Weeknote S2E3: it’s ok to…
This weeknote is brought to you by a classic of the #GovDigital age
Brief reflections on the week, in the form of a tribute to this enduring classic poster written by Giles and promoted by Government Digital Service.
So, in this spirit, here is what this week has taught me about working in the current context of full-time WFH as part of a digital team.
It’s ok to…
acknowledge to yourself and others that work — and working from home — during this emergency is different to ‘business as usual’
celebrate victories, however small, with the team
keep setbacks in context — if you have your health and loved ones, this too shall pass
recognise that family wellbeing comes first — and get others to do so
recall the prime directive — under the most difficult of circumstances, we are all doing our best
wear odd socks — nobody can see
not trim your beard, even though everyone can see*
work in the garden/any room in the house — and recognise you’re lucky to have several suitable places to work, not everyone does
take time to cook/bake, exercise, (virtually) socialise — whatever recharges your mental energy
check in on friends, colleagues, family — help recharge their mental energy
set your status to “having lunch” or “daddy duty” — fit work around family, not the other way around
tell colleagues a task might take longer than expected
keep meetings (video calls) short, and say ‘I’ll see you in Slack/Hangouts/Zoom’
cry a lot, laugh a lot, or not at all — your feelings are your own, own them
say ‘no’ to a meeting, but offer to send thoughts by email or to catch-up later
trust yourself to make decisions you’re not used to making — others trust you, so trust yourself not be an imposter
trust others to act in the common interest — you are, so are they
ask questions such as ‘what is the user need, is this compliant, is it secure, is it open and ’ even though we’re delivering at pace — especially because we’re delivering at pace
take annual leave.
These are just my ‘it’s OK to,’ what would you add?
Inspiration came in the form of these principles, #Threefor3, something a colleague says at every daily standup, and of course the poster.
*partners, children, parents, neighbours may disagree. They are wrong