How have you adapted to working from home during lockdown?

Mark Aspin Director and Head of Dispute Resolution talks about how he has adapted during lockdown.

Where are you working from now?

At home.  I had a desk set up upstairs at my house anyway so have mainly been using this, but whilst we have had better weather have set up an alternative desk downstairs so I can open the patio doors and see which birds are sat on the bird feeder on a given day. Blackbirds, house sparrows, wagtails and dunnocks are the most regular visitors!

What has been the most difficult about working remotely?

The occasional technology wobbles.  We are very lucky at Cartmells to have a modern case management system, which means that I can access every file wherever I am in the world, which has proved very helpful.  However if my own wi-fi or internet starts to flake out, you can’t just find a paper file to do something on whilst giving it time to recover.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Having to try new ways of working and adopt new processes, which is inevitably a “try it and see” method a lot of the time.  Everyone has established their own ways of working over the years, but to ensure all the work gets done on this remote basis everyone has had to try to change, and finding a process that suits everyone has had a few false starts.  However, everyone has been very patient and we are now well embedded into a method that is working very well.  I am sure there is still room for improvement, but we are able to provide our normal level of service just with a few alternations!

Is there anything (work wise) that you wish you had with you?

 As and when required, I have been able to pop into the office and collect items, and early on during the lockdown I was able to collect my spare monitor so I can work effectively on one document whilst reading another.  We still need a bit of planning to ensure that only the necessary people are in the office at any time, and occasionally the one document you really need isn’t available, but I can always arrange for it within a few days.

What has been the most helpful thing you’ve learned?

 The importance of building a routine.  I now start work straight after breakfast, and work through until 10.30 when I “stop for PopMaster” on Radio 2 and have a mid-morning brew. I am also spoilt in where I live and with the weather we have been having, so on a vast majority of lunchtimes I have been able to head out on the bicycle for about half an hour and then can work through the afternoon after a sandwich.

Having a variety of social activities including the departmental Tuesday night quiz means I keep track of what day it actually is.  With this system I am actually at least as productive as being in the office because I’m finding there are less distractions. This means I keep my weekends more or less free and for most Mondays during lockdown have been volunteering with St John Ambulance supporting the Ambulance Service in the North East responding to 999 and other calls.

What is the first thing you are going to do when you are out of lockdown?

Like so many others, I haven’t seen my parents since mid-March so am looking forward to the opportunity of visiting them, which I do plan on doing later this month. A return to live sport is also very much on the cards – I normally spend most weekends at motor-racing circuits in an official capacity, and whilst having free weekends at home has been a pleasant change, the smell of Castol-R first thing in the morning is missed!