Studio Notes Week 50

Welcome to week 50 of 52 of my 2025 studio notes. They are structured as reflection, insights, a question for you, resources and a view to the week ahead. This time last year I needed to exercise my writing muscle along with curiosity about value, patterns, insights and experimenting. Initially I thought I’d use AI but as the year began I withdrew from using AI completely so, I’ve never used it for my studio notes. That just became part of my rules.

Serious storms in Wexford causing damage at our local harbour, Cahore. #StormBram Manmade climate change.

We have been having increasing storms and weather warning for wind and rain in this part of Wexford, Ireland. Several of the roads down to the coast are flooded already making them impassible. It seems to early in the season for the water table to be so high especially after such a dry summer. The on going changes to our weather patterns by manmade climate change. Grateful to the crews out restoring electricity supply, unblocking roads and reconnecting telegraph wires.

Let’s jump in!

Reflection

As the year comes to a close my commitment and decision for these weekly notes comes under closer scrutiny. Was it useful? Did it achieve what I thought it would? Will I continue this weekly practice into 2026?

Some questions I have answers for others are still forming.

About this time last year I set myself a task of a weekly reflection with a soft enquiry on surfacing insights. I’d noticed others harvesting their notes, client work and writing with AI. I wondered if the practice itself without the use of AI might not only improve my writing but also increase sense making, broadening my insights and understanding of value add.

The practice and ritual of reflection has given me plenty of rich and rewarding nuggets through the year. Perhaps also for you if you are a regular reader of my studio notes. It was so curious that during the first half of the year people emailed, pinged me and reached out over things I shared. What followed were excited exchanges and conversations, some renewing a business connection and a deepening relational aspects. It was a rewarding response. So thank you if you were did that. I appreciate you.

It’s not lost on me that people take notes when we speak even while out walking in forests. So resources are shared as people seem interested in what I attend to both in reading, random and specific interest or research. I’ll speak more about this below in insights.

This week saw more formal spaces of reflection with clients, associates, activators and activists.

With clients reviewing strategic design, learning outcomes and skills development, event reflection, report writing and structuring future work.

On the LC Economic curriculum reform submission a podcast interview gave me space to really articulate the why and layout the stall of broader economic literacy and reclaiming the economy.

On IDEN, the Irish Doughnut Economics Network formalisation, economic literacy, sharing and swapping some lived experiences and audience specific approaches.

A trauma informed lens of facilitation discussion and reading Decolonised Minds.

Considering probono invitations to thinking partnerships.

2026 refining a prototype retainer business model for clients (considering offering serious value for client partners in January/February so we can test and tweak it).

Reflections should not just be lists but the meaning through those lists of actions, meetings, work and connections.

I’m threading themes. I’m thinking about my work across different clients and different sectors. I’m even thinking about work in the same sector – education but at different parts of life long learning all across the system, schools, universities, community education and workplaces.

Friday night Friends of the Earth had a wonderful session for supporters inspired by Rob Hopkins book, how to fall in love with the future. The time traveling was very lovely and the discussion panel fascinating. Great to catch up with folk I know and see Deirdre, their newish CEO, who I had n’t seen since she took up the new post.

Insight

The resources shared may have seemed random but have a very specific pattern. I’ve not spoken about this much but it maybe useful to give you an insight. Along with this pattern of weekly Studio Notes, at the beginning of the year I began consciously changing my patterns of online consumption.

It was based on two things, making visible where and what I was listening or looking at, supporting creators and paying for content I valued in ways I might not have previously. I have and maintain a broad range of interest. As a curious person I also wanted to slow down my clicking adventures and challenge the dilution of my attention. Having come across the idea of a second digital brain or digital garden. There are several apps that attend to this I spent some time last year trying different ones out and choosing heptabase. I use this app to store, gather, process every link I’m interested in online.

Delaying my dopamine hit of instant clicking on information was also part of this approach. When I clicked on a link for all of 2025 I squirrel it away to my Heptabase Journal. Following up on it later that day or that week. This has improved my concentration and channeled my huge capacity for learning and enquiry. It has also given me insights into where and how I track and trace information. This year along with deep dives for work I’ve completed self directed deep dives on Ursula Le Guin and Donna Haraway.

Part of my self directed learning this year using whiteboards in Heptabase ~ topic Ursula Le Guin.

I also now have topic cards and research boards on active areas of research they include things like the embedded economy, new innovative models for business and communities, community wealth building and local asset management, future of work, supply chains, social imaginaries, storytelling, practicing democracy, co-design, influences. I even have a very messy system based one called everything, everywhere all at once.

In a recent interview about innovation I was asked how I keep myself updated. Beyond my insatiable curiosity across a broad range of sectors and silos I actively track trends and investment spends at industry and innovation levels. This tracking of information is now stored in one place. I now have a year of data of my professional and personal digital landscape.

How I use it & how it ends up as a resource.

As I’ve said everything I want to click on gets saved first. If I’m actively researching something I will have a card or a whiteboard for the topic, depending on the depth I am going to and the link is saved there.

When I sit to write these notes I go through my weekly saved links. Some I won’t have opened or read yet. I’ll access, funnel, filter, save, add to collections and choose or not to share. Thats how the resource section of these studio notes is matured and how I edit what I actually give my attention to.

A question for you

As the year closes I wonder what you the reader or AI might pick up on that I don’t. I’m also thinking about further interrogating my professional digital landscape in 2025, what do you think I should do with this data of all my digital wanderings?

Resources

New to me, Jane Jacobs THE ECONOMY OF REGIONS 1983, Third Annual Schumacher Lecture.

The National Policy Framework for Adult Safeguarding in the Health and Social Care Sector published 9 December by the Irish Government.

Sage did a global piece of research with social science researchers and this article discusses it – Why do social scientists pursue societal impact? Camille Gamboa, London School of Economics. This image and the article is eye opening.

This is a shocking analysis of global researchers and how institutions reward efforts to apply research outside of academia.

I used to follow Lone Swimmer on twitter, I was intrigued by his stories of long distance lone swimming, I rediscovered his blog this week. He’s been writing about Wind Roses.

A view to the week ahead

Next week I have some meetings and follow ups for 2026.

I am open to opportunities.

The Christmas tree is up and decorated. I’m enjoying the run into Christmas with a small side order of consumerism. Christmas cards and gifts to be made this week along with dusting off that journal making project out of old paintings and repairing a much loved 30 year old cardigan from Inis Meáin.

Have a great week.

Roisin Markham