3rd September: Into the swing of things

Today featured less supervision and more independence, which was new and different.

Everyone who had introduced me to things yesterday had these things called jobs that they were getting on with, and so did I, so I got on with it as best I could. Comments from people around me included "You're going to take a lunch break, right?" and "Don't stay here too late, we do flexi-time here and you really don't need to." Hmm.

One of the reasons I stayed a bit later today was because I didn't feel like I'd got much done. Admittedly I've written a spreadsheet that estimates viability of environmentally friendly building upgrades, along with a beginner's guide to audits and a nice form for people to fill in, all the while learning the basics of lighting design and an awful lot about LEDs. But the stuff I've actually produced so far is relatively short and simple by design (in order to be easily understood). This makes it hard to quantify the work put in and keep motivation up.

I'm starting to realise that my defence against this apparent lack of progress is to plan everything. I write lots of planning notes, concept ideas, content structures, about every conceivable thing; they make me feel productive, but they slow me down. Just getting stuck into work is sometimes the best way to move forward. Generally I find that all the planning goes out of the window anyway. I need to strike a balance.

On the other hand, co-workers seem pleased with my progress and keen to offer advice. I'm learning most of their names, thanks to the fact we have nowhere to put the new in/out board yet so it's balanced against the filing trays on my desk.

FACT OF THE DAY!

Did you know that Portsmouth City Council is a Unitary Authority? It means it has sole authority over a certain area, namely Portsmouth. In a particularly exciting fashion, the boundary of PCC jurisdiction is defined by WASTE COLLECTION. Apparently that's how all authorities know where their influence lies, across the UK. If they empty your bins, you're under their control. Well, it had to be defined somehow.

: 05 Sep 2013 23:27 |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem