'There is only Now' - Action Planning (Interviews) - Module 3

George Balanchine used to say that 'there is only now.'

Being behind on my research has really hit me hard in realizing the importance of living in the moment. If you want something done in your life, then you will not make excuses to hold this thing for later. 

Right now, what is it I want?
>>I want to be successful in my dance practice > improve daily > keep a positive outlook > focus in my purpose > get a full time contract where I can grow and develop my dancing. 

>>I want to be successful in my studies > Keep up to date, collect useful data, proceed with my findings and analysis, share my knowledge gained with my colleagues, peers and community of work. 

It so happens that the two can relate together to enhance each other. While my Working environment works as a tool for research for my Inquiry (WBL), My research can help not only the development of myself as an artist, but also the community of dance around me. My research will contribute a great deal to the creation of my Artifact, and this project is what will be then presented to educate/inform/entertain the audience of my work. 

In order to achieve this, I have been influenced by the Action Plan, created by Bruce Woodcock (University of Kent) and decided to create my own plan in order to collect the data and analyse it efficiently, withing the given deadline. 

Theory begins by asking yourself;

• WHERE AM I NOW? This is where you review your achievements and progress, and undertake self-assessment.

• WHERE DO I WANT TO BE? This is where you decide your goals.

• HOW DO I GET THERE? This is where you define the strategy you will use to achieve your goals, and to break down your goal into the smaller discreet steps you will need to take to achieve your target.

• TAKING ACTION. This is the nitty gritty where you implement your plan!

• WHERE AM I NOW? 

And his continues into a cycle of reassurance that you have achieved your goals, and you are ready to take the next step, by knowing how do get there. 

I have in turn created a table for myself, the way Woodcock suggests, which, divides the process into steps:

MY OBJECTIVE IS: to collect research data for analysis TO ACHIEVE THIS I NEED TO:  Contact at least 10 dance practitioners (dancers, ballet masters) from different ballet companies and Interview them	Date I expect to complete this step by	My reward for completing this step will be
I will tell my plan to: Interviewees, friends, coworkers, family	done	Appreciation
I will start my action plan on March 27th	30 April	Colleting Material for Artifact
Step 1: select interviewees- background of classical ballet, different stages in their career, professional experience working in a ballet company, different companies-and contact via social media (private messages) or via email.	2 April	Watch a movie
Step 2: Ask permission from them and/or organizational institutes they work in to interview, film/record.> formal email explaining research purposes and inquiry process , ethic forms, emphasize right to withdraw from interview at any point	9 April	Go to brunch with friends
Step 3: Proceed with interviews and filming (in person/skype)-bearing in mind ethical procedures, respect, codes of conduct of interviewee’s workplace >> send Draft (18 April)	23 April	You can have a break- have a Kit Kat ;)
Step 4:  review observations as you go. Have you discovered something new? > more literature to relate to data collected? Other activities? > Can you discuss further with any interviewee? >>Send another Draft	30 April	No reward…push
Step 5: Review back on all data collection, check Bibliography and Harvard referencing. >> Select and put interview clips appropriate to research on audio > part of Artifact.	7 May	Nearly there…
Step 6: Finish Artifact and Submission	12 May	Celebrate with a Dance!!!
What problems am I likely to face? What will I do to overcome these? Delayed Interviews: Make sure you can be contacted easily. Keep up to date with information collected so that it doesn’t collect into a pile afterwards. Arrange another day to hold an interview convenient with the interviewee and yourself. Skype is a good way to contact as one can e a part of the interview outside their working hours. Cancellations: No interview should be forced upon. After explaining the process and ethical procedures, if one chooses to not be a part of the inquiry, that is their free will, and you can always contact other people within the time limit. New Observations/ Irrelevant data collected: As this is an Open-End conversation, it is sure that the interviews may vary from person to person, as a result to their different job environment, country they work in, training or rank in their workplace. For example: an experienced soloist dancer will have a different point of view from a young dancer at the beginning of his/her career and could identify to theories that you may not have met before through literature findings. This is important as the differences in these dancers could contribute to an interesting conclusion, where the result is dependent highly on the background of the applicants. >>New observations, can definitely be notes down as part of your research, as they could open new doors for a more accurate/well researched result.  >>Any irrelevant data, won't be necessary to  use if not applicable with your research. > If this is something you encounter in your interviews, better have a look at your questions you are asking the interviewees: Are they relative with your Inquiry theory? Is there a bias? Have you informed the applicants well about your research before you went forward with the interview?

By setting out objectives, this allows you to set steps for yourself, so that these can build up to the final wanted result.

I never believed in the element of reward. I always felt that the achievement of the task itself is a reward itself, however, thinking so far ahead can only be intimidating for yourself to even begin taking action. By setting mini rewards along the way is just a motivator and a reassurance that you have finished the task, and you are ready to move on.

By asking yourself what problems you may encounter, is a way to act on perseverance. By preparing yourself with potential risks or problems, you are only  preparing yourself in order to react more efficiently without wasting time on either stressing about it or not knowing how to take action to achieve your ultimate goal. 

I have been finding these methods very helpful in continuing with my Critical Review and taking action of my Research Inquiry Tools I have been performing. and would recommend it to everyone :)

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Reference:

https://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/skillsactionplanning.htm