I read a great post on Substack from Emma Parnell on running a solo reflection retreat (paywall). She explained how she takes a few days away each year to reflect on what she has worked on over the last year, what she’s learned and plans for the coming year.
I couldn’t really justify the cost of taking myself off for a few days, but I did have a six-hour ferry journey in the Aegean with the horizon and some snacks for company. So I decided to use the time well.
Financial review
It was a useful exercise to look at where my income came from last year. There were two major sources - one place I have been a long-term associate, and the other where I covered an in-house position. These constituted 2/3 of my earnings, more than covering the baseline I set myself for “managing”. It was the first time (after 10 years, I really don’t like admin!) that I had looked back retrospectively. I keep a forward planner so I can work out where I have days spare and if I am hitting monthly income targets, based on a template we used when I was at NEF Consulting, but it was useful to look at how plans turned into reality. I also noticed that a place I often support with projects didn’t really end up giving me much income so I need to work out if I still want to continue that, if it’s worth the additional administration and effort.
What did I enjoy
I reflected on what I enjoyed about different projects over the year.
- Trust matters. When I worked on projects with lots of trust in the team, or with those asking for support, we always found a way to do great work, whatever the obstacles. It just made everything easier.
- Clarity on tasks and who will do things is essential, even if I think I prefer a looser structure. This is especially important when work develops and adapts very quickly. I spent a lot of the year working with brilliant people and we just navigated these things. I am a bit messy sometimes in how I think about things, so it’s always useful to have someone who is better at processes and procedures.
- There was one project in particular which has the potential to evolve into something more strategic but I need to reflect on what I would want to take from it and then follow up with people. I am usually more hesitant to reach out to people, but when it comes to working at this level, I need to be proactive and define what it is I do that could support them in their work.
- Lots of work involved walking alongside people, not quite coaching but definitely nurturing and I really enjoyed it. Some of this was temporary management, some was supporting staff in public institutions to think through ideas.
- I did some really good work synthesising other people’s ideas. I can do this really well if and when I have the time and headspace.
- Generally I have freedom and balance to travel, to rest when I need to, and enough connections to not search too hard for work (for now!) Things often arrive at the right time when work is starting to dry up. I work with a circle of excellent people. I have easy, trusting relationships to draw on. I can be honest with people when I am not in a good place.
🧐 What did I learn?
- I learnt a lot about economics.
- I learnt some things about movement building, but not enough because I didn’t have time/ energy to complete the course I signed up to.
- I often try to please people and bend to their needs. When someone asks for something, I should be taking at least 24 hours to respond and really look at what is possible with the time, energy and existing work I have.
- I need to stop taking two day tasks unless they are really going to be fast and easy. They have the tendency to spread out endlessly and they don’t play to my strengths and motivation.
- I need to be better at assertively communicating with people including setting reminders to ask them where they are up to, if them not doing their work will impact me later down the line.
💡 Ideas for what to do differently
- Be more consistent about blocking days for work.
- Be better at starting the day without social media- explore how to get into the work-zone so that I can work less hours and have more time for reading and fun.
- Wait before saying yes.
- Schedule a day a month for learning. This can be reading/ courses, but the time needs to be protected.