The Shrieknote

Haven’t written any weeknotes in ages.

Partly that’s due to working at a lead level, and it not always being prudent to share openly what happened during the week. Other times, it feels like there’s nothing valuable or that can be learned in what I could share.

We had a successful year in 2024, we built a lot of momentum and achieved some great outcomes. In 2025, that was neutered for one reason or another. It lead to a constant reassessment of priorities, splitting people in half across teams, and not achieving as much as we’d like.

Slowing down to a crawling pace after pushing hard and going far feels awful. You start to feel like the problem is you, like maybe if we were just organised well enough or the vision was inspiring enough, we could still crack on.

And I’ll be honest, my mental health has taken a toll.

But thankfully we’re getting a lot of backing and investment again, and it’s starting to look like we might hit cruising pace as we roll down the road again. The team needs developers and engineers, and there’s a few vacancies to apply for. Check out my post on LinkedIn for more (sorry).

The value of reflecting

Not writing weeknotes has meant I’m not reflecting: on process, on progress (no matter how small), on what it’s like working in the space we’re in.

That being said, reflecting on the last few months this morning has been beneficial, and maybe the weekly drumbeat of writing wouldn’t have helped me see it all. I started writing a post full of malaise this morning, but that turned into a rather excited and hopeful post on LinkedIn, trying to attract new talent.

And that’s one of the main benefits of reflecting, getting to turn negatives into positives. So regardless of how we got here, I’ll take it. Nice one. Thanks for that.

A shriek?

This note is a scream, a howl, a wail, a shriek. A way to let out tension, to yell at a cloud, and to put a line through it. It’s definitely not the first time we’ve had to wade through mud, and it certainly won’t be the last.

But we have to move onwards. So let’s do that.

Bookmarks

I really haven’t read much at all since my last weeknote in August. Not even books.

· Weeknotes

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