The realities of creating a guilt-free work week — week 6

Reflections from my 12-week Investigation Day experiment

There’s no hiding from reality. This is what 3:15 pm on Investigation Friday looks like at my place. Me getting ready to sit down and write this article. Augie, our 4-year-old miniature Groodle, (or Goldendoodle depending on where you live) doing everything he can to distract me from my efforts. Ah, the joys of working from home. (In case you missed it, I did share a few lessons I’ve learned about working from home in this post a few days ago.)

Today is the half-way point of my experiment. The time is flying by and every week is a little different — that’s to be expected I suppose. This week the world has been consumed with the COVID-19 virus. Conversations with leaders have primarily focused on the best ways to support their teams (technically and emotionally) through the virus-mandated changes. Once they’ve formulated their approach, they turn their minds to decisions around work priorities — mostly what they’ll need to put on hold. Everyone seems to be talking about the next 3 months — that’s the time frame we’re able to wrap our heads around for now.

In that context, it feels quite frivolous to be writing about “how I felt today” — but I committed to doing this each week for the duration of the experiment, so here goes…

Do I feel less guilty?

My previous comment notwithstanding, yes.

My focused efforts on client work from Monday to Thursday feel very productive. I have also been repeatedly tested when it comes to doing client work on Fridays — and I’m proud to say that I have maintained my commitment to quarantining Investigation Day. The commitment is paying off too.

I’ve had four wonderful conversations today, each presenting me with new perspectives, ideas and methodologies for solving problems. Once again I am reminded of the amazing things that can happen when you create open space for inspiration to emerge. We place so much value on speed and efficiency — and while they are incredibly important — so is the space for rumination and reflection.

I’ve set aside a day next week to work on some of the product development ideas that form part of my strategy for this year — and I can’t wait. That said, the “empty calendar” is quite risky in terms of my momentum and productivity, so I spent some time this afternoon planning my approach. Now I’m ready to hit the ground running first thing on Wednesday and I feel much less fear about the day.

What observations have I drawn from today?

I really look forward to Fridays now. And not (just) because it means the weekend is almost here. Having the space to listen, talk, read, write and think — sometimes in a very focused way and other times in a meandering jaunt — is making my week infinitely more enjoyable.

It’s also reinforcing to hear the reactions of others. Many of my “conversations to inspire” buddies report feeling honoured to be included and love the opportunity to bounce ideas around without a specific agenda. I must confess (with a fair degree of embarrassment) that I didn’t really think about the effect that these conversations would have on my friends and colleagues — but I am thrilled to hear the impact they’re having.

How will next week’s Investigation Day be different?

One important goal I set for my Investigation Day was to get out from behind the desk. I did do that today in the sense that I was in the city for multiple coffee conversations — but my original intent was quite different. It was more about taking the time to go for a walk, see a different place or do a different activity. I haven’t managed to do that with any consistency over the last 6 weeks.

Next week’s Investigation Day will be different because I am going to focus on getting out from behind the desk. The specific activity is yet to be determined — but hopefully, some of you will ask me what I’ve done to help keep me accountable.

Have a great week and stay well! Cheers.