And as it has been a busy and exciting few days, today we’re closing out the week with another poem.

This one is titled “Yes” and is by Jewish-American activist and poet, Muriel Rukeyser

It’s like a Tap-Dance
Or a new pink Dress,
A shit-naive Feeling
Saying Yes.

Some say Good morning
Some say God bless –
Some say Possibly
Some say Yes.

Some say Never
Some say Unless
It’s stupid and lovely
To rush into Yes.

What can it mean?
It’s just like Life,
One thing to You
One thing to your Wife.

Some go Local
Some go Express
Some can’t wait
To answer Yes.

Some complain
Of strain and Stress
The answer may be
No for Yes.

Some like Failure
Some like Success
Some like Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes.

Open your Eyes,
Dream but don’t guess.
Your biggest Surprise
Comes after Yes.

First published on LinkedIn on 7 February 2025:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-get-yes-jen-ang-jcrue/

Maybe you are optimistically trying to clear your work “to do” list before the end of the year – whilst keeping a wary eye on the looming holiday “to do” list and juggling those December festive events that keep rolling around – lunches, brunches, dinners and drinks .

Personally, I love December – my birthday month – but it’s always a hectic time of year, and I think it’s a pity that people seem to reach the promised land of winter holidays, utterly depleted and nearly rigid with stress.

For those of us who deliver frontline services to people living with destitution, struggling with health and mental health and at the margins of our societies, wrapping up work in December is also stressful because service closures can cause acute crises for individuals and stretch thin the capacity of the few emergency services that do remain open.

Remember this?

But, we all need a break sometime. In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, when I was locked down in my small flat with two furious (and mischievous) tween-age children, I started trying different meditation apps in a desperate bid to do something positive for my own mental health.

One day, I listened to a teaching by Cory Muscara who flipped the idea of “managing chaos” in a way that actually changed my life:

Calm is not the absence of chaos; it’s being able to exist in the chaos and noise and finding your peaceful centre.

I loved this reframing because blocking out the chaos was not only totally unrealistic – given my responsibilities as well as the physical reality of our lockdown – it was also tiring and unending.

The reframing gave me some hope of finding a way to hold those responsibilities and get some sleep at night. (The good sleep habits took a while longer, but I learned some important tricks between 2020-23 which wanted to share with you now.)

Find your calm in chaos

This is going to be a short one, because – see above - but here are some top tips for finding calm in chaos (with paired book recommendations)

…

lose the unimportant stuff – kick it into the long grass, roll that appointment into next year … be real about what you can do in the next two weeks.

Have a frank conversation with “yesterday you” about what “today you” is and is not going to do. Also, while you’re at it, try and spare a thought for “tomorrow you”!

Need some help reassessing your priorities? I really like David Allen book Getting Things Done – I know that the GTD method has been associated with “hustle culture” and unhealthy glorification of “fitting it all in,” but it works for me. And I think like all tools, what you get out of it has a lot to do with what you bring to it. For me, learning to prioritise and reprioritise with GTD has been liberating, and not exhausting.

…

make time for the important stuff – make an appointment with yourself to do something you love, every day.

During the Covid years, I took the kids climbing in Holyrood Park at 4pm every day. Not gonna lie, sometimes these outings were also stressful, but it was the different kind of stress that made it important, and worthwhile.

Think you don’t have time? Try reading about Einstein Time in Gay Hendricks best-selling book The Big Leap. Bonus if you do? You’ll also get better at cultivating your personal superpowers: what you love to do, and what you do best.

…

celebrate yourself – we don’t congratulate ourselves enough, and instead tend to pin our feelings of self worth and success to the opinion, or regard, of others.

The problem is, other people have got stuff on their minds too, and they don’t always have the time or space or perspective to thank you for having a significant impact on their day, or congratulate you on a job well done.

There is exactly one person who knows how good you did today, and that is you. So go ahead, give yourself the credit you deserve (even if you do this privately, silently, in your head or in your secret journal at the end of the day).

Some days, my “private wins” include: not leaving my packed lunch in the fridge, not losing my rag when faced with a totally unreasonable demand, or doing a half decent (but still not brilliant) job of a task that I had been putting off.

Find it hard to treat yourself with compassion? Take 10 minutes to listen to legend Thich Nhat Hanh‘s calming and deeply loving sermon about why you are amazing and worthy of celebration.

Sending all the warmest wishes for finding your way and getting through your “list” for December.

Thanks for reading again this week, and please feel free to share what brings you comfort, calm and a smooth finish at the end of year

First published on LinkedIn on 6 December 2024:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/finding-calm-chaos-jen-ang-wn09e

If I am ploughing on at all, this is more due to stubbornness than inspiration – and because part of the deal of taking on the weekly challenge of writing The Long View is also exploring what happens when I open my laptop, and … nothing comes.

Struggling with visibility, and empathy

I think the issue is: I can’t shake the idea that there are people out there, actually reading what I’m writing.  I do know this to be true, and I am always thrilled to hear from readers when they write back, but I have always found I needed to keep the idea of an “audience” quite out of focus, in order to stand any chance of holding my nerve and getting through the tunnel of self doubt, to produce any kind of output, on the other side.

The fact that thinking about an audience sends me into a tailspin is kind of ironic, because the very best writing, teaching and campaigning happens, I think, exactly when the person holding the pen has very much held their audience in mind.  That empathy and care is often the thing that helps you to express yourself in a way that really connects with others.

I guess what I struggle with – and absolutely struggled with last night, when I celebrated the launch of a legal briefing for Lawmanity x IRMO – is being so visible.  The actual experience of watching people hold that report in their hands, and start to browse through the pages, minutes before I stood up to speak, nearly ended me.

“But Jen,” a colleague said, chuckling, “You didn’t write that report just for it to sit on a shelf, did you?”

No, obviously, I did not. I really enjoyed the process of writing it, and I’m proud of this work with IRMO – Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation, an organisation led by and for the Latin American community in the UK, to produce together something that recognises, and responds to, one of the most pressing issues the community faces.

Furthermore, because IRMO staff and the parents they support are such talented and passionate people, I’m certain that they will take this report and it will play a small part in big changes to come, at the very least, for individual children and young people who will be one step closer to unlocking the education services and support they deserve.

What I didn’t enjoy, was having to stand up in front of an audience of my peers, my colleagues, and quite a few people I had never met, effectively, to say:

“This here is my entirely my work, or at least the mistakes and the bad parts that you might not like, and yes, it was absolutely the best I am capable of doing, at least for today.”

[slowly backs into a wall, cue fade to black]

Our inner critic, our worst enemy

Audiences are mostly kind, and that means that when we stand up to present our work, unless we have really ticked someone off or are very unlucky, they will mostly respond sympathetically, and may even band together to support a shaky speaker to a solid finish.

Our inner critic, however, will start with the harshest and most unhelpful observations, and may well accelerate through an entire presentation, like a bike heading downhill with no brakes.

What could, or should, I do to make peace with my inner critic?

This week, I asked for help:

• My partner told me that I should be happy with the idea that I did the best I could, in the circumstances.  I wasn’t convinced – because, obviously, my best could be really inadequate.
• My psychotherapist told me I was being too abstract, and for once, she didn’t know what I was talking about.
• Then, I spoke to a friend, who is a filmmaker, and he reflected that presenting your creative work publicly is scary, and that’s the end of it. There is nothing to get over. That is just the price [of producing and sharing art].

I liked this last answer the best, because it felt real, and also reminded me that – in a way – the decision to face our fears (and our inner critic) was already made by us at an earlier stage.

More precisely, at the start of the project: in the moment when set our mind on expressing an idea, or a feeling, or way of seeing the world, publicly to other people.

…

I’m still looking for answers, and have clearly resolved none of my awkwardness about presenting my own work, although I have at least (with relief) made it to the end of today’s article!

Thank you for reading, and I would love to hear from readers: what you do when have a piece of work and become creatively stuck, and do you have any good advice on making peace with your own inner critic?

First published on LinkedIn on 18 October 2024:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-get-unstuck-creatively-making-peace-your-inner-critic-jen-ang-przwf/

I was excited about both things – in fact, I had worked really hard to make both things happen – really leaned into the preparation ahead of this week.

And both things were scary and hard to tackle, especially at the start.

Why climb that mountain?

I like Munros because of the opportunity to take the long view, and because the activity of walking and scrambling can be very absorbing, and this is relaxing for me.

A key thing about Munros, though, is that they are hard to summit. Not all of them, of course, but most require more than average effort and that also means you need to show some persistence, and patience, to get there.

The same is true of really big work challenges – like starting a new project, or a new job.

You are working towards a goal that you can picture, you may even have mapped out a solid route to that goal – but it can be intimidating take the first steps, and you may need resilience and a little faith along the way.

Some tips for tackling big challenges

It might have been just the very strong Scottish sun and a bit of light headedness, but it occurred to me that the kind of nonsense I tell myself when I’m struggling up a very steep slope – this is exactly the same stuff I tell myself when I’m struggling to shift a tricky problem at work.

So here are some things that work for me, and might also work for you:

• Take a deep breath, and get some perspective – fear and stress cause panic, and that can cloud our judgment. To get the best from your (skilled and capable) self, take a time out to evaluate where you are right now, your own energy and resources and the external landscape. You might feel better for seeing the progress you’ve already made. You might spot a change in resources or context which means you need a change of plans.
• Eyes on the prize, start climbing that mountain – every impossible task ever achieved was tackled in the same way: one step at a time. I find it usually helps to hold in mind my ultimate goal – but sometimes, things get so bad (and that summit looks so far away) that I’m reduced to looking at my feet and counting to 10 over and over again. This is also okay. The key thing is to keep moving.
• If you get stuck, get help – this lesson took me a while to learn, because I’m stubborn and I think I’m self-reliant. A cragfast hillwalker is someone who has climbed into a situation where they are stranded on a crag, unable to ascend or descend. If this happens to you, in life or in work, stop pretending everything is okay – and just call in some help.
• Remember all the summits you climbed before this one – I don’t know why, but for me the last 100m is often the hardest. When the end is sight, I loosen my grip on my resolve, I stop looking at my feet and I look up again, and the enormity of the challenge hits me. This is the point at which I, personally, need a bit of extra inspiration.
• Remembering that I have never done this thing before, but I have overcome other challenges that felt impossible – this is the inner monologue that usually accompanies me to the end, and the top.

And enjoy the view!

I realise we all have different ways of tackling a challenge – I like to have a plan, and map out the possibilities before I set off, but I’ve had brilliant colleagues and friends who prefer to just get moving, and who are great at thinking creatively and recalibrating on their feet.

Remember it takes all sorts of people (and thinking) to get big challenging jobs done – and of course, there is more than one way to climb a mountain!

Thanks again for reading The Long View, and see you next week

First published on LinkedIn on 2 August 2024:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-tackle-really-big-challenges-jen-ang-2d0de/

We have special visitors from abroad next week, and I have planned to take some time off work to spend with them. I have plans for the weekend too – wholesome, exciting things I’m looking forward to, like: meeting new people, showing my activist side some love, and taking quiet time for me.

But all those special plans need their own space and time. And the work that needs done – good, interesting, thought provoking and important work – also needs space and time.

We can’t get it all done

This has been a hard lesson for me, and one that I still struggle to accept. I am the original optimist – and also, to be fair, have refined the art (over the years) of getting an implausible number of things done.

People who know me well have stopped trying to tell me not to overcommit. When they see the telltale signs of overcommitment – over-caffeination and impatience – they just nod sympathetically and try to stay out of my way.

However, the truth is: unless you are a ninja level decision maker and zen master – if you are feeling the pinch, you have probably planned to do more things than you can possibly, humanly do, and step 1 is accepting that you won’t get them all done.

But we can get the important things done

What are the important things? This one is something you’re going to have to decide all by yourself. If you haven’t done this before, it might be an idea to try this little exercise: write down all the things that make for a good life.

The activities that lead those things? Those are your important things.

Your vision for a good life (or living well) will change over time; I know mine certainly has. And that’s okay – everything changes.

To reduce friction when change happens, it can help to make a fresh start on your good life list – and use the new list to realign what you’re doing to what’s important to you, today.

Finding the balance: work vs ‘good life’

You might now think that your “good life” list has very little to do with your list of all the things that need to get done at work, and that is probably quite a common experience. If true, this is a good thing to know.

If you spend a lot of your time on activities at work that you can’t connect to your life goals, that is going to cause tension and may also lead you to handle that work in ways that are not strategic, or efficient, or healthy for you.

However, there is a way out: ninja-like prioritisation and zen master-level acceptance and forgiveness.

Prioritising: the WTF Method

Five years ago, I attended this fantastic course in Dublin for social justice leaders run by Denise Charlton and Dr Grainne Healy – it really changed my life, and sparked more than one great friendship, but more on that another time.

At the end of the course, we had to deliver a TedX style talk and for this, I presented on the WTF method:

• First, identify what are all the things that need to be done.
• Second, work out what are the things that only you can do. These are the things that cannot be delegated, or deferred. That important thing for your organisation that only you know how to do? That has to be you. If my kids are upset and they want a cuddle from me, then it’s only a cuddle from me that will do. This is your list of things that are going to get done.
• Focusing on things that only you can do, also highlights scarcity: of space and time. Over time, your goal is to only be doing the things that only you can do – and for these things to also significantly overlap with your list of “good life” important things.
• Third, what’s left needs to be f* out the window. It needs to be delegated, deferred or dropped.

(*flung, of course. I mean… flung out the window)

Getting the important things done

So you have your list of things that only you can do and your list of things that are actually important to you.

If these lists are shorter than the things you thought you had to do at the start – hurrah and congratulations!

If they are longer, then don’t worry – you’ve only surfaced what was there all along, and now at least the truth is in sight and you can make those decisions about what you do and drop with greater clarity.

This is an important thing to remember: even if you make no decisions, and do no planning, you are still making a decision – it’s just a more haphazard one.

Either way, it’s time to get to the doing – for me, at least!

Wish me luck & if you have some time, let me know what you do to prioritise or motivate yourself when your plate is full, and overflowing…

First published on LinkedIn on 31 May 2024:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-get-all-done-jen-ang-fxj7e/

“Yes,” shrugged my colleague. “We have chased that a few times, and it’s important, so we will try again, but… everyone has at least one thing that they just never seem to get around to, don’t they?”

We all avoid stuff

this is true.

Having spent most of my career – let’s be honest, my life – optimistically overcommitting to others, I understand very well how we tie ourselves in knots to avoid some tasks, for whatever reason.

And having worked with diverse teams for a very long time. I am certain that everyone avoids some task – what that thing is, and why they do it, varies from person to person.

Can you swap, or delegate?

Wouldn’t it be great if we could build teams where you could swap stuff you want to avoid, with other people who actually want to do it?  And take something off their plate in exchange?

That’s possible, but only if someone (within the team or managing the team) facilitates that conversation and gives permission for work to be tackled collectively.

Our default, in most employed roles, requires people to demonstrate success by performing against hypothetical job descriptions in idealised team structures.

Aside from not being very efficient or motivating, this approach can in some cases embed structural discrimination, and penalise people who are different, for example because they are neurodiverse, or because of cultural difference.

If this has got you thinking, check out Radical HR’s Policy Guide on Supervision for an alternative vision for how we can supervise and support staff.

Does the buck stop with you?

There are some tasks that are rightly ours, even if we don’t want them.

Because we are the only one who can, because we made a promise, because the buck stops with us.

In this case:

Ask yourself: what are you avoiding, and why?

This post-it note has lived on my desk for about two years. I wrote it when I decided I was sick of letting people down, and I wanted to do something about it.

For me, usually, the answer is: I am afraid.  I am afraid because I don’t know how to do the thing. I am afraid because the task is hard, or risky. I am afraid of failure. My name is on the thing, and that could mean a very public failure.

It would be better to do nothing, and see if anyone notices.

How do we get the thing done, then?

No magic bullets here, I’m afraid.  But these things works for me, sometimes:

• Ask for help. Address the fears you just identified. If you don’t know how to do the thing, can you speak to someone who does? If you can’t hold yourself accountable, can you enlist a buddy to encourage you and keep you right?
• Clear your desk. Make up your mind to do the thing, and take the steps to make that possible. That means clearing your diary, gathering the right tools and putting a hold on all interruptions.
• Bribe yourself. Link the task to something that motivates you. You could align completion of the task with a value that matters to you, like being a good team member, achieving a longer term goal, or being true to your word.

I hope that helps someone out there, or at least brightened your Friday afternoon.

Other awesome stuff to share this week

I attended a brilliant free workshop Introduction to Community Organising, delivered by the inspirational Stephanie Wong and Dami Makinde for ActBuildChange. Sign up to their newsletter or join as a member for an opportunity to attend other great events, including a workshop on collective care.

Next Thursday and Friday, I’ll be delivering two free Know Your Rights! Workshops for Neurodiverse People, for the launch of DiffandNet a neurodiverse-led network of leaders (and aspiring leaders). Sign up to attend here.

Made it! Show me something lovely

Here’s a very relaxing little website from Léo Chéron called Play with Particles – which makes the perfect 60-second break, when you are definitely not avoiding that thing you said you were going to do!

Happy Friday, and thanks again for reading

First published on LinkedIn on 19 April 2024:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-stop-avoiding-stuff-jen-ang-izexe/