I was talking with a colleague last week about talent management. Specifically, we were talking about how difficult both recruitment and retention can be in the sector. The company we were discussing had, at the time, a terrible reputation for its retention record. People left to seek promotion and training elsewhere at an alarming rate; the company seemingly had no interest in investing in its staff, preferring to write them of and replace them if they showed ambition.
At least, that was the impression we had of the company. When we discussed where various ex-employees had gone, it was apparent that this wasn’t entirely true. For a start, many people left to pursue entirely different career paths. This isn’t uncommon on the industry. Care, particularly residential childcare, can be mentally, emotionally, and physically gruelling at times. Some people find they do not have the resilience needed to make it through those times. This is not a criticism; all of us are more suited to certain roles than others. When one factors in burnout, it’s apparent that many people leave the care industry altogether when they leave a company, whether permanently or not.
Then there are the people who leave because of personal circumstances. Perhaps the shift pattern no longer suits their lifestyle, they leave for family reasons, or they move out of the area. This is a relatively small proportion of leavers. Similarly there are those who leave due to being dismissed or not passing their probation – again, a small proportion.
So what of those who don’t fall into the above categories? Many people leave out of a vague dissatisfaction with the company, often framed as “I need a change”, only to go and work for a competitor.
When we talk of talent management we tend to focus on those who are intent on career progression. This is only natural; in the same way that Hollywood creators characterise 9-5 work (and, by extension, 9-5 workers) as boring and uncreative, as mangers we have worked hard to get where we are, and our subconscious biases may mean that we judge other’s progress by our own perspectives (“Why wouldn’t you want to work your way up”). I know that personal and professional development are incredibly important to me; and for the longest time I had a very linear perception of what ‘professional progress’ meant: learn all you can in your present role, and get promoted before your job gets stale.
But there are those who have no desire to progress in such a way. They do not want the pressure and responsibility of a management position, or they do not want a role that takes them away from working with children. These people frequently get overlooked when it comes to talent management; yet they need to be as proactively managed as aspiring future managers.
The first step in doing so is to get to know them. Not just as RSWs or Senior RSWs, but as people. What motivates them? What inspires them to do the job? How do they see it or their role evolving? What skills do they have that they are not using right now?
Secondly, it’s important to understand what stage of their career are they at. Perhaps they were previously set on a management role but have since wavered. Why? What are their priorities right now?
With a solid understanding of the person you're working with, you can begin to look at opportunities to help them grow in their role and without any expectation of promotion. They may wish to take on extra responsibilities within their existing role; mentor other staff; promote the company at external networking events; take on a training role; transition to another role at the same ‘level’, even on a temporary basis; or learn new skills that can be brought back to the team. On occasion, you may find that they do not want to take on any extra responsibilities. They may be content for you to be aware that, at this particular moment, they are happy to focus on their job. Such lateral progression is often overlooked, but can provide variety, stimulation and development without what we would traditionally regard as 'progression'. You get a more settled staff member with increased skills and knowledge who will likely remain loyal to the team; and they get some much-needed variety.
Conversations like this are not effective if you regard them as a single event. These are the sort of discussion you should be having frequently. As noted above, people's circumstances change. Someone who is at the moment happy to focus only on the job at hand may have chosen to do so because home circumstances mean they cannot honestly commit to extra responsibilities. As soon as those circumstances change, their desire to progress may also change. If you are unaware of this you may soon find yourself recruiting for a vacancy.
Just because a person isn't clamouring for promotion does not mean they are happy to be ignored; you ignore them at your peril. 

In my most recent blog post I discussed that we receive many form of feedback, and that not all feedback is created equal.
In this post I want to talk about how we receive feedback, rather than choosing the type of feedback we seek and respond to.
When I talk about how to receive feedback in this instance, I’m not talking about listening skills per se, though they are vital. Rather, I’m referring to your frame of mind when receiving the feedback.
Receiving feedback can (and, sometimes, should) be difficult and challenging. This can even be true of positive feedback, for example if you are being praised for a job you’re not particularly proud of or if you feel co-contributors aren’t getting the recognition they deserve; or if you are naturally shy, unassuming, or struggle with self-esteem. I’m sure many of you reading this have been recognised for a job well-done whilst simultaneously suffering imposter syndrome.
Receiving negative feedback brings a different set of challenges. You may feel the feedback is unfair or unwarranted. You may, rightly or wrongly, construe it as more a personal attack than a form of professional support.
The first and most important thing to recognise is that you can’t control the feedback you receive, who you receive it from or, often, when you are going to receive it.
What you can control is how you ‘show up’ to the conversation.
When receiving feedback, I am focused on two things. My core values, and my emotional reaction.
Years of dealing with distressed behaviours in the young people in my care has given me the ability to give them the space they need to work through their emotions before making any attempt to support or guide them. I take this same, almost stoic, approach to receiving feedback. I let the other person say what they need to before I respond. Let them get it out of their system. This not only lets them feel heard, it also gives me the time and space I need to formulate my considered response.
This is especially important if the feedback is emotionally charged or if I feel it challenges one of my core values. If I feel my integrity or focus on positive outcomes for young people is being challenged, I feel threatened and want to correct the other person immediately. Just as a dysregulated adult cannot help a dysregulated child, meeting such emotional ‘attacks’ with an emotional response will only result in an argument. Once I have processed what is being said I can respond in a much calmer fashion.
An example of this is the strain that sometimes occurs between balancing the cost of good care vs the need for a company to make profit. Wherever possible I unapologetically put the needs of the people in my care first. Were I to receive feedback that I should be focused on profit first, this would be an attack on my values.
Responding immediately and emotionally to this would result in a fruitless argument. Instead, it’s best to consider how the feedback can enable me to lean in to my values. Could I have achieved the same outcome in a more cost-effective manner? Could I have delayed my actions until an opportunity to meet both demands arose?
If the feedback doesn’t enable you to lean in to your values in any way, you may be at an impasse. You may need to take a close look at your relationship with the other person. What’s more important to you, your values or your relationship with them? If the answer is your relationship, then perhaps it’s time to reassess what your values actually are. Values are the behaviours and choices you live, not those you profess to have. If the answer is your values, then you need to reconsider the relationship.
Whatever your response, it will be more meaningful and effective if you give yourself the space to process and reflect on what’s been said and why.
​

As some of you may know, I am currently studying for my level seven qualification in senior leadership and management. Today’s coaching session was to look over the work I had submitted for my most recent unit, ‘developing business strategies’, and to look at what I can expect for the next unit, ‘strategic resource management’. As ever, we strayed from the topic during the course of our conversation, and ended up discussing team development.


By now almost all of us are familiar with Tuckman’s four stages of group development - ‘forming’, ‘storming’, norming’, performing’, with ‘adjourning’ being added to a later revision of his theory.
Soon I began to reflect on two things: my experiences managing what was an established team with a few significant new members before, during and after lockdown with my previous employers; and my experience post-pandemic of joining a largely reconstituted team last summer, with a hybrid working style. In the former I was the manager of the team concerned, whereas latterly I have been a member of the SMT.


The experiences of these two situations differ greatly from my previous experiences in building and managing teams, where I was doing so face-to-face.


What I found is that Tuckman's model is still relevant in the age of remote working. In fact, it may be even more important in this context, as remote teams face unique challenges that can make it difficult to progress through the stages of team development. For example, remote teams may struggle with communication, trust, and collaboration, which are all critical components of team development.


In the forming stage, team members are getting to know each other and figuring out their roles and responsibilities. In a remote context, this can be challenging because team members may not have the opportunity to meet face-to-face, which can make it harder to build relationships and establish trust. With my previous employers, where I was the home manager, the staff team were still going in to theme to complete their shifts, whereas I was managing remotely. I found I had to rely on the induction process to do a lot of the heavy lifting in this area. My contribution was to take on as much of the administrative work as possible, allowing the team to build form their relationships with each other and the children. Not that I was entirely passive in this. I still established clear goals and expectations for the team. This helped team members understand what they were working towards and stay focused on the task at hand. Remote work can make it difficult for team members to get to know each other and establish relationships, which can slow down the forming stage. I had established good relationships with the majority of the residential team, which helped. In my current role I was the newest addition to the SMT, some of which was well-established and some of which wasn’t. This was a different dynamic for me, and even now we are still occasionally ironing out our roles and responsibilities as the company grows. As I work across Wales and our head office is in England, I do not get to spend as much time face-to-face with the Telford team as I’d like - especially those team members who aren’t part of the SMT. The second consideration in the ‘forming’ stage when hybrid working is how best to encourage open communication and collaboration. This can help team members build relationships and establish trust, which is critical for effective teamwork. There is a growing reliance on Teams, WhatsApp, Zoom, text messages, Basecamp, etc in this area; and whilst electronic communication is fast and accessible, what it lacks is depth. It’s difficult to read body language via text or Teams, especially with glitchy virtual backgrounds. Despite this, Teams/Zoom was essential in my previous role for ensuring I could spend 1:1 time with each member of staff for catch-ups, supervisions, and the like. I also found it useful for team meetings, in which I could reiterate my expectations regarding practice, communication and collaboration. It wasn’t as effective as being there in person; but it was harder for people to miss those meetings since they could join form home if they weren’t on shift that day. In fact, I recall several people joining meeting whilst isolating as they missed that social interaction. In my current role we (the SMT) do spend time with each other when we can, and electronic communication can be used to supplement this. Text messages and emails can be taken out of context, but when you know the person well who has written to you, this is harder to do.


In the storming stage, team members may experience conflict as they work through differences in opinion and approach. In a remote context, this can be exacerbated by communication challenges and the lack of nonverbal cues, as described above. Communication challenges in remote work can exacerbate conflicts and make it harder for team members to work through differences in opinion and approach. Wherever I detected or suspected this in my previous role, I would always contact one or both of the people involved separately, to act as a mediator, identifying and remedying misunderstandings.


In the norming stage, team members begin to work together more effectively and establish norms and expectations. In a remote context, this can be challenging because team members may have different working styles and preferences. Frequent team meetings when managing the home remotely were extremely helpful in this, as was a string company culture. I found that I had to be a lot clearer in my explanations of how I wanted the staff to work, since I couldn’t be there to role model my expectations. What I have noticed in my current role is that expectations can be greatly affected by the professional backgrounds of the different members of the SMT. Some of us have a care background, some NHS, some property.


Finally, in the performing stage, the team is working together effectively and achieving its goals. Remote work can make it difficult to coordinate and collaborate effectively, which can impact the performing stage. This can be especially true in teams that have a rapid turnover. Thankfully this was not a hurdle I had to consider during the time of lockdown, though once those restrictions were lifted we saw several staff members leave for other sectors (such as to return to outdoors education or the hospitality industry). In both that role and my current hybrid working patter, the importance of frequent and clear communication cannot be overstated. As a home manager it was essential to provide feedback and support to my staff to help them understand how they were performing and identify areas for improvement. As part of the SMT the considerations are more about ensuring we know what to expect of each other and holding each other to account.


Both working remotely during lockdown and my current hybrid pattern of work have served to deepen and broaden my appreciation for Tuckman’s theory. I have had to reconsider my approach to team building and managing as a result of both styles of working. Perhaps in the future I will end up in a role that is almost 100% office-based; it will be interesting to see how I rework my understanding of this theory as a result of that change.

As a service director in the residential care sector, I have achieved a lot over the course of my career. I have helped countless kids, learned better ways of working (and living), gained qualifications and experience I wouldn’t have elsewhere. That doesn’t mean I’ve never taken a misstep. You certainly won’t find “got fired at 16 from the local working men’s club for dropping a stack of glasses during bingo” on my LinkedIn profile. Nor will you find reference to early-career mistakes such as mishandling the home’s budget or misreading a child’s behaviour; some of the practices commonly taught twenty years ago, when I first entered the industry, were far from the therapeutic, trauma-informed approaches that are thankfully far more commonplace nowadays.  Such things can be embarrassing to look back on. But I have learned that owning up to our past mistakes can be a powerful tool for building confidence and moving forward. They gave me the confidence to try things later on that didn’t work out as planned - my training company, by copywriting, and my self-published fiction. Thanks to those endeavours I am a more skilled trainer and a better writer than I otherwise would have been, with a much deeper understanding of the importance of a clear business plan with adequate preparation when undertaking a new project. 
We all make mistakes, and it's easy to feel ashamed or embarrassed when we do. However, owning up to our mistakes can be a powerful way to build confidence and move forward. When we acknowledge our mistakes, we take responsibility for our actions and show that we are willing to learn from our experiences - remember, you are not defined by the mistakes you make. This can help us build trust with others and demonstrate our integrity.
So, what should you do if you realise you’ve made an error?
Firstly, acknowledge your mistakes: The first step in owning your mistakes is to acknowledge them. This can be difficult, but it's important to be honest with yourself and others about what went wrong.
The second step is take responsibility: Once you've acknowledged your mistakes, it's important to take responsibility for them. This means accepting the consequences of your actions and doing what you can to make things right.
Once you’ve done that, you should then prepare to learn from your mistakes; this is one of the most important, productive things you can do in this situation. So take some time to reflect on what went wrong and what you could have done differently. Did you follow the right procedure? Did you follow the procedure correctly? Doe the procedure you followed need updating or adapting? Is there somebody you could have turned to for support and/or advice? A fishbone diagram analysis may be a useful exercise here. This can help you avoid making the same mistake in the future.
After you’ve reflected on how you made the mistake, use your mistakes to build resilience: Making mistakes can be tough, but when we learn from our mistakes we become better equipped to handle challenges and setbacks in the future.
Finally, consider sharing your experiences with others. By being open and honest about your mistakes, you can help others learn from your experiences and avoid making the same mistakes themselves.
Owning your past mistakes can be a powerful way to build confidence and move forward. By acknowledging your mistakes, taking responsibility, learning from your experiences, building resilience, and sharing your experiences with others, you can turn your mistakes into valuable learning opportunities. Remember, we all make mistakes (anyone claiming otherwise is, frankly, not being truthful), but it's how we handle them that matters most.

This last week I’ve continued the first draft of my latest non-fiction, a guide to supervision for managers. I’ve finished a couple of audiobooks during my commutes and gym sessions, started reading a paperback of “Nudge”, and also continued reading the Witcher series (I started last summer, then sort of forgot about it as other things took over). I’ve been reading/watching YouTube videos on AI, which I am convinced is going to be as revolutionary as the Internet itself was. I’m also watching The Expanse, an excellent sci-fi that I put on hold whilst keeping up with The Mandalorian and Picard, and have been binging Brand New Cherry Flavor.  And don’t tell anyone, but my son’s long-neglected Switch has been getting an overdue retro NES/GameBoy workout. Y’know, just to test it’s till working. And whilst I’ve not worked on any music in months, I do try and pick up the guitar occasionally. #DadRockRules. That new Metallica has been getting a lot of play also.

As the world becomes more and more fast-paced and digitised, we are constantly bombarded by stimuli that keep us engaged and occupied. Thankfully I’m not into Instagram and Tik Tok videos, or that would be another few hours a week my brain doesn’t rest. We rarely have a moment to slow down and breathe, let alone experience boredom. However, studies have shown that boredom is actually critical for creativity.

Boredom is often seen as a negative state that we try to avoid at all costs. We fill our time with social media, TV shows, video games, books, and other distractions to keep us entertained. But when we are constantly engaged and stimulated our brains have little time to wander and think creatively.

Boredom, on the other hand, allows our minds to wander and explore without any particular goal in mind. It gives us the opportunity to daydream and think outside of the box. It also allows us to reflect and digest information, which enables us to make new connections and generate new ideas.
Many inventions and innovations in history have been born out of boredom. The idea for the postal service was thought of while a man waited impatiently in a long line, and the concept of the steam engine was conceived while James Watt was staring at a boiling kettle. I know from experience the effects of a long walk, lost in my own thoughts, can have on my fiction. The idea for my novel ‘Swarm’ came to me one afternoon when I was sitting on the sofa, doing nothing in particular. I didn’t have any new books, there was nothing on TV, I had no ideas on the guitar. My wife had been in the garden, and as she came inside briefly she mentioned the wasp problem at the front of the house. Thirty minutes later I’d outlined almost the entire plot. Had I been distracted by a YouTube video or some other mental occupation the conversation (and therefore the idea) would have passed by without me giving it any consideration.

Research has shown that boredom can increase our ability to problem-solve. When we are bored, our brains naturally seek out stimulation. We begin to see our surroundings and problems in a new light, which can lead to breakthroughs and innovative solutions. How many times has a solution struck you’ve given yourself the time to relax and subconsciously reflect? I’ve generated more ideas and solved more tricky plot-points sitting in traffic than I ever have whilst my mind is concentrating on something.

Boredom can also help us to develop new interests and hobbies. When we are bored, we are forced to explore new opportunities and try new things. This can lead to a newfound passion or an unexpected talent.

In order to experience the benefits of boredom we need to embrace it rather than avoid it. This means setting aside time to be unoccupied and allowing our minds to wander. This could be as simple as taking a walk without our phones or sitting outside and watching the clouds go by. In a way I have found that post-pandemic remote working has stifled my creativity. I used to use the drive to and from work to decompress, giving my mind space to wander. The same thing would happen in between meetings, supervisions, and other ‘tasks’. Ironically I find that, working from home, when I’ve not got an immediately pressing problem or task at hand, I find myself work to do as I don’t want to feel like I’m not ‘working’ just because I’m at home; whereas during quiet moments in the workplace I don’t feel the same pressure - I’m already at work so there’s less to prove, right?

We can stimulate boredom by doing seemingly mundane tasks like washing dishes or folding laundry. By engaging in these mundane tasks, we allow our brains to focus on something routine and straightforward which can lead to a state of boredom.

Boredom is essential for creativity. While entertainment and stimulation are important, we need to make time for boredom to allow our brains to think creatively and generate new ideas. So, the next time you feel bored, embrace it and see where your mind takes you.

I've been thinking a lot about work over the past few weeks. This month, we have three bank holidays. Usually, we work a minimum of forty hours a week, not to mention picking up text messages outside of work, making hands-free calls on the way home, and responding to a few emails in the evening. I haven't done any of that over the bank holidays. Instead, I've taken the dog for a walk, played guitar, swapped the pickups out of my Telecaster (a mini humbucker in the neck, for those fellow guitar nerds who are interested), listened to some music, played card games with the family, planted vegetables and flowers in the garden with my daughter, and caught up on some reading ("Nudge" and "Sword of Destiny"). So, with a few shorter workweeks and protecting my personal time outside of office hours, I should be miles behind, right?
Nope. Not even close.
Alongside all of this, I've read two thought-provoking articles on our working culture. The first questions what productivity is and how we should measure it (https://www.vox.com/technology/23710261/productivity-definition-measures-remote-work-management), and the second, from the same website, focuses on the successes of the four-day workweek (https://www.vox.com/22568452/work-workweek-five-day-four-jobs-pandemic). Already, I can hear the out-of-touch complaining that people only want a four-day workweek because they're lazy, comparing the modern workplace to the days when one had to be chained to their desk to produce anything.
Those days are gone. We are far more efficient than any previous generation of workers, and this only becomes more true as AI advances. Granted, there are some jobs - care roles, for example - in which workers currently need to be present to do the job they are paid to do. In such cases, it is apt to pay people per hour. But an increasing number of roles are dependent not upon where you work, but upon the interactions you have and the decisions you make. If you are able to meet the needs of all the stakeholders to whom you are accountable in less than forty hours a week, then why shouldn't you, if you are being paid for the results you achieve? Working less than forty hours a week means you are more likely to arrive at work recharged, refreshed, and more able to provide creative solutions to the problems you may face. Contrast this with the tiredness of someone who fills the remainder of their week with busywork so they can meet their forty-hour quota, or someone who lacks the self-discipline to manage their calls and emails outside of work hours. It's been said before, but if you don't manage it, it manages you.
I think the call for shorter working hours will only grow stronger in the coming years as we understand the benefits to ourselves and our businesses of being better rested, alongside reaping the benefits of AI.
Or perhaps I’m being overly optimistic. Few households can live on a single income; inflation and our refusal to deal with the nations’ failure to ensure an adequate supply of good quality, fairly priced housing will see this worsen. Many adults juggle more than one form of employment, alongside a side hustle of some sort, just to get by. Added to that is our experience of automation in industry. Those efficiencies were supposed to free us up to pursue our hobbies and spend time with our families, since we could achieve the same outputs in a fraction of the time (sound familiar)? Instead we saw no reduction in working hours, but an increase in the profitability of large companies. AI could lead to the same problems, increasing the already worrying concentration of wealth in the hands of the few.
Dramatic words? Maybe. But if history is anything to go by, we risk sacrificing our health and relationships to work the same long hours to make the rich richer when we could be reducing our work commitments with no impact on our productivity. I don't think that working shorter hours will be a panacea for all our problems, nor that it's a one-size-fits-all solution. But as individuals and societies, we need to rethink our relationship with work. We should question why we work as much as we do, and what it is we're trying to achieve. We should reflect on whether we're sacrificing too much of our health, relationships, and well-being for our jobs, and whether the rewards we get are worth it. And we should explore alternative ways of organising work, whether it's through shorter working weeks, more flexible schedules, or more creative ways of measuring productivity.
Of course, these are not easy questions to answer, and there are no easy solutions. But as we celebrate the bank holidays, let's take a moment to reflect on what we really value in life, and whether we're spending our time and energy on the things that matter most to us. Perhaps then we'll start to see that working less, and living more, can be a win-win for everyone

As you may have picked up from my recents posts, AI is for me one of the most exciting and thought-provoking areas of human advancement. I genuinely think it will be as transformational to our everyday lives and our professional lives as the internet itself has been. It will improve our efficiency and effectiveness across a range of professions. It may even replace some. It will improve our use of spare time, freeing us up to spend more time with friends and family, or just engage in our hobbies. It also has the potential to make a huge impact on education, both formal and informal.
One of the ways I try to ensure I retain what I’ve read is to make notes as I go along. The use of AI has sped this process up for me no end. Generally these notes will now focus on how I can make specific use of what I’m learning, rather than a broader overview of the book's content. Currently I’m working through Thaler and Sunstein’s “Nudge”. I know that I can focus on the implications of any concepts for my workplace and think about how I will apply them; I can rely on AI to summarise the general content of the book for me. Grammarly is an example of how AI can be used to proofread and edit the first draft of a document; as programmes such as Microsoft Copilot and others come online we will see better and better proofing and editing implements in use.
Like any tool, it is only as powerful as how we choose to use it. If your goal is to write an essay or blog post on any given subject, AI can probably do that already for you. But to what end? If your goal is to learn, retain and (crucially) apply useful information, I would query the use of AI for this. Having AI summarise a book is not the same as reading that book for yourself. Sure, I could use Chat GPT to summarise every book relevant to whatever field I’m interested in. But can AI pick out the nuances of each book; can it think for me about how to apply what can be learnt to my life and career? No - at least, not yet. Despite this, the summary does fulfil another function. If I am about to read a book on a subject about which I know very little (if anything), then the summary acts as a useful precis. This then provides me with a scaffolding that can support my learning and understanding.
Our culture of education in Britain tends to focus more on learning facts by rote than understanding how to apply the concepts. Just think of the hours spent learning times tables rather than the application of multiplication in real life. Learning does not exist in a vacuum. Similarly, it’s very well ‘reading’ dozens of books by asking for summaries that you can digest quickly. But what you risk missing out on is the opportunity to pick up on those elements the AI missed, to reflect on how the learning applies directly and specifically to you. Our brains do not encode the important information if we are handed summaries of the information and fail to actively engage with it. Such shortcuts may indeed help your learning; but they are no substitute for understanding.

I'm sitting at my Macbook, which is parked on my desk near my Windows laptop. I have an iPhone 12 charging next to my Samsung Galaxy, whilst my iPad sits under my desk shelf. At some point or other I have used all of them to make notes, whether they are to-do lists or the notes I take whilst reading non-fiction. I've used countless note taking apps, styluses and even some voice notes. Im very interested in the potential of AI to take minutes during online meetings. Yet time and again in find myself coming back to pencil and note paper. Why is this? 

In a world that is rapidly trending towards the digital space, it's easy to see why people would rather make notes on a phone or use a stylus on a screen. With the whole world practically being just a tap away, it makes sense that taking notes via technological devices is becoming the norm. However, there are several benefits to handwriting notes on a book that make it an experience that is irreplaceable. In this blog post, we will delve into the benefits of handwriting notes in a book versus making notes on a phone or using a stylus on a screen. 

1. Handwriting notes in a book improves retention memory. 

A study done by the Association for Psychological Science shows that handwriting notes enables an individual to retain more memory than typing notes into a digital device. When you write notes by hand, it strengthens the neural pathways within the brain, which leads to better retention memory. This means that if you write down notes in a book, you are more likely to recall them from memory vividly when you revisit the material. Hence why unwilling continue making my own notes during meetings regardless of how powerful AI becomes. The tactile nature of note taking has a similarity to reading a physical book rather than an ebook. 

2. Handwriting notes on a book reduces distraction levels. 

Writing notes in a book is a way of self-regulating your focus levels. When you make notes on your phone or on a screen, you are at a disadvantage because the temptation to check your messages or scroll through social media is high. Writing notes in a book is an intentional activity that requires my complete attention, limiting the chance of getting sidetracked off the task at hand. 

3. Writing notes in a book improves cognitive processing. 

Taking notes on paper improves cognitive processing, which is essential in analyzing and synthesizing complex information. Writing notes in a book allows a person to engage in the content in their own way, make connections, and map out the various themes, all of which informs their higher-level thinking skills. This  is why taking notes whilst reading non-fiction is more effective than voice notes, reading a summary, or even highlighting the text. 

4. Writing notes in a book encourages creativity. 

Writing notes on paper is a creative process that frees the brain of limitations. The act of doodling or jotting down extra comments unconsciously stimulates the brain, making it more creative. Creativity is essential when it comes to how one visually represents ideas, categorizes material, and comes up with unique ways of understanding complex ideas that may not be possible with digital tools. 

5. Writing notes in a book is a personal experience. 

Writing notes in a book is a personal experience that is unique to the individual. Writing out your notes for a particular topic, using your own symbols, and visually organizing them in a way that works for you make the experience intimate. Handwriting your notes is an act of care for yourself, your mental capacities, and the knowledge that you are committing to learning. 

Writing out notes engages the brain, enhances retention and cognitive processing of information, limits distractions, encourages creativity, and gives a personal experience that cannot be replicated by digital devices. While there are still benefits to having digital note-taking options, there is something special about writing things down by hand. The next time you have the opportunity to handwrite your notes in a book, go ahead, and give it a try; you might be surprised at how rewarding it can be!

As a senior manager in social care I’m forever juggling multiple responsibilities at once. Over the last week or two I have been experimenting with chat GPT, a powerful AI language model, to see how I can automate certain tasks and improve efficiency. Here are the ten best ways I’ve found:


Producing documents: Chat GPT can be used to produce documents such as policies and procedures. By providing clear instructions and prompts, Chat GPT can generate a draft of a document, which can then be reviewed and edited as necessary. For example, asking “write me a GDPR policy for a children’s home in Wales” produces a useable policy within about 30 seconds. Not only that, but it can be used to produce sales copy or copy for websites.


Proofreading: Chat GPT can also be used to proofread documents, ensuring that they are free from errors and grammatical mistakes. This can help save time and ensure that documents are of high quality before they are distributed. Just city the document into the chatbot and ask the AI to proofread it. It can then be asked to offer suggested rewrites if you find you are unhappy with certain sections.


Responding to inquiries: Chat GPT can be used to respond to inquiries from staff, parents, and other stakeholders. By setting up chatbots that are programmed to respond to common questions and issues, you can save time and provide consistent, reliable information to those who need it.


Automating data entry: Chat GPT can be used to automate data entry tasks, such as entering information from forms or reports into a database. This can help reduce errors and free up staff time for other tasks.


Conducting research: Chat GPT can be used to conduct research on topics related to children's homes, such as best practices in child care or new regulations and policies. By providing clear prompts and questions, Chat GPT can generate a list of relevant sources and information. Chat GPT won’t conduct the research for you, but can be used to generate the questions you want to use. In the same way, Chat GPT can be used to generate staff/stakeholder surveys.


Analysing data: Chat GPT can be used to analyse data from various sources, such as surveys or assessments. By providing clear instructions and prompts, Chat GPT can identify trends and patterns in the data, which can then be used to inform decision-making.


Developing training materials: Chat GPT can be used to develop training materials for staff, such as quizzes or instructional videos that are engaging and informative.


Generating reports: Chat GPT can be used to generate reports on various aspects of your children's home company, such as financial reports or staff performance reports.


Personalizing communication: Chat GPT can be used to personalize communication with staff, parents, and other stakeholders. By analyzing data on each individual, Chat GPT can generate personalized messages and recommendations, which can help improve engagement and satisfaction.


Chat GPT can be a valuable tool for service directors of children's home companies in Wales. By utilizing its capabilities to automate tasks, generate documents, analyze data, and personalize communication, you can save time and improve efficiency, while ensuring that your children's home company is providing high-quality care to its residents.


As an example of how useful Chat GPT can be, the above post was generated in the chat. I have edited some portions of it (which I could have done in the chat if I’d chosen). I also find it useful for things like summarising documents (e.g. I can feed it meeting minutes and ask it to summarise the key points of the meeting with relevant actions). Currently the AI cannot as a matter of routine access documents on your PC/MAC and does not directly access websites. It cannot access data that has not been fed to it in “training” (development) and it does not access websites directly. As it stands, the AI is a hugely powerful tool for streamlining office and admin work. As it develops and is able to access the web, I see it changing the way we work as fundamentally as the web itself transformed society. If I was working in an admin or copywriting role I would be very concerned right now about the future of my employment. I think it would be wise for every organisation to make themselves aware of AI and conduct (at the very least) a SWOT analysis of its impact on them.


What do you think? Have you used Chat GPT? How do you find it? What risks and benefits do you see?