Retros

weeknotes

Apr 2

Happy bank holiday weekend! I have a timer set for 15 minutes for this one, so here goes.

4-day week

Signing off part of an application journey to align with our gateway service;
Onboarding prep for our new UX/SD team TDA;
Mini design retro to reflect on new ways of working (effort - impact);
Service blueprint updates based off changes re-point 1;
Internal team planning to revisit new meeting cadences (i.e. weekly design crits)

A personal retro

Weeknotes have been feeling more like a burden > reflection lately and these are the times that call for a personal retro. I started this habit 4 months ago on the pretense that a ‘recap of a week in my life’ could enable me to be more productive (yet reflective), and deliberate (yet critical). Not all my weeks look like the former, but in practicing the latter, I’ve been able to interrogate why this might be and do things just a tad differently the week after.

For many weeks, this gave me enough fuel to keep the notes going. Reflection is a taxing process and perfectionism often gets the better of me. Going forwards, I’d like to experiment with more of a fluid approach (so bear with me as I thought-vomit for the next few weeks).

On being part of a team

With planning taking up most of the project capacity, I’m enjoying spending my time on team admin like onboarding prep for our new apprentice + planning a year of socials as the new lead. So much of my headspace has been ramped on the project in the last few months, that I sometimes forget to embrace my role in our wider team outside of my own work. It’s lots of overdue catchups, outdoor walks, coffees and BD for me.

Run notes (Week 7/11)

I managed to do 2.5 out of my 3 runs this week. The endurance is very much there, but speed needs work. With only a month-ish left to go before my race, I’m going to take the intervals up a notch. Fear is the mind killer, indeed.

One of my favourite runs took me out to Battersea over the weekend, where I had company for the first time + just the right dose of sun to leave you wanting more. I’m not going to lie, easy runs usually suck for me, especially when I forget that running isn’t just about the mileage, pace and cadence (even if I’m training). What I want to remember will always be more than just numbers.