MonthNote #10: July 2025

Some notes on the last supervision meeting of the academic year, the lectures that I had the pleasure to attend, and thoughts about sitting on a bench.

Disclaimer: This is my personal journal and includes rough notes from my PhD journey. Some thoughts may be incomplete or not thoroughly researched. Please do not consider any content in my monthly notes to be definitive or final. If you have insights on any subjects I discuss or would like to start a conversation on a topic, please get in touch!

On the first day of July, I had my last supervisor meeting of this academic year. I’ve just finished year 3 of my PhD, and although I didn’t take a break from supervision over the summer in the past two years, I’ve decided that this year I need to focus solely on interview analysis without any deadlines.

The meeting itself was excellent. We took one of the interview transcripts and went through the codes and comments that I had worked on in June, just having a conversation about how the three of us felt about each paragraph. It was reassuring to receive positive feedback on the codes, especially as I had felt somewhat apprehensive about “missing the mark.”

It was also interesting to see how confusing organisational jargon can be for people outside the industry. It reminded me of when my son explains the linguistic butchery of his generation, such as how ‘thicc’ now means ‘attractively full-figured,’ whereas in my time, ‘thick’ meant ‘stupid.’ So, words like 'agile' or 'lean’ can sound ridiculous out of context. I even had a mental image of people in yoga pants when we talked about being more agile in project work. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts…

The analysis stage I’m currently in feels very exciting, and although the first transcript took nearly a month to analyse, I was able to refine my process and bring the analysis time to a few days. Initially, I thought I could manage three transcripts per month, which would carry me through to the end of 2025. But the last two transcripts were completed in 3–4 days, meaning I may now finish the analysis within the next 2–3 months.

The main improvement was streamlining the anonymisation, redaction, and initial review. For the first transcript, I did each step separately, meaning I had to read through the entire 1.5-hour transcript—around 15,000 words—at least four times. I now complete these three steps on the first pass, with a second pass dedicated to coding in NVivo, ensuring I haven’t missed anything. This means just two reads per transcript. Initially, I had estimated each transcript would take about 20 hours, and reading it multiple times was affecting my concentration. Reducing this to about 10 hours and two reads feels much more manageable and helps me resist the pull to the darkness of procrastination.

Another thing that's not helping with the procrastination monkey is the number of distractions at home. When it comes to general work, writing, or reading, my home office is ideal. I have no trouble finding motivation or space. But there’s something about transcript analysis that requires complete focus. And I spent one Friday this month at the Bodleian Libraries. I know it might seem odd that I was less distracted outside, where there are other people, but these people are not my people. They’re not people I work with OR people I live with. They are not here to interact with me. They are here for the same reason I am - to have nothing else to do except focus on your work. No meetings, calls, meowing, dog walks, or questions about laundry detergent. Just people sitting at designated desks, a comfortable 1.5 meters from the nearest warm body, avoiding eye contact, and tiptoeing to the loos.

I got more done in a few hours at the library than I would’ve managed in several days at home. Even though I have an office, it’s hard to stay focused when pets need attention and people drop by for chats. While I do enjoy working from home, the library—with no distractions—allows me to progress much more efficiently.

This time, I found a desk in the Radcliffe Camera, which is members-only. It’s by far my favourite place to work. It looks, feels, and smells like a proper Oxford library and is quiet enough to hear every cough and creak from across the floor. The only downside was the tourists trying to take photos through the windows, and the wedding bells from the church next door that rang for what felt like days. Still, I expect this will become my go-to place when I need a full day of focus.

In other news…

I took part in two great lectures this month. The first was about using social media for impact, where we learned about different ways of disseminating our work for different audiences. I do envy academics who are established enough that they don’t really care about feeding the social media algorithm. Sadly, I feel I have to “make up” for the lost years, and it seems much harder now to get the word out. Competition is strong, and many academics are doing a great job of leveraging social networks. I’m not yet ready to post as frequently as some say is required to keep the algorithm happy and prioritise my posts, but knowing about different techniques and seeing what others are doing seems a good idea.

The second lecture was about the unintended consequences of using AI, specifically in academia. It looked not only at how AI might support writing but also at its implications for reviewing, research, and analysis. It’s a very interesting time, with many stories emerging about how some academics are using the new tools at our fingertips—and the ethical questions that come with that. It feels like there’s going to be much more scrutiny around the quality of publications. I don’t think that’s entirely negative—greater scrutiny can be a good thing, and I imagine people will become more inclined to double-check findings.

Every new technology affects how we work and publish. It’s said that Socrates didn’t write down his thoughts because he believed that once we start recording things, we stop memorising. Thankfully, Plato was there to ensure his teachings were passed down in written form. The printing press had its critics, too—scribes who might lose their jobs, as well as religious and political leaders who feared the spread of dissenting ideas. I’m sure that when the internet arrived, along with tools like Google Scholar, there were academics who disliked the idea of not physically going to a library. Yet, this shift created new opportunities for those who couldn’t travel the world in search of relevant literature.

So, I think it’s up to us to resist AI where and when needed, but also to use it where appropriate—in an ethical, sustainable, and thoughtful way. As with every technology, AI will bring change. Let’s focus on the good it can do.

The art of doing nothing

This month, my mum had a cataract removed from her left eye. Nick and I drove her to the hospital for her appointment, which was at the 7.30 crack of dawn. It was so early, in fact, that the parking machines weren’t yet working. And so we left Mum in the waiting room and sat on a bench waiting for 8 am.

A while ago, while standing at the traffic lights, I noticed an older gentleman who had just stopped by a bench next to the main road. He had been on his bike and probably stopped to rest. He sat on the bench and just observed the passing cars.

Now I never have time to sit on benches. When Nick and I go on a walk, it’s to quickly do the circuit and get back to the car. Nick has this thing about time—he always wants to beat whatever Google Maps or Waze tells him. So there’s never time built in for a rest… or sitting on a bench.

But when we’re on holiday, one of our favourite pastimes is sitting outside a local cafe and observing people. Nick particularly enjoys watching people in their cars. He considers himself the best driver in the world, so nothing brings him more joy than watching someone struggle to park.

I just love observing people, wondering why they chose one chair over another, whether they’re enjoying their meal, what they were doing before arriving, and why they chose that particular restaurant.

While sitting on the bench at the hospital, Nick got to observe people parking, and I watched others making their way into work or walking with loved ones into the hospital.

I think it’s important to make time for those moments of peace where you simply stop and do what brings you a bit of joy and calm. Sitting and just observing the world around me when I’m not pressed for time is the most soothing pastime I know. It doesn’t matter whether I’m watching people eat lunch or birds foraging for twigs to build a nest. I enjoy sitting there observing them and maybe even making up stories about what they’re doing. But most importantly, I am not at my desk working.

And so it was with these thoughts that I jumped down the rabbit hole of memorial benches in the UK. I was surprised to learn that the cost of these few pieces of wood hammered together (or bits of recycled plastic, depending on the size of your wallet) can range from £766 to £2,500, depending on the type of bench, material, location, and whether it includes a plaque.

The tradition of memorial benches in the UK dates back to the Victorian era. Which makes sense as the Victorians were quite a miserable bunch, and while many didn't fear death, they did fear not being properly mourned. As poets and novelists of that time wrote works that romanticised death and mourning, the culture of death grew more extravagant and prominent, and so memorial benches were just another way of feeling close to your deceased loved one.

If you’re interested in seeing how many, what type, and where these benches can be found, you can visit the Open Benches site. It’s a mapping site that allows people to upload pictures of benches in their area. To date, more than 37,000 have been added, with the vast majority located in the UK.

In the UK, memorial benches are commonly made from wood, metal, or recycled plastic. Wooden benches are the most popular, often crafted from teak, mahogany, oak, or sustainable hardwoods. Of course, it’s not just memorial benches that are waiting for you to take a seat. Other types of benches include garden or park benches, picnic tables, scenic benches and even storage benches, and the designs can range from a basic “leaner” to piano benches, buddy benches or swing seats.

So make time to sit on a bench or do whatever else brings you stillness amid the whirlwind of your everyday life.

Update on goals:

• Ran/walked: 62.5 km (=501 km of the 1000km I want to do this year)

• wrote at least 100 words a day: 26/31 days

• Read at least 20 pages a day: 22/31 days

• Healthy eating and drinking: 26/31 days

• Didn’t buy anything: 13/31 days