Ok, I’m being dramatic again and bursting into song unnecessarily – I can see you, I know you are too ;-). But today’s blog marks the end of our daily postings. So let’s now take a moment to relive our best bits…

When, at the start of lockdown, we ambitiously set out on this path of posting every single week day, I’m not sure we realised how long this might go on for! As it is, this is post number 92 since we began on 23rd March. We have covered a truly eclectic mix of topics, from productivity tips to cups of tea, from happiness to music, and all things in between. We recorded podcasts, made videos, shared photos and wrote lots and lots of words. We knew that people’s relationship with development and wellbeing was set to change over this period and we wanted to be a positive part of that – helping colleagues to keep learning, or at least to stay curious.

We thought we should finish then by sharing our highs and lows and let you know our favourites and yours.

Juliet: I have been exploring writing for a couple of years now, flexing my pen and finding ways of sharing my voice. When we embarked on this plan I saw it as a brilliant opportunity to do more of it – keeping it regular, focused and helpful. I wanted to try out different ideas, but also find my style and my rhythm. For me its been an amazing experience and I have grown to love writing even more, and have completed another online writing course at the same time. There have certainly been moments when I’ve stared at a screen and thought “what the hell am I going to say”, and it’s felt like a burden every now and then, but isn’t that true of everything? I must admit I have become slightly obsessive with the read count numbers too – I’m fascinated to know which topics have caught people’s interest (and which haven’t!). I was hoping for more interaction in the comments section but perhaps that’s ambitious (and also reading the comments section of some online sites maybe it’s a good thing!!). Favourites of mine are the two coaching walks (Spring and Summer); I’m proud of the Work Hacks series as they are super practical and we definitely want to keep going with those; and I loved the video that Zoe put together in celebration of the Vice Chancellors Challenge.

Zoe: Yes, making that video for the Vice Chancellors Challenge was a blast! I was so impressed by how the Heros Ride on Dragons Team rallied together to help make it. And I’ve not forgotten that the CCCU Sports Team has already issued us additional points for the next event. I think we might even stand a chance of winning it next time. I would not consider myself a writer so the thought of writing a blog, let alone the amount I’ve written over the last few months, was daunting. But I did it. And I’m so proud of myself. At first I was nervous about how what I wrong would be received – would anyone find it helpful or interesting? Is what I’ve written actually any good at all? I’ve found the process of writing a blog really helpful in honing my reflective practice. I’ve loved reading all the different blogs we’ve had and learning from others and their style of writing. It’s definitely something I want to develop more – what were those writing courses, Juliet? Thinking back, the blogs that stood out the most for me were: Learning is Clumsy; Cat Therapy; The Productivity of Letting Go and Where am I now?. But I could pick so many more…

What of your favourites? Well, the read count is fascinating. There is a clear winner – Tom Delahunt’s I speak Multiple Languages, with well over a thousand reads! Other entries that made the top five are: How to make your workplace safe and comfortable at home; Easter Creativity; Working from home with ADHD; and our Podcast: Virtual Presence and Presentation.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed guest bogs – they have been the most popular with our readers – she says through gritted teeth ;-), we would love more – send them too us!

I hope the breadth of topics has suited your interests and you have found something to keep you sharp. We think they have now become a useful resource and will be available for you to come back to and dip in and out of. We will keep posting (it’s not really the final curtain), but not everyday, so do come back soon!

Juliet and Zoe, Organisational and People Development

We did it our way 🙂