I’m running down a stony track in drizzling rain under a grey sky, singing nonsense songs* at the top of my voice because there is not another human being within a mile of me. The odd grouse, sheep or belted Galloway cow are the only potential beings to disturb in this wide, heathy landscape.
This was me on day three of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery’s academic writing retreat on the Urlar estate in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland (United Kingdom, the World, the Milky Way, etc). The running scene above certainly wasn’t work, but it is an example of the freedom and resultant ability to concentrate on tough jobs that featured highly in our few days away. The retreat officially started on Monday and finished on Friday, but a few came and went earlier as needed, which again illustrates the relaxed nature of the event. There were no organised writing sessions, goal setting or coaching – rather the venue created by the centre manager, Stephen Thomas, gave us the space and time to focus on those big important writing projects which often fall to the bottom of the list as more urgent day-to-day tasks take precedence.
There were 15 of us there, representing eight different countries. There was also great diversity in career stage, from DPhil students up to senior academics. Together we followed a rota of food preparation and clean up, spread out over the house to find our favourite writing spots, and opted in to trips out around the estate or local area. It was a great opportunity to get to know colleagues better, professionally and personally.
On paper, it might seem counterintuitive to spend eight hours travelling each way to have just three full days at the writing venue, and then to spend some of that time walking, running, sauna-ing and sightseeing. But I found that being out of the normal routines and locations really did give me the time needed to concentrate on getting that awkward paper ready for resubmission, and invaluable one-to-one time with colleagues to actually lay the groundwork for a long-planned new project. Perhaps best of all, I’ve returned from Scotland feeling refreshed and ready to tackle my to-do list with a clear head and strong intentions. It was such a good trip that I have the urge to apologise for having enjoyed a week of work so much, and try to justify it being “work” rather than “holiday”. The truth is, it was a bit of both, but that’s where the magic is – without the “holiday” aspects of the time spent away, the “work” would have been much poorer. This feels like self-care for the professional side of life – allowing ourselves to enjoy the experience and noting that this can produce solid results in the short term and give us the energy we need to support us in often challenging, complex roles in the longer term. I’m hoping this won’t be my last writing retreat, and that others have the opportunity to have similar experiences.
*adapted lyrics to The Wellerman sea shanty to describe our time away plus bonus tongue-in-cheek poem about the landscape available on request.
