The Good the Bad and the Beautiful
Hacking Yul Brynner’s weeknote template again
Not a Western. More about getting back onto my work horse after a summer break.
I chose this week’s theme because it’s the most memorable from the weeknotes templates. Every time I think of it I think of Yul Brynner’s bald head in the hot sun.
(Note: I’ve never actually seen the film and I won’t — old Westerns and their glorification of oppression and whitewashing feel wrong to watch.)
But I do want to write about my week. Catalyst weeknotes are back!
The Good
New: Service Recipes and Joe
The best thing about this week has been getting deeper into Service Recipes — a new-to-me Catalyst initiative that I am running for the next 6 months.
This week I’ve gone from swimming around on the surface of its soup pot to diving under the surface and learning how bits of it’s concept, value and design fit together in 3D.
I feel my creativity sparking. I see problems and possible solutions. It’s a bit like running a startup again. It’s 5 years since I last did something like this and I can tell its going to be fun. I know I’m going to do a decent job.
Sourcing writers for Catalyst Resources
I’ve also been gathering ideas of writers and articles for another initiative I’m running — Catalyst Resources. I used to just create content for Catalyst. Now I’m doing it as a full project with scope to be more creative and more responsible for what we deliver. We published an article and another on grant funding this week, with a plan to produce 4/month until end of March.
Staying with Neal
It was also good to stay with my friend Neal — a full-stack Dev and Director at Double Happiness Digital. A desk with a view of Glastonbury Tor :) (no pic, sorry!)
The Bad
Stuck in 1st gear and neutral
It was difficult to get back into work last week after my sabbatical. The inertia continued on Monday and I barely got 2 hours of effort done.
I needed pressure. From myself or another. It’s starting to happen now. Today I’ve exceeded my planned hours of effort already.
Nervous about the new
I’m also nervous about a new content idea we’re testing. Basically charities send us their website, we do a 3 webpage, 10 point critique, send it back to them then publish it in Catalyst Resources for anyone to read. I feel nervous because it feels a bit risky and unknown, even though we are doing it with consent from charities involved. Can we get the helpful, neutral tone right? Can we share design weaknesses in a way that helps them feel supported? Will others find it interesting enough?
That’s why we’re testing it first.
The Beautiful
For the second half of this week I’ve been parked on the Mendips with a view of the Vale of Avalon. At 6.30 in the morning its an inspiring place to be.
On my work breaks I’ve been walking, 15 mins at a time. Every walk has refreshed me and left me grateful that I get to choose where I work each day. Every week won’t be like this one but I’ve remembered what a difference it makes to stay in inspiring places. More planned for two weeks from now.
