Weeknotes 12 of 2024

This was a fortnight of getting myself and my children back into routines: transitioning from unscheduled chaotic summer days back into morning alarms and packing backpacks for days spent at daycare/summer camps - which is always a challenge, even though I know my neurodiverse brain thrives on routine.

We're still keeping up with our summer adventures though - with weekend visits to the Butchart Gardens, the Forest Discovery Centre, the pool and our local library to check in with the summer reading challenge. We've also entertained ourselves by creating ridiculous AI images in Meta, like this one:

What happened

• I've been helping facilitate some service design workshops with our hazardous waste teams with my colleague Jackie, although Jackie is so experienced in this space that I feel my role has been mostly providing admin support - taking notes, helping with recordings and chat, helping to clarify perspectives and questions. They've been going really well and I've appreciated the chance to get a deep understanding of one of our complex business areas.
• I did some work on updating our internal design tools inventory, and have started planning some next steps for resources and supports we can add in to make work easier for our designers.
• I gave feedback on some important things: A research plan for an organics website our ministry is building, some workshop deliverables and a proposal for indigenous engagements.
• I led a performance conversation with my direct report.
• I helped out with a hiring panel by providing interview feedback to some of the candidates.
• I attended BC Parks' camping styles workshop and regular demo - it's always a highlight for me to see the amazing work going on over there.
• As is the norm for me, I had a number of random connection meetings with people interested in design things, from other parts of government, other levels of government and a couple of people in the UK.

What went well

• Although I generally really dislike and fundamentally disagree with typical performance reviews, I actually really enjoyed and found value in the performance conversation I had with my direct report. It was super helpful for me to provide and receive feedback and perspectives, and it helped me to understand where he is coming from and how I can support him. He and I talk about this kind of stuff often, but it was nice to have a full 60 minutes dedicated to just that. I also received some positive feedback from him about my management style which helps me understand my own strengths.
• Although I loathe having my alarm go off before I'm ready to wake up, I'm glad to have a routine again, and in particular I've enjoyed slow, sunny morning walks to nursery with my 5 year old before I start work.
• I've been making an effort to get back into a meditation routine and that's been going ok (4/7 days this week!)
• A glimmer of hope in something that's been stressing me out for too long: We may have finally been matched with a family doctor (well, nurse practitioner) in our area. After 3.5 years without being able to see a healthcare provider locally (all of our walk-in clinics are at capacity as soon as they open), this will be a huge weight off my shoulders as a parent, if it pans out.

What was difficult

• Recently I've been struggling a bit to see the value I am adding to the teams I am working with. I give feedback and guidance but sometimes I wonder if that's actually helpful or if I am just making more work for them. When I talk about pieces of work, my manager sometimes asks, "are you contributing as a leader or a practitioner?" and to be honest I'm not sure. I think I'm usually adding a practitioner viewpoint, and it's not totally clear to me how to add a leader perspective, or leader-style value. To get my head around this, I've been thinking about the value that good leaders have added for me, which is usually helping me to prioritize or clarify, making it clear what they want and expect so I can deliver on that.
• The agendas are coming out for some conferences I would really love to attend and I'm feeling some strong pre-fomo: SD in Gov, SDN, International Gov Design conference. Please can someone take notes!
• I've been dealing with a low-level summer cold: the kind that doesn't make you sick enough to miss work or need rest, but is still annoying enough to disrupt sleep.

Inspirational reading

A bit of a personal one but I really felt this article about motherhood:

“I Went Into Motherhood Determined Not To Lose Myself In It.”

On the unexpected magic of caring for others

Culture StudyAnne Helen Petersen

And enjoyed these work-related blog posts I came across - up first, some reflections from my colleague Kevin:

Reflections on 6 months of design at the Energy Decarbonization Division

Standard disclaimer: perspectives presented here are entirely my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer and/or…

MediumKevin Ehman

A must-read from Clara:

Equity and Justice: why it matters in UK Government digital services and what we can do about it

Some groups of people benefit more from services than others. Some people are harmed. This must be addressed to truly break down barriers…

MediumClara Greo

And some more great writing from other inspiring design leaders I follow avidly:

Inclusive design in health

A couple of weeks ago, our first ever Inclusive Design Lead started. It has been a long road to get to this point so here is my view of the journey that got us to where we are. It is based on a…

MediumRochelle Gold

Can we end austerity-era service design? — Good Services

Since the dawn of the internet, amazon and cheap print, libraries have become a part of our civic infrastructure that we don’t always quite know what to do with. No longer the primary source of books to the majority, they have become the overspill to services that we can’t quite fit anywhere else.

Good ServicesLou Downe

Designing whole services part 4 - Taking Action

The fourth and final post from a series of service design talks at UK Governments Services Week.

cathydutton.co.ukCathy DuttonProfile logo - Cathy DuttonCD

Reading, watching, listening

• I finished Wool by Hugh Howey - not my usual genre (apocalyptic sci-fi fiction) but I enjoyed it. It did make me feel very claustrophobic though. Now reading These Violent Delights and I'm hoping it will pick up.
• My favourite show of all time, Mad Men, is finally back on Netflix - huzzah! So even though I've seen the entire series many times, I'm re-watching again.
• I've been feeling fairly anxious about earthquakes recently, brought on by coming across a TikTok on the next 'big one' - so I've been listening to Fault Lines from CBC, which is a few years old but quite good and very thorough.