Jack Barber / Website Design

Week Notes #1

Week Notes #1

Weeknotes seem to be gaining in popularity - particularly amongst those of us who work in tech. My blog has been a bit hit and miss over the years. Sometimes I've posted regularly, other times I've gone for months without writing a single thought down.

Perhaps attempting to use the idea of weeknotes will help. Perhaps not.

Last Monday to Wednesday my wife Megan and I were in Manchester at a conference run by Acts29. Our Christian faith has always been a big part of our lives and it was great to be able to spend some time (without the children, thanks to Megan's parents), learning from the experiences of others. It was also a great opportunity to catch up with some old friends. We stayed with a friend of mine from university who we hadn't seen since our wedding day which was a wonderful reminder that the strength of a friendship is not based on the regularity of shared time. Sometimes life gets in the way, and that's OK.

Back to work on Thursday and it was time to wrap up my financial year which ended yesterday. I did my upmost to tie up a bunch of loose ends - it's easier for me mentally and for my accountant if I don't have too many projects hanging around at any one time, so a year-end is a great deadline to work to. I didn't get quite as much finished off as I'd hoped, partly due to setting unrealistic targets, but also due to suddenly being called in to fix a complex WiFi network which had been blown to bits by a power surge.

I've really found March a struggle from a work perspective. It's not been plain sailing - projects have been more time consuming, less enjoyable and more difficult to handle than I would have liked. This has resulted in lower than expected turnover and reduced profits - which is more difficult to handle now that I have a part-time employee.

At home we've been having our loft converted. It's been completed in almost exactly a month and will be a great addition to our home once the carpets are down and the decorating is all finished. Our oldest son will be getting the room initially - though I'm sure it will be well used by everyone in our home when we need a bit of peace and quiet! I'm pretty sure this work at home has had a direct effect on my capacity to work efficiently - so I'm hoping April will prove productive!

I've started my weeknote 'habit' on a Monday - Friday's aren't a good day for me to make time for writing, I'm always trying to get stuff finished off for clients.

Things I'm hoping for in the week ahead:

  • A good trip to Newcastle for Frontend NE
  • A bit more mental capacity now the building work at home is finished
  • Getting and keeping my inbox under control
  • Finished a couple of projects

Until next week!


Photo by Jan Kahánek on Unsplash