Week Notes 8 - 12 April 2024: Hampstead and Funfair

Featuring: More tendering & biz-dev, a visit to the “fun” fair, Trying out publishing these on Friday to see if it makes the weekend more relaxed. Check out the other week notes.

Work

Tendering continues

Non-stop public sector tendering continues. It’s like a full time job for 2-3 weeks, at least for a micro-company like mine. I’m not sure why this one isn’t using DOS. I’ve now written a couple of case studies – something I should’ve done years ago – and started the actual proposal.

Biz dev: Long term & short term

I also had a great chat with an insurance company who’s ready for some OKR help. It’s interesting how some clients want to book something for… NEXT WEEK!!! 🔥🔥🔥 And some are casually assessing the market for an engagement in 6-12 months. They can both be fun & interesting but I have to admit, more planning usually works better (even if it feels like more work in the moment).

Bringing customers onto my slack

Finally, I’ve also just invited 30+ people from a single client into my private Slack community. It’s the largest I’ve ever added in one go but I love being able to talk to people on an ad-hoc basis as questions and ideas come up. And having these conversations in public allows anyone to observe and learn. So much better than email.

Fun stuff!

The “fun” fair

While our friends in the USA were staring at the sun, we went to the Finsbury Park Funfair. It was fun-ish. My son and I both agreed we might not need to go next year.

Mobile office day!

I love my little home office. It has a comfy aeron chair, access to good cheap food that I can make, a giant screen, and a nice view of a park where I sometimes go for a quick run. But as a mostly remote worker, it can get a little claustrophobic and lonely. Today was the first time in a long while when I didn’t need to be home to supervise our builder who’s been there every day for the last 3+ months so I’ve ejected myself from the home-office and, after dropping my son off at an art club with some friends, I’ve taken myself for a little stroll through Hampstead Heath with my laptop, stopping several times at scenic benches to do one or two pomodoros of work on my laptop and then several at the Brewhouse cafe at Kenwood House with a delicious bowl of carrot and corriander soup.

Roofing admin

Our roof repairs are still taking up too much of my time. Learnings this week include NOT booking delivery of your skip until you have the permit in hand, no matter what the skip company tells you. And careful, repeated communications with your stakeholders (e.g. neighbours) really pays off.