Weeknote S03E01

I’m starting a new role at Public Digital as a consultant next week!

Weeknotes are a core part of the culture at PD, so I thought I’d start early.

This week, preparing to start this role has meant practical things like setting up my new laptop and email, getting into slack, choosing my benefits package. It’s also meant doing some reflection and taking time to write down some resolutions and boundaries for myself.

I’ve been apprehensive about starting this job. Not about the work itself - I’m excited about that. I’m worried about how the working patterns, demands and stresses will fit into my life and my family. I’ve been working for myself as a freelancer, mostly running training, for the last few years. Going into permanent employment is going to be a big change.

A lot has changed in my life and in myself since my daughter was born at the end of 2022: we moved to Australia, my mum died, we moved back to the UK. Perimenopause entered the building. I haven’t had a permanent role as this new version of myself.

I’ve sat with my partner and worked out, in detail, who is doing each drop off and pick up, every holiday day, every inset day. Which days we’ll need to postpone swimming, book in an extra day of nursery, check in on childcare swaps with other parents. I’ve booked the cleaner, the dog walker and the ready meal delivery. I’m trying to be as ready as I can be for the emotional and logistical changes ahead as well as the professional ones.

These are the prompts I’ve used for this reflection:

• What am I worried about?
• What do I want to protect?
• What are my previous patterns?
• What affirmations might be useful for myself and what am I great at?
• What do I know I’m not so good at?

And here are some of the highlights of where I’ve got to:

• I will practice saying no / not saying yes to everything
• I will keep work emails and slack messages on my work laptop only
• I will not apologise for having a family, needing to take time away or not being available for work all the time
• I will meet with my partner twice a week to plan our schedules
• I will not teach white people about racism, and I will resist colonial culture
• I will not have back to back meetings all day
• I will find ways to bring myself and the things that are important to me into my work at PD, including
  • Equity and justice
  • Decolonisation
  • Politics
  • People and community
  • Emotions
  • Grief
  • Going slowly and care-fully
  • Resisting the toxic cultures I’ve experienced in many workplaces

I believe the work is going to be great. It’s interesting work that I care about. I think I’ll be good at it and also challenged by it. I know there’s lots of fantastic people at PD, both new colleagues and ones I’ve had the privilege of working with before. And I know that I’m so so lucky to be able to say all these things. It’s such a privilege.

I want to start this job with care and intention, for myself, my family and my new colleagues.

Sending a thank you to my new friend Sarah, old friend Kate and middle length friend Jane for inspiring me to do this reflection.

I also want to give thanks to Caroline, my friend and colleague who, this year, has gently and firmly returned me to work, encouraged me, kept me company with great chats, remembered Vicky Teinaki with me and given me some good arguments and some great advice. Thank you Caroline 💖

Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash

I’ll leave you with a photo of the beautiful State Library Victoria building, which I’ve been reminded of by a participant in the Introduction to Service design in government training course I’m running with Ignacia this week.

weeknote