A day in the life

Of me, not this box – I just like the photo

John Doe deliveries

Recently, on the way back to London after a client meeting, I had an urge to get home and make shoot some stop-motion video. I’ve done a few before and, well, I enjoy it.

Upon expressing this to a colleague, he replied: ‘That’s great! But, I have to ask something: where do you find the time? I love photography but never find the time do it…’

My response?

‘Discipline, time-compression, and a commitment to no wastage are all key. Make [and keep] promises to yourself. For example, I try to do keep Thursday lunchtimes free each week to work on a project of my own choosing. Try that, and then build from there’.

And then thought about it some more and figured that some more analysis might be useful. It’s been a while since I’ve written up my day like this (five years in fact), so this should be interesting (for me, at least).

So here goes: my diary/schedule for Thursday 7th February 2013 –

05:45 – Alarm goes off (on my phone, of course).

05:55 – Record Episode 035 of The Voicemail. We normally try and record on a Thursday night but Stefan is traveling at the moment and he’s being replaced by various guests from all across the globe. This week’s guest was based on the East Coast and it was easier for both of us to shoot at this time.

06:505k run (yup, up to 5k now – every other day too. I’ve come a long way in five weeks, I think a follow up post may be required)

07:40 – Home, shower, get ready for work.

08:00 – Leave for the office.

08:10 – Commute / reading time (current book: What the Plus! by Guy Kawasaki, a recommendation from Stephen Waddington).

08:50 – Pick up breakfast / coffee.

09:00 – Call with an industry peer and trusted friend to discuss a future project.

09:15 – Email, team meetings, catch up with yesterday’s actions / meetings.

10:30 – Social@Ogilvy training workshop (part one)

12:50 – Lunch. Eat. Check in with the team. Thursday project alarm goes off, so I call the venue for #NotatMWC and tell them we’re going to need more room.

13:30 – Social@Ogilvy training workshop (part two)

16:00 – Re-group with team, catch up on projects; share lessons from the workshop. Email.

Sidenote: I’ve got into the habit of screening email whenever possible and only sitting down to respond once or twice a day. It’s helping productivity incredibly. I understand that not everyone can do this, but when you get to the point of being able to – I highly recommend it. 

18:05 – leave the office

18:10 – Commute. Manage to get a seat and start editing the morning’s Voicemail episode (much to my enjoyment – you can’t read audio waves over someone’s shoulder).

18:40 – Stop in town to pick up a cable for my mac, plus stop for a cup of tea with a friend.

19:45 – Time to head home.

20:15 – Get home: dinner, publish The Voicemail, hug the girl, watch a movie (Contagion – dark, yet dull).

23:55 – Time for bed.

Sprinkle the above with a few bits of social media usage (I count 36 tweets, including RTs etc, two Facebook updates, and one G+ update – mainly in the bits between doing anything, ie: walking between stations etc) and that’s just about it.

Alright that was all a bit full on and most days I don’t do workshops, nor do I get up before 6am to record international podcasts, but still – there’s hardly any ‘dead’ time in my day. Ever. But that’s not to say I don’t ever stop, I just didn’t happen to stop on Thursday.

 

A few things I’m working on

Sorry for the darkness, I’ve been a touch busy…

First, the Nokia C7 Social Challenge is now live – good stuff

Second, N8Producers is out there too…

Oh and last but by no means least, I met Jeff last night…

Hey! Jeff!

That was at the Tron: Legacy premiere in London’s Leicester Square. This tweet made me smile a lot, but I think the best thing of all was being able to spring two tickets on a couple of lucky members of the cheering crowd.

I’m still editing that video but I’ll share it when it’s done; trust me, they were very happy 🙂

I love making people smile.

So much.

Whatley out.

Mystery Plays – The Nativity

Ladies & Gentlemen –

I know – my blogging skills have been somewhat lacking of late – but I’ve been acting dah-ling!

On that note…

Short notice I know but…

Next week I am appearing in another play (no more now ’til next year – promise!)

THE NATIVITY,
by Tony Harrison

At:
The cornerHOUSE:
Wed December 6 to Sat December 9.

About the Play:
A company of local actors, singers and musicians are bringing a unique theatrical experience to the cornerHOUSE in Tolworth from December 6.

Collectively known as The Cloud Factory Theatre Company, they will be presenting

The Nativity – the first part of ‘The Mysteries’ trilogy – by poet and
playwright Tony Harrison.
It was first performed in the early 1980s at the
National Theatre, to rave reviews, although its roots go back many hundreds of years.

The script is based on the mediaeval Mystery Plays, which were performed in the streets of many English cities and not only gave ordinary people their first taste of theatre, but also brought the Biblical stories to life as never before.

The Nativity captures the flavour of these open air performances – not only through the rich, poetic language, but also in the fact that it is performed ‘in promenade’. In other words, the audience will be led around the cornerHOUSE, with scenes unfolding all around them.

The production also features a live folk band, who are recreating the
original musical score – a rare event in itself, for it was created by a
band, led by top folk musician John Tams, who played by ear. Nothing was ever written down, and it survives only in recordings.

The Nativity takes you on a journey into the past, from the creation of the world through to the birth of Jesus, blending comedy and tragedy, song and dance, and Christian and ancient English traditions in a way that is totally unique. It promises to be a memorable theatrical experience.

Details:
Performances: from Wed December 6 to Sat December 9.
Doors open 7pm. The show begins at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £7 (£5 concessions).
To book, call 07949 800929 or email cloud-factory@hotmail.co.uk

Please email me back if you don’t know where this place is – or failing that – check here:
http://www.thecornerhouse.org

A bit from me:
This play is unlike anything I’ve ever been in before and will be very different (I’m sure) to anything you’ve seen before – it’s a lot of fun and if manage to make it along I’m sure you’ll have a fun evening… The cast are great and the live band really adds to the whole atmosphere of the piece…
Those of you that came to see me in Mum’s Legs/Alone earlier this year – this production is at the same place…
(so you know where you’re going!)
Those of you who came to see me in Our Country’s Good – this production is NOT at the same place – it’s a bit further on past Kingston, through Surbiton and nearly into Tolworth – a 281 from Twix will sort you out no bother!

Email/Text/Call me if you have any questions etc…
Obviously – this is extremely late notice and it’s my own fault for leaving it so late for posting this blog so if you can’t make it I’ll understand – but if you can – then WHOOPEEEEE!
I’ll see you there!

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