House sitting and science has got me thinking!!

You heard correct, science and house sitting has got me thinking. And yes, before you ask, I know, it’s a weird type of thought process. So let me explain.

So first lets tackle house sitting,  for us it’s a lifestyle. Simply you live in other peoples homes and care for their possessions and animals simple. Next, science…..

Science as defined by a Google search is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. (Wwwwhhhhhaaatttttttt???)  Or maybe a simple explanation, understanding  and testing how things work through observation and experiments. Got it, good.

So at this point your probably scratching you head and asking, so what is it again that science and house sitting have in common? Well, I apply the scientific method ritually to assess and understand house sitting and how it influences our life, mental health and life in general. But on another note, all the technology we use has a heap of sciency stuff behind it, but I’ll stay on track……

Science has a method, so does house sitting.

Science and its method

Having studies a health science degree, on of the first lessons you are taught about science is that it has a method. You know all that jargon about a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. Trust me at times these types of theories still hurt, but simply, the scientific method is like a recipe to finding new information, testing old information and applying knowledge to life.

You observe things, ask questions, predict the answers to these questions,  measure these predictions, retest, alter, expand or deny your predictions and then form a theory about your results. Then, you start again. This set of instructions is often referred to as the scientific method, exciting stuff hay! Well this is super super important to just about every advancement in society, so its kinda important even if your not a science person.

I know what your thinking! So tell me again how this relates to house sitting! I am glad you asked!

House sitting and its method

Our success as house sitters runs by a set of guidelines in a similar fashion to the scientific method. We observe, think of questions, form hypothesis, develop predictions, test these predictions, reflect and re test if need, gather information and then we make theories.

It’s uncanny how similar the two processes are. This relationship gets me thinking. What skills can you learn that apply to other areas in life. I mean I learnt the scientific method before I started house sitting, but I apply what I have learnt as a scientist to house sitting. Deep hey?!!

Well let me explain a little further by using the scientific method framework to describe our first month as house sitters.

In the beginning we;

Made observations – We noticed that people went on holidays and needed their pet cared for, we loved animals, people saw this and asked if we could help.

Then we asked questions – Hey, I wonder if you could live like this, as house sitters caring for peoples pets.

Next, developed our science house sitting predictions – It would be awesome if we could live as house sitters and I think this might happen;

1. Save money and our financial situation would improve
2. We would be able to work online
3. Live and work in one place without renting or buying a property as full time house sitters

Gathered data – Essentially we gave it house sitting a test run, collected a heap of information and assessed our questions/predictions

Redefined our hypothesis – Well we didn’t really have to as we had proven out hypothesis – we could live as house sitters, save money, work online and live a house sitting lifestyle!

Then we formed a general theory, it is possible to live an alternative lifestyle as house sitters in Australia.

The cycle then repeated itself, over and over again for hundreds of questions. Such as, can we live from only a suite case? Can we house sit without a car? Can we house sit and live internationally? All of these house sitting based questions followed a similar scientific process. I have written an article about many of the proccesses I have tested and you can Read It Here

What’s the good of science if you can’t apply your knowledge.

When I was at University and I started my scientific research project, a professor of mine made a statement that holds true. You need to be interested in your topic, own it and be able to talk about you findings at a BBQ. It’s safe to say, we have also discovered these connections to be true when house sitting.

Everything we learn along our journey we apply to our craft as professional house sitters. As an example we found that leaving a hand written note and a bunch of flowers is likely to be associated with a better online review. If that’s not science then what is :). You see, knowledge learnt and applied. Following what works for us and more importantly what makes us happy!

This whole journey then gets me thinking about the importance to apply a method to your life. It doesn’t have to be a scientific method, but there has to be method. A way to assess, explore and act on what makes you happy and brings fulfillment. At the end of it all, I think we have discovered a theory.

You can make most thing happen with a little creativity, a thirst for knowledge, a review and testing process and a whole heap of curiosity!