Friday was our first get together of the ECR writing club and my first experience of participating in something like this.

Gathered in a nice room in The Core building we had a great view, comfortable chairs and everyone had brought along sustenance. There was access to a kitchen and coffee machine (you need 1p to use it!) in the breakout space just outside of the room. We began the day by sharing our writing goals, which interestingly all varied in content and scope. My own objective was to complete 50% of a conference presentation. In order to minimise distractions we all agreed to switch off phones and turn push notifications to silent. Then, guided by Laurence’s schedule of several Pomodoros, we were off.

I found the Pomodoro technique really effective. Intensive bursts of free writing peppered with short breaks seemed to provide the right balance between work/break I needed to motivate and sustain my productivity. Free from distraction and encouraged by the company of colleagues spurred us on. By the end of the day and to my great surprise I had realised my goal! Hooray! I could not have achieved the same outcome working alone at home, the library or back in the office. Whilst this in itself was valuable the other major benefit was spending time with peers and nurturing a sense of camaraderie. During the breaks I learned new things about everyone and for me this was the unexpected and wonderful bonus of the ECR writing club. I look forward to the next one and hopefully welcoming more newcomers to what I know will continue to be a very friendly and supportive peer group.