Week 35
Work
Still getting used to the new office and finding the best route there. It used to be Croxley to Farringdon on a single train, with a two minute walk the city end. Now it’s a 15 minute walk the city end. It’s not a massive addition, but enough to make me consider what my other options are. It’s also lovely to explore streets I’ve not been down, looking for things I’ve not seen before. This week I walked from Euston Square to Holborn, past the British Museum. Reflection: the office move triggered a “review” in the way that the train strikes 15 years ago did. Back then, being forced to find an alternative to the Tube, I discovered a train route that cut my commute time in half. I’m not expecting that this time round. I’m hoping, instead, for a shorter or equal length route and with perhaps a safe stretch of bike ride within it?
Wednesday ended up being a day of deep work - a lovely long stretch of time to think properly and create things that leap us forward. Back-to-back meetings are fine, but I add my greatest value when I get to think. I hadn’t planned this in - Wednesday was supposed to be busy too - but meetings got bumped unexpectedly. Reflection: I was able to make the most of the unexpected block of time that appeared because there was a clear “deep work” task on my plate and in my mind. I reckon I’ll be able to be similarly responsive in the future - and not waste such a block on emails and admin - if I build a habit of always knowing what the next piece of “quality time” work is. Something I’ll try to do in sprint planning (though clearly can only be a should/could do…).
London day on Thursday - back-to-back meetings. Including a couple covering for colleagues, where I had expected to be a bit of a spare wheel because I don’t have the depth of expertise in payment systems I thought was needed. In the end my contributions were considered incredibly useful - because I’m so much closer to the user research insights and service design detail. “I brought the human angle”, the group said gratefully. Reflection: I do subscribe to the principle of only attending meetings where you know their purpose and what you’re there to contribute. I do. But also - we mustn’t discount the value that can be brought by “boundary spanner” types who share much needed insight and knowledge between organisational, professional, project and service siloes. It isn’t just running interference with the rest of the org so the delivery teams can focus - contributions at these boundaries can be game-changing in terms of alignment and preventing future blockers. Like the sweeper in front of the product team’s curling stone.
I asked my colleagues for feedback. I picked colleagues who’d worked closely with me, and asked for feedback on three development points I have prioritised for improvement this year. Reflection: this structure meant the feedback I got was targeted on the things that I care most about right now. It yielded incredibly helpful suggestions too - as well as requests for feedback in kind, creating opportunities for some fruitful one-to-one conversations that wouldn’t have easily happened in a team retro.
Personal
Heavy Mum-taxi week - and as E’s friend’s don’t live especially nearby, picking them up to come round ours and dropping them all off after really eats into my evenings. Reflection: I didn’t have many friends growing up (I know, shocker, right?) - those I did have didn’t live near me and I never thought to ask my Dad to do the parent taxi thing because he’d have said no in a blink. So I want to be able to do this for my kids. At some point though I’m going to have to draw the line. Feels like it’d be an arbitrary line though. And some times it’s more inconvenient than others, so would the line move? More parental boundaries thinking to come on this I guess…so will stop complaining for now.
Applying for secondary school. It was a done deal for Z - she’ll get into the same great school as her sister based on the sibling rule for admissions there. So I just went ahead and entered the selections online. Z was not happy - she explained calmly that even though there’s no doubt about the school she’ll go to, she wanted to be the person making the decision and pressing the button. So I rescinded the application, and let her apply for herself. Reflection: when I was making this transition, there was no choice - we just went to the only school in the area. And if there had been a choice, it wouldn’t have been mine to make. I’m proud Z recognised this as an important moment and asked to do it for herself out of principle. The first of many assertions of independence to come, I suspect, as she heads to big school. Yikes.
I went to the cinema on my own to see Deadpool and Wolverine. I’d forgotten just how crude the humour in Deadpool was, so had initially thought to take E before then she noticed the age rating (she’s attentive like that). I’m pleased she did. Though tbh if the crudest of the jokes wouldn’t be totally over her head then I reckon I’ve let her down as a parent.
Z and I cycled the incredibly juddery Nickey Line between Harpenden and Hemel Hempstead. Was a gorgeous day to do it. Afterwards we went to a local music festival - Croxfest - where I realised I was actually too tired to have conversations with other people, and so swapped places with my ex-husband, who came to keep an eye on small dancing Fletchers while I went home to make dinner in silence. Reflection: hydration. It’s almost always hydration, if I’m too tired to play extrovert. So why do I never remember in the moment? It’s frustrating.