Weeknote CW17 (S2e1)

Hello, internet! This is season 2 of weeknotes. It’s also all this. You know what I mean.

Last season I was using the weeknote questions from the Sartori Lab, choosing five from a randomised list in a spreadsheet. (find those questions at item six in this post by Sam Villis.)

This season I’m using Mathias Jakobsen and Dave Grays Question Cards. Each week I’ll pick two beginnings”, two feelings”, one insight” and one action”.

But first, a short summary of the week.

Monday-Friday: on leave. Which meant I spent slightly more time on the couch and slightly less time at my desk. I mostly baked and watched stupid things on YouTube. We also kicked off a new project with Enigma Enterprises 1, so that’s cool.

And now, the questions.

What do I currently believe to be true?

About myself: I need a shave! I’m sleeping in more than I used to. I might be procrastinating more. It’s hard to say.

Really, question cards?

About the world: It’s kind of screwed up, isn’t it? Through no real fault of our own. Those posters that ask what did you do in the pandemic, Daddy — the right answer for me is stayed home, like a total legend”. It’s about what we do now we’re in this. Is UX the right thing? Maybe.

What do I wish would be different?

Can we get back on the other timeline where we only had one generation-defining problem to solve?

In the less generation-defining sense, I’d like more certainty for my team. More than half of them are in limbo, employed but not really. All I can do is the same as always, get good work out the door and find other people who want what we provide.

Who drains my energy?

Everyone. People who meet me professionally don’t believe it, but I am very introverted, in the sense that social interaction is draining and I need downtime. Being in the house with my family is ok, because we’re all the same, so the house is quiet and we leave each other alone.

Zoom (Skype, Teams, whatever) calls are tiring in a different way. There’s those articles that were floating about social media explaining why but that doesn’t make them less so.

What am I sad about?

Generally, all this. Specifically, that my team are stood down and I don’t have good answers for them about when things will go back to normal.

What are my assumptions?

This week is full with work for me. What we do is still in demand as companies try to figure out how to provide their services in a better way.

My family is ok. School-from-home starts for Ms11 and Mr15 tomorrow so that will be an adventure. We have two different school’s approaches to navigate.

Longer term, I assume that we will get back to normal”… never. We’re in the liminal space. Get used to it. Things will want to snap back. We will want them to, as well. The longer we’re in this space, the more new things and practices we’ll invent to cope. The old ways will decay, the new ways will strengthen. The new normal will be the same, but different.

Who will I ask to hold me accountable?

Ask? Everyone will hold me accountable. If I don’t cook, no-one in the house will eat. If I don’t do my work, my team let me know.


  1. All company names are made up and are not consistent week to week. No similarity etc etc.↩︎


Tags
weeknote

Date
April 19, 2020


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