Hey Beehaw!

I’m a burned out academic leaving the field. I’d like to learn something new as a means of recovery and healing from the trauma of this intense field. So, what should I learn? What do you recommend and where could I start?

That’s it. That’s my ask. Any and all recommendations welcome.

  • Kissaki@beehaw.orgEnglish
    4·
    24 days ago

    Maybe one of origami, juggling, crocheting, playing an instrument, creating a website

    • its_me_xiphos@beehaw.orgOP
      1·
      22 days ago

      A ukulele rests in the corner of the flat that my kid uses for school music lessons. Cant hurt to fire up YouTube and try.

  • Powderhorn@beehaw.orgEnglish
    3·
    25 days ago

    “Academic” suggests you might have an ongoing opportunity to audit classes. Throw some darts and see if anything appeals to you. I started out in computer science, burned out on that in a quarter, took a quarter off, switched to linguistics, and then that plan was dead in the water the following fall after walking into my college newsroom.

    One field I never took a class in? Journalism.

    • its_me_xiphos@beehaw.orgOP
      2·
      24 days ago

      Interesting. I qualify for some classes and I’ve been doing qualitative work (focus on interviews and focus groups) for a long time. Investigative Journalism, especially now, has always intrigued me.

  • kruffa@beehaw.orgEnglish
    3·
    25 days ago

    Knitting or woodcarving.

    Both are cheap & easy to start and you begin with doing things that are useful.

    You may end up in a more artsy trajectory or just keep at creating useful things.

    • its_me_xiphos@beehaw.orgOP
      2·
      24 days ago

      Thanks! Good suggestions. Woodcarving appeals to my shitty carpentry chops. I never considered it, but will investigate.

      • who@feddit.orgEnglish
        2·
        25 days ago

        Spend some time paying attention to the sounds that different instruments make. Remember which ones you like.

        Borrow, rent, or buy one. (Preferably not a terrible one; the cheapest model of any given instrument is often not worth the frustrations it can cause.)

        Maybe get a teacher, or maybe follow some online lessons, or maybe take a class, or maybe just experiment on your own for a while.

        Make sounds. Maybe with other people. See what you come up with. It can be solitary or social, scientific or artistic, studious or playful.

        If you eventually feel you’ve hit a plateau and want to continue improving, consider learning some music theory and technique.

        It’s a deep and wide subject.