Simon Wilson

running

Keeping an eye on what’s happened and what could happen

For running and riding I have a spreadsheet to keep an eye on what I’ve done and where I could be going. Amongst everything else going on some running targets help me get something in and then done. With the Covid _Stay Home_ and my injury early last month

running

Run note for April 2020

A very long month with all the work on. A very long month not helped with my running hampered, coming into the month in the middle of a three week stint out due to a leg injury. I left last month’s note ending _I’d be happy with whatever

Weeknote, from Monday 20 to Sunday 26 April 2020

Where did that week go? I’d got back to reading a book a week again, but last week? A chapter, maybe two and that was it. Every day I went to the shed to work, I put out a copy of Wired and The Pursuit of Endurance (because I

running

Run note for March 2020

What did I set out to do in March? * A target of 210km for March. An average of 6.77km a day. Fine. * Get a couple of rest days in every week, so run at least four days a week, no more than five. That’s roughly means I need

diabetes

Diabetes notes, number 5

_Keeping doing the good things you are doing_ was the advice I was given earlier this week. With my levels coming in at 51, up from last summer’s 44, something isn’t quite right with _the good stuff I am doing_. I need to have a look back over

NHS Jobs

The strategy is good service design

A question I commonly ask or look for the answer to: _What is it you are designing?_ For the sake of simplicity I am going to say I reduce this down to three options: 1. A product? 2. A service? 3. An organisation? Last week at _Service Design in Government_

diabetes

Diabetes notes, number 4

After expecting a follow-up call from the GP surgery’s diabetes nurse on Friday I spent the weekend not knowing what is next. I decided to wait until Monday and ring the GP surgery and just explain I’d been expecting a call on Friday, what do I do next?

diabetes

Diabetes notes, number 3

Previously I left off feeling disappointed and uncertain having not been told the outcome of my test results on Friday as planned, having seen the diabetes nurse previously on Tuesday 3 March. Yesterday I remembered I could access my test results using SystmOnline, the system my GP practice uses. I

diabetes

Diabetes notes, number 2

Previously I left off at the pause in my diagnosis journey of _waiting for a call to talk about my test results_. At the end of the appointment the nurse was clear: * We’ll send these samples off * The results will be back by Friday * I will call you on

weeknotes

Weeknote for week ending Friday 6 March 2020

{% include weeknotes_2020_intro.html %} At the weekend I went to Middlesbrough for the son’s basketball game. This meant I couldn’t help with Bradford Coder Dojo, but priorities. The riverside area near Middlesbrough College is super interesting — and they’ve a dock tower. (Always the sign of the

Diabetes notes, number 1

Hello. My name is Simon and I am 44 years old. Two and a half years ago, late in the summer of 2017, I was getting headaches. I was working hard and was feeling tired so initially I put the headaches down to just being busy with work, maybe even

Criticism. A Simple Guide.

If you are giving criticism: * Ask yourself: Is this helpful or not? (It is not, why give it?) If you are receiving criticism: * Ask yourself: Is this helpful or not? * If it is helpful, ask yourself: How does it make my work better? * Ask yourself: What can I do to

Run note for February 2020

What did I set out to do in February? * I am looking to run 2000km in 2020. That means running an average of 170km each month. So, run 170km in the month. * Avoid running in the gym as much as possible. * Do some sprint work. * Run a half marathon distance

weeknotes

Weeknote for week ending Friday 28 February 2020

{% include weeknotes_2020_intro.html %} Bit of a crazy week that. Let me see if I can unpack it a little. A good weekend of running, a slow 7km session with the dog on Saturday followed by a nice 21km-er on Sunday. Loved a very fresh run along the Tyne

Weeknote for week ending Friday 21 February 2020

{% include weeknotes_2020_intro.html %} Half term so the kids were away, while I kept working. I need to stop doing that. There is probably a direct correlation between the kids’ absence and having a bit more evening time than usual, so a trip to the cinema (Bad Boys For

Maps

Maps. They help us make sense, of where we are, where we are going, and — maybe not enough — where we have been. We use the things most days. How often do you open up a map app on your mobile phone to help you? Where is somewhere? Maybe furthermore: What

Weeknote for week ending Friday 14 February 2020

{% include weeknotes_2020_intro.html %} Watched The Good Place, well _finished_ The Good Place. It was _good_ it ended and it was _good_ it ended well. It told its story. Is knowing when is enough that tricky a skill, especially — _especially_ — in television? That there’s only going to be

Weeknote for week ending Friday 7 February 2020

{% include weeknotes_2020_intro.html %} I’ve felt groggy most of this week, pretty bad chest infection, and only really started to feel with it on Thursday. Noticing the change from feeling foggy minded to being clear minded was obvious though. On Thursday I felt like everything joined up in

Running in 2019, the outtakes

I published my review of my running in 2019 early last month. Here’s some points I cut out. They were either written chunks or in the original pile of Post Its of topics. I felt adding them in added a bit too much, well, muchness to the original piece.

Run note for January 2020

What did I set out to do in January? * I am looking to run 2000km in 2020. That means running an average of 170km each month. As January was the first month I tried to hit that 170km mark. * No run to be shorter than 5km. * Avoid running in the

Work note for January 2020

In the last couple of months of last year I started to have a big think about Where I Was Going With Work Stuff. I’ve been “working alone”, freelancing, for about four-and-a-half years now. That wasn’t really the plan. When I left Home in March 2014 I realised

Weeknote for week ending Friday 31 January 2020

{% include weeknotes_2020_intro.html %} I inaugurated my daughter into the world of wearables. She’s got an elevated heart rate which reaches over 200bpm when she’s doing a bit of minor exercise, which the doctors reckon is fine. I’m a bit more _there’s possibly something to

Weeknote for week ending Friday 24 January 2020

{% include weeknotes_2020_intro.html %} * Started last weekend helping with Coder Dojo in Bradford. Ending up doing one of those great one on one lessons, sitting with a young person who was just so self-interested, keen to get on, willing to try stuff, and made progress. A joy! Fair enough

Weeknote for week ending Friday 17 January 2020

{% include weeknotes_2020_intro.html %} * A rarity: Caught some live top flight football, and in the pub. Jamie Carragher interviewing is… just the same thing as _everyone is a designer_ innit. We could all do it, just a question of how well. * I saw out last weekend climbing, which I’

Weeknote for week ending Friday 10 January 2020

{% include weeknotes_2020_intro.html %} * Ah. That Darkness Christmas song has gone away, finally. * On Saturday’s run I was passed by the Brownlee brothers, who I didn’t really recognise at first. It wasn’t the first time they’d passed me over the past few months; I’ve