Table of Contents
In Day 5 of my word-a-day challenge, I take on 'database'.
Curious for more? Here's 'synthesis', 'manuscript' and 'biodiversity'.
Databases are one of those things I want to love, but I have struggled to integrate fully into my workflow. I don't know whether it is the requirement to constrain myself to a grid, but they just don't seem ... organic. And you know I love applying a nature-based solution to all areas of my life.
Ever since I saw this-most-amazing-google-sheets-based-work-planner I wanted to use the same kind of system for my PhD. I mean it looks easy doesn't it? But I have never implemented such a thing.
So why do databases seem to be an elusive component of my workflow? Is it because nature is inherently messy and disorganised? Well yes, and no.
What is a database?
As usual, I start these word-a-day posts by looking at the word itself. After all, how can I write about something if I don't know what it is?
I think of databases as akin to a manual filing system. In ye olden days, we'd have filing cabinets, which are essentially a database. And in those cabinets we had drawers and files, which I guess might be equivalent to rows and columns of these 'databases'. The main difference between manual systems and digital systems, is that digital systems are a lot more flexible: they can be cross-referenced, displayed in different ways through filters, sorts and views, and can be categorised to a much finer degree. It's a lot easier to pull together just the things you want to see without having to wade through all the mechanical background stuff. I imagine it's like having a personal assistant who knows what you need before you do and can rearrange your office just by clicking their fingers.
One thing I need to remember, is that I shouldn't lose sight of this manual connection of databases - they are designed to contain 'real' things which have been categorised to make it easier for me to do things in physical life. At the point I am databasing for the sake of databasing, they have lost their physical basis and should be reconsidered.
Why databases elude me - it's not like I haven't tried
I remember trying to get to grips with Microsoft Access before apps like Notion were a thing. That was back in the day when making a database was serious weirdo, obsessive stuff. Now its cool to database the hell out of your life.
I wanted to record everything in my garden; when to grow things, and a wish list of plants. That was also back in the day when having a large plant collection was also slightly odd. Now its cool.
(Pokémon? Yup you guessed it; before it was cool. Photography, yup that too. Now I'm too old to fully appreciate them all in their full social glory. Maybe it just represents a change of mindset in a socially connected decade. I mean even sleep is cool now. I was on that one at the age of 1.)
(*Thinks about what I do that is not 'cool' now; having a dislike for phones and social media and capitalism, a deep desire for 'The Good Life' ... Perhaps this is a lesson on learning to stand by my morals.)
Anyway, back on point.
Here's some of the reasons I think I have been hesitant to use databases, or why I typically give up shortly after making them:
- Over categorisation making them unwieldy to use and time-consuming to maintain
- Less future-proof than other options if you want to use all features
- Steep learning curve to make work as they do in my mind's eye
- More restrictive in design and flow
Maybe I'm making excuses, but I do try time and time again to make them work.
And this decade is no different. Here's three reminders to myself to help me in my database journey.
Databases need a project or a defined purpose
I find I like working with a database when there are more defined edges. What I mean by this is that they have a clear purpose and boundaries. This goes against nature which does not have these same defining characteristics. Categorising stuff is an inherently human property - nature falls upon a spectrum of gradual change.
Because I tend to work in a more free-flowing manner I find the tabular nature of a database restrictive. How can I think freely when a table is forcing me to allocate things in a certain way? And the system only works if I 'fulfil the needs of the table'.
Now this is not a bad thing in many circumstances. Lets say I have a specific thing I need to do.
As an example, we'll look at the comparative review I'm working on at the moment - plant species effects on soil structure - it's perfectly defined for a table. Given the nature of how I'm doing the analysis bit of the review, I have a defined set of papers, and some fairly defined information to get from them. So I have started with that.
KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid
I've come to learn that simplicity is something that just makes things work better. Digital systems make it so easy to over categorise and over link, it reduces the focus from the main effect.
It's kind of like the way ecological science is heading. We are focusing more and more on the smaller niggly things going on and losing sight on the bigger picture. We are increasingly sitting behind a screen and creating complex models, and not just simply observing at the simplest level, what is going on. Nature is incredibly complex, but at the basic level it is a battle for survival.
Back to earth, lets compare this to my seeds database which has 29 columns and counting... I'm in more than a little danger of over categorising things. I need to remember what the purpose of the system of.
For my garden, it's knowing what to sow when and to make sure I do jobs at the right time of year. After reading Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective people and realising that my garden is within my Circle of Influence in terms of things I can do something about in terms of living a little more sustainably, I'm trying really hard this year to make sure I make the most of it. And I've forgotten just how much I enjoy growing stuff. I don't even need to eat it, I just want to grow it: 🤣
And what's more nerd fun than putting everything in a Notion database to optimise my time 🤓
A good first start is I make sure to see a nice clean homepage screen for my garden. At the moment this database is about two weeks old so it hasn't developed well yet, but hopefully you can see in the image above how it is starting to come together. I've only added a small fraction of my seeds out of the 100 or so packets in my possession. I'm finding it handy from an inspiration perspective if anything.
I've set up a 'should be harvesting' table so I can see, if I was on the ball, what I could be harvesting right now, and how that compares to the one on the right. And this is where I get annoyed, because kale should be showing up in there too. But because of how the Notion calendar works, the current 'harvest dates' I have set are for 2026. Then I wonder, should I change harvest date to a categorical 'harvest month'? That would solve that problem yet make another; there would be no time aspect associated with them. I going for what I should sow on a date relative to today is more powerful than what should I sow in January specifically. And by using dates, I can better keep tabs on how long things take to grow here, which is like 25% longer than the warmer UK south.
But using both would be more helpful. Maybe even splitting months into Q1 and Q2 ... or 1st half and 2nd half...
And you can perhaps see how things can very quickly get over-complicated. Then there are the plants with the second autumn sowing dates 😱. And of course those 100 packets I need to add into it.
I have to remind myself, don't overthink it.
They are easier to use with big screens
I wonder how many of the big Notion or Airtable users have massive screens on which to play about with their databases? When we head out into nature it is the whole environment we are exposed to, not just a small part; in essence we are immersed in a 360 degree view.
I've found if I want to like working on a database, I need a big screen to do so. I'm lucky to have a 4K 27" monitor (it was £110 when I got it...now it's £250...). This definitely makes seeing more of those rows and columns much easier.
I can see around six extra columns on my large monitor compared to my small monitor. It's just a lot nicer to work on with a big screen.
Maybe it's a lesson in 'compactability'. But nature doesn't like to be compacted.
Overall don't rush it
My final closing remark to myself is not to rush it. Nature tends to start off chaotic and move towards organisation. Sounds odd, but nature has universal rules by which it must operate, yet the effects are only seen across time. New ecosystems are much more unstable than older, 'wiser' ones; compare the weedy field to the ancient oak forest. It takes a lot of time to get things working in harmony.
Once I've started it comes down to the habits I set in motion to keep these databases going, because after all nature is relentless. It doesn't just stop because something didn't work.
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