Weeknote #36 — A little and often

Ben Lidgey
Sep 7, 2018 · 3 min read

This week I am trying a new format of 3s — what 3 things was I looking forward to, what 3 things have I achieved and what 3 things would I look to change. I don’t know why those things, but it seems like mish-mash of a daily Scrum and a retrospective.

What was I looking forward to?

Moving into the new loft conversion. The building work was done earlier in the summer, and I was getting increasingly frustrated that we hadn’t moved in, so it was my main focus for the week.

Going for a bike ride. I keep meaning to go for a bike ride, by myself to test my fitness and with my daughter on a separate ride.

My kids starting at school. This wasn’t so they were out of the way, but because they both enjoy school, and my son was starting at High School so I was also excited for him.

What did I achieve?

Moved into the loft conversion. This is still ongoing as more stuff needs to be done, like putting up shelves and pictures, but the refinement of the mental backlog as the week progressed went well. I am not quite nerdy enough to create a physical backlog of tasks, although it is tempting not only for me to manage my tasks but also to highlight the scope of the work. The main aims for the move was to get the bedroom furniture in place, and my wife also insisted the TV was installed. With help from my daughter we got the bed in last Sunday, and yesterday I added the TV. It does have a signal and allows real-time watching, and Chromecasting but no recording from something like Freeview Play. That is further down the backlog, lower than things like shelves and wardrobes.

My kids started back at school. My son made the move to High School, and that has gone well so far which is good. He does seem more grown up now.

“focus photography of black fly” by Robert Kresse on Unsplash

Although I didn’t go for a “proper” bike ride I did get the car MOT’d, and used it as an opportunity to use my Brompton to cycle to and from the garage and work through the park, so I will claim half of that one too. Cycling through the park was very nice and peaceful, and made me realise how much traffic pollution I must inhale when cycling on the roads as the taste in my mouth was very different. I did swallow a fly though, but that could happen anywhere. I just thought of it as a protein boost (Bear Grylls watch out!)

What would I change?

I started with a large list of things to do for the loft conversion move. Then other things popped up, like other jobs to do around the house. My initial reaction was to get annoyed that those other things were getting in the way, but then I reviewed what was absolutely necessary to move into the loft and focussed on getting those things done, one at a time, in priority order. Subconsciously I was prioritising the backlog, and focussing on WIP limits. This is something I will pay more conscious attention to.

I keep thinking about why I am not going cycling. I keep thinking about a new bike. I am sure that a new bike will make me cycle more. I will change my bike. If you want a road bike or a hybrid let me know.

I need to drink more water. I feel more awake and generally better when I do.

Ben Lidgey

Written by

I have always made things. Now I help others to make things by helping them to improve their Agile and DevOps practices, while always enjoying life to the max.

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