Emerging into the sunlight
It’s fair to say I’ve been a bit quiet recently.
I’ve been pretty dis-engaged from the outside world in any great capacity since about September. But now, as winter seems to finally have turned to spring (in spite of the persistent bouts snow in the UK), and the lockdown seems to be easing (for now at least), I’m starting to peer into the sunlight again.
I’m looking forward to another interesting year ahead. I’m excited about some new projects coming on the horizon. And I cannot wait to get out and about again and meet colleagues and clients for a coffee and chat. Hopefully that can start again soon – or at least when the weather starts to get a bit more reliable, now that we can sit outside for a drink again.
There have been some reasons why I’ve been quiet. Nothing dramatic. But I’m glad to be able to look forward again.
Head down, grinding through the gears.
Last September, I was really privileged to be chosen to work with an NHS partnership, initially on a 3-day-a-week arrangement for 2 months which in the end became 7 months! In the latter months, the time commitment wasn’t as significant, but it was still a pretty big piece of work.
It was a really fascinating project, working with real innovators and experts in their field to tell their story through a new comms strategy, and a load of social media and web content.
In addition, there has also been another long-term project with another health partnership around implementing digital health resources for the local population. Another really fascinating project with a lot going on.
While those projects were going on, there were of course others too. All really interesting and fun things to work on. But they all needed a lot of attention.
And then, January lockdown happened, and with it the pressures that every parent in the country has had to deal with in the form of home schooling for the next 8 weeks.
Whilst I’m really grateful to clients and colleagues for being understanding and flexible during this period (as most of them were dealing with very similar situations), the work still needed to be done; so this inevitably involved lots of 6am starts, and midnight finishes.
Not ideal. But I’m grateful to have had lots of work on with some very understanding clients, working on really interesting projects.
But it has meant that I just haven’t had much time to engage with what’s been happening in the outside world of comms.
Now that a couple of big pieces of work are coming to an end; it’s a welcome opportunity to breathe, think about the future, and reconnect with people.
I can’t wait.
Turning off the noise
Another reason it feels like I’ve fallen off a cliff this last few months is that I made the decision to come off Twitter entirely.
This was a difficult one, as, for all its many faults, I’ve always been an advocate of the platform. I was very much an early adopter, and though after 12 years on it, I haven’t yet even reached 2000 followers, I’ve had some great interactions on it, made some good friends, and yes, even won some business.
But, in January, the noise of it was getting too much. It was becoming a real productivity killer, and a very negative one at that.
We all know about how the atmosphere online can get pretty poisonous when discussions turn to various subjects. But I was getting really dismayed as to how, almost any topic was getting hijacked by really spiteful comments, and constant culture war arguments.
It was becoming genuinely bad for my mental health, at a time when I needed total focus. So I logged out. I deleted the app. And these were good decisions.
I have since gingerly started to have a look again, though I haven’t actually posted anything since January. I’ll be writing a bit more about this soon. I’m back now but trying my best to be disciplined: using it for positive discussions, blocking out as much negativity as possible, and trying to connect again with old friends.
What the next few months looks like
For the first time in a long time, I have a bit of time to breathe. There is a bid in for a pretty sizeable piece of work, and there are a couple of short term projects I’m looking forward to getting moving on.
I’m really enjoying working with a few regions in the North of England on comms strategies to support a better experience for students going into work placements in health and social care, and am looking forward to possibly getting out and about on a couple of video shoots.
But, importantly, I’m also looking to re-engage, learn, and share insights and experiences with people again.
Reflecting
There has been so much to learn about being a comms professional this last year. So much has turned on its head. Comms, as a discipline and a profession has never had such a profound impact on so many people’s lives.
I wrote about this last April, a few weeks into the first lockdown, and it’ll be interesting to see how much of the new ways of working that were happening back then (born out of necessity) have become business-as-usual, and how much we’ve started to slip back into old (and bad) habits!
Sharing feedback
As I’ll be back on “the socials” a bit more regularly, I’ll be sharing some nice feedback I’ve had over the past year or so from clients that have chosen to work with me.
It’s only sometimes once you’re out of the maelstrom of delivering work, what feels like, 24/7 that you have the headspace to reflect and think about what you did well, what you can do differently or better next time, and what your clients thought of it.
I’m grateful to those clients that have kindly leant me some kind words – and I’ll be sharing them with you all over the next few weeks.
Sharing learning
I recently did another episode of the (surprisingly popular) Marketing Matters podcast last month, where my good friend Richard Forshaw-Smith and I talk about what we’ve learned over the past year in comms and marketing, and talk about what we hope for the next few months, as the UK emerges from lockdown.
We also make a plea to our fellow citizens to think about their friends and neighbours who work in the NHS as they head out for the “Ultimate Mad Friday” in June when the pubs re-open.
Have a listen on your favourite podcast provider.
Anyone for coffee?
As I write this, the sun is actually out. Sure, it’s not super warm yet, but you can now at least sit outside somewhere and have a drink of something caffeinated.
I fully intend to make the most of this over the next few weeks and months, to meet up with people to chat, share and think about the future.
If you like coffee, so do I. If you happen to be around the Northwest (ideally Manchester, Liverpool, or anywhere in Cheshire), then so will I. If you like talking about comms, so do I. So drop me a line and we’ll get together.
Praying for post-its
I’ve done a lot of strategy work over this past year, and I’m really proud of the results of all of it, from doing lots of online Zoom or Teams-based workshops.
However, there is no doubt that the process is more enjoyable and enriching when you can do it in person. I do have a couple of strategy workshops in the diary at the moment, and it looks like they will need to take place online. But, I am really looking forward to getting back on the road; filling a bag full of post-it notes and sharpies, and engaging with living, breathing people again.
Of all the things I’ve missed in my working life this past year, it’s the post-it note….
So here we are. Gingerly emerging into the sunlight after a very intense period of work and barely leaving the house.
I’m excited about what the next few months could bring. And I’m looking forward to the connections and re-connections I’ll make.
See you out there!
