Week ending 8th January
On Tuesday I returned to work after a 10-day festive break, a break which I desperately needed after the intensity of 2022. I can’t say I came back feeling completely refreshed, as I spent much of my holiday in the kitchen or chasing solicitors for my upcoming move, but I consciously kept away from all work-related content for my days off and enjoyed the change of focus.
I spent much of the week on my own, thinking about the boundaries and priorities of our upcoming alpha, in advance of our new team forming next week (some folks are continuing from discovery, some are brand new). I reviewed the hypotheses and goals that we wrote in mid-December with fresh eyes, and was able to sort them into streams of related work and start mapping out dependencies and key stakeholders. It’s been an intellectual and motivational challenge — I’m not used to having so much unstructured time in my week — but I was pleased with my progress, and now have materials I can confidently share with the team on Monday.
I had two great conversations, one with my new line manager and another with a lead business analyst who is supporting the development of our community of practice. We talked about my role, motivations and ambitions, which provided useful reflection moments to kick off the new year. I’m continuing to work on Homes for Ukraine so there will doubtless be high stress and high pressure moments in my future, so it’s reassuring to know I have good people around me for support.
Speaking of good people… we have a few job vacancies open at the moment to join DLUHC Digital. I’ve been here for 18 months and have learnt lots, and had the opportunity to work on high profile, interesting and stretching projects with wonderful teams. I’d highly recommend applying even if you don’t think you have all the relevant experience; you might surprise yourself (as I did!).
Over the break I completed the Year Compass and chose my word for 2023, which is space. I prefer the approach of choosing a guiding word rather than specific resolutions, as it allows more flexibility when life throws you curveballs, and it can be applied across lots of different areas of life — work, family, hobbies etc. This week I’ve made some improvements to my physical space, taking some long unworn clothes to a recycling bank, and given myself breathing space by flexing my working hours (longer lunch breaks, then working later into the evening) and have noticed an improvement in my concentration in the afternoons.
It’s been a quiet week in my musical life, as we’re on a break from band. 2022 was unexpectedly my busiest and most successful year of music to date, including performances at the European Championships, National Finals of GB and The Proms, and I had two wonderful surprises at the end of the year as I was named Flowers Band Players’ Player of the Year and was featured in 4barsrest Band of the Year. We’re back in the rehearsal room on Monday to start preparations for the West of England area contest in March.
Next week I’m looking forward to getting to know the alpha team; catching up with my mentee and the person I line manage; and making a flying visit to London for some in-person facilitation training (a continuation of Nov/Dec virtual course).
