In Your Shoes - Katie Martin

MONDAY – Just another manic ‘mum-day’

My working week starts on a Monday and the first thing I do with my day is check my emails and my calendar for interviews/meetings so that I can plan the rest of my week accordingly.

On this particular week, I have just returned from 2 weeks annual leave which involved a first birthday and a family holiday to the Isle of Mull! So naturally I returned to a higher volume of emails than normal for a Monday morning. I spend most of the morning sifting through the emails.

After lunch, I attend a team training session with West Lothian CAB looking at Gambling Support. Given the nature of work that Dunedin Advisory covers, we do come across a lot gambling, and it was an interesting insight to find out about the different options available for those who struggle with gambling addictions.

Our office has flexible working and on a Monday I work until 5pm covering the phones for any calls that may happen out with the core office hours of 10-4pm.

I finish up my day at 5pm and collect my little boy from nursery.

TUESDAY – Interviews and a Lunch Date

I start my Tuesday logging in and completing some statutory circulars, I like to get these out the door first thing in the morning so I can focus on other aspects of work throughout the day (there is nothing worse than trying to get statutory paperwork out the door at the end of the day!). Depending on the case these can be quite time consuming.

Tuesday Morning is also time for the office weekly catch up, this has been ongoing for a number of years, but since the pandemic we carry this out virtually. During this team meeting we have an opportunity to discuss any knowledge sharing, any complex cases we may have and to also discuss each others whereabouts and workloads for the week.

Lunch time comes around and my husband and I take lunch at the same time and pop out for a quick bite to eat – something we have been able to with both having the flexibility of working from home and not having our little one with us on a Monday and Tuesday. I think it’s important to get some time together, even if it is quickly demolishing some lunch between our work schedules!

Tuesday afternoon for me included a telephone interview with a debtor and clearing up some case diaries.

WEDNESDAY – Office chitchat and my new Friday

One thing I have learned in the last couple of months about working part-time is just how quickly the working week goes….

A Wednesday is an earlier start than normal as I drive to the office to start my day. The office has started having 3 members of staff each day on a rotational basis. As part of my role as Supervisor I help to support the admin team with any case queries and training, etc they may have. By attending the office on a Wednesday it gives me the opportunity to do this face to face and to also bounce ideas and queries off each other – something which is harder to do from home.

I spend my Wednesday working through my work folder which includes bits of mail, clearing off any outstanding emails from Monday, clearing statutory diaries and progressing some asset cases and I start to plan my next week just to stop myself from logging in on Monday and having a shock to the system. I basically try to be organised – but that’s always easier said than done!

On a Wednesday I finish work at 4pm, stick my out of office on and head home to pick my little one up from his Granny’s. Excited to spend the next couple of days playing, snuggling and running around after a very active 1 year old!