This week I have decided to revisit the reflection technique known as The Four Fs of Active Reviewing which you can read more about it here (cited in The University of Edinburgh 2023). I do not feel that the week’s content warrants a full Gibbs reflection but I still feel it is important to stop and consider what has happened and what to take forwards. To read a more in depth reflection and update on RI2 click here and to read about my take on this week’s content and activity click here.
Week 8 saw the introduction of the topic of user research as well as the ethical considerations when undertaking research in general. It was also the mid-point of RI2 and the week in which Hannah and I passed from ideation into building.
The workload of content as well as rapid ideation sprints has been quite a lot for my plate and I have definitely found my motivation and mood impacted. I have had to condense a lot of coursework into intense bursts working around the rapid ideation project which has taken priority and haven’t been able to rest properly for a few weeks now as there has been an accumulation of work and tiredness.
Definitely feeling frustrated with the workload, especially as I was not aware at the start of the module that we would have two extra two week projects on top of the coursework and would have planned other commitments in my life differently had that been the case.
Also noticing that my mood in general has dipped due to the accumulated tiredness of the last few weeks, this I feel can lead to work of a lesser quality as when I have less fun I also tend to do less work or not take is as far as I could in other circumstances.
RI2 itself I am enjoying and having fun with Hannah but the content of this week, while important was a bit boring for me as I am not particularly interested in research as a career path.
Concretely what I can take away is that the masters takes up more time and requires more work than I had initially thought, even with its part time nature.
I am also becoming more and more aware of all the elements that make up a UX practice, from the ethical considerations of the research undertaken to the iterations and reviewing of prototypes. It’s an entire universe with a lot of space and different disciplines contained within it - this means there is bound to be a space that I will feel comfortable inhabiting.
Much in the same vein of a lot of recent reflections, I need to keep managing my time and my energies correctly so that I don’t tip over into complete exhaustion. I know now that during modules I cannot say yes to so many other commitments because the masters has the potential for requiring more work than I initially expected and I don’t want my wellbeing to keep being what I sacrifice in the name of staying on top of things.
From chats on the Discord I know that I am not the only person who is starting to feel the pressure and accumulation of tiredness from the last few weeks. It’s definitely been a bit of a general theme and I don’t think I’m the only person who would’ve appreciated more transparency about the workload from the start.