If I’m too focused on my research, I drain, rather than sustain. Research may start off promising and enthusiastically especially if I like the subject. If I am interested and engrossed in my research, it’s a bonus, rather than researching something I don’t care about but it pays the bills. As I have had the opportunity to choose what I write about, I have found research for work interesting and not dull. Yet I also research for fun.

Fun research is naturally done with a lot of enthusiasm. But if I start focusing on my purpose for fun research it can drain the life out of the research and it starts bogging me down. I start thinking about it too much. It is no longer fun. When my fun research becomes a trudge through mud, I get back to basics and read rather than research. I even start reading the same thing but read, not research it. In terms of fun research, it is still important to stick with my original research plan and not give up, but try to keep it as fun and as interesting as possible.

Is there a difference between research and reading? Isn’t it the same? I think there’s a difference. Reading understands and comprehends the text, but research studies the text and cross references, and sometimes I research for fun.