macro
- Where are they all going?
- What is it going to be like when more people start returning to the office?
- How much worse can this get?
- What needs to be in place to make public transport safe during busy times?
- What will help increase people’s confidence in using public transport?
- What can we do to show people all the available options for their commute?
- What can we do to help encourage and support transport decisions that benefit the environment?
- being in control of my own schedule — allowing me to take time off for a mid-afternoon game of Carcasonne with my nephews
- getting back into a running rhythm after the snow
- starting a new series of ER (we’re at 11/15 after started the marathon in the second UK lockdown)
- another stay at home hair cut and the best one yet
- exploring a different park and new sections of the region’s wagonways
- Integrity; an unwavering belief in who I am and what I have to give.
- Openness; staying curious and sharing what I learn.
- Stability; a solid footing from which to grow and thrive.
- Trust; building on honesty and clear communication as a foundation for all relationships.
- Connection; building relationships for inspiration, encouragement, energy and empathy.
- Sustainability; living and working at a sustainable pace, developed through reflection, routine and self-compassion.
- clear and visible community guidelines
- multiple channels for different topics, rather than a single stream
- active moderators, who challenge guideline breaches
- Tumblr
- Blogger
- Wordpress (both hosted and self-hosted)
- write.as
- think and explore what interests you
- develop writing skills and style
- express yourself and share ideas publicly
- start conversations and get feedback
- What went well?
- What challenged or frustrated you?
- What will help you have a good day tomorrow? It helps me to mentally tie up any loose ends and set myself up for the next day. I’ll also clear up any papers or notebooks so I can start afresh in the morning.
- the honesty of children: “Can we stop Zoom now?” said my nephew part-way through a family birthday call… he got his wish
- an extra few moments of light in the evening
- walking on fresh snow
- getting to that point in a book where all the loose threads start coming together… and you can’t bear to put it down
- cosy new pyjamas
- Wake around 8 and read in bed until I start to get hungry.
- Breakfast, usually eggs and coffee.
- FaceTime with my parents to chat and do the crossword. This is something we’d do when we stay with them that we’ve made a weekly ritual during the pandemic.
- Lunch, usually a homemade soup.
- Walk, I try to get out every day for an hour or so.
- The rest of the afternoon is given over to whatever sport is on. Today for example I’ve listened to football on the radio, and watched rugby and football matches.
- Tea is often leftovers or a takeaway as Saturday is my night off cooking. Tonight we’ve got a rather fine curry I made yesterday. And a couple of beers of course!
- We round of the day with a film or a board game. Tonight we’re playing a new one; Forbidden Island.
- Jackie Weaver and that Handforth Parish Council video
- This thread about weird things British people do
- the swan story
- the sanctity of the queue
- public schools
- buying drinks in rounds
- or separate taps
- Stomp and Holler
- Sing-a-long Indie Hits
- my covers playlist
- one of my daily mixes
- or, if I’m lucky, Test Match Special on the radio
Rush hour
I live near one of the main routes into the centre of Newcastle. Lately I’ve noticed that traffic during what you might describe as the morning rush hour has increased. It doesn’t feel that different from what a typical rush hour might have been like before the pandemic.
When I see this, questions start popping in my head:
My most niggling question concerns public transport. During rush hour before the pandemic there would be full buses going by every 5 minutes. Post pandemic, however, people will be more cautious about getting on a bus. That’s perfectly understandable, but it worries me that instead of the bus they will opt to drive instead. Then we’ll be in a situation where there are more cars than ever on the road during rush hour.
Here are some more questions that spring to mind when I think about possible ways to avoid this:
This is day 27 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
Laughter is good for the soul
I got to the end of the work day yesterday feeling pretty flat. As we sat down to eat our tea I put the radio on. It was right as Just a Minute was starting on Radio 4. If you’re not familiar with it, and don’t want to click that link, here’s how it works:
contestants are challenged to speak for one minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition on any subject that comes up on the cards
Just a Minute has been running for 54 years and is a British broadcasting institution. And it never fails to make me laugh. So at the end of yesterday’s episode my mood had significantly improved.
Laughter has been an essential feature of lockdown life. Whether it’s been howling at the antics of Johnny Vegas, Daisy May Cooper, Katherine Parkinson, Mawaan Rizwan and Richard Herring on the latest series of Taskmaster or roaring at some of the ridiculous statements that fall from my family’s mouths (which I won’t repeat because you most definitely had to be there), having a good laugh at something trivial has been good for the soul.
This is day 26 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
Lifting lockdown... again
So, if all goes to plan it looks like life will expand beyond the four walls of the home gradually over the next four months. It’s nice to be able to think about making tentative plans for seeing family and friends in the not too distant future.
As with most news these days, however, I’ll wait for the dust to settle and then only proceed with cautious optimism. The caution is largely around the details. I’m already hearing people pin their hopes on the dates that are mentioned in each step, speculating on when they may return to work, the gym, the pub or book the next holiday. But we need to be clear these are the earliest possible dates and it’s highly likely they will change.
My preference is simply to think about the order that things will happen - this, then that, then that… And instead of thinking months ahead, to look forward a week or two at the most. It’s easier then to come to terms with the inevitable shifts that happen. I think my stock phrase for the next few months will be ‘let’s wait and see.’
This is day 25 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
Reasons to be cheerful #2
Rounding off another week with a list of things that keep me smiling:
This is day 24 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
Tags: #gratitude
Tyneside wagonways
Most days I include sections of the Coxlodge wagonway on my lunchtime walk. I like it because it’s away from traffic (mostly) and is quieter than the nearby parks. The route was used in the 19th century to haul coal from Coxlodge Colliery, just north of Newcastle upon Tyne, to the staiths at Wallsend on the river Tyne.
There is an extensive network of wagonways in the region which have been turned into footpaths and cycle ways. Around 30 miles of routes, maintained by North Tyneside Council, include local nature reserves Rising Sun Country Park and Wallsend Dene.
One of the great highlights of the first lockdown was discovering that it’s possible to walk from my home to Rising Sun largely off road. Today I walked a new section and it’s clear I’ve got much more exploring to do.
——— This is day 23 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
Revisiting values
I’ve spent this afternoon revisiting my personal values as part of a strategy session planning what projects I’m going to work on next.
My reason for doing this is simple - without understanding my values, and therefore what is important to me, it’s very hard to make decisions about where best to spend my time and what to prioritize.
I’ve chosen to write out my values as a keyword and supporting statement. That currently looks like this:
With my values clearly articulated, I can go to my list of potential projects and see how they align with them. To do this, I annotate each project with icons (see image below) to represent each value that it fulfils. For example, my weekly newsletter aligns with integrity, openness, trust and connection. This activity helps me to feel more confident in the decisions I make around the projects I prioritize and pursue.
This is day 22 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
On self-promotion in peer support communities
Let me say this first - I’m not against self-promotion, you can’t be when you are a one-person business, but I believe there are boundaries and when they are pushed it aggravates me.
I’m writing this as a lament because recently one of the most supportive groups I’ve been involved with has been hijacked by people promoting their new products and services. When I joined it was a place to ask questions, get feedback or recommendations and share ideas. But those kinds of posts are now few and far between, and I miss it. I miss the safe space among peers to ask for, and offer, help.
I know it doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve been, and am (thankfully), part of at least one community that has succeeded in maintaining a peer support space free from marketing. From what I’ve observed, the reason it succeeds is that all of the following are in place:
Why does this feel so rare though?
This is day 21 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
A personal history of blogging
By my calculations I’m reaching a point where I could legitimately claim to have been blogging for 20 years. I began my blogging journey as a teenager back in the early 2000s. My very first blog was on Diary-x.
I clearly got the blogging bug as after that I’ve had blogs on:
At any one time I’ll have at least two blogs on the go; one more personal and one more professional. I’ve also set up blogs for specific projects and training programmes. In a past life I even used a blog to teach people how to blog.
I can’t say what prompted me to start blogging, but I know why I’ve continued. A blog is a space to:
Can social media or newsletters replace blogs? I don’t think so. These other places to write and express yourself are an addition to, not a replacement for, blogs. If anything, I think we’re seeing a renaissance of blogging through challenges like 100 Days to Offload that help build the habit and confidence to write, and services like write.as that make it so much easier to publish.
This is day 20 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
End of work rituals
When you work from home the boundaries of the work day are often blurred. Without the act of physically changing location it can be hard to switch off from work. Over the years I’ve developed a set of end of day rituals to help with this.
1. End of day review The very last thing I do at my desk is to write a short review of the day. I answer three questions:
2. Fresh air and exercise The Urban Wanderer describes the act of walking at the start and end the day when working from home as a reverse commute. I find this particularly effective at the end of the day to help empty my mind of work related things. I’m lucky to have a park on my doorstep and so I’ll usually do a few laps of that.
3. Offline activity Spending time away from a screen immediately after finishing work is the best way I know to relax and shift gear. Most days for me this means an hour or so in the kitchen cooking tea. It’s an activity that for me signifies the start of my evening.
What rituals do you have to help you switch off from work?
This is day 19 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
Reasons to be cheerful #1
Over the years I’ve periodically posted lists of the small, everyday things that I’m grateful for. Along with many other things I’ve chosen to commit to lately is making this a weekly thing.
So without further ado, here’s my first (of this incarnation at least) list of reasons to be cheerful:
This is day 18 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
Tags: #gratitude
A typical Saturday
I love Saturdays. A day to unwind and have fun. A day to really switch off and relax. Here’s what a typical lockdown Saturday looks like…
To be fair, I don’t think my Saturdays before the pandemic were that different. You’d just need to factor in a hockey match in place of the walk.
What does your perfect Saturday look like?
— This is day 17 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
There is no finish line
Sometimes we can be tempted into thinking that there’s a magic item, experience or feeling that will bring us success or happiness. We pin our hopes on it. We work our way steadily towards it.
Sometimes we might reach or attain that magical thing. But when we do, we realise it wasn’t that magical after all and we set our sights on something else.
We keep on going. Keep on searching. Keep on learning. And eventually we realise; it’s about the journey, not the destination.
When I think of this, it reminds me of a line I once heard in a TV show (Baptiste, I think):
The wind blows Still the world turns
This post was prompted by the latest issue of Sophie Cross' Thoughtfully newsletter.
This is day 16 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
Co-working and community
It can be lonely working for yourself. You may see people regularly, but meetings with clients are no proxy for having a team around you.
I’m grateful for the advice I got when I first went freelance to make sure I didn’t spend all my time at home in my office. It prompted me to join a local co-working group and attend sessions at least once a month. Later I spent more time co-working, with at least one day per week among the community at Good Space, where I later rented a shared office.
Since the start of the pandemic the ability to go out to co-working spaces and work side-by-side with people has obviously been restricted. Sadly this means that many places, Good Space included, have had to close.
I’m grateful however to other initiatives that create a community for freelancers and other solo-workers. This morning I joined a virtual co-working session run by my local group. Last week I attended daily pomodoro sessions from Othership. And every day I check in with the Leapers community.
There are plenty more communities and sessions like this out there. If you’re a freelancer or self-employed and feeling lonely or isolated then I’d pass on the piece of advice given to me – find yourself some co-workers.
This is day 15 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
Cutting yourself some slack vs slacking off
Something I’ve been pondering a while is where the line lies between cutting yourself some slack and slacking off.
Is it contextual? Is it time-bound? Is it to do with the difference between needing a break and avoiding a task?
Answers on a postcard please.
This is day 14 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
Early adopters
There used to be a time when I was among the first to sign up to new websites and apps. I was eager to poke around with other early adopters to see what they offered, how they worked and if there were any benefits for my work or personal life. Some stuck. Others didn’t.
There’s a reticence now. I’m not sure where it comes from. Maybe it’s due to my change in circumstance? When I worked in universities, often I was the one in the team who sussed things out and shared new digital tools. I don’t have this role now I’m my own boss. Maybe it’s down to the sheer volume of new software that is being released every day? There’s no way to keep up with it all, so why not let others filter out the dross. Maybe it’s a loss of trust? I’m certainly more conscious about what happens with my personal data and the content I create when I sign up to these things. Maybe I’ve got better ways to spend my time?
This is day 13 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
A weekend away
We spent the weekend just gone in New York. We ate pancakes, burgers and bagels. Drank cosmos and Manhattans. Visited The Frick, The Met and MOMA. Saw a broadway show and listened to jazz from Village Vanguard… And all of this from the comfort of our living room.
Like many, I’ve been finding the latest lockdown harder than those that preceded it. It’s the cumulative effect of day after day spent within the same four walls and in the same company. That and the approach of the one year anniversary of the first lockdown and prospect of spending a second birthday in isolation.
We needed to shake things up and a virtual weekend away was just the ticket. It broke us out of our routine, helped us to properly disconnect from work and to relax. We did all the things we’d usually do on holiday and none of the things we’d usually do at home on the weekend.
The whole experience was restorative and we’ll definitely do it again.
Where shall we go next?
This is day 12 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
Being British
All anybody was talking about on Twitter yesterday were two things:
Of the former I have nothing much to say. Except that it’s been referenced in pretty much every conversation my wife and I have had over the past 24 hours.
Of the latter I will concede that for the most part us “Britishes” are weird as hell. As pointed out in the thread most of the things have no logical or sensible explanation:
However, the cultural significance and brilliance of fish finger sandwiches is a hill I’m willing to die on.
This is day 11 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
Giving blood
Today I gave my 30th blood donation. The last time I was there a lady was celebrating her 100th donation! My goal is to get to 40 before I’m 40.
I went for the first time as a teenager when my Mum took me along with her. It was in the sports hall where I did trampolining and went to football camps in the summer holidays. At uni the donor team set up in the Students Union. And in my later 20s it was the community centre in the village I lived in. Now I go to the donor centre, a permanent space for the NHS Blood and Transplant team in Newcastle.
I love everything about giving blood. The staff always manage to create a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere. Today all the staff of a certain age were singing along to Hot Chocolate on the radio and I had a good chat that ranged from cooking new things during the pandemic to the importance of finding work that challenges and fulfils you.
I love seeing all the first timers… and the old timers.
I love the follow up; finding out when and where my blood has been used.
I love the feeling of helping out.
And obviously, I love the biscuits!
This is day 10 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
A soundtrack for work
For the most part I sit in silence while I work. However, I’ve got a new clock in my office and it has THE LOUDEST TICK EVER. I have superhuman hearing, so it’s probably not even that loud, this just means that repetitive sounds like this really bug me. So I’ve been thinking a lot about soundtracks that are conducive for work.
When I worked for universities in open plan offices sound was essential for a happy work day. In the quest to quiet the ticking clock I’ve found myself returning to some old habits.
My soundtrack for routine, dare I say repetitive, tasks that don’t require a lot of thinking on my part is generally something I can sing along or tap my foot to. Some favourites are:
When I’m working with words music won’t cut it. Even instrumental. Instead, I prefer some sounds of nature. Services like Online Background Noises and Noisili let me craft a unique mix of the elements. And very occasionally I’ll opt for a bit of coffee shop ambience, perhaps with some rain beating on the windows and a roaring fire in the corner.
What is your soundtrack of choice?
This is day nine of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com
A note about deadlines
I worked furiously yesterday to get a project finished for today’s deadline. I was focused and systematic and I got more than I expected to done. That is, I finished all of the essential work and got most of the nice to have stuff done too.
Working up to the wire in this way is how I work best. I don’t know any other way to be. Without the time pressure I rarely find the zone of focus and flow I need to really get things done.
I battled with this for a long time because it feels out of sync with my nature. I’m a planner and always organised. In a group, I’m the one who has thought of every eventuality and prepared for it. What I’ve come to realise is that this is what allows me to work effectively when time is limited. I use my time in advance to come up with a plan so that when it comes to those final hours I know exactly what I’ve got to do and how to go about it. That means I rarely miss a deadline.
So back to this latest project I’ve been working on…
After the rush and high of finishing on time I discovered that I’d got my dates wrong and the deadline is actually a week away! It feels so strange to have finished something so far ahead of schedule. I almost don’t know what to do with myself!
This is day eight of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com