Which way to the office?

Today I started my new role. This has meant a change of office. I went to my, now old, office to box up some stuff to take across and locked up behind me. I will be back in that office from time to time so have only brought across what I feel are the essentials for now.

I’m going to be sharing an office again, something I’ve not done for several years. Having said that, both my fellow officee and I will be working from home at various points, so in reality will probably see very little of each other.

The weird thing is that the desk I’m now occupying was clearly someone else’s and they vacated it in a hurry. I suspect as a result of the first lockdown when those who could work from home, were encouraged to do so.

It feels a bit odd though to be moving someone else’s coffee cup and pen pot etc out of the way, so I can clean it down, and make space for my stuff. Somehow it feels invasive.

I’m now in an inner office situated at the back of a larger open plan office. The open plan office used to be occupied by IT staff, most of whom now work from home. Its a bit like the Marie Celeste.

I’ve booted up the PC and its taking an age to load my desktop view. Then of course it wants to do a gazillion updates because it hasn’t been used in 6 months. There’s one of those ergonomic mouse gizmos which feels very odd. That’s going to have to go. The screens (yes, there are two) are too close, the desk is smaller, there’s a headset plugged into the phone. The phone doesn’t ring out loud even though I’ve tested the ring tone. I’ve had to rethink my lunchtime walk start and stop.

One of the good things about it is that I’m much farther away from the shops and canteen and would have to go outside and into a building about 3 minutes walk away, so that should stop me from snacking.

It’s going to take a bit of getting used to.

A strange day

With the excitement of starting a new role next week, and a long weekend away in between, today was a very strange day indeed.

Because the move to the new role has been swift, the opportunity to hand over things, finish things off and so on has been very short. Not least having the chance to tell my team about it.

The day has been spent trying to wrap up loose ends and get things to a sensible state for someone else to pick up and finish. The other things I need to sort out is moving desks. There are some things I can take home that I won’t be able to utilise in my new office space, but there are other things that I will need to take across, and some that I don’t need to take with me.

The plan is to come back to this office on Tuesday, after my weekend off, to pick the bits that I will need, then walk them over the other side of the site to where I will base myself. I also have the option to be able to work from home, so I may start doing that a couple of days a week too.

I suppose I’m not technically leaving the team as its only a secondment, so there’s been no “leaving do”. I’ve spoken to my team leaders and sent a message round to the team as I didn’t get to see and speak to everyone. I will get to see them from time to time so I guess its not a case of walking away.

At least I have a nice long weekend, Thursday to Monday inclusive, to be able to switch brain ready to hit my new role next week.

Christmas starts here

Advent Sunday heralds the start of the Christmas season. Its going to be a very different one this year.

The December calendar is usually full every weekend of #bellringing for carol services, and tradition and ritual surrounding preparations.

C and I rang our 2 bells as usual this Sunday morning. When we arrived at the cathedral they had installed garlands and lights around the south porch, and an illuminated star at the top of the tower. When we reached to ringing room there were cables and LED lights in each of the window areas directed outwards, ready to light up the Cathedral. At least they managed to run the cables round the edge of the room this time, usually we have to navigate cables across the floor where clearly they do not consider the safety of the ringers.

By coincidence, my Angel Wings candle, that I light every evening throughout the year, had expired yesterday. When we got home from ringing C went to fetch a new candle from the supply in the garage. He brought in a Christmas Cookie one. Great timing for the start of Advent. Although it’s a different scent to the usual one “Angel Wings“, the purpose is the same when I light it.

Presents are almost all bought, and the ones I have already are wrapped. I always buy C and R advent calendars. R was given hers when we last went to see her. I bought C an advent calendar of a different sort, but he can’t have that until 1st December. I bought myself one too, seen as though I don’t get one otherwise.

Christmas cards are being written. Possibly the earliest we’ve ever done that.

Here starts the preparations in earnest.

Transferable Skills

When I talk to members of my team, particularly when they are considering alternative roles, they often tell me that “I can’t do that”. I then take them, line by line, through the job description and ask them why they think they can’t do it.

One person told me once that they weren’t very organised. She was a mother of 3 school age children, a wife, had a full time job and all the family pursuits that go with kids. I asked her to think about how she cooked dinner in the evening. She said that she’d think about what to cook before leaving for work in the morning, when she got home, she’d get everything out of the fridge, put it in the pot/pan, then check in with the kids and their homework, then finish tickling the pot/pan and dish up. I asked how she managed all that to which she replied that it had to be planned and organised. Lightbulb 💡 moment. That means she could organise. Its a transferable skill.

The Psychologies Magazine suggests when you’re thinking about a new career, that by doing a skills audit you can determine if there are any core competencies that need working on. Things to think about are communications, research planning interpersonal and HR, positive attributes, management, leadership and decision making, financial management and critical thinking.

The article also noted that you only need 70% of the skills listed on a job spec to apply for it. Then, once you’ve thought about what skills you have, and worked out what you need and why, the next step is to marry up your skills with your values.

I’m going to conduct the skills audit just to find out where my shortcomings are, and focus on “pivoting a new future“.

When time is important

Time is money. Good time management is really important in this busy world of ours. But with the increase in reliance on technology is it really helping us be more efficient with our time management?

You could argue that with the advent of video conferencing, the hours spent travelling to and from meetings now become time we could spend being more productive. The trouble with video conference meetings though is they also block out much of the interaction.

Sometimes there’s a glitch and someone can’t get logged in. Or someone arrives late and interrupts the flow by announcing their late attival. Sometimes the details of the meeting are changed but not communicated to everyone. Sometimes the right people aren’t invited to the meeting.

One such occurrence that does wind me up is the system we use at work for meetings. In itself it works fine. But if you are attending the meeting because someone else has forward the invite to you, you don’t get any updates.

I planned most of my working day around a meeting that was due to take place at 2pm. The agenda had been emailed round earlier in the day so I’d read all of the attachments carefully to make sure I had some vague idea about what the meeting was for. I made sure that I went to lunch earlier so that I would be back in good time. I passed messages on to other people to action knowing that I would be in a meeting for a couple of hours so unable to action them myself. Got my whole day pretty much mapped out.

I logged into the call and it said I was the only participant. Fair enough I was prompt, so I’ll give everyone else a chance to log in. After about 3 minutes waiting I’m starting to think this is a bit ominous, so I email a colleague who is supposed to be on the same call. No response from her. Then I check her e-diary to see that she has had a cancellation for the meeting. I double checked my diary but no cancellation received. Then I noticed my invite to the meeting was forwarded. I wasn’t on the original list in invitees.

It seems that the video conferencing software can’t pick up forwardees, so they won’t get any updates. I guess there’s no reason why it should. And no one else thought to pass the message on. But again, why would they?

I have spent the next 10 minutes trying to either get logged into a meeting, thinking I was inept at the logging in process, then trying to determine what was going on. I suppose, given the fact that I’d passed a number of actions on to others, I do at least have the time to spend investigating the issue, but that’s beside the point. I later found out that another party who had also had the invite forwarded had recieved the cancellation. So how did that work? Further investigation required and/or a call logged with IT me thinks.

I watched a TEDxNHS talk back in January featuring Rachel Pilling and Dan Wadsworth that explained if you took 15 seconds to do something now that could save someone else 30 minutes later, then that person did the same, and so on, just imagine how much time would be released and how much less frustrating life would be. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDqNHIKavVE&app

I guess I need someone to give me a 15 second masterclass on this video conferencing system as I clearly don’t have it set up properly.

Keeping us guessing

As you know I subscribe to BakedIn Baking Club. Each month I get an email telling me fresh ingredients to buy ready for the box with the dry ingredients and recipe card to come through the post. But you’re never told what the recipe actually is. This was the email that arrived this week ahead of distribution. Then there’s a frenzy of comments on social media about what it could be.

This one really has me stumped though. Eggs, cream, milk, butter, oil. The dry ingredients always seem to contain a flour mix of some kind and some nut or other. Google is generally not much help.

I’m hoping that the box will arrive by Saturday. I really missed out on baking last weekend, partly because I was quite busy, and partly because C had purchased 2 boxes of mince pies, so I thought we had enough snacks in (not that they lasted very long). I fully intend to bake something this weekend. I need the distraction after a difficult week at the office.

If the box doesn’t arrive in time I’ll have to think about what to bake. I’m torn between biscuits, cranberry & orange biscotti, cinnamon buns, chocolate brownie or biscoff cuppies.

I found an online quiz called What Should I Bake? After asking some obscure, and some unconnected questions, the results suggested that I should bake cookies. The chart however suggested my responses showed 40% cake, 20% cupcakes 20% pie, 14% muffins, 4% bread and 2% cookies.

I’m hoping the box arrives so I don’t have to make a decision.

Remembrance Ringing

#bellringing traditions run deep. From Christmas morning, New Years Eve, weddings, funerals, but especially Remembrance Sunday.

In 2018 I was the project coordinator for the #Ringingremembers campaign, an initiative to recruit at least 1400 new bellringers to symbolically replace those that were lost during WW1, on the 100th anniversaryof the Armistice. The project was a massive success due to the community spirit in wanting a way to remember those who had died, as well as the hard work put in by the #bellringing community, who recruited and taught new ringers in the months leading up to the anniversary. So successful was the campaign that we recruited over double the original target.

Fast forward 2 years and it was a very different story this Remembrance Sunday. Due to lockdown restrictions #bellringing has been severly curtailed since March, and there hasn’t been a full return to ringing since the first lockdown yet.

Therefore #bellringing this Remembrance Sunday featured the lone tolling of one bell to mark the Nation’s tribute to the fallen. For many ringers this has been one of the most painful days of not being able to ring.

What is worrying is that all the efforts put in 2 years plus ago, might be undone, as we’re nowhere near a return yet. And when we do return, how many of our number won’t? Whether age, infirmities or loss of interest, those who can’t or who have found other things take up their time, I’m sure the number of ringers will have diminished.

The Central Council of Church Bellringers is working hard to keep things going and formulating plans for a return to ringing, but there may not be another hook for us to regain a recruitment campaign in quite the same manner.

As with most #bellringing activities the rewards are commensurate with the amount of effort put in. In the coming months and years we are going to need to put in a huge effort to reap the rewards.

Time to get the thinking caps on and start planning.

Having a clear out

We’re having a tidy up of the study to make room for a second office desk and chair.

Over the years what was step daughter #1’s bedroom became the spare room and eventually we moved the computer out of our bedroom and into this room, therefore redesignating it as the study. However, it also became the junk room.

Over years and years, more and more stuff has been pushed in there as either being “useful one day” or “file it later”. To the point where we can’t actually get anywhere near the other end of the room, and now have no idea whats there. To be honest, a bit embarrassing.

With lockdown #2 now underway and the potential for things to change for me at work, it might be possible, or desirable, for me to work from home from time to time. It would also be more beneficial as I do more #bellringing stuff. C is on the computer quite a lot doing whatever it is he does, so if I had a desk and set up too, I could get on with things. I know that I could sit on the sofa with my laptop but that’s not conducive to a nine and a half hour working day. I need a proper chair and desk.

So, desk and chair have been ordered, although the desired chair was out of stock, so was the second preference, so ended up with third choice, which of course was more expensive, but they’re giving it to us at the same price as the first choice, for the inconvenience.

Had a phone call at 07:30 (!) Thursday morning saying that desk will arrive tomorrow. Eek, better start making room for it then.

Why does tidying up always create more mess? C is making a start as the first hurdles are his. Most of my stuff is at the back of the room, so he’s got to make some headway before I can do much. This is going to take some time. He seems to be checking everything and reading things, and deciding that “that would be useful to hang on to” despite the fact that’s its clearly not been used in many, many years.

There are now bin bags, recycling bags and piles of other stuff accumulating in the lounge, ready for the next phase. This is going to take a while.

Soup Season

Its definitely turned chillier which means its time to break out the soup maker.

The days of packing salad and cold meats for lunch is drawing to a close, giving way to being able to microwave soup at work. A nice tub of warm soup and a couple of slices of C’s homemade multigrain bread 😋 is perfect for an autumnal day.

As with most weekends it involves meal prep for the week ahead, so soup maker duly cleaned and ready to go, the soup of choice for this coming week is cauliflower and cheese. Its an SW recipe involving many, many cheese triangles. I didn’t put them in until after the rest of the soup had been through the soup maker, then stirred them through whilst it was still hot.

To be honest it’s not the most appetising looking soup. Kind of a very pale yellow (due to the paprika i assume and the cheese triangles). It tasted ok when I stuck my finger in it to test it but don’t know how it will be once reheated at work. Anyway, try it I shall and I have 4 tubs of it to get through in the week ahead, so eat it I will.

Self portrait

I’m going on a course soon to do with work and as part of the preparation they’ve asked me to send them a short bio and a photograph of myself to go in the course pack.

I HATE having my photo taken. There are very few of me about, I’m not photogenic and why the heck would any one want my ugly mug staring at them.

Also, the request for bio information stated “send a brief profile write up mentioning your role, hobbies and anything you’d like the other participants to know“. The first two bits are easy. I know what my job is and, well basically its bells and baking. But how would I know what other people might want to know about me. How far do I take this?

My favourite colour is burgundy, I like orange Smarties. I drive xx car, I have un frere et deux soeurs (as we used to trot out in French classes). Married, daughter, home…

How much could anyone possibly be interested in?

I turned to trusty old Google and typed in “what should I write in a short bio”. Google suggested that I should include my goals and aspirations, the 2-3 most impressive and relevant achievements and a quirky fact about myself.

OK, so the Smarties thing is in. Hmm, goals and aspirations. To get through life as best I can, you can’t see what’s coming round the corner. 2-3 impressive and relevant achievements. I don’t know. I’ve done some stuff and some of it has been OK but I’m not sure that it’s relevant to the course context.

I’ve kept my bio very short. It’s of little interest to anyone else I’m sure. It’ll be interesting in itself to see how much and what things others have written.