Weeknotes 2022 #2

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Weeknotes #2 – Intention

Around the Clearleft office

We’re all missing those incidental moments around the office where you learn about what people people are working on and what they’ve been up to out of the office. Being remote has made that so much harder. To try and make it easier to connect with people I set up a Water Cooler Moment workflow in Slack.

Let’s imagine you want to take a 5 minute break from your work, make a hot drink and have some company other than the various delivery drivers. Clicking the workflow will paste a Google Hangout link into the Slack channel with a notification that someone is by the water cooler.

We’ve tried similar things over the last couple of years but ultimately what we’ve learned is, it’s really hard to formalise serendipity.

James and I had a nice chat about digital privacy and swapped some interesting links.

I’m leading a new project starting next week and wanted a space to capture our team’s professional development goals and reflect on our progress and impact. It’s meant as an experiment and learning experience. It includes:

  • Chris How’s Time Well Spent Canvas
  • Our focus of professional development growth and types of feedback we are seeking
  • New tools and methods to try out
  • Continuous retrospective

As a contrast to the start of the remote working week, I’ve been going I’ve also been cycling into the office for a change of scenery. I’ve forgotten just how restorative cycling is for my mental and physical health, especially when I get to ride over the stunning South Downs. It’s also been wonderful seeing people and grabbing some unplanned serendipity.

Article of the week

I really enjoyed reading the first episode of Brigette Metzler’s new season of weeknotes. Her selection of a guiding word for 2022 was a real inspiration. I knew immediately what my guiding word would be: Intention.

2020 and 2021 were periods that lacked any control. Like so many others, I felt myself slip into a sense of languishing awakening the selfish teenager in me: staying up late, watching endless rubbish on TV, a distinct lack of motivation or passion. This year I’m determined to be intentional in the decisions and actions I take.

Bridget also shared some interesting thoughts on ReOps, in particular her 4:1:4 research ratio. It’s well worth a read!

Japan-immersion

Over the festive holidays we decided to plan a family visit to Japan in 2023. Since then I’ve been immersing myself into all things Japanese. Here’s what I‘ve absorbed this week:

  • I’ve been listening to Shonen Knife’s 1986 album Pretty Little Baka Guy. A brief look at their website I discovered they’re playing in my local town this year, how very exciting!
  • Another of my favourite Japanese bands, Melt Banana, are making a stop in Brighton in late April. Plenty of time to get myself mosh pit fit.
  • Looking for ways to keep order in my home I discovered the 5S workplace organization method; sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain.
  • Kintsugi is a traditional Japanese method of repairing ceramics using gold, celebrating life’s imperfections. Over Christmas my cat broke a piece of pottery handed down from my grandmother, so rather than try to hide the “scar” from this accident, I’ve decided to celebrate it.
  • Chindonya is a traditional musical street performance used to advertise for local businesses. Here’s some lovely footage of Tokyo Chindon Hasegawa Sendensha from 1987.

Commitments

Last week Chris How reminded me of the upcoming UX Camp Brighton that is now scheduled for March 26th. I’ve been bouncing some ideas around about what I want to talk about.

I also had a chat with Kate Rickard who organises UXup, an inclusive meetup for UX practitioners focused on practical learning. Kate was looking for some people to help run the meetup while she’s living her best life in her new role. After much deliberation I’ve agreed to step into co-organiser role. I’m looking forward to working with Kate, Luke and Dave.

Lastly, in what could be the most earth-shattering news, I finally unplugged my landline phone.

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