I’ve had a family emergency this week, so almost didn’t post this. Suffice to say, my partner has been unwell but is hopefully on the mend now. It’s been a difficult few days, getting him the medication and support he needs. Fingers crossed all is in place now.
So wfh became working from hospital for a time this week. I continue to work for the Good Faith Partnership and the Warm Welcome Campaign which is keeping me busy ahead of an autumn launch in time for the winter months when people will once again want a place to gather, share food and friendship. In fact, Warm Welcome has become a year-round campaign with many of the 4,000 registered Warm Welcome Spaces staying open throughout the year, but of course the need for warmth and a welcome can be particularly acute in the winter.
We also this week responded to the shocking unrest which followed the appalling murder of three girls in Southport last week. You can read Warm Welcome Campaign Director David Barclay’s blog here, about the fight back and the clean up after rioting.
In other news
I love productivity tips as much as the next super organised, productive wfh-er (no really, I do) so I lapped up this article from The Guardian. I already write down almost everything I have to do, both for work and domestically, and for my young adults (who are both at home this summer, and one of them possibly long-term but that’s a whole other story).
I’m familiar with many of the tips in this article but putting an elastic band on your phone is a new one on me (difficult as my day job involves comms by WhatsApp and posting to social media), as is saying ‘I get to’ instead of ‘I have to’. There’s some useful advice there, anyway, and taking the time to read it will only help you procrastinate further.
Ofcom reports that only 48% of young people watch live television, a fact I can support from my children’s viewing which is largely YouTube and Netflix with plenty of TikTok (which they periodically delete) and Instagram use alongside.
This was a good column, about a 15-hour working week which JM Keynes predicted in 1930, not entirely seriously. But it makes a good point about being mentally ready for a shorter working week, viz the flak Keir Starmer got when he suggested he might not work past 6pm on a Friday. Why can’t we accept that it’s a good thing to prioritise time for family, self-care and generally doing things we love and that make us thrive (as well as working, which does those things in the right measure).
I’m not, thankfully, in an industry where I might have to pee into a bottle instead of taking a break from my pressured delivery job, but I do believe we can generate value for the people we work for across an acceptable period of time in any one week.
All of which to say, I did have a week off work recently but I had Covid and stayed at home. So I’m already planning some proper R&R with only books, food and maybe a glass of wine for company.
See you in September.
Lucy Rouse PR Blog 