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Observations

Something missing

Apologies for the poor quality of the photo, but it was taken at 10PM last night. The traffic lights you can see were installed just last week. Already they are being well used, but perhaps not for what they are supposed to be used for; last night they made a very good bike stand!

Traffic Lights

At first I wasn’t best impressed with the people who had decided to leave their bikes attached to the post – blocking both the pavement and crossing. However, I then realised there was a bigger point to this. This particular set of traffic lights is right by Granton Harbour, which is well used by local people especially when the sun is shining as it was yesterday. The area is served by some pretty good footpaths and cycle paths. However, there really aren’t many places for people coming to the Harbour to leave their bikes – demonstrated by the use of the traffic lights as a proxy bike stand. A bike rack wouldn’t cost much and not only would it support cycling but also the use of one North Edinburgh’s fantastic local assets. Edinburgh has some good cycling infrastructure, but perhaps the City needs to get the basics sorted if cycling is to flourish here.

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Observations

Six months in self-employment

I have been working for myself for just over six months now, whilst awaiting to hear whether the Canadian Immigrations Agency will allow me into the country.  I thought the six-month mark would be a good time to stop and reflect on what being self-employed has meant to my life. If you google ‘impact of becoming self-employed’, you’ll find the vast majority of returns are about financial considerations or regulatory requirements.  Clearly these are important components of what it means to be self-employed but, for me, it is only part of a bigger story.

I started my adventure into the world of self-employment with high-hopes: I would suddenly have plenty of spare time to do things I enjoy; and I would be out and about meeting people, working in unusual locations and being more creative. For various reasons, it hasn’t quite worked out that way!

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Observations

Feeling Motivated

At the start of the year I embarked on an 8-week mindfulness course (using this book by Williams and Penman). Mindfulness seems to be quite popular at the moment and is becoming widely used in schools as well as in the health sector. If you’ve not heard about mindfulness, I would describe it as learning to be more ‘present’ in the moment which allows you to live a more balanced life.

There was one particular learning towards the end of the programme that has really stuck with me. The idea is to understand what depletes or nourishes you as an individual. This is important because most of us, when we are stressed or anxious, stop doing those things that nourish us, thereby adding to the likelihood that our energy and happiness will rapidly decrease just when we need it. The authors highlighted the fact that we are often motivated to do something and then we go out and do it. However, in certain instances, the motivation is not there and we must go out and do an action before we gain any feeling of motivation.

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Observations

Defensive Urban Architecture

Some ‘interesting’ design features highlighted in this article on the Guardian being used to nudge behaviour.  It raises some interesting questions about public space and perceptions of individuals. I strongly agree with one of the comments on the article which says ‘deal with the cause not the symptom’.

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Observations

Today I Cycled

I enjoy cycling but don’t jump on my bike as often as I should do. Today, however, was one of those rare occasions when my bike seemed like the perfect mode of transport. I was meeting an ex-colleague for a coffee in Canonmills – about 1.5 miles from home.

So what was it about today that made me pull my helmet on and drag my bike up from the basement?

At one level, I knew I needed some exercise! Working from home means my activity levels have plummeted. Additionally, my indoor hockey session was cancelled this week, so I felt I should replace it with some other form exercise. I quickly reasoned that I could tick two things off at one – I could get where I need to get AND gain some exercise, all for free. It was a win-win all round. Still, for me that’s not enough of a motivation on its own, otherwise I’d be cycling or running everywhere.

Upon reflection, I think location was probably the main driver for my decision to cycle.

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Observations

Speeding Fines on the Increase

The power of money is once again being tested as a method to change our behaviour – this time it is through fines to attempt to stop drivers from speeding. Under proposed changes drivers could be fined £10,000 if caught speeding on a motorway. To me that amount sounds huge and would surely act as a deterrent. Having said that, I am left wondering why the current level of £2,500 (still a significant amount in itself) is not high enough.

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Observations

Paid to Cycle to Work

Would 25 cents (euros) per kilometre be enough to inspire you to start cycling to work? In France there is a six-month experiment underway involving 20 companies and institutions who employ a total of 10,000 people. 25 cents doesn’t sound much but I just did a quick calculation for my journey to my previous place of work (i.e. not to my desk in my study) and it would certainly add up to an appealing figure after a year of cycling. I look forward to seeing the results.

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Observations

5 Minutes Early: A Self-Analysis

So as I have previously explained, my blog is called ‘5 Minutes Early’ because when I decided to start blogging about human behaviour it prompted me to reflect on my own behaviours. One of the things I noticed was that I always get to the bus stop 5 minutes early.

At the most basic level, I think it is just a personal preference that I like to be early. Actually, it is more that I don’t like to be late. This has always been part of my character for which I must ‘thank’ my parents. Obviously being late for the bus isn’t a desirable thing because that would usually mean missing the bus, but why do I arrive 5 minutes early and not just 1 minute early (noting that timetables exist and bus tracker apps are very good)? I guess I like to know that my walk to the bus stop will be stress-free. I like to give myself enough of a buffer to know that I don’t even need to glance at my watch to check that I’m on time. Furthermore, whilst we do have timetables and bus tracker apps, I’m not sure that I trust them to be 100% reliable. It is not often that buses are early, but it has happened to me and I guess that probably adds some wariness to my decision making.