Laura in our team says I should blog on what I’m up to. It’ll be fun and people might be interested in knowing what a day in the life looks like for the founder, she says.
Who on earth is interested in what I do…? But hey, I like the sound of my own voice, so I’m up for that. ☺️
Tuesday this week seemed as good as any to start. Ahead of time it looked like I might not be running all over London, so as well as a chance to get into a bit of a flow, I guessed it would be easier to journal as I go.
So Tuesday.
7:00am
I’ve learned I definitely work better in the morning. So if I’m not working from home I like to leave for the office as early as possible. And where I live in London, we’ve a great view of sunrise so it’s like the city is waking up too.
I live one side of London and travel to work on the other. So I’ve about 35 minutes thinking time on the tube, working out priorities and checking notes to self. Working out what needs doing.
7:45am
Grabbing a coffee by Liverpool Street. I love my coffee – my son Arthur is almost two years old and doesn’t like sleeping much – so maybe I’m a little reliant on it to function – but really I just like the taste… ☕️
At my desk, first I like to tick-off some things from the to-do list. It helps to give a feeling of movement, of momentum building. So before settling in to a chunky task for the morning, I can feel like a couple of items have been sorted.
So first, I flicked through the new images captured at our recent photo shoot. We had such a good day a week ago and the best images will be used across the new browser-based app launching in 2019. So I’m really excited to have a first look at them. I should really wait to do this with the team but hey it’s Christmas, so why not. I get an idea of the ones we might prefer and where to use them exactly.
Then I quickly sift through my emails. I’m responding mainly to the team and user emails. We’re a small team and everybody’s pretty self sufficient so anything coming through is usually ideas to chew over or subtle reminders for me to do things. There’s never enough time to pursue every idea or complete everything action, so it’s a case of what’s most important at that point. I say quick sift, but all of a sudden it’s almost 9am… where did that time go? At the same time I’m also listening to a podcast from Dan Ariely on decision making via Farnham Street – and it is interesting – so maybe that’s why I’m taking a little longer… but at least I’m not listening to the news!
Finally, time to plan out the two realistic main chunks of time I have today. One for the morning and one for early afternoon.
9:32am
After a break and debating whether to have the Christmas themed ginger bread biscuits or minced pies at TechHub (our work space, I skipped the biscuits and pies), it was time to settle into chunky task number one. And it’s obvious what I needed to do. A new update of WiseAmigo – our responsive browser based app – has been pushed to the staging environment ahead of the new year launch. We’re 90% there, some key functionality implemented, and fixes made, so this task is critical and urgent.
My job is to review everything. No hesitation – I’m excited to get into this – this’ll take all morning. I can’t wait for the point when we can answer a big YES to the question – is WiseAmigo available on desktop? Thanks H.
10:30am
Time for a call with someone I’ve been mentoring for the past three months. A quick catch up and good to hear they feel they’re making steady progress at work. I often work with people who are trying to figure out key parts of their career journey. This one is a bit like that and something I really enjoy. It’s always fascinated me how each and every one of us has a unique experience, set of circumstances and story. I guess you’d expect to hear a psychologist say that. We agree a mini plan and timings for our next meet before I get headstrong into web testing again.
11:56am
I’ve been quite good this morning. I’ve done well. Apart from my booked call, I’ve managed to ignore Instagram notifications, Eventbrite pop ups (signups for Feb 2019’s Future of Work event) and HubSpot alerts. Yes! Today I’m focusing on big tasks…!
I’ve gone as far as I can with the testing. Just under 70 items addressed in the QA but mostly little tweaks. We’re getting there, and all the key functionality is active and working well.
11:58am
And wow, writing about what I’m doing while I’m actually doing it, is really therapeutic. I’ve always liked journaling and understand the benefits of reflective logs. After all, that’s why we’ve scrapbooks in WiseAmigo.
Sometimes a morning can go so fast that you forget what you’ve done. But writing this helps me to see and feel progress. All good. 
On the QA, I’ve just to summarise the list of items, how to replicate the issues and package if off before grabbing an early bite to eat.
12:50pm
Time for the next chunky task I’ve been struggling to nail down the time to complete. So keen to get into this one. It involves our suggested Actions for amigos to draw on when thinking about the kind of experiences they might pursue or goals to go after. (Example left or above). I like to get really detailed with our amigos; understanding how they’re using things like actions and things that can enrich the experience.
The point of this task is to create new actions to provide people with inspiration and recommended activities to try. Today I’m focusing on those actions that loosely cover our Elements that map onto interacting and influencing others. So things like presenting, being assertive, communicating, collaborating, etc.
Obviously not all of those designed will make it into the bank of new actions, but I try to write these from time to time. Now is a good time as we’ve much more learning about the kind of things amigos are working on and so can devise experiences and learning activities to help them progress.
But of course, the world doesn’t stop turning and through the morning I’d amassed just over 20 emails. I try to stay disciplined and occasionally shut down my email, but I’m not great at it. I still check my emails at least three times a day. So 20 minutes on this and then crack on with actions.
3:57pm
It’s been a good afternoon. After a good couple of hours on Actions, as well as picking up with Jamal and Amy on social media and events planning, I’m arriving at Dr Richard McKinnon’s gaff on Throgmorton Street. We’re meeting to talk tactics about our plans to collaborate on our new meetup, personal development at work.
Richard’s an experienced and well-respected psychologist and all-round great guy. He’s been a guest writer on our blog and like us, wants to help individuals to survive and thrive at work so we’re pooling resources and opening up the meet-up to run across 2019. Richard has set the group up and we’re set for our first date, 23rd Jan which isn’t long off at all! But January is an important time for people when it comes to planning for growth, so a timely event for many I’m sure. Watch this space.
6.10pm
A productive day finishes by meeting a close friend in Clerkenwell to talk tech and importantly, watch Liverpool stumble into the second round of the CL J It was close but we did it…
I should really do this on video. Even if it was just to show the Spurs fans highs and lows in their game against Barcelona!
10:11pm
The end of the day and I’m off home to see this little one. Hopefully sound asleep. But will he be I wonder…
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