My day begins at 5am…not that I want it to. That’s the time when my cat decides she needs to be fed RIGHT NOW and she’s not shy about letting me know. She has to wait for her breakfast time though, so I close her out of the bedroom and catch a couple more hours sleep. As you might guess, she makes sure feeding her is the first thing I do when I get up. I then jump in the shower and get ready to start my workday.
On the bus to work, I listen to a podcast or some music. This is my time, where I have no other obligations and can forget about whatever is stressing me out that day.
Once I’m at the office I check my emails and calendar for what meetings or groups I have planned whilst enjoying my first coffee of the day. My work can be quite varied depending on what projects we have on at that time. This can involve getting out into the community for focus groups, delivering training or presentations on past projects to healthcare professionals, or networking with our VCSE colleagues in the local area.
At the moment we are busy with a few projects, which suits me fine as I’m not a linear thinker and work best when jumping between tasks.
First, I attend a meeting. This meeting is an opportunity to network with people from other organisations who work within the local area. Attending gives me the opportunity to note down new contacts for upcoming projects, and to get updates on what is happening within healthcare and the voluntary sector in our area.
We’re recruiting for a project exploring urgent care service provision, so I write and send out emails to identified contacts to share with their service users and networks. It’s very important to make sure that I have provided all the information needed so their service users can make an informed decision about whether they want to take part.
I’m also developing a training session. Sad to admit to this, but I do enjoy making presentations! This session is on the value of patient and public involvement and will be delivered to healthcare professionals based in the Midlands. We all appreciate the opportunity to share the 20+ years of experience Involve North East has, and to make links outside of the North East.
Now it’s time for food, and coffee number…who knows at this point.
This afternoon we’re getting to do my favourite part of the job – going out into the community to speak to people. You never know what to expect with a focus group.
After a busy but interesting day, it’s time to go home. I usually do some exercise (HIIT if I’m feeling energised, Pilates if not) then make tea and put on my cosies to either read or binge some Netflix (send your true crime recommendations my way). I make sure I end my day mindfully with journaling (reflecting on kindness, gratitude and what went well for me that day) and listening to a meditation as I fall asleep.
