Why weeknotes?
I’ve worked for myself since 2015. There are so many flexibilities that come with freelance work and opportunities to be part of different groupings and partnerships. The flipside is that it often feels there’s no-one to support you, to hold you to account. I have seen other people that I know use weeknotes as a way to document their work, their learnings and also personal reflections. There are so few people that will see this website, but this is a space for me to regularly document my ideas, remind myself of what has been achieved and also keep a record of things that I have seen and heard.
26 September 2024
Things I have been working on
- The big event! I did all the preparation including making some visualisations of what people told us in the pre-interviews. I learnt a lot about content, and a bit about how to not make a mess in Canva. The event itself was a success - deep conversations, connections, looking at art. Might not ever participate in something like that again, so taking from it what I can.
- Signing off the two year report, designing it and looking forward to sharing it with the world. I have sent the partners a short survey and I want to turn their feedback into a blog about the whole experience.
- Starting some work with a regional authority looking at how to embed equality and engagement into their policy planning processes.
- Finishing some admin, realising I need to sit down and really look at finances, subscriptions and commitments. And assess if it’s really worth keeping a company open.
- But… work is picking up and it’s hard to make the time to get into financial admin.
Things I have been reading/ listening to
- Yellowface
- Shattered Nation, by Danny Dorling
- Notes on gatherings
8 August 2024
Things I have been working on
- Pre-event interviews with people thinking at the macro level. Lots to take on. From next week I need to work on synthesising some of those things to inform the agenda. Will require peace and tea.
- Writing a report summarising two years of work at the micro level. I always forget how long writing takes and what an emotionally exhausting process it can be. I took advantage of a weekend to myself with no plans or commitments to get into the right headspace (unfortunately that came at the expense of a cancelled holiday due to someone having Covid). But it turns out the break I needed was no schedule, not necessarily a change of location.
- The never-ending, emotionally exhausting administration of working (alone) across borders. The image of a remote worker in a café with a view is one that works for a couple of months, but long-term it’s forums about dual tax arrangements, employer obligations, and the variety of people you need to pay along the way to make it all work. At least my actual projects are interesting and well paid enough to make it all worth it.
Things I have been reading/ listening to
- JD Vance taps into parental rage (one that covers a range of emotions - not one for the office)
- The Future of Global Capitalism
- Doctors in deprivation: prescribing on the frontline
- Anything and everything coming out about the riots in the UK - what happened, what was the response, what we need to do, who we need to hold to account.
12 July 2024
Things I have been working on
- Things at the macro or micro level. From what’s wrong with the economic system to how are we building relationships person by person, street by street. Brilliant but requires lots of breaks to stare at the horizon/ a white wall.
- Event prep: reading the published work of a variety of people, summarising it into short questions for pre-event interviews. Feeling overwhelmed by the depth and breadth but really enjoying being part of the conversations.
- Attending a learning event for community partnerships. Learning about the Relationships Project’s great heatmapping tool.
- Interviewing stakeholders about the potential power of networks of community organisations.
Things I have been reading/ listening to
- Not much. I am reading around 4 articles per attendee for the event (15 people) so don’t have much headspace for anything else.
- That said, I enjoyed this article on the positive traits of neurodivergent women, non-binary and AFAB
Older posts
April, May & June 2024January, February & March 2024October, November & December 2023July, August & September 2023April, May & June 2023January, February & March 2023September, October, November & December 2022April, May & June 2022February & March 2022