Pottering: A Cure for Modern Life

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For McGovern, the final fundamental of pottering is that it is, on the whole, digital-free. “Ignoring digital devices means you are not bombarded with messages, information, unrealistic images of perfection…” she says. “Without witnessing all that, you can have some time that is your own.” Pottering is exactly what you would expect from a book of that title. It is gentle and refreshing, lovely to look at it with its simple and expressive illustrations and unhurried. It is an antidote to the rush and expectation of modern life where there is simply too much all the time, a bombardment of stimuli most of which are too distant to be acted upon and merely create frustration and anxiety. Pottering is a book that really examines what it means to potter and the benefits of pottering. It also encourages you to potter in ways you might not have thought of before. It's a kind of celebration of resourcefulness and the stepping away from perfectionism. So sharpening pencils when you should be making a difficult work call is OK. Pottering, however, is not to be confused with procrastination. (Home-workers, I think McGovern may be talking to us.) “Pottering is guilt-free,” she asserts. “If you have been occupied for a while to avoid doing something necessary and you are beginning to feel guilty, you are procrastinating, not pottering.”

But we’re not so good at taking time out for ourselves. And it costs us. There is plenty of research to show overwork is bad for your health (see here, here and here). Keep it digital free. What you do when you potter is often so inconsequential that it’s not worth a picture or post on social media. Switch off and distance yourself from your devices for a while. So much satisfaction can be derived from writing a letter, making a photo album or flipping through a magazine.The dictionary definition is rather too dismissive for my liking: ‘Potter verb: occupy oneself in a desultory but pleasant manner, doing a number of small tasks or not concentrating on anything in particular.’ The book is filled with gorgeous, evocative illustrations whose lighthearted and inviting scenes show people pottering through work in a garden and eating dinner with friends. Its descriptions of the practices and purposes of pottering are apt and unadorned, and its charming British diction is inviting. Just pottering… a phrase that’s a catch-all term for this and that — a weed pulled up, a wayward shoot snipped off, all of which tasks combine to make a garden that looks loved and cared for. Yes, you may be pottering doing household tasks but you're deriving some pleasure/satisfaction from it. Pottering days are chill days. You are unauthorised to rush around. McGovern recommends you do things locally on your pottering days.

Three years ago, McGovern had a full-time job, three young children and an ageing father she was caring for. She recognised she had “done a bit too much for a bit too long” and decided to use her holiday to take the same day off each week for several months. “After a period of intensity in my life, I felt I needed some time off and it was incredibly beneficial – more than I ever thought, because I’d given myself permission to have a rest.”

Pottering has five requirements, according to Anna McGovern - making do with what you've got, not trying too hard, keeping moving, keeping it local, and keeping it digital-free. There is a light-hearted chapter about each, with some examples you may wish to try if they hadn't occurred to you before. There is much about making time for a little sit-down with a cup of tea and a book -sound advice if ever there was any. Then the chapters are full of musing and specific suggestions for how to go about pottering when following that particular guideline. For example, under "don't try too hard," we are invited to do tasks that are "quite satisfying and useful only but the tiniest margin," like sweeping with a broom, cleaning out old bags/purses, sorting junk drawers, leaving something to soak, sewing on a single button, cutting scrap paper out of old envelopes, organizing key dishes. Seeing this book for the first time did cause some concern for this reader. Is it another self help thing? Will it be embarassing? This little book is both a discussion and practical guide to one of the most British of pastimes – pottering.