Thursday thoughts: Research as leisure
A new community for tax professionals embodies the spirit of balancing seriousness with fun
Before I was an accountant, I was an academic teacher and researcher. I love helping clients, but my writing and speaking is probably a better reflection of my real interests. I’ve always loved the process of research, from stating a question to the realization that learning something new only means there is much left to learn, and that actually brings joy.
Research is more than just a means to end. Finding, assembling, examining, and connecting various sources is actually fun, like putting together a jigsaw puzzle or going on a scavenger hunt.
The idea of research as leisure activity has stayed with me because it seems to describe a kind of intellectual inquiry that comes from idiosyncratic passion and interest. It’s not about the formal credentials. It’s fundamentally about play. It seems to describe a life where it’s just fun to be reading, learning, writing, and collaborating on ideas. From “research as a leisure activity” by Celine Nguyen (original emphasis).
But just because it’s leisure doesn’t mean it isn’t serious. My grandmother quilted as a hobby. It was her escape, her bit of joy. But her quilts were soft, warm, and beautiful. It was fun because she was good at it, and she was good at it because she enjoyed it despite taking it seriously.
And research, like other leisure activities, sometimes is best enjoyed in quiet solitude, with nothing but the manuscript and a warm beverage on your desk. But other times, sharing in the process with others not only multiplies the joy of the experience, it enhances the outcome as well.
This past week, I had the pleasure of being invited to join in a new effort founded by a truly remarkable group of colleagues. It’s called InCite. It brings together tax professionals and accountants committed to high-quality, documented research into an online community.
InCite solves some of the most frustrating aspects of existing online communities for tax professionals: unverifiable opinions, low-quality responses, and bullying. The first rule is that posts and comments “must be cited, vetted, and sourced.” Research matters.
But it matters in a collaborative way. It’s not about who’s right or wrong, who’s smarter, or whose credential is more important. It’s about enhancing our individual and collective understanding so that we can grow our own businesses and better help our clients.
But it’s not all work. And it’s not a research service. It’s a community. The founders have some fun aspects built into it. So I like to think of it more as a gathering. Yes, it’s serious, and it’s fun. It’s leisure. And with nearly 200 members (as of the time I published this), it seems to fill a need in our profession.
So if you haven’t already joined, I hope to see you in there!
I’m working on a new format, which I’m calling Thursday thoughts. These will be shorter, reflective pieces. I’ll still publish longer research articles. Please let me know your thoughts on the format and the thoughts themselves in the comments or via DM!
I’ll be at the following conferences this month:
NAEA Tax Summit, July 14–17 in Orlando, FL
NATP Taxposium, July 22–24 in Orlando, FL If you’re attending any of these events, let me know! I’d love to meet up for coffee, lunch, or dinner.