Contracting life


To kick off the week, early on, there was a discussion around the future of contracting within my department, which was handled brilliantly by the Lead and reminded me of the ups and downs of leadership (something I miss more and more as my time in contracting goes on).

This will eventually lead to the “green sash” on LinkedIn, but I am unsure about the short term—I am contracted until January 2026. I also realise this is the lifestyle we choose as contracting and completely understand, something I often tell those who seem to lust after contracting—you must be comfortable putting yourself out there and also be vulnerable to plans changing upon a throw of a dice.

Schools out for.. summer or it’s about to start


Jasper (my 4-year-old mini-twin and boss) starts his school adventure soon, so it’s been a week of understanding and meeting his future teachers—emotions are high in this house. We’ve done this once before, and it doesn’t get easier! But he’s excited, and so are we—but the puzzle of how the hell we do school pick up and drop off with one car is the impossible task.

Best talk about the work!


Workwise, it really feels like I am wrapping up on this project now. Talks are ongoing about placing me elsewhere, and I’m really happy to return to my old stomping ground in the welfare department. It’s moved on a great ton, and it feels wild that many years ago, the team I was in made such a huge impact that I can see it daily. Loads of meetings, loads of planning workloads for the big launch and as an added bonus, I would say im a professional now at using Lucid, Mural seems a lifetime away.

It’s pretty obvious now, but I spend many evenings working on Bobbin and Bumble, and my recent efforts have been working within Etsy. I disucssed this last week, but it’s a platform that was head and shoulders above so many others, but more recently, it feels like it’s lost its way; it feels more centred less on shop owners and ALL on buyers - yes, it’s a catch 22 situation, but as a seller, i have very little idea on how to improve the shop, how to optimise listings and what I am doing. It often changes with multiple rumours and their guides that are outdated or contradicting. Platforms come and go, and I think we’re slowly getting to the point where we let this one go. I am unsure of its value, point in the market, and where it is heading.

I have started looking into case studies again; I am so far behind on them it’s unreal - I have work at NHS that I have presented but never put down in writing, I have my recent DEFRA work as well, again - spoken about but never written and maybe my AI work at AstraZeneca too… and my current piece of work is most certainly case study worthy too!

This is a short and sweet update from me; let me know how your week was.

Thanks for reading. Catch you in the next one. ✌️