My alarm goes off at …
6.15am most days. Usually, this is the alarm on my phone, occasionally it’s one of my children pulling my eyelids.
The first thing I do each day is …
Take our spaniel for a walk or run, depending on how motivated we are. During the summer, this is a great way to start the day in the fields near our house, during the winter, it isn’t quite so enjoyable! It’s usually the first and only a bit of peace during the day, so I tend to just walk in silence and think about the day ahead.
I prepare for the day ahead by …
It sounds very cliché, but I like to prepare for the day ahead the night before, so I’m not held up in the morning. Before I leave for the day I like to check my emails to see if anything urgent needs dealing with, if I’m driving, I pre-load calls so I can be effective on the move and avoid too much ‘dead-time’ during the day.
I can’t leave the house without …
My work phone, laptop and lunch. My phone tends to start making noise from around 7.30am and without it, I would be twiddling my thumbs most of the day; the laptop stays by my side regardless of the day ahead as there is always something that can be done whilst waiting for a train or in between meetings. The lunch (made the night before) does well to see past 11am.
My typical day…
Every day is different; one day, I could be meeting a team of Architects or Construction Managers in London, and the next, I could be being driven around a farm in West Wales in an old Land Rover.
I try to have at least two days at my desk, usually a Monday, as this is a busy day operationally, and a Friday to tie up any loose ends. The three remaining days could be spent on-site, in face-to-face or virtual meetings or catching up with my colleagues on the various projects we are delivering at that moment.
My most memorable work moment …
There have been a huge number of very memorable moments during my twelve-year career in renewables. Focusing on 2022, the most memorable moment is breaking ground at our latest National Trust project, Kingston Lacy. We’re installing a 160kW ground source heat pump with thirty-two 153m boreholes to completely replace the existing oil system.
Working with an organisation as prestigious as the National Trust in what is their largest renewable energy project to date is a very proud moment for all of us at ISO Energy.
The worst part of my job …
Government ministers with vested interests, and therefore a handful of unfortunate publics, thinking that hydrogen and fracking will play a cost-effective and sustainable role in the heating industry – either in the short or long term. Hydrogen and fracking won’t play a part going forward, but the rollout of well-proven and highly-efficiently-efficient heat pump technology is being hampered because of this guff.
The best part of my job …
The fact every day is different, and every client is different. The projects we work on and the people we meet are so varied it makes going to work very enjoyable.
I have the pleasure of dealing with every walk of life, who all live in or work on very different buildings and have very different expectations and requirements. I enjoy managing this process from cradle to grave, seeing the pride and quality our engineers put into their work on-site and how pleased our clients are with the results.
A huge amount of our work is from referrals and word of mouth, and this is testament to the high-quality work we produce as a team, it’s very satisfying seeing a completed project and a happy client at the end of the process.
I relax after work by …
Spending time with my family is one of the quickest ways to relax, but, by my own admission, I find it quite tricky to switch off. I try and exercise regularly as I find it helps provide a nice balance to life and keeps both the heart and mind active. I used to play lots of rugby, but my ageing body can no longer cope, I now enjoy squash, spinning and golf – all of which have a nice balance of exercise and competition.
On my bedside table is …
Books. I’m currently reading UnPresidented by John Sopel and Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson. The latter is about how a successful basketball coach brings together and manages the various egos and personalities that make up the team – I’m hoping it will teach me a few things I can implement at ISO Energy!
The last thing I do each day is …
Stretch. I’m as flexible as a wardrobe but I find a quick stretch before bed does help.
I’m normally in bed by … 10.30pm during the week.
Would you like to feature in our ‘day in the life’ segment? Drop us a line at natalie@andpublishing.co.uk and we’ll be in touch.