events and experiences of local and international community cyclists. Around the world, cyclists are grappling with many issues – and this story from JP hit a particular nerve in drawing attention to the issue of air pollution. The article republished here was an open letter written by San Paulo local bicycle activist JP Amaral for Global Call to Climate Action at the end of last year. Recently, I reported on Areli Carreón who is the first ever Latin American Bicycle Mayor (Mexico City) because it is important to hear more from our concerned and proactive Latin American cycling brothers and sisters. A big thanks to JP for sharing his thoughts, research and insights with us. We applaud your work and are sending you much support from down under!
I used to believe poor air quality was a major barrier to cycling in our urban centers and couldn’t understand the reason for my respiratory problems in my hometown São Paulo, where air pollution levels are 60% above the WHO’s safety limits and responsible for 6,421 deaths each year.
However, as I started cycling, the health benefits were immediate, especially for my respiratory system.
Image: The Conversation
Now, after 10 years working on sustainable urban mobility, being co-founder of Bike Anjo, a large national network of volunteers promoting cycling as a means of transport in Brazil, and an active member of the international Bicycle Mayor Network, I understand that the health benefits of cycling and walking outweigh the harm from inhaling air loaded with traffic fumes.
This is a message we always try to get across to the people we help in learning to cycle or tracing their daily routes. Moreover, research studies have shown that car drivers in heavy traffic inhale more pollution.
The biggest metropolitan area in South America (population: 21.2 million), São Paulo is notorious for its traffic; a recent study found that São Paulo inhabitants spent 86 hours on average in 2017 stuck in traffic (or 22% of total drive time), putting it in the top five cities for traffic congestion.
In this city, cars and motorcycles are a much-desired escape from long, arduous journeys on public transport, especially for the poor living on the outskirts who commute every day into the city centre.
Over the past decade, Federal government incentives to the car industry have brought down the price of cars, making them significantly more accessible. It is not surprising then that the main source of air pollution in São Paulo – as in several world cities – is the vehicular fleet, accounting for 80% of total air pollutants.
Despite this unfavourable scenario, cycling has been growing in popularity in recent years: we’ve gone from 100,000 bike trips a day in 2007 to 300,000 trips a day in 2012, and a recent study by the Secretary of Transport estimated over 1 million bike trips a day in São Paulo.
Cycling in Sao Paulo (Brazil). Image: Raw Story
Investments in cycling infrastructure and a series of incentives, such as 400 km of new bike lanes and bike paths, new bike sharing systems and banning car traffic in some of the city’s busiest streets on Sundays have contributed to this culture change. Surfing on this trend, Bike Anjo expanded its network of volunteers, helping “paulistanos” explore safe cycling routes and cycle with more confidence.
This year, our successful Bike to Work campaign has highlighted the health benefits of cycling, focusing on two women who agreed to ride their bikes to work for an entire month for the first time, whilst having their health monitored by doctors.
Having experienced so many physical and mental health benefits from this challenging experiment, they both decided to continue their daily bicycling commutes. We hope that this experience, featured on national television, has encouraged many Brazilians to do the same.
While behaviour change campaigns such as this one can make a difference, a long lasting change in transport culture must be underpinned by robust public policies that are conducive to active mobility. At the federal level, a progressive piece of policy framework was proposed as the “National Urban Mobility Act”, in 2012, putting forward active mobility as the prioritized mode of transport in Brazilian cities.
However, the national plan implementation depends entirely on the formulation of municipal urban mobility plans, which are either non existent or at early stages of implementation in most of Brazil’s municipalities. Through working with civil society actors, Bike Anjo and the Brazilian Cyclists’ Union (UCB) have been trying to assist municipalities in getting their plans off the paper and into action.
The gaps are numerous; from policy design to implementation, from federal to municipal level, and importantly, the tendency of treating issues in silos.
Health policies rarely engage in dialogue with mobility policies, despite existing evidence that reducing air pollution in urban centres through clean, sustainable transport results in better public health outcomes and significant savings in government expenditures.
Air pollution is now responsible for over 7 million premature deaths per year, globally. The urgency of reducing such mortality rates, coupled with that of mitigating the impacts of climate change, leaves us with no more time to tolerate carbon emissions from fossil fueled transport.
Image: Dublin Cycling Campaign
The latest UN scientific report has warned we may have only 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe if global warming exceeds 1.5C, singling out the transport sector as the fastest growing contributor to climate emissions
This first global WHO conference on health and air pollution is a unique occasion where national leaders from different sectors facing similar local challenges can meet and exchange experiences, learn from civil society and ultimately commit to agreed targets to meet the WHO’s air quality guidelines by 2030, matching the needs of reducing carbon emissions.
Image: WHO
Clean, renewable energy, electric vehicles, the elimination of fossil fuels subsidies, smarter urban planning, and better public transport infrastructure are some of the choices policy makers can make to avoid countless preventable deaths, drastically improve air quality and health, and contribute towards a safer climate.
At the conference, I plan to highlight how cycling can play a major role in transforming mobility around the world. Given the convenience, health benefits and affordability of bicycles, they could provide a far greater proportion of sustainable urban transport, helping reduce not only air pollution, but energy use and CO2 emissions worldwide.
Active mobility is often underestimated, but if you think about it, bicycles could be the ultimate icon of sustainable transport. As the far right takes power in countries across the planet, including most recently Brazil, city level solutions offer real hope and the best bet for change.
Image: WHO Image: WHO
About the author JP Amaral is an active member of the international Bicycle Mayor Network initiated by Amsterdam based social enterprise BYCS, and co-founder of the Bike Anjo Network (bikeanjo.org), currently coordinating the “Bicycle in the Plans” project. He has a bachelor degree on Environmental Management at the University of São Paulo and has been working in sustainable urban mobility since 2008. He is certified as an auditor on the BYPAD methodology – Bicycle Planning Audit, and is the Bicycle Mayor of São Paulo. He is also fellow member of the Red Bull Amaphyko network for social entrepreneurs and of the German Chancellor Fellowship program for tomorrow’s leaders from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, working with international cooperation towards cycling promotion, especially between Brazil and Europe.
Bike Anjo (Bike Angels) is a network of voluntary cyclists who engage people to use bicycles as a mean of transforming cities – from teaching how to ride a bicycle to identifying safe cycling routes for São Paulo inhabitants and building national campaigns.
The Bicycle Mayor Network is a global network of changemakers – initiated by Amsterdam based social enterprise BYCS – that radically accelerates cycling progress in cities worldwide. The individual use the power of their network to influence politics and the broader public to start cycling. Bicycle mayors transform cities, cities transform the world.
This time last year, I was down in Melbourne performing our roving performance The BioBike Your Future Thanks You! at the Sustainable Living Festival. This just happened to coincide with Bike Rave Melburn 2018 Pink Flamingo – which of course I went to. I took the BioBike with me, met up with some mates and got amongst it at the rave. As always, we had an absolute blast! It was awesome being back in my home town, catching up with old crew, making new friends, checking out people’s wicked pimped out rides and cruising around Melbs as the sun when down to pumping tunes – all on two wheels (*sigh*).
FB: @Bike Rave AUS
Brisbane, my dear, when are you having a bike rave?
Sat 16th February was the 2019 GOLD – Melbourne Bike Rave!
Hells Yeah!!!
Thanks to everyone who sent through pics and well wishes – I missed being with you all this year…but was stoked to see such an awesome turn out!
“Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends.”
Bike Rave is a free event – but we ask you to bring along a cash donation for charity Bicycles for Humanity. We will be collecting throughout the evening.
THE MUSIC: We have curated a whopping 4.5-hour mix from some very talented DJ’s for this Bike Rave. The mix is full of pumping party tunes to keep you dancing all night long. You should download this and put it onto an mp3 player.
SOUND: Bike Rave is a DIY event. Grab an MP3 player and put the mix on it. Bring your own speakers, build a sound bike, be creative! Need sound for your bike? Get a basket and some computer speakers, or head to Jaycar, JB-HIFI, etc to set up a self-contained set. There are some great solutions from $15, and some pretty impressive creations. Just remember to charge those batteries.
BRIGHT LIGHTS: Think bright lights, reflective jackets, fluoro hair, glow sticks, EL wire, or anything else that flashes and blinks. This isn’t just about making sure that you look awesome, make sure your bike is pimped out also.
DRESS UP: Gold, shiny, shimmer, bling, the ol’ razzle-dazzle. We want the Bike Rave to be a shiny shimmering mess as we ride along the river into the sunset.
THE WEATHER: If it’s nice out, we ride. If it’s cloudy, we ride. If it’s raining a little, we might ride. If it’s pouring, we don’t ride. Our speakers will get messed up. If you aren’t sure, show up anyways. Someone will be there from 5:30pm to let people know if the ride is canceled.
Bike Rave was founded in Vancouver but is shared around the world.
@alleyratlowriders
RAVE RULES: There are a few rules that we would like you to follow to ride the rave. This makes it safer for everyone and avoids problems on the night. We’ve never had an issue in the 6 years of running this event, so let’s work together to keep it that way.
Protect Your Head Stay to the Left Stop at Lights Ride Straight Don’t Hate Pack Your Trash Don’t Get Smashed
IMPORTANT! We are not responsible for your safety; YOU ARE! We have done our best to ensure that the route is well lit and safe, but it does involve a little riding on the road and in the dark and past people. We should attempt to obey all traffic laws. If we get split up, we can rejoin at one of the several stopping points along the ride, so please stop at red lights and stop signs.
Bike ravers around the world unite! See you all next year!
The Chinese New Year is also called the Spring Festival or Luna New Year.
The 2019 year of the Pig is predicted to be a particularly auspicious and lucky year. And with the zodiac sign of the pig representing diligence, kindness and generosity, people working on projects (like PhDs and other ventures) can look forward to some super positive changes in the next 12 months!
Hooray!
The Chinese fortune calendar combines solar, lunar and 60 Stem-Branch counting systems. The 60 Stem-Branch calendar uses the names of the Yin and Yang Five Elements (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth) and 12 animals to rank the yearly sequences. The five elements are connected to five colors – White, Black, Green, Red, and Brown. So the new year uses an element, its color and the animal name to count the year. In this system, 2019 is the year of the Female Earth Pig – and given that brown is connected to the Earth it is a Brown Earth Pig Year.
February 2019 is also an especially fortuitous month.
February2019 will only come once in a lifetime. This is because this year’s February has 4 Mondays, 4 Tuesdays, 4 Wednesdays, 4 Thursdays, 4 Fridays, 4 Saturdays and 4 Sundays.
This only happens once every 823 years!
The Chinese New Year is celebrated worldwide and this year, I was delighted to see this Irish bicycle-assisted celebration for Chinese New Year – Dublin’s Lazy Bike ToursAsian Flavours Event.
Image: Lazy Bike Tours
Asian Flavours on a Lazy Bike
Lazy Bike Tours offer three-hour electric bike tours that celebrates the Chinese New Year and highlights Dublin’s enduring connection to China. While on this guided tour, participants are given an informed account of Dublin’s Chinese migration and history whilst riding around Chinatown. As part of the tour, riders get to visit the Spring Festival Fair at the CHQ building and check out the market stalls. As a finale, the tour finishes up at a local Chinese restaurant to experience traditional new year cuisine and culture.
What a great way to start the Luna New Year … being out and about, happily social, interacting with community, learning about culture and having fun on two wheels – awesome!
However you celebrate Chinese New Year – I hope it’s also on two wheels!
This book details 200 of arguably ‘the best places in the world to ride a bike’. The book is a colorfully illustrated hardback and is a delight to read.
It was published in 2016, so is still pretty current, although I’d love to hear how they decided on what rides to include and what to leave out.
Key Features
The book is divided into continents chapters. This means you can quickly find what you are looking for and get info on exactly what you’re interested in.
Each entry has a visual grading: green for ‘easy’, blue for ‘harder’ and red for ‘epic’.
It covers all types of cycling: individual, family, sightseeing, road, mountain biking, bikepacking, urban rides and a heap of ideas for those into epic off-track adventuring. off the beaten track.
Each ride is accompanied by awesome scenic photos and a map. There are also toolkit and advice boxes to help with the practicalities of planning that particular trip.
The photos are ohhhh, sooo very motivating. I like how they include not just cycling and scenery, but also lifestyle, people, culture and travel vignettes that really showcase the uniqueness of riding in the region.
The locations included show judicious selection. What wonderful geographic spread: Moab, California, Canada, India Himalayas, NZ, Vietnam, Norway, Argentina, Japan, Denmark, Wales, Thailand, Australia … and heaps of other places. Impressive!
At the end of each section (which is more descriptive), there is a short factual ‘more like this’ section, which includes suggestions for other rides elsewhere in the style of that ride – what a great idea!
It was really inspiring reading this book. I’ve definitely added a few more thumbtacks into my bikepacking map of the world!
This year was full of highs and lows and presented some incredible opportunities.
As we draw to the close of 2018, this is the perfect time to review what worked, what didn’t work, changes that need to be made and what will be the primary focus for 2019.
In previous years, around this time, husband and I have been in Rotorua, New Zealand mountain biking. But this year, we are conserving and consolidating – we are also using the time to experiment with our bike packing gear and setups and using the time to get some kms in the legs.
My next year is going to be dramatically different. In 2019, I’m working on my bicycle PhD full-time, reducing my teaching load drastically and undertaking more bike packing than MTB adventures.
Who knows what new opportunities and challenges will emerge for each of us.
Whatever your experience is, I wish you the best of luck and oodles of positivity in doing what you need and what to achieve in 2019.
If 2019 is going to be anything like 2018, it will be jammed packed full of surprises, tests, success and possibilities.
Image: SF Bike Party
Remember what happened in 2018?
Here’s a quick recap from online news about the year that was.. remember these?
Internationally
North and South Korea vowed to formally end the Korean War
Cuba announced a new president ending the 59-year Castro leadership
Iraq had its first parliamentary elections since the defeat of ISI int he country
Canada became the second nation in the world, after Uruguay, to legalize marijuana
Mexico is selling its $218.7 million presidential plane to use funds for poor communities
South Korea closed its largest dog meat slaughterhouse
Meghan Markle became the first woman of color to join the British royal family
Human rights
In Saudi Arabia, women are finally able to drive
Ireland voted and repealed its abortion ban
India’s Supreme Court decriminalised consensual gay sex
Scotland became the first country to back teaching LGTBI issues in schools
The “Year of the Woman” went global
Africa saw a huge and significant decline in female genital mutilation
For the first time in Iran, women were allowed to attend wmen’s sporting events
The environment
We discovered 157 new species in Southeast Asia
New Zealand may have killed its oil industry to combat climate change
Major fashion brands united against climate change
A growing number of Americans now believe climate change is happening
Scientists came up with an idea to stop glaciers from melting
British fashion house Burberry says it’ll stop destroying unsold goods and using fur
Scientists developed a plastic-eating enzyme
Health & Science
A woman gave birth to a baby after she received a uterus transplant from a dead person
The UK has exceeded UN targets for HIV diagnosis and treatment, proving efforts to control the epidemic can work
Researchers developed a 10-minutes cancer test
A new Ebola treatment trial began
A new peanut allergy drug has provided fresh hope
A study found dogs can be a powerful tool in diagnosing malaria
Best of luck for 2019!
What ever you plans and goals are for 2019 – I wish you all the best!
Many of us would love to undertake a month-long challenge.
But work, family and hobby demands often get in the way.
Two days ago, I came across the National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo.
In this event, I saw an opportunity to adopt certain principles of NaNoWriMo to use in an academic context that would not detract time and energy away from my current work/research demands – but would, in fact, be a productivity kick-starter!
Source: NaNoWriMo
What is
NaNoWriMo?
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) happens every year, It is an Internet-based creative writing challenge to write a 50,000-word novel from 1st to the 30th of November.
The National Novel Writing Month website started this challenge in July 1999 with only 21 participants. In 2010, 200,000 people wrote 2.8 billion words and in 2015, 430,000 participants completed 50,000 manuscripts.
This is a great challenge to get inspired, build a regular writing routine, overcome writing anxiety and writer’s block, and also be part of a highly active online community.
Source: Jeff Schwisow
Using NaNoWriMo for
academic writing
During NaNoWriMo, it is the length of the draft, not the quality that is the main goal. Editing and polishing the document comes later.
Producing writing is a constant pressure for academics and PhD candidates.
Essentially PhDers are assessed on their writing output. PhDers are required to, at a minimum, produce an 80,000-120,000-word high-quality dissertation and at least one peer-review journal article in order to fulfil their candidature. Having additional publications, conference proceeding and other written documentation are also expected.
That is one of the reasons I started this blog – to force myself to write
regularly.
I love the idea of a writing challenge. I have not been producing as much writing as I did when I first started my research and my usually productive writing routine has slipped.
Although NaNoWriMo is a novel writing challenge, I am going to use it as an opportunity to apply some of its principles to jumpstart my academic writing productivity.
Many NaNoWriMo ideas are transferable to an academic writing challenge.
So I went on an online binge to glean some of the most useful NaNoWriMo approaches.
As an R &D homage to the original NaNoWriMo, I’ve called my initial checklist (below) NiAcaWriMo– or Nina’s Academic Writing Month.
Here’s what I came up with….
Source: WCUK
NiAcaWriMo
Have all equipment and materials prepared.
This includes working tools like the keyboard, monitors, laptop/desktop, notebooks and any other paraphernalia needed. Delete Netflix or any other distractions. For me, this also meant setting up a dual monitor stand-up desk and putting my laptop in for a service and updating the operating system and all software.
Spring clean and organise your workspace.
To create productive energy and focus, declutter and spring clean your workspace. Clear out any distractions, tidy up or better yet, remove as much as you can out of your workspace to make it a lean and clean studious area. Dust off screens and keyboards, and wipe down any surfaces, IT cords and equipment as recognition that this space is open to new and fresh ideas. Commit to keeping the space clear by not allowing others to put anything in your workspace, clearing your desk at the end of each day and only keeping the basic work materials needed on your desk.
Prepare a soundtrack.
Some people listen to music while working, others prefer silence. Either way, know what kind of soundscape is most productive for you. When I work in an open office, I use ear plugs as well as high-performance ear muffs (a technique I use on public transport as well) if I want quiet and little sound. Or I use headphones with my own soundscape. I have had great success with alpha, beta and gamma binaural beats, which I used to complete a 17,000 minor thesis in four days. Another option is classical or instrumental music with no lyrics. Or have background music in a different language so your brain is not subconsciously engaged with the lyrics, but focused on your written language. For this technique, I’d recommend the French R & B duo Les Nubians album Princesses Nubiennes. Other creatives swear by having the same song on constant repeat which helps to create a consistent and familiar flow state. Find what works best for you.
Tell others about your challenge.
This means getting your significant other/s, family, work colleagues and
friends on board with what you are doing. This will save a lot of misunderstanding
and issues in the future and people will be a lot more understanding and
supportive. If you are upfront with your purpose and time frame, then measures
can be taken to organise and negate possible future complications such as invitations
and drop-in visits and even further to include things such as house cleaning
and grocery shopping.
Protect your focus
For one whole month, you need to make your writing challenge top priority – and this protecting your focus. This step requires you to know what you need to do your best work, what time of day you are most productive and that you put into place strategies to minimise interruptions and stay productive. This can include setting a schedule or a daily timetable. Or read some key literature that is not only inspiring, but is at a standard you wish to achieve. For academic writing, I like to have 3 journal articles that are my gold standard – two by my favourite author in my research field and another on a different topic whose style, expression and vocabulary I really enjoy reading. Another way to protect your focus might is to set your phone to silent and leave it in another room for your sessions. Or use an app to help your focus and build self-control, or a productivity app that helps avoid distractions, like Cold Turkey, which I recommend to postgrad students.
Prepare body and mind
We all know looking after the body and mind is important during intense work bursts, but the challenge is to make it a priority in order to sustain productivity. This includes eating well, being hydrated, taking regular screen breaks, doing regular exercise (until sweaty), getting adequate sleep and generally looking after your overall well-being. Build these elements into your daily schedule to ensure you protect your focus and keep yourself working at the optimal level. Have a look at A Year of Productivityfor other strategies to help prepare the body and mind.
Other NiAcaWriMo considerations
Once prepared, you then need to put it all into action.
This is an area I am still refining. So below is an outline of some tactics I’ve found to be incredibly helpful in consistently producing written work.
Morning Routine: I have had great success using a priming morning routine that I have adapted and personalised over the last three years.
iThinkwell. Over the last two years, I have attended two iThinkwell workshops: Turbocharge your writing and Seven habits of highly successful research students. I still some of the strategies from these workshops. If you get to one of these sessions, get your library to order the companion books which cover the same material so you can still get ahead.
Prepare the next day the night before. One key technique is starting a new day fresh and proactive, is to prepare what you are going to do the next day before you leave your desk the night before. IdentifyingThe Next Thing is a quick and easy way to get a new productive day started without wasting any valuable energy or focus on planning the day, you just get on and do it. Some writers like to leave a question as a stimulus for the next days’ writing session, or dot points that need expanding on, others leave notes to complete, or end the previous day mid-sentence so there is an idea to complete the next day and continue on.
Have a daily goal. I have a PhD friend who has a daily goal of writing 250 words a day. Another academic I know has committed one hour every day for the last five years to writing. Whether it is time, words count, tasks or any other goal, having a clear daily goal is a good way to set the intention for the day, track progress and establish milestones of achievement.
50,0000 words in a 30-day month equals 1,667 words per day.
Take each day separately. Keep in mind that progress is based on day-to-day productivity. Set-backs are inevitable. Don’t be too hard on yourself and be realistic. There will be blow-outs, mess-ups, crappy days and interruptions – this is part of life and work. If you struggle one day, reset and try again the next, but don’t try and catch-up as this adds extra stress. Take each day as a stoned alone session and accept that there will be ‘good days’ and ‘bad days’.
Know what a ‘good day’ looks like. How do you define ‘a good day’ of work? What does it look like? Is it producing a 500-word outline? Or writing 1,500 original new words? Reading a journal article? Having this clarification means that you know when you have achieved it. If this is not clear, you are at risk of ending each day feeling like you have not achieved your goal and could have done more, no matter how much your produce.
Garbage in, garbage out. Be mindful and actively manage what you allow yourself to be exposed to. This includes TV, social media, movies and the news – and also people. Remember the quality of your output is determined by the quality of the input. Read quality literature, reduce media exposure, unplug and read more engaging books.
Acknowledge milestones and reward. As you progress with writing, acknowledge micro-successes and milestones achieved. Having small rewards helps track activity, recognise breakthroughs, monitor improvements and boost motivation.
Writing is not editing. Writing and editing are two different skills, yet many people edit as they write and this can hamper progress and flow. For NaNoWriMo, participants are writing a 50,000-word draft. There is no editing at this stage and this a good idea to keep in mind. Many people get distracted while writing by fact-checking, looking up a definition, searching for a ‘better word’ or stopping to insert an accurate reference as they write. Doing these during the writing phrase inhibits ‘writing flow’ and focus. So the aim is to get ideas in writing down on without stopping to edit.
I use the write fast, edit slow – and theread a bit, write a bit, edit a bit adage to instil the distinction and importance of doing each of these tasks regularly. Another way to achieve the writer’s flow state as advocated by Blindboy is to write with fire, edit with ice.
Source: Jeff Bullas
Next steps
I only
found out about NaNoWriMo this
week, so it was too late to participate this year.
But it has inspired
me to get organised and get back into my writing routine.
Who needs a formal date to write? A month-long writing challenge can be undertaken at any time!
Take this blog post as an example: just writing about this challenge has produced a 2048-word blog post and helped clarify my next steps and preparation for NiAcaWriMo. That in itself is already a valuable and productive writing activity.
As we come up to the
end of the year, I’m gearing up for a NiAcaWriMo challenge in the new year.
And I will certainly
be looking out for NaNoWriMo next November.
So if you have any
kind of writing project, perhaps now it the time to get inspired and create
your own month-long writing challenge to crack the whip and get those important
first words onto paper.
One of the courses I teach at Griffith Uni is 1205MED Health Challenges for the 21st century. It is a compulsory first-year undergrad course for all Health Sciences degrees. I really enjoy teaching it. The first major assessment is a research essay topic exploring the link between malaria (health) and climate change (environment). Climate change is a global issue that has serious repercussions that go far beyond health. I was delighted to see cyclists the world around rallying to raise awareness about climate change. This particular protest caught my attention because Pakistani cyclists are not often featured in international news – so it was great to see them out in force and mobilizing against climate change. NG.
Collectively, these events hope to build on work strated by the December 2015 Paris Agreement, which was the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate.
Pakistan is not the first country that usually comes to mind when we think of climate change action.
Even so, considering that Pakistan is predicted to be one of the most vulnerable nations to be impacted by climate change (despite the country’s low level of its global carbon emissions), it is understandable that CDD would make the news.
Image: Dunya News
Islamabad rides against climate change
Islamabad celebrated CDD with three key events; a massive public bike protest, a documentary screening and an art competition.
This aim of this years’ event program was to encourage communities to take back the decision making control about climate policy out of bureaucracy hands and back give it back to the community.
The bike protest had a massive turn out. The protest saw riders taking over the streets of Islamabad as a way to highlight rampant greenhouse emissions by promoting bikes as a more eco-friendlier mode of transportation.
The ride was followed by a public screening of a documentary called Thank You For The Rain, which follows the damage climate change has had on a Kenyan farmer, his family and his village.
There was also a local exhibition called the Climate Diplomacy Art Competition, which showcased local students’ climate change inspirited art. The theme for the art competition was Challenges of Climate Change – Pakistan’s Youth on the Front Line.
Image: Dunya News
Events like Islamabad’s CDD are very important in helping raise awareness for climate action.
It is also a sobering reminder that no matter where you are – in Pakistan, Australia or anywhere else in the world – we are all united by this common issue.
I find it reassuring there are so many people who are equally passionate about the environment, cycling and who want more positive environmental and community change.
I’ve just returned from my first 10-day silent Vipassana meditation course.
Lots of people have heard of Vipassana meditation. Some of you may have already done a course ( … or two… or more). If you haven’t heard of Vipassana, ask your friends about it – you will hear some VERY interesting stories.
I’ve been struggling to write this post.
I am not yet ready to share the ins-and-outs of what happened. Besides, there is no point reinventing the wheel – there is some much Viapassna info already widely and readily available on YouTube (full of advice and recounts) and online.
If you want more details on what the course is, my recommended two best personal Vipassana recounts are:
So, without getting stuck on the nitty-gritty details of my experience, here’s a brief Vipassana snapshot.
Source: Senaka Luyanage
What is Vipassana?
Understanding Vipassana is not difficult. It is the consistent practice that is the hard part. Overall, there are three central pillars: Sila (morality), Samadhi (control of the mind) and Panna (wisdom).
Vipassana means “to see things as they really are”.
The course is based on the teachings of Buddha but is linked to not Buddhism or any other religion. It is universal teaching, not secular. And it is not a cult.
The course requires students to live-in for 10 days and adhere to a monastic code of conduct, which includes (among others) avoiding all the following: speaking, eye contact, gesturing, touching, technology/mobile phone, reading, writing, exercise and the genders are segregated
Epic.
Image: Yogaindra
Source: OutandAbout.com
So what was it like?
It was a rollercoaster ride. Many ups. Many downs.
There were 26 women on my course, 4 left.
The timetable is intense. The commitment is intense. The location is beautiful.
I LOVED noble silence. I LOVED the early starts.
It was physically and mentally very challenging.
I learnt a lot about trust, compassion and letting go.
I learnt to notice and accept change (Annicca).
The stunning food and nightly discourses were daily highlights.
During the course, my awareness sharpened, I managed to slow down the noise in my head, and had the time to really focus being in the present moment.
Image: Sarah Steenland
Other thoughts…
Vipassana helps people (re)connect with the body by observing the interactions between the mental (mind/thinking) and the material (body/sensations).
The Vipassana technique is immediately useful and transferable to all other aspects of life (not just meditation), especially in the case of managing emotions such as fear, attachment, desire and pain.
The benefits of Vipassana are not only personal. As a bike rider, I have been applying it to my bike riding and there is a significant change in my approach to MTBing.
When I got back home from my course, I did what any normal contemporary bike-riding Vipassana student would have done: I made love with my husband, ate a gorgeous lunch, went for a mountain-bike ride, then meditated. Priorities.
