Today is all about

Today is all about…April 2024

Do you know when you’ve got so many plates spinning, that you don’t know what to do? Well, that sums up my April!

I can’t keep spinning all the plates, and not expect my energy to drain. So things need to change. They may be small steps, but things are changing.

Monthly Highlights

Soapbox

Fifty Before 50

What’s On

Talking Points

Aches & Pains

Anyone who has been keeping up with my posts will know I’ve had chronic shoulder pain for a while.

It seems that in April I decided to collect sports injuries like they were Pokemon!

I started to get back pain and was struggling to walk or sit, without feeling sharp pains and loss of breath.

So after the failed physio sessions, I finally sorted out a proper sports therapist. Who confirmed where the problems were, why it was happening and how I could try and resolve them.

I then had a well-needed, yet painful, massage to help the aches and pains. I will definitely need a few more of them.

However, if I didn’t think I was suffering enough, while I was doing burpees I banged my knee and then struggled to bend without getting sharp pains behind the knee cap.

Fucking brilliant!

Thankfully this injury was quickly healed. I wish the others would!

Goodbye ChippyTuesday™

We’ve become known for our ChippyTuesday™, which occasionally had a waiting list of people who wanted to come.

However, due to work commitments, they are no more. The final ChippyTuesday™ was just the two of us.

But fear not, a replacement is on the way. It will most likely be on Thursday, when the husby has days off.

So, we need a new name for the friends catch-up. For now, the working title will be “TakeoutThursday™”.

Professional development

I’ve been reflecting recently and realised that I’ve let myself down.

Professionally, I’ve always wanted to ensure I deliver to the best that I can. I am passionate about what we do, and make sure we deliver the best we can. I am told that this is both a positive and negative trait of mine!

My workload has been consistent and at times large, so I would go the extra mile to make sure targets were met. Recently, the workload has been excessive and has taken a toll on me mentally.

In the process of all of this, I feel I’ve fallen behind when it comes to the latest technologies. So much so, that I kind of feel trapped.

And currently, it’s not the best time to feel trapped!

April saw me take a step back and re-evaluate everything, and to try and sort this shit out. Set some goals and boundaries.

My workload is no longer going to control me. If it doesn’t get done, then it will have to wait until the next day. It can be hard to down tools especially when I am engrossed in a task, but I’m slowly achieving this, as I am now only doing a couple of hours extra a week, instead of 1+ hours extra a day!

I want to use the extra time during the evening to learn and expand my knowledge of the latest technologies.

I have done a small update to my office to make it easier to switch between my work and personal laptops. This means my MacBook will now no longer be a glorified photo organiser!

I have a personal project, that I am going to spend some evenings doing, and I will create it using stuff that I want to learn, so I can gain some hands-on experience.

Additionally, one of my goals for Fifty Before 50, is to set up my professional website. This is an ideal place to practice what I am learning.

For now, my experience/knowledge is both limited and rusty, so I am currently working through some Pluralsight courses to help too.

Who knows what the future holds