Noticing in an Introspective Manor
“What do I notice when I turn my attention to myself, what habits can I reflect upon, do I understand my own behavior?”
For my third portfolio post I want to examine myself, habits and routines in an introspective manor.
I want to question if I am able to notice habits good and bad about myself. I think a lot of the time we don’t view ourselves in an in-depth manner, we don’t question our actions enough and when life becomes busy and day to day becomes routine we forget to nourish our self and work on habits that bring mindfulness into our everyday lives. For the past few months I have been working on doing just that- noticing my habits through meditation and mindfulness, through this final portfolio task I want to include a visual montage of habits that I have become aware of when re-examining my routine, they aren’t necessarily bad or good but they will give insight into my behavior and why we do certain things, at the end of this post I will give an overview of my thoughts when reflecting on the actions that I have recorded. I want to see what habits I can observe within myself, how these habits affect me and If I am able to change them once I have understood them through noticing. My main question will be If I am able to change my behavior through noticing and working on the parts of myself that need work. I can already imagine attention when working on university projects as a main issue as generally sitting down for long periods of time can make me feel unsettled and uncomfortable but I haven’t truly viewed my habits and some related behavior in a way that really looks deep and introspective.
Recipe: The recipe for this task is simple, for a few hours or a day become very aware at noticing habits (good and bad). Record these habits with a camera, edit it into a single video and reflect upon the actions that have been recorded.
Method:
- Carry a camera around during a day that isn’t too busy so that becoming aware and noticing can be the main focus
- Record data and any habits that arise when you notice them
- Upload the data into a montage and comment on the results.
Ingredients: A camera (Panasonic LUMIX GH4), myself, a single day with spare hours and awareness.
Results: Most of my shots were close ups, I realized it was more obvious to see habits I do with my own body rather than those that I do with other objects. I believe this is because I can notice behaviors when they’re more in front of me rather than around or surrounding me. For example it was easier to notice and be in tune with the fact that I chew gum but it was harder to notice changes I do to my environment- like closing the curtains in the evening. I believe this is because it’s less of a direct habit.
I also want to state that the way I view myself has a bias, as the habits and behaviors I notice are from my own perspective and may not be the same as what other individuals may see. This is really important because the relationship between myself and the camera differs from other individuals, studying a media subject and using the camera regularly creates a dynamic between myself and the camera that is different to other individuals. This means that when the camera is present my behavior can shift into a more ‘presentable’ manner that differs from the raw forms that I’m trying to capture. It means that I think for my final project I will want to record others rather than myself to get rid of this bias and to use media to my advantage rather than disadvantage.