I have recently submitted my dissertation, bringing my MA to a close and freeing up time for blogging once more! Things are slowly returning to normal service.
Whilst completing my dissertation, I realised that the different writing styles used for my academic work and for my blogging also seem to extend to my thought patterns, at least I think they do (psychologists may prove me wrong). They seem to fall into two categories which consist of the following:
(1) Abstract
These thoughts usually result in the “big picture” ideas that I enjoy blogging about, or attempting to link various life issues to library issues (many of which don’t see the light of day, as I often realise that the links probably don’t make sense outside my head). Many of these ideas are generated from chance encounters, not necessarily within a library environment or from LIS literature.
I like to think my abstract thoughts are just as colourful, but slighly more ordered. (Image via TTdesign on Flickr CC)
(2) Practical
This kind of thinking, or mindset, tended to occur during my time reading for essays or research, and presumably will continue to crop up during my day to day work. The approaches tend to be based in tangible issues, with a short term, hopefully achievable goal.
Bringing Them Together
Whilst thinking about a new blog post, I realised that too often I tend to sway between either abstract thoughts, or practical thinking. Hopefully, with a little practice, I am going to try and draw the two together in an attempt to create some forward thinking practical library solutions. I’m not exactly sure what yet, but I’ll be sure to let you know when it occurs.
How?
I have started to do so by constructing a list (lists are great aren’t they?!) with two columns. The first column contains “concrete” ideas; these are currently in the process of happening or being actioned. The second column contains “aspirational” ideas, thoughts that I would like to develop but aren’t quite there, or ideas that I’m not sure I could undertake. The idea is that by writing them down, I’ll be more inclined to think about them, develop them, and move ideas from one column to the other! Potentially, I might be able to link some of the abstract ideas to tangible goals, easing their facilitation.
I’ll update at some point regarding the effectiveness of this. In the mean time, instead of the columns idea, you could follow The Wikiman’s idea for getting stuff done!
