The Lump
This week, I realised that I’m worn out, tired, and don’t have as much oomph as usual. There’s a tinge of sadness to each day, and it’s been hard to get out of bed. On Friday morning I was so exhausted that I had to take the morning off.
Some recuperation is in order. I need to dial down the context-switching, prioritise properly restorative activities, and stop reading the news.
Personal stuff
Despite that revelation around being incredibly tired, it was a pretty decent week. I went for a curry with mates at Tayyabs, had a really productive day with psd and Owen in the office on Wednesday, and caught up with friends I’ve not seen in a year at a wedding reception in Skehan’s. Plus I had a laugh at The Counting House with a musician friend and Wales put in a solid effort in yesterday’s Six Nations game against Ireland.
Work stuff
Work-wise, the main thing we got done was working out how to improve our data operations, the part of the service which processes the data and acts as a feedback loop, improving the quality of the data. We’re in the beta growing pains, where hand-cranked processes need refining and automating, which will improve not only efficiency but reliability too. There’s a bunch of work to write up – and I’d like to do some reading around – but I think we’ve got a decent plan for improving operations.
Made some improvements to the service handbook, thanks to feedback from a product manager who’s joined us recently. Their feedback helped crystallise the narrative for our service, and I’m really impressed by their ability to pull that together so early on. It’s a pleasure to see new PMs coming up who really get the role.
Can we stop talking about AI yet?
There was a meeting on AI that tired me out, someone trying to work out if their widget developed elsewhere would work here. I feel like you should figure that out before trying to sell the widget.
But the real drag was being reminded of the endless fucking onslaught of AI rhetoric at the moment, how it’s going to change absolutely everything (despite very little evidence), and how if you’re not using generative AI to great effect it’s because you’re not taking enough risk, you’re not thinking big enough.
There was another meeting on AI that was cart before horse, but thankfully our horse is leading our cart. Writing my positions on generative AI was such a helpful exercise, it’s liberating to be able to say: here’s what we’re doing, here’s what we’re not doing, and here’s why.
Anyway, I can feel my temples throbbing now, so time to stop. It must be exhausting for non-nerds too, having to think about all of this when there’s plenty of other things going on.
It’s worth saying that I do think some good can be achieved with AI, there are good, pragmatic approaches that provide genuine utility. It’s the barrage of hype that’s dragging me down.
Collaborating in person
It was lovely to spend time in the office with psd and Owen, working on proper problems, planning how we’d resolve them. I loved it, but I was absolutely drained from all the thinking and didn’t have as productive a Thursday. But that’s OK because we got a big tranche of important work done.
Running
My return to running is going well, and I’m not far away from being able to say that the hip is fully recovered. Another week of exercises and we should be able to call it healed. I must send a thank-you card to the physio at the GP’s surgery, he fixed what others before him had failed to do – and all by having a physical, face-to-face consultation where he could work out which muscles were strained.
By the sea
Next week I’m heading to Research by the Sea, so let me know if you’ll be about. Very much looking forward to Cennydd Bowles’s talk, and I signed up to Nicole Aleong’s workshop on Friday. (We crossed paths briefly via TPX and was really impressed by her work, so looking forward to learning more!)
For a change of scenery – and to get in some proper rest – we’re going to rent a cabin somewhere outside Brighton, maybe Lewes or Hassocks or Firle. There’s a couple of exhibitions at the Charleston galleries I’d like to see too, so we can cycle over from wherever we’re staying.
Bookmarks
Been too tired to read, really.
Think Weeks: What They Are and How to Do Them Right, 7 mins. A Think Week is a dedicated time for deep and creative thinking, inspired by Bill Gates. It involves stepping away from daily demands and focusing on big-picture ideas for personal or professional growth. Partly inspired the weekend away, but I think I’ll do one properly later in the year.
Resisting Digital Feudalism, 6 mins. Mariana Mazzucato argues that Europe should develop artificial intelligence (AI) in a way that prioritises public value instead of allowing major companies to exploit it for profit.
New Public Mobilisation is the answer, 2 mins. Jessica Studdert argues for a New Public Mobilisation approach to tackle complex challenges in public institutions. This mindset emphasises collaboration, community involvement, and flexible problem-solving instead of rigid performance metrics.