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Maren Deepwell Posts

How to make working from home 1% more comfortable

On this month’s remote working radio show on DS106radio we talked about how to make working from home 1% more comfortable… and improve your work wellbeing in the process. The idea comes from practices like yoga and meditation. As you lie down in order to relax or sit still to focus, your teacher may prompt you to move, wriggle, to use a pillow or a cushion, anything to try and make yourself a little bit…

Coaching: Getting started

This week I am officially started my coaching certificate and I am looking forward to getting involved in the course. In order to become an accredited coach, an ICF Associate Certified Coach, I am taking part in Katie Linder’s Higher Ed Coach Training. After two years of very little formal CPD that didn’t have to do with charity crisis management, I am delighted to have this opportunity to learn and develop in an area of my…

Updating my Senior CMALT: part 1

It’s been three years since I first gained Senior CMALT Accreditation and I have found it extremely valuable to have this accreditation. I continue to undertake CMALT peer assessments and find this, too, an important way for me to continue my professional development. Updating my portfolio ALT requires portfolios to be reviewed and updated every three years in order to maintain Senior Certified Member status and I am afraid my three years were up in…

Virtual Teams Book – Monthly News, January 2022

Writing Retreat ahead At the end of last year I completed the first draft of the book and I am really pleased that despite everything that was going on last year, I managed to reach that important milestone. Along the way I made some changes to the structure of the book and now that the draft is complete, I can also see overarching themes emerging. My plan was to continue editing the draft chapters over…

2021: Last one out turns off the lights…

It’s the darkest day of the year, Winter Solstice, and for me the last working day of 2021. Yay! For the last blog post of the year here is a look back at what has been a busy year. Whilst it may not feel that way just now as we prepare for another uncertain festive season, this year has had a lot of highlights and much, MUCH, has been accomplished. My year as CEO of…

December ’21

My last monthly update for the year… Book progress Since my last post, I have been working on the Introduction to the book and that has been very helpful. It’s prompted me to write an overview of how all the chapters hang together and it’s help me get a clearer sense of the overall structure. Apart from the conclusion, I have now drafted all chapters. I have decided to incorporate what was going to be…

VIRTUAL TEAMS BOOK: … EXTRACT FROM The Introduction

Progress since the last post Since my last post, I have been working on the Introduction to the book and that has been very helpful. It’s prompted me to write an overview of how all the chapters hang together and it’s help me get a clearer sense of the overall structure. Apart from the conclusion, I have now drafted all chapters. I have decided to incorporate what was going to be a chapter on addressing…

November ’21: Conserving energy

The past month has been filled with illness and emergencies on all fronts, at home and at work. I have been suffering from a frozen shoulder and that has caused me a lot discomfort and stopped me from writing as much as I would like, hence there has been very little blogging this month. That said, I have really enjoyed working on some important projects behind the scenes, and much of that effort will start…

Remote working radio

In recent months I have been blogging about writing a book about leading virtual teams and I have shared my progress in blog posts and extracts from draft chapters. This month I am writing on the introduction for the book and once I have that completed, then I’ll be close to having a draft of the complete book, which is pretty exciting. And that means it’s time to start what will hopefully turn into a…

October ’21: Writing and working

October has been very busy indeed and I haven’t had as much time for blogging and writing as I had hoped. Even my round up of everything that happened in September was quite late. But as it’s the 31st today, I am back on track. And just in time to wish you Happy Halloween. As you might expect from someone who wrote their PhD about the material culture of cemeteries, this is my favourite celebration…