January, February & March 2024

28 March 2024

Finishing a management position in an organisation. Handing over, wrapping up. I really enjoyed this role, but remembered how much energy and emotion goes into being a good manager. I am also looking forward to having one less email and one less platform to check messages. My brain is really overloaded with notifications and information.
Finalising the qualitative analysis and writing a short report. It was exactly what the commissioner needed it to be. It was a project that came with a short deadline and wasn’t particularly enjoyable to work on as a result, but the purpose was important and the insights fascinating so I am really glad we* said yes. (* me and a freelance friend)
Taking stock, looking ahead. Easter is a good time to stop for a few days. I want to start the next quarter slowly and complete some courses I have signed up to. Let my soul catch up with me.

The Living Mountain
The Great Post Office Trial
Andrew Huberman’s Mechanisms of Control and why it’s important
Catching up on the many newsletters I signed up to when I quit Twitter. I wanted to read more long-form work but find this really hard when I have to read so much for work.

Thinking about how to create structured but light-touch processes for looking at staff development needs.
Planning interviews; writing topic guides.
Thinking about approaches to community engagement; adapting tools for recording interactions; thinking about privacy of the information.
Next steps in the qualitative analysis - we met with the commissioner and they advised us what more insights they would like from the data.
Developing a theory of change for a community music venue. Taking an initial linear idea and acknowledging the messiness of trying to change a whole system (but when you are starting from the level of mainly engaging with people through set programmes).

Analysis of some qualitative survey data. Straightforward, fascinating and I am working with a great colleague.
Writing up notes from interviews - slowly but getting there.
Answering a 360 degree appraisal survey that made me angry. So much projected psychology in 64 questions. When the essence was “what are they doing well; where can they improve?”
Redefining some tasks as part of a learning partner piece of work. How to make the best use of our time given changing contexts over the next 4 months?
Thinking about learning and development: for myself and others. Finishing a self-paced module. Onwards to the next seven!

This excellent example of how we could have discussions across the divide.
Rebecca Solnit on San Francisco
How to cure the small town blues from the BBC. Some interesting perspectives from locals.

Sharing the summary of staff engagement, and getting useful feedback. Working on actions from the recommendations.
Thinking about how to frame the gap between measures and organisational performance management so staff can make sense of what they are being asked to do. Going round in circles. Eventually getting there.
Not having significantly less work, as things turned out, and having to negotiate visiting family with commitments.
Not completing training courses I signed up to. A focus for this week!
Getting new work - some really interesting analysis, with a really short turnaround.

Thinking about how best to write up a summary of staff engagement.
Listening to recordings and editing transcriptions.
Summarising what work can look like for a specific project, getting feedback, refining.
Writing topic guides for discussions, realising I am not 100% clear on the purpose - working across too many things.
Looking forward to having less work in February so I can focus.
Talking to old colleagues and connections about possible collaboration and building new things together.

Dark Matter Labs have reimagined the usual progress indicators for place. One being "number of people who enjoy not having a car" as one to measure, not rates of car ownership etc.
How public engagement can support reducing car use from the folks at Climate Outreach

Staff engagement sessions. Thoughtful, constructive. Useful actions. Now I need to write up a summary of the findings.
The space between impact data and stories that we have, and what we want to be able to interrogate. That impact report is not quite finished yet…
Planning for the year - what work do I have, what work do I want? Who do I need to reach out to.
Getting stuck into work in regional economies.

Rest & reflection. 10 days off, complete disengagement. 😴
Praxis. Using the Paris cycle infrastructure. An example of ‘if they wanted to, they would…’

Catching up on all the things that can wait until January…. by and large they are done. The most intellectually challenging are not. My brain is not yet there.
Starting the Ayni Instituite Social Movements Course. I haven’t done any formal training for years. 2024 is the time to rectify this.