Column: Offcuts
I recently learnt a new word. Offcuts: the scraps of fabric you are left with after cutting out a sewing pattern or leftover pieces of tile after installing a floor.
I have been combining two jobs at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 since last spring, and this leaves me with offcuts as well. I work as a science communicator at the Faculty of Science, where I need to get to the heart of other people's research quickly and accurately. I spend the other half of my working week as a public engagement researcher at the Centre for Science and Culture and the Freudenthal Institute. That involves independently developing plans, and I need enough space and time to explore all the literature and get the details down on paper. Switching back and forth between those two roles takes time and energy.
But I miss another word, because there is also an upside to those offcuts. It is not just hard work: the combination also makes me happy. I am constantly making connections, between different disciplines and people. I gain new insights, I am helping my colleagues, the process makes me more creative and I get to go to twice as many Christmas drinks.
In the same way I suddenly felt inspired to write this column during my holidays, it tends to be helpful to put the things I need to do for one of my jobs on the back-burner for a few days and then get back to them with a fresh perspective. Did you know Nobel laureates are more likely to have serious hobbies than the average person? I guess switching between completely different activities really does have its advantages. In other words: half + half = more than one (that calculation is not likely to land me any Nobel prizes).
The upsides of offcuts: the benefits of switching between different activities, the joy of connecting, the creativity sparked by unusual combinations; and the mosaics or patchwork toys you can make from leftover pieces of tile or fabric.
Dr Nieske Vergunst is researcher and communicator at the Faculty of Science and the Centre for Science and Culture.