Here Dayle Craske, Internal Communications Officer, explains a typical day.
9.00am – One of the best things for me about working from home is that extra hour in bed. I will be up and ready for 9.00am when it’s time for a coffee and to catch up on emails. I will also check in with my team and friends in Communications and Marketing to see what they got up to with their evening – I like to be nosey! I will then check my to-do list and prioritise what is needed to be done that day.
Since the start of Covid-19 it has been very hectic for Internal Communications. There has been a lot of messages to share with our staff and students, and lots of information to keep updated as part of the Covid-19 webpages. It has meant juggling urgent communications, whilst continuing to support with communications for other ongoing projects. Staff and student wellbeing is also a huge priority for us and we are making sure to signpost to the support and resources available as much as possible.
As we move into the Adaptation and Renewal phase, we are focusing on how we can communicate this effectively and engage with our staff, students and external stakeholders.
It has definitely kept us busy, and we have been working hard with lots of our fantastic colleagues across the University!
11.00am – My first Teams meeting of the day. I have been working at home with my husband and parents, so getting a bit of peace and quiet for meetings is not always easy. I have resorted to banning them from the kitchen.
My call is with my Internal Communications team, and we will run through all of the priorities for that day and the next couple of days, updating where we are at with everything. We find this very useful as things move so quickly and it keeps us all in the loop!
12.00pm – A few times a week I have a 12.00pm call with the CAM Editorial Board. Here we discuss all of the great content from across the University that we would like to push out from our corporate channels. This includes our website, social media and new Covid-19 response microsite that has been set up to showcase all of the University’s brilliant efforts in reacting to the current crisis.
1.00pm – Lunch time! If the sun is shining, I always want to get outside. I returned back to my family home in Hartlepool, north east England, for lockdown so I am very lucky to have some outside space. It also means I get to spend lots of time with our family dog Jet who is always by my side! I will enjoy some vitamin D until it is time to go back inside!
3.00pm – The 3.00pm wall hits, and I need a pick me up. Since lockdown we seem to be getting lots of sweet treats delivered to our doorstep. Today was a very tasty cupcake! Working at home can be hard sometimes, so this is the sugar kick I need to keep me going through the afternoon!
5.00pm – After all of my jobs for the day are done, it’s time to say goodbye on Teams and sign off. I try to vary up what I do on an evening to keep things (relatively!) exciting. I will often go for a walk with my dog or do some watercolour painting. We also decided to get a hot tub during lockdown so I can often be found chilling in there!
What does your new nine-to-five look like? Share it with us at bulletin@ed.ac.uk