Saturday with Mamobo Ogoro: I need to put physical measures in place to avoid burnout  (2024)

Up until about a month ago, my routine was get up, have breakfast, do research, watch TV and go to bed. I’ve now submitted my PhD thesis, so these days I am trying to be a normal human being again.

I’ll shower and run some errands.

I have an alarm that goes off on weekday evenings at 8pm that says ‘Stop Working’! It reminds me to wind down for the day. I know that otherwise I will work, work, work until I burn myself out.

Since finishing my thesis, I want to fill my weekends with personal connections, people I love and simple things like sitting on my balcony and reading.

I love bell hooks — though she has passed away now, her writing is about social justice but seen through a feminist perspective, she does a lot of critique on modern day society but in a very refreshing way that is still relevant.

I’ve just got Emma Dabiri’s latest book too. I like authors that have a fresh perspective on how society runs and operates.

13.00

I’m starting to explore Dublin again since I moved back from Limerick.

When I was living in Limerick, I was coming to Dublin at least once a week for meetings and workshops. When I got the opportunity to move to a place in Dublin I could afford, I jumped on it.

Right now I don’t really have a favourite place.

I am still exploring. I have decision fatigue from my thesis so I will eat anywhere and eat anything — other than kiwis which I’m allergic to!

I do enjoy Mind the Step Café on Great Strand St, it has cool and open vibes.

My first love is singing. I originally wanted to study Performing Arts but my Nigerian parents were like: ‘Absolutely not!’ which is quite ironic because my dad is a film-maker and my mum’s a singer and pastor.

I would like to join a gospel choir. I don’t want to be a leader, I don’t want to make decisions, I just want to go and sing.

15.00

I’ll take a walk around. When it comes to the vibe in Dublin City, it’s certainly a lot busier than Limerick.

I do appreciate where I live on the northside because it’s quiet. My job involves engaging with people a lot so that’s why my Saturdays are kind of boring. I often just want to be by myself.

Sometimes I’ll walk along my bus route home and I might see a protest or demonstration saying ‘Ireland is full’ and all that stuff. It is concerning and it can be scary for people.

I think we need to find a way to engage with the counternarratives. I believe that the vast majority of people in Ireland are not like these people but we still should be cognisant and monitor it.

What we are trying to do with GORM and the new show on Newstalk is to have a wider audience and to try to get voices from different communities.

We are not trying to change anybody’s minds, there’s no big agenda, it’s just about hearing from different communities and having a laugh while listening and learning along the way.

When I say ‘diverse’ I simply mean ‘difference’. It’s about bringing all that diversity into the conversation and being more sensitive to where people need accommodations.

Sometimes it’s the most confident or loudest person that gets media attention and that’s not the only story that needs to be told.

18.00

I am a great cook but I’m just getting back into it. At the moment I am trying to perfect jollof rice — a signature Nigerian dish.

20.00

I’ve just watched all the seasons of The Boys. I’m a massive fan of anything comic book or cartoon. I love action/ superhero shows, documentaries and psychological thrillers.

I like reality TV, sometimes you just need something to numb your brain. I’ve been watching RuPaul’s Drag Race and catching up with Steven Universe on Cartoon Network.

22.00

I’ll do my daily doom scroll on TikTok and Instagram. I’ll do some journalling or a voice journal. I can put all my ideas down and it frees up my mind. I’ve been journaling since I was 12 or 13. I look back on my journals and think ‘Jesus Christ, you were very moody!’

I’m one of those people who can sleep anywhere and everywhere. As a baby, if I was having a tantrum, my mum would put me in the car and drive me around.

• Mamobo Ogoro, 27, is the founder and CEO of GORM — an inclusive social enterprise dedicated to bringing about social change through digital media and intercultural training and consultancy.
• A social psychologist and linguist, she is the presenter of the new Younified podcast on Newstalk. The GORM Gathering takes place on October 12 at The Complex Dublin, see gormmedia.com