Every now and again I keep a diary of how I spend my time. You can read last week’s diary here. Read on for this week’s diary
Sunday
I had to leave at team time as on Monday I’m on a full day training course in Maidstone and it was too far to travel on the day. I booked into a B&B. I had already read through the pre-reading but spent a couple of hours this evening making sure I was clear on what we were going to cover and to identify any questions.
Monday
At breakfast I got a phone call from Three Counties Radio. they wanted me on the Jonathan Vernon Smith show discussing unpaid work experience.
I then walked to Team Focus ready for the course, TYPE MAPPING for Experienced Test Users. I’m very interested in this assessment and can see it as an effective alternative to the MBTI.
Training is a really important part of my professional development and I need to keep myself updated on new assessments to ensure I am offering the best advice. I also gain as much from talking with other delegates and learning more about their work and a different perspective to our work.
That evening I needed to switch accomodation as I had 2 days consultancy in central London.
Tuesday and Wednesday
Two days consultancy with the Civil Service Fast Stream. Last week I was an assessor, this time I took on a Quality Control and mentoring role.
I enjoy the work, and like meeting up with other assessors, some I have known for more than 10 years. BUT being away from home means that the emails back up and I came back to over 500 emails. I’d dealt with some whilst away but most need to be done from my home office.
Over the past few days I’ve had 14 people sign up for my 10 Steps To A Job You Love eProgramme which you can access yourself from my site – see the sign up box on the right. The steps are sent out automatically but I also send a personal email to each person, so I can check they are receiving the series.
I carried on working till 10pm to get as straight as I could – and there is still more to do.
Thursday
The morning was set aside for office work, so many emails still to read and notes to review. My To Do pile is toppling so I divided it into piles and hid a lot in a spare bedroom so I can focus on what is on my desk.
3 clients today – a job search coaching session at my office and two assessment feedback sessions, one by phone the other by Skype. This took me till nearly 9pm. It was a long day.
Friday
I started at 08.30 with a MBTI step 2 feedback discussion. Then a first career coaching session with a new client, using Skype. I then spoke to two potential clients, then a break – the gym, lunch and tennis. At 4pm I had another client call using Skype. Then at 6pm I spoke to a new job search client.
As I’m away for 3 days again next week I wanted to continue with my to do pile, I’ve also made contact with all my current clients to see how they are getting on.
In the evening I spent a couple of hours ploughing through my reading folder – so many emails get routed into this folder and I only go through this when I have some time. I get to read interesting articles on business, careers and other areas of interest. However some times this folder gets so large I just delete and start again. It fills with at least 150 emails a day.
Saturday
The weekend for many, not for me. I wanted to write my blog for my FAT 2 Fantastic site, including getting a new mailing out. So got that done first of all.
Then worked on my Amazing People Love Your Job Newsletter. This goes out to 2896 people but it does take time to both decide what to include and to make sure the layout is good. You can read it here.
This has taken me till 1pm, including writing this entry, I’m now going to take a break and go and play tennis.
I did some more work in the evening, mainly filing while I listened to music. I also sorted out the mess on my PC desktop – got to stop saving things there! I also created 2 Highlands Ability Battery Career Reports, I could have left them till when I get back but I like to get ahead.
Sunday
Some work first thing, for about an hour, then off to the gym and a walk and talk session with a neighbour. Later on I needed to make sure I was prepared for my next two days – with 2 days in London I need to take everything I need with me.
Very pleased to be going away with a tidy desk!
