I’m often asked what my job involves and it’s difficult to describe without saying “everything”, which is both true and untrue. There was a great blog by an ACEVO (the Association of Chief Execs of Voluntary Organisations) member which described the role as everything from “strategy to sandwiches” which is pretty accurate. We’re fortunate to have grown a fantastic team so my role has shifted accordingly and is no longer quite as all-encompassing as all that.

But I thought it might be of interest to some of you to have a behind-the-scenes look at what a day in my role looks like. 

Morning routine and (trying) to start the day right

After getting up, showering and stretching, I yelled at the kids until they were out of the door for their school and college buses. 

Made a protein shake (it’s still January and I’m trying to be healthy) and a coffee. 

Emails (lots of emails)

First up, emails. These can take anything from 5 minutes to an hour or more depending. No, I don’t have a fancy system for classifying, sorting and flagging them, although yes I’m old enough to feel I should. But I muddle through. 

Then I checked my upcoming meetings and deadlines and re-prioritised my work list. I try to pick 1-3 key things I want to accomplish that day. Although the list might be (ALWAYS is) longer than that, these are my top areas for that day and I write these on a card that sits in front of me all day.  

The role is so varied that I find that the list of actions on different projects, meeting planning or follow-up, reviewing and sign-off of other things people need from me, as well as the ‘personal life admin’ can become overwhelming, so I find it really helpful to pare it right back to essentials. 

Going further together

Next up was a meeting with a partner about a joint activity. While organisations can have different working styles and cultures, it’s always so rewarding to grow supportive, collaborative relationships that allow us to do more than we can on our own. I firmly believe collaboration is one of the charity sector’s most effective tools.  

Board prep & video vibes

Back to the desk to check that all the Board papers are in order and ready to be sent ahead of our trustee meeting next week, and to record a quick video for them with reflections on the outcomes of our strategy away day before Christmas. 

Team pulse check

Quick look over activity across our Teams channels to stay up to date and then noted down some ideas for future blog posts. 

A mindful meander

Time for a screen break, some lunch, and to walk the dog. I try not to work when I go out for a walk, and instead to listen to the sounds around and just have a mindful moment. I’m trying to live a bit more slowly and resist the urge to make every moment “productive”. 

Coffee. 

Team talks and cat chats

This afternoon I have individual catch-ups with a couple of team members, then a meeting of the COLAAB (Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias).  We’re still small enough that it’s possible for me to catch up with everyone individually, as well as attend the team or activity-focused meetings that we might have.

At one point we experimented with dropping some of these catch-ups, but even when they are short I really appreciate having that connection and being able to build a relationship with every member of staff, and they appreciate the flat structure and having direct conversations with me about what they’re working on and their ideas. There is some repetition sometimes, but I think that’s part of the cost of making remote working successful. It’s critical to allow the time to listen, get to know one another and sometimes just chat about cats, our hobbies or whatever, to form those relationships that would more naturally grow over the kettle in an office environment.  

COLAAB meeting

More coffee. 

Most of the COLAAB members are in the US so meetings are always held late in the day, but I always enjoy meeting with that group as trying to level the publishing playing field for non-animal researchers is so important. 

Afternoon wrap-up

In the bits of time in between those meetings I will be taking some follow-up actions from the earlier meetings, ensuring that our annual accounts are signed off and submitted by the Charity Commission deadline, continuing to work on the impact report for the Alliance for Human Relevant Science, and hopefully sending out my thoughts ahead of our next meeting of the North-East Scotland 3Rs Strategy Working Group. 

And then a tidy-up and any prep and planning for tomorrow before switching off for the evening. 

Tonight I take my youngest son to football training and I might listen to a research paper on Speechify while I’m there, and then I’m hoping to spend some time on something crafty – I enjoy crochet and like to spend my evenings making stuff when I can.

Life is all about balance.