--- tags: general --- # A new FAC schedule > Dan, 7/12/2020 1. Shift the FAC schedule from the second half of 2021, so that cohorts start in September, January and May. Also, 2. Close the office down for at least three weeks three times/year, so we can all take regular breaks from responding to the outside world and either do some focused work or take holidays. 3. Treat every Thursday as an "off-site" day when we do not have meetings scheduled and where we can all switch off email and Slack in order to do some focused work. ## Why? 1) We are shifting to a 12-week programme and it makes more sense for that to fit with spring, summer and autumn terms. 2) We need to take a break from running the school in order to recharge our batteries, go on holiday or have an opportunity to do more focused work. 3) Saturday is often my most productive day of the week. That's not sustainable. I would suggest Fridays as a 'deep work' day, but this is presentation and SGC day, so Thursday is the obvious choice. I am not the only one who needs to focus to get work done, so it may make sense for us all to work to a similar rhythm (I am aiming to only have my diary open 12.00-13.00 and Mon/Tue/Wed 15.30-18.00 and, if it suited others, I would be happy to institute this as company-wide policy, too). ## How and when? We can close the office down for three weeks from December 18th to January 8th. Off-site Thursdays could start in January. Our schedule for the next two years would then look like this: | | Starts | Ends | Closed: | from | until --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- FAC21 | 08/03/21 | 28/05/21?| | 07/06/21 | 11/06/21 | | | | | 16/08/21 | 03/09/21 FAC22 | 20/09/21 | 10/12/21 | | 21/12/21 | 09/01/22 FAC23 | 17/01/22 | 08/04/22 | | 18/04/22 | 06/05/22 FAC24 | 16/05/22 | 05/08/22 | | 15/08/22 | 02/09/22 FAC25 | 19/09/22 | 09/12/22 | | 19/12/22 | 06/01/23 FAC21 is not due to end until May 28th (or perhaps we should say June 4th, given that there are four bank holidays in April and May). We could close the office the week after to recharge our batteries and take stock and then close it again for three weeks in August. With this schedule there is always at least a week after the end of a cohort before the office closes and at least a week after we open again before the start of the next cohort. There are five weeks between cohorts in the winter and spring and six weeks in the summer. Selection for the next cohort can start in June, October and February, with initial selection being completed in July, November and March, and all apprentice places confirmed before the break in the first half of August, December and April. Having the office closed doesn't have to mean that we are not working. For example, we might want to continue to give support to Tech for Better teams or to get our accounts in order or to collate our stats in those times. It just means that we turn on email autoresponders and switch off Slack, and stop having standups and circles. We might also want to avoid taking extended (i.e. more than one week) holidays when the office is open. ## Risks What are the risks of this proposal? | Risk | Impact | Likelihood | | -------- | :--------: | :--------: | | This way of working doesn't suit all of us | Moderate | Moderate | | This way of working doesn't suit our apprentices | Low | Low | | It makes us less productive | High | Low | | We slack off when the office is closed | Low | Low ## Opportunities | Opportunity | Impact | Likelihood | | -------- | :--------: | :--------: | | A healthier work-life balance | High | High | | It makes us more productive | High | High | ## Meetings notes Date: 15/12/2020 Present: Oli, Yvonne, Gregor, Dan ### Clarifying questions - Confirmed that when we close down we would not need to respond to slack or email. ### Critical concerns - Y: Not sure that we should advertise this as a 16-week programme yet PASSED.