So, 2019 went quickly! Hereās a little round up of some of the key things Iāve learnt this year.
Underrated in so many ways. This year was the first time Iād worked from home regularly in a role, and itās something Iād really encourage everyone to do more where they can. I had to learn how to balance my time right, and make sure that I managed to find a good separation between working at home and being at home.
I have a good balance now of time spent in the office (usually around 2 days a week), and the other 3 from home. Iāve actually learnt that I perform better by being able to fully remove myself from the distractions that come with an open office environment, and really focus in on something when I need to.Ā
Iāve learnt to make the most out of my commuting time this year. It takes me around 3 hours each way to commute in to the office, of which I can get about 1.5 hours of actual working time in (when Iām not waiting for connecting trains or the tube). Iāve become really disciplined with how I use this time to focus on things that Iād usually deprioritise if I was stretched for time; things like reading, tidying up and organising my diary and to-do lists, and watching those talks that I never get round to š. Using the time here to do those things relieves the pressure on my time elsewhere.
I donāt think Iād take another role where I couldnāt (mostly) set my own schedule and work to it. Iāve learnt how important this flexibility is to me this year, and I consciously try to always make sure my team know that theyāre free to work in a way that works best for them and for the company. If Iām up early one day and feel like I want to start work at 7:30 (knowing that Iāll be at my most productive if I do), then itās great to know I can do that; likewise if Iām not feeling at my best one day and want to juggle my working hours around.
Itās not so bad(!). I did my first public speaking gigs this year and on the whole, I really enjoyed them. I learnt that being well prepared is really important, and Iām looking forward to taking up more opportunities to speak some more next year. If youāve not read it yet, check out my post on the learning from incidents talk I did this yearš
Iāve learnt so much this year about mental health, and itās largely due to Monzoās commitment to making talking about it a part of everyday life. Iāve learnt that our physical and mental health are linked, and Iāve also learnt that everyone is affected by it in some way. Reducing the stigma about talking about mental health is something Iām committed to keep working on in the future, and Iām really interested to keep on learning next year.
Iāve always been interested in the power of language, but this year Iāve had my eyes opened even more to the impact the words you use can have on people. Something Iāve become much more aware of are microaggresions. Iāve learnt that because microaggressions are often so subtle, itās hard to know sometimes that youāre even using them. I used to refer to groups of people as āguysā all of the time until I learnt that, actually, that term can make some people feel excluded. There are a few other terms that Iāve tuned in to recently that Iām trying to be more considerate of using like ācrazyā or āmadā, and using ādistributed workingā instead of āremote workingā. All of these subtle changes in language can go a long way to making people feel included, which until this year, Iād been unaware of in the past.
Writing is easier and more enjoyable than I thought it would be! I started my blog up in August with a goal of writing one post per month for the rest of the year, which Iām really happy that Iāve achieved. Iāve found that once I get going with a rough idea of what Iād like to write about, these posts pull themselves together pretty quickly. Iām not short of ideas of things to write about, so Iām hoping to keep this up next year too šļø
Hereās to another year of learning in 2020! š