A Day in the Life…/ Medical Sociology online Volume 2, Issue 2 (Nov 2007) 91-92 A Day in the Life… Narelle Warren, Research Fellow, Social Science and Health Research Unit, Monash University Narelle sailing around the Whitsundays, just after submitting her PhD in June 2007! 14 August, 2007 One day each week, I work from home which gives me a valuable block of time to dedicate to writing. Today is not one of those days… My position as a research fellow generally involves managing multiple tasks and demands. I use strategies to manage my time and workload. Firstly, I break my day up into loose ‘segments:’ this helps me deal with interruptions. My second strategy, to make sure that everything gets done, involves making weekly lists. Today’s is pretty long, but there are some fun things too… finish one article, travel plans, start another article, teaching, back to article, supervision, and some meetings. It only takes a few minutes yet I find that it helps me feel like I’m on top of things, rather than the other way around. Emails also require management: as with most academics, I could spend all day responding to them but they’re usually either junk or not urgent. To minimise email drain, I only check my emails three times each day. I use these strategies consistently throughout my week, adapting them depending on what needs to be done each day and in response to unplanned events. Next, I resume working on a paper that we’re writing for Clinical Rehabilitation. My supervisor, Professor Lenore Manderson, and I conducted an ethnographic study (ADAPT) on lower limb amputation in Victoria and are now disseminating the results. This paper considers measures of function, wellbeing and adaptation, and discusses them in light of the International Classification of Functioning (ICF). I’m a little stuck on what to write, so I read about rehabilitation outcomes and assessment. After a quick cup of tea, I meet with Lenore. We are teaching a course on Ethnographic and Qualitative Research Methods. Though we’ve done it before, we review the syllabus and course outline, revisit the prescribed readings, and design new practical exercises. The course is shaped by our recent articles; for example, we will use a paper on gender dynamics in interviews (Manderson et al. 2006). The course also functions as a supervision device – which our PhD students will attend. After our meeting, it’s time to organise travel to the US. I’m presenting a paper at the International Society of Quality of Life Studies Annual Meeting in San Diego; I’ll also meet with collaborators. I book my ticket, pay the registration fee, and arrange accommodation. To do the latter, I need to call them: the booking itself isn’t a problem but the woman at the other www.medicalsociologyonline.org 91