What I’ve been doing
I’ve missed a few weeks as I’ve had a bit of leave for family fun which has included LakeFest (a surprise highlight was Dick and Dom - yes them! - doing a DJ battle set) and a visit to my homeland of Essex.
At work this week I’ve been doing the monthly reconciliation, contributing to a funding bid we’ve been working on (and now submitted), scoping some other funding opportunities and preparing for next week’s programme management meeting. I’m kicking around a lot in my head about how to get the benefits of project management structure but in a light touch way that feels right for our small and part time organisation.
Last week I had a coaching session. We focused on a non-work related issue and it was a one-off with Lucie Hartley who I’ve had a block of sessions with before. It really helped (as it always does) to have a structured deep dive into knotty issues. I don’t struggle with self reflection but I can struggle with heart vs head decisions. Particularly if I have the sense I’m the right person for something but also that I shouldn’t be the person. Anyhow, the coaching session was great, cleared the blockage in my mind, decision made and I can move on without that issue taking up mental load.
What I need to take care of
I’ve added this section into my Weeknotes for the first time as I’m still learning what my voice is in this space. This section was inspired by other Weeknotes I’ve been looking at.
I mainly need to take care of some FPCE preparatory work (I’d love to hear from you if you’ve been through this process) and some programme management stuff (updating project progress and creating a kick-off structure).
Outside of work I’ve a mountain of post-festival washing to get through ;-) and I’m leading a Corporate Partnership Trustee recruitment process for Consortium LGBTQ+ so I need to get some actions completed and dates booked in.
What I’ve been inspired or challenged or moved by
I have been watching this Instagram video on repeat. It is so compelling to me. First up - I admire Nicole Scherzinger and her vocal talent. But what makes this video so special - to me - is the demonstration of how you can take something that is always done one way, is so incredibly well known in that one way (the song) and you can make it your own - and you can, as result, create something that is haltingly incredible in its own right. I love it. Crank up the sound!
What I’ve been reading
I’ve recently finished reading “Confessions of Frannie Langton” by Sara Collins. It was a bestseller (I’m never on trend at the time of the trend) and was loaned to me by a friend who said I needed to read it. I found it quite a slog but have an irrepressible inability to stop reading a book once I’ve started (I have a list of the only four books I have abandoned amongst the hundreds - thousands? - I’ve read). I think what I found was that its literary style needed more of my undivided attention that I gave it and the content, whilst important exposing experiences of slaves, felt too heavy for me in a fiction read. So I’ve chosen one of my top three favourite books of all time to read next - Enid Blyton’s “The Secret Island” … can’t get much more different than that.