A slow paddle against the busy-ness of everyday demands
Reading retreat at Whiskey Creek Cabin – (back) Charlene Bissett, Kyle Smith, Izak Smit, Wendy Foden, Cloverley Lawrence, (front) Thabang Sibiya, Stef Freitag- Ronaldson, Alison Kock, Marna Herbst (Photo: Stef Freitag-Ronaldson).
In our ever more hurried working lives with its constant interruptions and ever accelerating busy-ness, the time for ‘deep work’ is squeezed constantly. For scientists, this often means that keeping up with the latest research, engaging intensely and philosophically with new published papers and contemplating what this means for and in practice, takes place in short time fragments or outside of normal working hours. And yet reading, thinking, learning and applying knowledge are key attributes and strengths of scientists and SANParks’ science function.
Nine self-selected colleagues from the Cape Research Centre and Garden Route Research Unit decided to leave their laptops behind to make explicit time to read and reflect at a reading retreat in April 2022. We chose an off-grid location, without cell communication and only accessible by canoe, to ensure full immersion in the chosen papers for the 2 days. Whiskey Creek cabin on the Keurbooms River was the perfect setting for reading, thinking, quiet reflection, meaningful conversations, sharing experiences and immersion in nature. We felt both calm and energised as we paddled the 7 kilometers back to the demands of our inboxes, with greater appreciation of each others’ contexts, new ideas crystalizing and supportive relationships strengthened.
Photo: Stef Freitag-Ronaldson
Photo: Stef Freitag-Ronaldson
This article was originally published in the 2022/2023 Research Report.
