Time sheets

So as we determined that we could not seperate leisure from work, even in the autonomous space, we felt we should represent how leisure time is linked with work, so we created a leisure time sheet. this acts as a visualisation oh how leisure is work, and also reflects on the notion that if our free time is earned, then do we only get a certian amount. Should a payslip have your wage, and a leisure time allowance?

Final intervention - Photos

Hey guys

This is the link to the photos from today,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124057779@N03/sets/72157644364717212/

Peace x

Final Intervention Video and Debrief

Today, we staged the final intervention of our project ‘The Politics of Work and Leisure’. The aim of this intervention was to create a pop-up autonomous area, free from the soul destroying monotony of work and technology, and explore the possibilities for real leisure, outside of work. We wanted participants to feel a sense of “liberation from all economic responsibility, liberated from all the debts and responsibilities from the past and other people” and to reclaim the concept of leisure time for themselves. Unlike when in the workplace, participants were welcome to stay for or as long as they desired. The zone was symbolic and effectively represented the liberation from work.

Location – We chose to stage our intervention in a Garden: a therapeutic space usually associated with leisure time.

Results – The overwhelming majority of participants, including ourselves, noted that after spending a considerable amount of time in the zone, it began to feel like work. Despite creating an autonomous space, we could not escape work. As Lefebvre suggests, “the workplace is all around the house; work is not separate from the everyday life of the family”. Even in a space of an autonomous space, in this sense leisure is the escape from work, due to the trainings of our everyday, our leisure has become dependent on what Lefebvre calls ‘Leisure Machines’. These Leisure Machines reinforce the continuation of work, such as facebook and social networking, within our free time. Leisure should be about relaxation, about taking a break from the grind of work. However in reality, we struggle for real Leisure time, and to avoid the continuation of work in these hours.Our intervention has highlighted how Leisure time, under capitalism has become alienated, and dependent on and arranged around work. The two are intrinsically linked.



Nadia, Maxi, Natalie, Miles and Cam - Group 5

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Maxi's "WASTED TIME" DIARY

Hey guys,

Managed to upload my "Wasted Time" diary - it was extremely thought-provoking, and with reason I've put the title in brackets. I find anything I have recorded in this diary, and anything that would be recorded somewhere, clearly engages you physically and mentally, which automatically eliminates the concept of 'wasted time' as you are being proactive in some shape or form. However, one can still regard this in terms of prioritising activities in which the idea of 'procrastination' feels like a waste of time, as one is aware of other things that could be done that are personally regarded as more important.
Personally, I keep myself busy at all times and feel like I am always being proactive - even in my leisure time. Leisure time can certainly be something you work towards, so that you get to work during that time. Makes sense or nah? Okay, lets look at this;  Monday, 21st of April 2014, I visited my friend and her baby cousin. Spending time with friends is regarded by most as leisure time, for sure. However, the only way possible for me to do this was to work to gain money for travel, complete the journey (about 1hour - walk, bus, train, walk) and once finally arrived at destination (so leisure time with friend), I am 'working' again by paying attention to my and my friends behaviour with the baby (to learn=work?). Can we ever escape working towards anything? In conclusion, of that day, I felt my leisure time was spent learning, which of course is a positive thing.

If someone would (hypothetically) relax in bed all day, are they working in this time of leisure? Or is this mere thought of escapism still work, even if physical and possibly mental exhaustion is prevented / kept to the minimal?

I can't see myself not being proactive in my leisure time! Even if I am 'relaxing', I have worked towards that time, creating a private space for myself, even then I might get an unwanted distraction, or I get distracted and fall out of my relaxing and 'non-working' space. Sigh.

LaUm SoCiAl InTeRvEnTiOn

Work and Leisure Space

The following article is an interesting one - it follows the idea of a public space in relation to technology turning what used to be a work environment, into an environment of complete distraction, turning work time into leisure time. This proved to be worked itself, which is basically what we discovered whilst doing our social intervention. "Even having the same thought process, making the same decision, is energy draining and will drain your willpower." In our experiment, any technological equipment was placed outside of the the 'leisure square' we created in order to eliminate any interaction with the outside world and any intrusions that relate to work.

The man described in this article that struggled with this used this problem to an advantage and created an app that did not allow you to go online as long as you desired in order to combat the issue of work space turning into leisure space.

This article sums up the "paradox of choice" quite nicely.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-clear/procrastination_b_5186723.html

De Certeau

Hey guys,

The intervention today went really well. I've just been rereading de Certeau and I think this would be great alongside Lefebvre in our essays to explain the theory behind our intervention.

"The dividing line no longer falls between work and leisure. These two areas of activity flow together. They repeat and reinforce each other."
 

De Certeau analyses the 'tactics' of the everyday and how We are the 'consumers'.

"Consumers are transformed into immigrants. The system in which they move about is too vast to be able to fix them in one place, but too constraining for them ever to be able to escape from it and go into exile elsewhere. There is no longer an elsewhere."
 

I think this sums up the message behind what we did today, as we were trying to provide a space free from they system of work, and we managed to highlight that even in leisure there is no doing so; there is no longer leisure.