I’ve been using a new pad to help me with my working days. For as long as I remember I’ve started the work day taking my notebook and writing a list of times for the day and carrying over my day from my various calendars, any other tasks to the side. It didn’t take long for my daily notetaking to have that first page of the day hidden so what if I could have that first page visible all day?
I found a ready-made pad, every page the same template to help me with my start of the day task and make sure it was useful throughout the day. It’s been useful, reminding me several days of something I needed to do. Previously I’d have got to the end of the day and been aarrgghhhh I need to do that which meant working a bit more, working later, working earlier the next day, you get the picture.
In the bottom left of the pad is a section grateful for. I tried it one day and it was a stretch for me to do. I very grateful for lots of things. I am the sort of person at work that says “thank you” to people for doing the littlest things. I’m not sure what I struggle with noting things I am grateful for. Maybe it’s the word grateful. This goes back a bit too. I’ve worked somewhere, at the start of the week people posted things they were grateful for. It’s… just not for me, maybe in the same way I struggle a little with stuff like the Manual of Me. And I am sorry. Am I not being as inclusive as I could be with my reluctance to do these sorts of things? Or is there a tweak to those sort of work exercises so they can be mindful of People Like Me?
Anyway anyway, every week I write personal weeknotes into Evernote. I’ve tried to share them as much as possible over the past few years. I realised doing this week’s I can’t share them not even with a massive edit. Nothing bad, they’ve a large work leaning, I am working on three things at the moment, some of it is NDA’d, some of it has sensitivities and some of my notes are me thinking through my future. Writing weeknotes is good reflective time for me. It’s my second week back after a summer break, lots has happened and happening, and I am at a point where stuff is swirling around. That reflection helps. So my public weeknotes are probably going to freeform for the next few weeks. At the worst they will make me write a blog post every week.
So, I might struggle with things I am grateful for but I can do a list of things I have learned or been reminded of this week:
- A friend made me aware of kinesiology tape. My right calf has been playing up which has limited my running. It’s nowhere as bad as my left calf was earlier this year (when I could barely walk). I thought I’d give applying the tape a go. I’m at that point where
- possibly delving into quackery territory (but if the calf feels better consequentially and the tape is just a placebo will I be that bothered?)
- doing something I’ve seen some pro runners do/have
- have a little feeling of “Is this overkill? Won’t just resting it be enough?”
- getting a little sense of being an imposter wearing tape on my legs
- phwoar wearing tape is kinda kinky huh. (I’m joking with this last bit. I’d need 100% latex tape for that obvs.)
- The static biking set up in the front of the garage is actually working: I’ve used it twice. I got a cheap “frame” to attach the IPad to the handlebars of the bike and the whole thing is more tolerable, being able to take in some of the very nicely designed courses on Zwift (while listening to Marc Riley’s radio show).
- I went to a pub this week to catch up with some chums. After work drinks through video chat are OK, sure, and easier to organise (“Zoom! 5pm! Anyone!”) but the actual getting to the pub and then spending ~a planned two~ ~oh why not another three~ as long as it’s not the last train four hours with your chums just gassing and laughing is level/s up, sitting outside in the sun while it’s there but heading in once the cold set in. I’ve always been a big fan of pubs (they used to be my favourite place to slink off to to read) but this week definitely tapped into the physical side of bonding with people
- Catching up with friends generally. I’ve been doing a lot of that recently, mostly through video chats. Overdue. Is there someone you’ve not spoken to in ages?
- Reminded about communities over networks — but also communities don’t just happen.
- Them Denver Nuggets are quite something. Last Sunday’s come back against the Clippers and then take game 7. Such a young side too.
- Work: I am working on several projects where the make-up is a small team of good people (good as people, good at their roles) at it’s… been a while since I’ve been in a team with that overall cohesion and focus. It does make a difference, when time is tight and you can get on getting on. Also enjoying that the three bits of work lean on different personal skills and enthusiasms. It’s a good being used feeling.
- I finished playing through Control on the PS4 (finally!) and Assemble with Care on the iPad, and remembered the joy of finishing something. Both quite different games, Control long, shooty, reactive, grey, Assemble with Care short, more considered, lively, but both carrying neat stories.
- I need to get back to having a proper walk or run before the work day starts.
- Dentists have gone back to pure scraping teeth, not jet water or jet air. Another glimpse into how Covid is making some processes roll back time.
- This week I saw my dog stretching a bit. It’s not a new thing, every morning when she decides to join the world she’s there doing it. Good stretches, front legs first, then the back legs, front legs and back legs again usually (but not all the time). It reminded me about the instinct of stretching when you’re coming out of a period of physical inactivity and I made an effort to make sure I did some stretching when I’d be sat for several hours. But also when are the moments when we need to give ourselves a little mental stretch too?
- I learnt quite about water with Zac Efron, not something I could have predicted, but life eh.
This post tagged with:
weeknotes,
2020 weeknotes