Tomorrow Later today, I'm giving a talk to EMU (Enfield Mental Health Users' Group) on the subject "A Day In The Life" of David Marsden (that's me), Chief Executive of Enfield Clubhouse (my day and night job). Their request, not mine. So I thought I'd better think about what I'm going to say.
I could take the Andy Frost route and tell them that the image they use on their website and printed material is a cassowary not an emu.
I could find some funny facts on Wikipedia such as:
- Emus are also able to swim when necessary
- In fact, even if the food is not offered to them they can be rather persistent in helping themselves
- During the breeding season, males experience hormonal changes, including an increase in luteinizing hormone and testosterone levels, and their testicles double in size.
Better to be an Emu than a Cassowary, though:
- Cassowaries are very shy, but when disturbed, they are capable of inflicting serious injuries to dogs and children
- As for eating the Cassowary, it is supposed to be quite tough. Australian administrative officers stationed in New Guinea were advised that it "should be cooked with a stone in the pot: when the stone is ready to eat so is the Cassowary"
- Cassowaries have a reputation for being dangerous to people and domestic animals. The 2007 edition of the Guinness World Records lists the cassowary as the world's most dangerous bird. During World War II American and Australian troops stationed in New Guinea were warned to steer clear of them. Many internet entries about cassowaries state that they can disembowel a man or dog with one kick, with the long second toe claw cutting the gut open.
Or I could focus on what I actually do, or try to do in my job.
We all have mental health needs. I facilitate a safe space in which people can grow to feel loved, valued and respected again, to rediscover a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives and to develop the resources to cope with the loss or absence of any of these things.
Now, when I occasionally see one of these day-in-the-life style pieces with other people, they're usually a chronological journal of the day's activities and tasks, both professional and personal. So it will go something like this:
Wake up at 4am to go for my morning 3km swim, light gym session, shower. Catch up with emails while having a massage. Back by 6am for breakfast of fresh fruit, Greek yoghurt and croissants. All heavily seasoned with crushed and dried bulls' testicles. Read papers and deal with any post. Catch train at 7am, more emails and voicemails while commuting. At office by 8am. Grab a coffee and start working through my agenda for the day with my PA. Meet with team to plan day. 9am Do more work in one two hour session - meeetings, reports, presentations, media work - than most people could hope to accomplish in a week or even a month. Go to a networking lunch meeting. Be terribly charming and meet lots of equally charming people. 2pm 10km run. 3pm Board meeting. 4pm Achieve World Peace. 4:15pm Call it a day.
My day starts more like this, minus the comb, stairs and hat:
Woke up, fell out of bed, Dragged a comb across my head Found my way downstairs and drank a cup, And looking up I noticed I was late. Found my coat and grabbed my hat Made the bus in seconds flat
A train and three tubes later I'm on the top deck of the bus calling to let people at work know I'm running late, but will be there by 10am. Andy or Gunsel will have opened up in time for the early birds who like to get to work for 9:30am.
Usually I'm early enough for John to offer to make me a cup of coffee. I put a pound in the money pot to pay for my drinks for the day and exchange hellos. I think it's really important that we all say hello to each other in the morning. There's nothing worse than turning up to work or a meeting and nobody says hi, especially if you are new or you don't know anyone there.
As often as not, these initial greetings will throw up a question, issue or item of news that we follow up as a group. So it may be that someone is moving from the Rehab. Unit into her own flat to live more independently. Or someone has a question about their welfare benefits or about what voluntary work is available. Generally, people in the group - Clubhouse members - have all the qualifications and experience necessary to advise and answer each other.
My job is to make sure everyone has a chance to make a contribution, to be heard and understood, and to be actively informed decision-makers. My job is also to try to remember what the hell it was we were actually talking about before we meandared (or were gerrymandered) into discussing how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall*.
We end the meeting at about 11am with people agreeing to take responsibility for some of the daily household and garden maintenance jobs that need doing - dishwasher, laundry, sweeping, mowing the lawn. If people are cooking a lunch someone takes the role of chef with two or three assistants. One or two people might make a shopping list and go to Sainsbury's to buy the ingredients.
Others will clean the toilets, hoover or empty the bins. Someone works on reception and someone else in the finance office. Alternatively, if the morning meeting has raised an issue about work or using the internet, say, then if people are interested in it then we will try to go with the flow and do something with it there and then.
So, if the issue was about lack of up-to-date skills and recent work experience we might look at creating a CV highlighting all the things that people already do and their strengths. If it was about finding information, creating digital photos or using Twitter, we would get the laptops out and start searching, evaluating, uploading, editing, printing and tweeting.
I'll pick up any messages and mail, sign off any invoices and pass on to the finance office to raise cheques, check email and my to do lists. If I'm not facilitating groupwork, I'll work on the most important and urgent tasks on my to do lists such as completing a monitoring report or funding application, or a regular task like paying staff, or responding to urgent requests from the Council to count up how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall*.
This takes us through to lunch at 1pm. We eat together, if we can, whether we are sharing a cooked meal prepared by the chef and his or her assistants or if we bring in our own packed lunches or get something from the local bakers'. A bit like saying hello in the morning, eating together at lunch time is also important. Again, there's not much worse than feeling like you are all alone to eat lunch. Usually lots of interesting conversation and laughter. A good time for tweeting, too. Once a week we have a separate staff-only lunchtime meeting.
2pm and it's time to get back to work. Still plenty of jobs for people to do around the house, especially if cleaning up after a cooked lunch. Afternoons are usually a bit more free-form - fewer group activities and more individual work and social interaction. I think that the real foundation for the work that we do with people is based upon the forming and sustaining of good relationships with them. Relationships built on mutual trust and confidence, no false promises, but a commitment to try.
4pm and it's time to start saying goodbye to people. Time to finish off some of the things I've been working on earlier, respond to new mail and messages, a tweet or two. I'm done by 5pm unless there's a monthly Board meeting at 6pm.
That's more or less what my typical day is like at Enfield Clubhouse.
When I come back down to earth I change out of my Superman outfit and resume my role as Chief Cook And Bottle-Washer at home.
*Not really