Squaring The Circle At Both Ends

Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s quip that “a week is a long time in politics”, which he made during one of the UK’s seemingly never-ending crises in the 1960s, aptly describes my week as working full-time as a consultant engineer specializing in mining geotechnics whilst juggling in a lay role of Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Champion / Advocate role. In both roles, I really enjoy both and love my family, but finding the balance is always hard for me! I am frequently?torn between my working life of 37.5 hours per week, home life but I remind myself that I am others centered first not myself.?Last week was crazy, agreed, it did not have crises followed by crises.?Yet it was full of variety and productivity, meeting of new people and observing things along the way of my comings, goings and encounters. ?Why, I have titled this blog, Squaring The Circle At Both Ends; by means of my diary entries but please note these are heavily abridged entries.?Confused, I hear you cry and having a deep perplexed face on. Whilst I live by trying to do the impossible balancing trick, working full time, using my free time for EDI work, undertaking unpaid professional societies’ activities, and having fun with my family. I am glad and satisfied that the week went well, productive, and I managed to fulfil my numerous obligations at both ends and I also apparently reach closure on some of my obligations thus the seven days resulted in some meaningful conclusions.

Wednesday 21 September

Today, I was on leave with no rest, fresh thoughts, just ideas and pictures coming into my head at one hundred miles an hour. I set out around 11h30 after having some me-time doing some PowerPoint slides for an upcoming EDI presentation on “Changing Mindsets” followed by household chores like washing up and tidying up a bit. I got into London by 12h30 using a combination of bus into town and the high-speed train directly into London St Pancras and concluding with underground tube ride to Piccadilly for a Geological Society of London (GeolSoc) Council Meeting. After picking up some lunch, I attended the Council Meeting which started at 14h00. Being a trustee of the GeolSoc or any charity to that matter can be rewarding for many reasons - from a sense of making a difference to the charitable cause, meeting new experiences and relationships. ?It is sometimes can be demanding of time, skills, knowledge, and abilities but together we worked well and are very forward thinking.?As trustees, we meet five times each year, including one strategy meeting in September (tomorrow) and members of other Committees. The Council meeting lasted until 17h45, then other discussions followed ending in a formal meal together. Being a trustee of the GeolSoc or any charity can be very rewarding for many reasons - from a sense of making a difference to the charitable cause, meeting new experiences and relationships. All in all, it was good to see and meet real faces rather than pixilated 2D images on Teams / Zoom and truly engage with them. It was a privilege last year to have been elected by the membership to be a Councilor (acting as a trustee).

Thursday 22 September

This morning, I travel back to the GeolSoc HQ (Burlington House, Piccadilly, and the building consists of Palladian and Georgian architectural styles) for the annual Strategy Day commencing at 09h00. As a national society, we should not be confined to this historical building in fixed in central London but it serves as a reminder where we our roots and heritage are. ?I am refreshed and it is still great to see new faces and real waling talking 3D people.?Today was what I was looking forward to the most and split into four groups each focusing on one strategic objectives of the Geological Society of London.?The strategic objectives are:(1) advance multidisciplinary earth science to inform global issues, (2) become a dynamic and responsive organisation with a strong digital identity, (3) support professional development, careers and education in earth science, and (4) be the inclusive and collaborative home for UK earth scientists and increased our international orientation.?No surprise, I was in the latter, the EDI group. ?Today was dynamic, vibrant successful with many ideas flowing and shared when we resumed all together.??We followed our scope, a tricky balance between holding to our key questions, thinking out the box our topic and going with the flow.?Often a breakthrough moment comes just after people are feeling exasperated, frustrated, or fed up, for example.?It took time to initially understand the group dynamics and to openly share the people in the room. We perhaps needed more time for breaks so we could assimilate and recharge our energy which is essential. However, many ideas and thoughts were shared and gave us all much encouragement in a momentous and dynamic time in the history of the GeolSoc.

Friday 23 September

Today, I was back to paid employment, thankfully today is one of my working from home days. My typical week involves working from home on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Fridays, whilst on Mondays and Thursdays, I work in my London office.?Working from home offers me a hybrid working arrangement, this generally works well for me, it reduces the commuting stress and grind, allowing me to spend beneficial more time around family and friends who understand me the most. I can ultimately also be more flexible in the family spare room acting as the home office remaining as the home library. Since Lockdown 1.0 and when I shielded for seven months, I developed coping strategies including to whilst working from home day structure and gives me some consistency; yet I still bad at setting a fixed time for lunch. Sometimes, it is hard to keep maintaining focus, but work is important because it needs to be done, missing social interaction, but sometimes it is total opposite, in my personal surroundings it is even easier to keep hyper focused. However, it is more difficult to maintaining effective communication with colleagues but thankfully with Teams calls and maintaining chats help which go some small way for simulating office dynamics and growing in working relationships. Thankfully my working home days are supplemented by my two office days a week.

Saturday 24 September

Today, up early again, I caught the train up to Moorfields Eye Hospital’s Education Hub, not see my Eye Consultant. But rather to help with the UK Keratoconus Self Help and Support Association. I am Committee Member of this wonderful Association and was good to other members face to face after two years of social media committee meetings. Today, was our Annual Conference with a variety of presentations – researchers and clinicians talking about the latest finding, optometrists suggesting practical solutions, and group members talking about their experience of the condition, including the impact of the pandemic. ?And, just as important, an opportunity to meet and chat with lots of other people with keratoconus during the lunch break and in the question-and-answer sessions throughout the day. Today I acted as the runner with the microphone, giving other members the opportunities to comment and ask questions to the speakers both in-person and online. The event was well attended, and it was the first time we have had it hybrid and was good to learn from experts in my eye condition and not just be a statistic in the medical consultant's latest journal paper. As a bonus this week, with my involvement with two charities, I received two free coloured entry pass lanyards, perhaps more plastic waste afterwards, yet something you never get from all our virtual meetings we have been accustomed to during and past pandemic. Not a souvenir as such, but two simple objects reminding me of three great days.

Sunday 25 September

After spending the day with family, before bed, I spend an hour or so, refining (again) my various slides decks for the three upcoming presentations. I will not say finish, they will only become finished, perhaps minutes the before the day of the presentation because i always think of something that can be tweaked further. I am the kind of person who works around the clock, so the way to relax and recharge is sometimes to switch my focus.?Often brainstorming for a good session, when I should be unwinding for a sleep, I am visualising mind maps, or drawing them out; it is good to be exercising my brain in a different way energizes me. I try to make it my goal to come up with at least three new ideas a day, even when I’m on the run.?i always have my mobile phone notepad app open, handy for commutes and "free" moments. I am always surprised how much crosses my mind during the day (particularly during the commute) that are jotted down. These range from a few jottings, these shape ideas, thoughts, lead to sentences or help to prepare PowerPoint slide or two and then saved into my hard drive in my Work In Progress folder.

Monday 26 September

This morning, walking into my office to London Bridge train station at about 08h20, I get caught up in some heavy rain shower.?I have my waterproof jacket on with its hood up, focused and headings towards the office.?Yet faced with what appeared an army of everyone else crossing the bridge in the opposite direction armed with fully opened umbrellas.?Sometimes being neurodivergent and disabled is like that, I feel odd, different, not fitting in but not knowing how. Not having an umbrella meant i was visually different from the norm (but what is normal until you get to know someone), it was like someone forget to tell me the rules of engagement. To us who are neurodivergent, society, workplaces can be often appear like that, filled with unwritten rules, glass ceilings, cliques and Narian wardrobes. ?These hidden barriers created by a neurotypical mindset often make life hard to navigate and understand, so please spend time to chat and listen to your colleagues who are neurodivergent, we do not bite. Also, i was walking in the opposite direction of the masses of people, appearing like army pf umbrella warriors coming towards me.?This is like my role as a lay EDI Champion / Advocate in the geology / engineering / mining sectors. I keep focused, yet it may be deeply painful, exhausting frequently, lonely at times, uncomfortable on occasions, but thankfully I know I am not alone. However, people in general are passive accepters will always go with the flow, no matter what. And that’s most people. But then you have the other brand of personality – the movers and shakers. There few of us and have inner instinct telling us when it’s right to go against the flow.?Change will still happen, even if we sit in the passenger’s seat of life and let other people or events manipulate our outcomes for us. But change will only happen more to become more diverse, inclusive, and equal, if we become actively involved and responsible for what is occurring. That may mean going against the flow and against the grain, in some areas of our lives.

Tuesday 27 September

Early in the morning, I sadly resigned from two national executive committees due to being an EDI Champion / Advocate in geoscience, engineering, mining and being told I am sector role model raising awareness and acceptance.?Both if I were to attend further, these would require excessive time and myself being tired of myself seamlessly being very productive whilst serving them both.?At lunch, I delivered an online presentation Lunchtime Lunch and Learn session on “Neurodiversity and Resilience” to another consultancy. This was after being asked by a good friend if i could do a neurodiversity training session based on my lived experience.?It was thrilling to do this with another consultancy, myself being a new unfamiliar faces and voices often brings a fresh urgency to an issue, revealing the elephant in the virtual room.?It is always good to share, support and empower others and emphasizing they are not alone. I believe those who are neurodivergent should they are given the correct support via affordable reasonable adjustments (accommodations), offered workplace training and fellow employee acceptance, so that they can thrive in the chosen area within correct environment.?Bottom up raising awareness, becomes wrong, dangerous misguided when thinking an issue must be communicated via explosive emotions like fear or anger by ranting about injustice and things that things are hard and difficult and consider the usage of social media is all sufficient. To me, it is the former not, our predecessors achieved change through life changing actions in word and deed.?Or to me believing empowerment does not not always come from top-down leadership who set the heartbeat of inclusion.?But transformation occurs by somewhere in the middle of these two extremes, by sideways movement gradually by the lived experience of Champions / Advocatess at a pace that many of us feel is too slow.?However, I must continue to walk the talk, else I endanger walking the plank as being seen as a hypocrite.?Finally, being in such a lay role means at times I must be prepared to make mistakes whilst I juggle m commitments and I also run the risk of upsetting those who are accustomed to both power and privilege.